Farmington Institute
The Farmington Institute, based at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, is led by Sir Ralph Waller. Its goal is to support and improve Christian education in schools, colleges, and universities.
It was founded by the late Hon. Robert “Bobby” Wills, from the Wills tobacco family, after a wartime idea to help make the world better. He conceived the institute during World War II while serving with the Grenadier Guards and, after surviving serious wounds, turned his idea into reality.
Originally, the institute helped set up regional religious education resource centres and ran conferences for RE teachers. It then began offering Farmington Fellowships, which let RE teachers take a term out of school to research a topic at a university. The institute covers all incidental expenses and provides a replacement teacher for the Fellow’s school.
Farmington Fellows present their research at an annual summer conference held at Harris Manchester College in Oxford. After Millennium Grants in 1997 and 2000, the institute can now offer Fellowships to primary and secondary RE teachers, RE teachers for children with special educational needs, and headteachers. It also offers Fellowships to members of the British Armed Forces to study moral and ethical leadership.
The Farmington Papers are provided free to institute members and cover religious and theological topics. The institute also runs conferences and seminars from time to time. It maintains an ecumenical Christian outlook and works to build good relationships with other world religions.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:02 (CET).