Highbury College, London For almost two centuries from the Uniformity Act of 1662 until the University Reform Act of 1854 it was very difficult for a student who was not a practicing member of the Church of England to gain a degree from either Oxford  or Cambridge University. Both required a religious test before entry, Dissenters, including Non Conformist Protestants, Quakers, Roman Catholics, Jews and scholars of other persuasions who could not in all conscience subscribe to the articles of the Church of England were debarred from studying for the Ministry or the Professions at either University. Those who could afford it could complete their education at Utrecht, Leyden or the Scottish Universities, however there was an alternative, the Dissenting Academies or Colleges.   Highbury College was such a College open to all faiths. Founded in 1783 in Mile End in London's East End as an Evangelical Academy, it transferred to Highbury in North London in1826 into a new building designed by John Davies costing £20,000. In 1850 it became the Church of England Metropolitan Training Institute, and in 1865 the London College of Divinity. The building was damaged by fire in the 1940's and demolished in 1951.

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