In the beginning …
The origin of the Society can be traced to a meeting held on the evening of Friday 16 November 1956 in the Senior Common Room of the University of Hull. Present were ‘twenty-one men and women, representative of clerical and lay interests in the district’, who met under the chairmanship of the Revd E.J. Tinsley, lecturer in charge of the Theology Department. Impressed by the success of the day schools organized by the Hull Council of Churches and the University’s Adult Education Department, by the growing number of extra-mural classes in theology, and by a general revival of theological interest, the meeting decided to form a theological society ‘based on the University in close relation to its Theological Department’. It was agreed to seek the patronage of the Archbishop of York, and a steering committee was formed to bring about the formation of the Society proper. Tinsley himself (later to become the Bishop of Bristol) was elected the first President, and the officers included the Revd James Atkinson (later to be appointed Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield).
An inclusive society
A set of rules was drawn up and was adopted as the Society’s constitution at the first AGM in June 1957. These rules have continued in force (with only slight amendments made in 1999) until the present day. The purpose of the Society was defined as ‘the promotion of the study of theology, in all its branches, … within the University of Hull, the City of Kingston upon Hull, and the parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire round about’.
By June 1957 – before a single paper had been read – book membership stood at 110. There was an evident concern that the Society should be as inclusive as possible. Unusually among even local learned societies, applications for membership were invited from ‘any person over the age of 16′. Great efforts were made to ensure that the Society did not become an exclusive club for Anglican clergy: the early Rules specified that there should be at least one Roman Catholic, one Jew, and two Non-Conformists on the Committee. They also stipulated that the times of meetings should be varied, that no meeting should last more than two hours, and that one meeting a year should take place outside Hull. The Society clearly reflected the ‘extra-mural’ ethos of the University in its desire to bring the best scholarship to the people of Humberside.
‘Speakers of outstanding reputation’
Meetings were to be based on the delivery of papers on the full range of theological topics, both by members and by ‘speakers of outstanding theological reputation’ (Foundation Meeting minutes, 16/11/56). Again, the Rules reflect the concern that a balance be struck ‘between theorists and practitioners, amateurs and professionals, residents and non-residents’. Nonetheless, a succession of formidable scholars was attracted to the Society, including F.W. Dillistone, A.G. Dickens (the first Society member to offer a paper), Archbishop A.M. Ramsey (the Patron), James Atkinson, H.H. Rowley, R.E. Cant, and R.P.C. Hanson in the first year alone. They were followed in 1958/59 by J.W.C. Wand, S.L. Greenslade, C.K. Barrett, and S.H. Hooke.
By 1963, however, the number of paying members had fallen from 72 (in 1959/60) to 36. This was the first of several fluctuations in the membership of the Society, which continued to decline during the 1960s, climbed steadily through the 70s and 80s, but which by 1997 had dropped again to such an extent that the Society was mothballed for a year! The expense of inviting scholars from any distance was no longer sustainable on a regular basis. Nonetheless, ‘stars’ continued to visit, and the term cards show the names of, for instance, Henry Chadwick (1984), the psychologist Jack Dominian, A.T. Hanson and Ursula King (all 1986), James Barr (1989), Adrian Hastings (1991), David Jasper (1992), and Anne Loades (1994).
The Society now
Now into its sixth decade, the Society is once more thriving, and testifying to the same concern for theology in this area which prompted that November meeting in 1956. The Society remains a resolutely ‘town-and-gown’ affair, firmly rooted in the local community while mantaining a strong and valued relationship with the University of Hull. Today it continues to try to unite the theory and the practice of theology, and the amateur and the professional, in a common purpose.
Past Patrons, Presidents and Honorary Members
PATRONS
1957-1961 Archbishop Michael Ramsey
1961-1975 Archbishop Donald Coggan
1975-1983 Archbishop Stuart Blanch
1983-1995 Archbishop John Habgood
1995-2005 Archbishop David Hope
2005- Archbishop John Sentamu
PRESIDENTS
1957-1962 Revd E.J. Tinsley
1962-1983 Revd Professor A.T. Hanson
1983-1987 Revd I.P. Ellis
1987-1991 Mrs W.E. Sproston
1991-1993 Professor L.L. Grabbe
1993-1997 Dr J.L. North
1997- Dr D.V.N. Bagchi
HONORARY MEMBERS (with date of election)
1957 Professor G.E.T. Mayfield (for the promotion of theology in the district)
1959 Professor T.E. Jessop (for the promotion of theology in the district)
1964 Professor E.J. Tinsley (for services to the Society)
1999 Dr W.E. Sproston North (for services to the Society)
1999 Dr J.L. North (for services to the Society)
2007 Mrs B. Robinson (for services to the Society)
