Fonds - St. Mark's Hall (Vancouver, B.C.) fonds

In 1902, Bishop John Dart (New Westminster) informed the "English Association for New Westminster and Kootnay" of the need for a diocesan theological school to train clergymen for western Canada. No significant action was taken until 1910 when a large grant from an Anglican conference held in London, UK, was designated with the stipulation that it be used only for a provincial theological school. This event provided the impetus for three British Columbia Bishops to prepare a plan for theological education in the province. It was approved by the Provincial Synod and the English donors who distributed the funds through the British Columbia and Church Aid Society. St. Mark's Hall opened in 1912 at 1249 Davie Street, Vancouver, as one of the two training existing schools. In 1913 St. Mark's Hall was incorporated. In 1920, it merged with Latimer Hall, becoming a unified body under the name, "The Anglican Theological College of British Columbia" (A.T.C.) and moved to the Latimer Hall building on Haro Street, Vancouver. In 1927 the College moved into a new building on the University of British Columbia campus. In 1971 ATC amalgamated with Union College to become Vancouver School of Theology. The contents of the fonds shed light on the development of theological education in British Columbia and the nature of "high church" attitudes and ideas prior to World War I. The work of clergymen and the role of women as supporters of theological education can be discerned. The earliest material emphasizes the English connections of the St. Mark's Hall. There are significant persons named in this material such as Edwyn S.W. Pentreath, Archdeacon of Columbia, Bishop Duvernet (Caledonia), Mrs. Violet Sillitoe and Canon Jocelyn Perkins. The Hall also had the support of English organizations such as the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge ( SPCK), the Society for the Propagation of Gospel (SPG), and the British Columbia and Yukon Church Aid Society (BCYCA)