The Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS) is in the former St Philip and St James Church on Woodstock Road, Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, opposite Leckford Road

Leckford Road

Leckford Road is a road in North Oxford, England.It runs between Kingston Road to the west and Woodstock Road to the east. To the north half way along is a junction with Warnborough Road...

. It was established in 1983.

The Centre exists to aid church leaders. It was founded by mission theologians from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

. OCMS offers taught Masters courses and PhD/MPhil research degrees.

The building was consecrated as SS Philip and James Church on 8 May 1862 to serve the growing suburb of North Oxford

North Oxford

North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College....

. The architect G. E. Street

George Edmund Street

George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...

 built the church in 1860-62 and added the tower and spire in 1864-66. It is a Grade I listed building.

Immediately to the south is Church Walk, a pedestrian-only link to North Parade

North Parade

North Parade, or more formally North Parade Avenue, is a short shopping street in north Oxford, England. It runs between Winchester Road to the west and Banbury Road to the east...

. On the south side of Church Walk is the former vicarage, 68 Woodstock road, built in 1886-87 by G.E. Street's former assistant, the architect H.G.W. Drinkwater

Harry Drinkwater

-Career:Drinkwater was a pupil of William C.C. Bramwell in Oxford 1860-65 and then assistant to the Gothic Revival architect G.E. Street 1865-73. After a year as a Royal Academy travelling student Drinkwater began independent practice in Oxford. Drinkwater was made a Fellow of the Royal Institute...

. The house is now part of St Antony's College, Oxford

St Antony's College, Oxford

St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...

.

St. Margaret's Institute Community Centre, the first building constructed on nearby Polstead Road

Polstead Road

Polstead Road is a residential road that runs between Kingston Road and Hayfield Road to the west and the Woodstock Road to the east, in the suburb of North Oxford, England. Half way along it forms the southern junction of Chalfont Road...

, was built following a subscription by parishioners of SS Philip and James Church in 1889 for the building of a Working Men's Institute "to provide rational amusement and instruction for working men of any creed, sect, or opinions, who may thus be kept out of public houses".

External links

• OCMS website including history