Constance Coltman

Who was Constance Coltman?

Constance Coltman was one of the first women ordained to Christian ministry in Britain, when she was ordained by the Congregational Union of England and Wales at the King's Weigh House, London, on 17 September 1917. Her husband, Claud Coltman, was ordained alongside her, the day before their marriage.

Constance Todd grew up in a Presbyterian family, and went to read history in Somerville College, Oxford, after attending Saint Felix School, Southwold.

She became conscious of her call to ministry, but was told that it would be impossible in the Presbyterian Church of England. In 1909, the Congregational Council considered the question of ordaining women, after discussions on the possibility of women deacons and elders occurred in the Presbyterian and Congregational churches. The principal of the Congregational college, Mansfield College, Oxford, W. B. Selbie, was persuaded that her call was genuine and accepted her as a student there, where she obtained her London Bachelor of Divinity degree.