Welcome from the Warden

Welcome to Tyndale House. Whether this is your first time here or you have been here many times before and whether your stay is short or long we want you to feel part of the Christian community of which Tyndale House consists. This short introduction is meant to provide you with a brief guide to life at Tyndale House.

Tyndale House, part of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, is a residential research centre which since its foundation in 1944 has grown to be a place through which hundreds of scholars pass every year. It has always been the conviction behind the institution that biblical scholarship is best carried out within a community of faith. We therefore encourage readers to take part in communal activities.

We have coffee at 11 a.m. and tea at 4 p.m. and encourage readers to come to the lounge at these times and benefit from conversation with others. During term time we also have chapel, and out of term time, a less formal prayer meeting, both at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday. There is also a ladies’ Bible study on Tuesday mornings. During summer months Barbecues are frequently arranged on a Friday night.

Tyndale House has a small staff team and, despite its limited resources, offers all accommodation and places in the library at significantly subsidised rates. We therefore encourage residents and readers to be proactive in seeking ways of contributing to the community, especially in welcoming others and in looking after the grounds.

I hope that you have a pleasant and fruitful time during your stay here.

With warmest Christian greetings,

Peter Williams

Warden

The Administrator has many responsibilities including Personnel, KLICE (the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics), the Tyndale Fellowship, and the Tyndale Bulletin.

The Bursar knows everything about how Tyndale House works, and is the first person you should speak to in relation to any bills, or in matters pertaining to accommodation (booking, repairs, etc.).

Alongside the acquisition and cataloguing of books and periodicals, the Librarian takes an active role in enhancing all aspects of the library provision and in assisting readers.

The Secretary is probably the first person you will meet as you enter Tyndale House and is the first port of call for general questions in relation to Tyndale. She seeks always to be available to provide assistance to readers or residents in need.

The Technical Officer oversees IT provision within Tyndale House and is also active in innovation in providing resources in Biblical Studies and related areas through the Internet and within Tyndale. He is currently producing the seven-volume work Traditions of the Rabbis from the Era of the New Testament (TRENT) for Eerdmans.

Under the Tyndale House Council, the Warden has overall responsibility for every aspect of the House, including research, publication, the library, development, staff and care of the community. He lives on site at the Warden’s Lodge at the south side of the site behind the family housing and is only too glad to make time to meet with readers and residents to discuss academic, spiritual or practical matters within office hours and often after hours. Whether you are here for a short or long time the Warden would like to meet you. He has research interests in the early versions of both Testaments.

The Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics aims to promote the study and understanding of Christian ethics marked by both biblical fidelity and contemporary relevance. Its director has wide research interests including contemporary political theology, the role of faith in public life, religion and political liberalism, cultural pluralism and civil society.

John W. Laing Research Fellow in New Testament: Dr Dirk Jongkind

Dr Jongkind is an expert on the manuscripts of the New Testament and in the epigraphy, papyrology and archaeology of the Graeco-Roman world. He has responsibility for the Summer School and is a Fellow of St Edmund’s College.

Dr Head is an expert on the manuscripts of the New Testament and is completing a history of New Testament Textual Criticism as well as writing an analysis of letter carriers in the ancient world. He is also a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity and a Fellow of St Edmund’s College.

Dr Baker is currently carrying out research on poverty and wealth in the Old Testament. He is also interested in the relationship between the Testaments.

It must be stressed that community living is in general enormously beneficial and a source of profound personal enrichment. However, to maximise the potential benefits it is necessary to state both positive and negative guidelines for life together in an attempt to pre-empt any problems that might arise. Where necessary negative guidelines take the form of unbreakable rules. It goes without saying that it is important always to leave things as tidy as when they were found and to report all damages and breakages promptly. Residents and readers of longer standing are encouraged to take time to welcome newer residents and to help them settle in.

We encourage the use of bicycles as a means of transport. However, these should be stored as neatly as possible, not in sheds, and should not be ridden across the lawn. There are some communal bikes, which are stored by the tool shed.

Children form an important part of the Tyndale community, and we seek to strike a balance between their needs to play and the needs of those engaged in academic study for quiet and reflection. Therefore

• children should not play in front of the carrels on the north or south sides of the library or round the Hexagon at any time;
• children should not play on the main lawn (east of the central path) between 9 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday;
• children may play quietly on the lawn by the barbecue area during these hours.
• all children may play in the yard to the south of Flats 1–4;
• all adults should help to provide a safe environment for children to play by closing gates properly;
• toys should not be left outside overnight.

Coffee and tea times are an important part of our community life. After your drink please separate the cup holder, which should be returned to the main coffee table, from the disposable cup, which should be placed in the bins provided.

Tyndale House currently has no gardener. Residents are encouraged to adopt a small section of the garden or a particular task in the garden as their own special responsibility in coordination with the Warden or Dirk Jongkind. Tools are in the shed which is located midway between the barbecue area and the main house.

Rubbish and Recycling

The bins are put out weekly (black bins one week, green bins the next). Residents in the Annex and Family Housing are responsible for their own bins. All residents in single rooms and within the main house are strongly encouraged to sign up to the rota for the communal bins and to play their part in ensuring that rubbish is put out.

