He desired to found a college along entirely different, continental, lines, in distinction to the more Jesuit-inspired tradition of the English seminaries to date.

In 1893 there were enough young men ready to begin studies in Philosophy and Theology, and so from this period St John's housed both a minor and a major seminary.

Amigo was well aware of his canonical authority over Wonersh, which was the seminary of his diocese, and that Bourne, despite his personal history, had no formal role in its regard.

As for Doubleday, he proved to be endowed with a strong character, which he drew upon to steer the seminary through the difficulties of the First World War.

As a consequence, the seminary slowly emptied, with only those seminarians remaining who as regards military service were too old, too young or in some way incapacitated.

Following the war, the entry of large numbers of demobbed servicemen into the seminary gave rise inevitably to disciplinary problems, which were resolved in the 1950s by the stern government of Mgr Bernard Wall, later to be Bishop of Brentwood.

Though St John's had always been considered the strictest of the English seminaries, the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council brought considerable relaxation, with a less cloistered life and more direct pastoral experiences for seminarians during their studies.

[4] Changed circumstances, especially a continued decline in the numbers of those seeking to study for the priesthood, meant that the future of Wonersh was subject to periodical review after the turn of the millennium, especially after the closure of the seminary of St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw.

Of the seventeen students already in residence, six were due to complete their studies in July 2021 and it was envisaged that the other eleven would be transferred to Allen Hall Seminary in London.

[1] At the time of closure, the senior staff were The motto spes messis in semine (the hope of the harvest is in the seed), referred to the confidence in the work done at the Seminary for the future of the Church and the Kingdom of God.