Founded in 1876 [1] by James Woodford, Anglican Bishop of Ely, [2] the college had a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition.
[3] Ely's "ritualistic" (i.e. "Catholic") tendencies were attacked by Mr Samuel Smith MP[4] in a House of Commons debate in 1899.
[5] Because of its reputation for strong Anglo-Catholicism the clergy trained there had little hope of rising to senior positions in the church;[6] the first one to become a diocesan bishop was Edward Wynn in 1941.
(Eric Mascall in his autobiography expresses the opinion that there were few differences in doctrine or liturgy between Ely and the theological colleges of Cuddesdon and Lincoln.
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