The Order of Hermes in England has had a bit of an odd history. Originally founded by a Nephandus-hunter who had gathered the local hedge magicians together to help him defeat his foe, House Ex Miscellanea was formed first as a renegade house and then was accepted into the Order, but has never ceased to be something of an irritant to more traditional Hermetics. This origin has not endeared British Hermeticism to many of the continental chantries, but several centuries has dimmed the original reasons in all but the Masters' minds.
Its somewhat eccentric history has continued to color the Order in England, but things have settled down considerably since the Middle Ages. While you still see a few more druids, faerie friends, and skinchangers in the Londinium Collegium than elsewhere, it is still the hotbed of politics and intrigue that any other Hermetic chantry is. Its closeness to the Traditions has also added to this by making it central to the Order's cooperation with that body, leading to even more power brokering, influence peddling, and politicking.
All Hermetics in London are members of the Collegium and have to put up with its rules, its convulted and multilayered hierarchy, and its politics, but there are definite benefits to this association as well. The Collegium is the oldest chantry in the British Isles and is also one of the most prestigious in the world. Collecting together such a broad, diverse number of magical traditions has led to its development of rituals and spells which are unheard of in the stodgy chantries of Europe.