• Paper. White paper, junk mail, newspapers, and magazines go in the tall blue bin in the library or the black recycling box in the photocopy area.  All contents of these boxes should be taken out for collection on the days that the black bins and boxes are collected.
• Cardboard. Card and cardboard go in the tall bin in the photocopy area or the green bins in the garden. Boxes should be broken up and flattened to save space. Brown wrapping paper and telephone directories can also go in these bins.
• Glass and metal. Glass bottles and jars, metal tins, cans, aerosols, and foil go in the black boxes outside the back door. Please rinse them first.
• Plastic bottles. Plastic bottles (rinsed) go in the blue boxes outside the back door.
• Food and garden waste. Waste which will decompose to make compost goes in the green bins in the garden.
• Printer cartridges. Ink cartridges from laser and bubble-jet printers go in a box in the photocopy area.

Telephone Instructions

•  To place a call within Tyndale House (e.g.,  from one flat to another or from a flat to the Front Office) simply dial the last four digits of the phone number.
• To place an external call from within Tyndale House, dial 9 for an outside line followed by the full external phone number.

Guests

• Charges are made for overnight guests and, for reasons of fire safety, all guests must sign the visitors book.
• Residents in flats may invite guests to stay with them for up to a week, provided there are enough beds for them to sleep on. Applications for guests to stay longer than a week should be made by e-mail to the Warden (warden@tyndale.cam.ac.uk) at least 14 days in advance of the proposed beginning of the visit.
• Residents in single rooms may invite one guest of the same gender to stay with them for up to two successive nights.
• Charges are made for overnight guests who are not immediate family members and, for reasons of fire safety, all guests must sign the visitors book.
• Guests of the opposite gender who stay in single rooms must be family members and may only stay with the express permission of the Warden.
• Visitors of the opposite gender should not remain in single rooms between 12 midnight and 8 a.m.
• Breaches of these last two protocols are liable to lead to termination of contract.

The Tyndale House Information Board  is the best place to share information about events.

• This is primarily for the use of single residents.
• Readers should not use the cooker but may make light use of refrigerators and the microwave.
• Readers should not eat in the kitchen.
• In no cases should dishes be left on the draining board overnight.
• If the kitchen rubbish bin is full, please empty it and put a new bin liner in. Liners are usually found under the sink.

• There are 2 clotheslines out the back.
• Residents are encouraged to acquire a supply of dryer tokens in order that they don’t get caught short at night or on the weekend. They are £1 each and the dryer (which takes 2 loads of laundry) will run for approximately an hour. Once you’ve started the dryer you must not open it before it has finished, because it will not restart, and will swallow your token.
• If someone else’s dry laundry is in the dryer when you arrive, please put it carefully on top of the dryer or in its basket.
• Never use the token-driven dryer on Sunday, or on other days before 7 a.m., or after 9 p.m., as it makes a lot of noise and disturbs the neighbours.
• The dryer in the fridge room is only for the use of Tyndale house staff and cleaners.

Smoke Detectors

For your own safetly and to comply with our insurance policy we have provided smoke detectors in your flats/houses.  It is most important that these are left installed and tested to ensure reliability in the event of a fire.  The flats across the lawn are battery operated. There is a red button that you can press to test the alarm.  If you need a new battery please let the secretary know and we will replace it for you.  The smoke detectors in the main house flats are mains operated.  Given the close proximity of the flats all the smoke detectors are linked, so if one sounds they all will.  There is still a red button to test and please make us aware if it is malfunctioning.

Newspapers

Current newspapers are to be kept in the Lounge. Please return newspapers to the reading rack when you have finished with them. Newspapers that are no longer current are to be put in the kitchen. The Cambridge Evening News should be left until the evening of the following day. Weekly and monthly newspapers should be left out for a week. Papers in the kitchen are free to be clipped or taken.

By agreement with the City Council, and in line with similar agreements made by Cambridge Colleges, Tyndale House residents (except for those in the Annexe) may not bring a motor vehicle with more than two wheels within the City of Cambridge. The Annexe has a parking space provided. However, if the Annexe is unoccupied or its residents do not use a motor vehicle, permission to use the Annexe parking space (for visitors) should be sought from the Bursar (during office hours) or Warden (out of hours). Parking on the driveway of Hawthorne House is not permitted unless prior arrangement with Marion Jongkind has been made.

Security

• The front door should normally be locked outside of office hours.
• The side gate (east) should be kept locked between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.  (Access Code) 
• Kitchen windows should be closed and locked at night.
• Personal computers are not covered by our insurance. Locks cost about £5.

• The corridor must be kept clear of boxes and belongings.
• Between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. music should not be played in rooms, conversations should not be held in the corridor, and use of the phone in the corridor should be restricted to urgent calls only. Doors should not be slammed.
• Personal cleaning items should not be stored in the communal bathrooms.

New residents sometimes arrive out of hours. Residents are encouraged to be welcoming.

Shopping: The nearest shops are in Newnham (10 minutes’ walk) and are reached by turning south down Grange Road and east along Barton Road then taking streets to the right shortly before Barton Road bends left. Of particular note are the Cooperative, bakery, grocers and pharmacy. The Cooperative is usually open from 7.30 a.m. to 10 p.m. However, prices here are considerably more expensive than in larger supermarkets. The nearest major supermarket that may be reached on foot is Sainsbury’s in Sidney Street in the centre of town (20 minutes’ walk).

Recreation: The nearest park of significance is at Lammas Land (go east on Barton Road and when the road bends left walk straight ahead). This is also a good place to start a walk along the Cam. Another good walk in which you will see a lot of the Cam is the walk to Granchester beginning on Granchester Street.

Christian Heritage Tours - Why is Cambridge such a world famous university? When was it founded?
How is it associated with the Protestant Reformation, the founding of the USA, parliamentary government, the development of modern science, and the abolition of the Slave Trade? The tour will seek to answer questions like this and introduce you to the people who helped shape Western civilisation.