97-525: St Bees is a coastal village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Copeland district of Cumbria , England, on the Irish Sea . Within the parish is St Bees Head which is the only Heritage Coast between Wales and Scotland and a Site of Special Scientific Interest . The Headland is also an RSPB bird reserve which is the only cliff-nesting seabird colony in north-west England. St Bees Lighthouse stands on
194-513: A London borough . (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of metropolitan boroughs , municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.) In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 retained rural parishes, but abolished most urban parishes, as well as the urban districts and boroughs which had administered them. Provision was made for smaller urban districts and boroughs to become successor parishes , with
291-525: A knight , who died in 1368 in the Teutonic Crusades in Lithuania. Although the body was over six hundred years old, his nails, skin and stomach contents were found to be in near-perfect condition. After his death the vault was enlarged to take the body of his sister, Maud de Lucy, who died in 1398. Effigies of Maud and Anthony can be seen in an extensive history display which includes the shroud in which he
388-460: A Preparatory Department was launched, catering for pupils from the age of 8 until they joined the main school. At this time, a nearby independent school with a prep department, Harecroft Hall, had just closed. The school again expanded in September 2010 to include pupils from age four. On 13 March 2015, it was announced without prior warning by the school governors that due to falling pupil numbers
485-515: A Special Expense, to residents of the unparished area to fund those activities. If the district council does not opt to make a Special Expenses charge, there is an element of double taxation of residents of parished areas, because services provided to residents of the unparished area are funded by council tax paid by residents of the whole district, rather than only by residents of the unparished area. Parish councils comprise volunteer councillors who are elected to serve for four years. Decisions of
582-576: A boundary coterminous with an existing urban district or borough or, if divided by a new district boundary, as much as was comprised in a single district. There were 300 such successor parishes established. In urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes, the parishes were simply abolished, and they became unparished areas . The distinction between types of parish was no longer made; whether parishes continued by virtue of being retained rural parishes or were created as successor parishes, they were all simply termed parishes. The 1972 act allowed
679-472: A city council (though most cities are not parishes but principal areas, or in England specifically metropolitan boroughs or non-metropolitan districts ). The chairman of a town council will have the title "town mayor" and that of a parish council which is a city will usually have the title of mayor . When a city or town has been abolished as a borough, and it is considered desirable to maintain continuity of
776-456: A city council. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government , in England in 2011 there were 9,946 parishes. Since 1997 around 100 new civil parishes have been created, in some cases by splitting existing civil parishes, but mostly by creating new ones from unparished areas. Parish or town councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have
873-548: A city was Hereford , whose city council was merged in 1998 to form a unitary Herefordshire . The area of the city of Hereford remained unparished until 2000 when a parish council was created for the city. As another example, the charter trustees for the City of Bath make up the majority of the councillors on Bath and North East Somerset Council. Civil parishes cover 35% of England's population, with one in Greater London and few in
970-440: A civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if the parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under
1067-481: A civil parish which has no parish council, the parish meeting may levy a council tax precept for expenditure relating to specific functions, powers and rights which have been conferred on it by legislation. In places where there is no civil parish ( unparished areas ), the administration of the activities normally undertaken by the parish becomes the responsibility of the district or borough council. The district council may make an additional council tax charge, known as
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#17328593403311164-568: A common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by
1261-497: A couple of years later. The closure of the school made many teachers and members of the community to leave the village, such as Reverend Clifford Swartz, the former Vicar of the local Protestant church and chaplain of St Bees School. Perhaps some of the greatest changes were after 1849 when the Furness Railway reached the village. St Bees attracted the professional classes which commuted to Whitehaven or Workington . This led to
1358-651: A day on Sundays. The village is on the B5345 from Whitehaven to Iron Bridge junction near Beckermet . The village has a football team which competes in the Cumbria County league. There are facilities for rugby, football and cricket at the Adams recreation ground adjacent to the Seacote beach. This playing field was created in memory of Baron Adams of Ennerdale . The sports facilities of St Bees School are also available, which include
1455-459: A large decrease in numbers due to the Great Depression . However, the numbers rose again during World War II, and this was followed by an era of further expansion. In 1978, the school became co-educational . On 13 March 2015, it was announced by the school governors that due to falling pupil numbers the school would close in summer 2015. In a partnership with Full Circle Education Group,
1552-517: A new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life . A parish can be granted city status by the Crown . As of 2020 , eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: Chichester , Ely , Hereford , Lichfield , Ripon , Salisbury , Truro and Wells . The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving
1649-431: A new smaller manor, there was a means of making a chapel which, if generating or endowed with enough funds, would generally justify foundation of a parish, with its own parish priest (and in latter centuries vestry ). This consistency was a result of canon law which prized the status quo in issues between local churches and so made boundary changes and sub-division difficult. The consistency of these boundaries until
1746-683: A parish (a "detached part") was in a different county . In other cases, counties surrounded a whole parish meaning it was in an unconnected, "alien" county. These anomalies resulted in a highly localised difference in applicable representatives on the national level , justices of the peace , sheriffs, bailiffs with inconvenience to the inhabitants. If a parish was split then churchwardens, highway wardens and constables would also spend more time or money travelling large distances. Some parishes straddled two or more counties, such as Todmorden in Lancashire and Yorkshire. St Bees School St Bees School
1843-416: A parish council, and instead will only have a parish meeting : an example of direct democracy . Alternatively several small parishes can be grouped together and share a common parish council, or even a common parish meeting. A parish council may decide to call itself a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, the parish council may call itself
1940-503: A population of between 100 and 300 could request their county council to establish a parish council. Provision was also made for a grouped parish council to be established covering two or more rural parishes. In such groups, each parish retained its own parish meeting which could vote to leave the group, but otherwise the grouped parish council acted across the combined area of the parishes included. Urban civil parishes were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by
2037-672: A railway station served by the Cumbrian Coast Railway . Evidence of Mesolithic and Bronze Age habitation has been found in St Bees, but nothing of the Roman occupation, even though St Bees Head would have been a prominent observation point. The name St Bees is a corruption of the Norse name for the village, which is given in the earliest charter of the Priory as "Kyrkeby becok", which can be translated as
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#17328593403312134-1079: A range of discretionary powers which they may exercise voluntarily. These powers have been defined by various pieces of legislation. The role they play can vary significantly depending on the size, resources and ability of the council, but their activities can include any of the following: Parish councils have powers to provide and manage various local facilities; these can include allotments , cemeteries, parks, playgrounds, playing fields and village greens , village halls or community centres , bus shelters, street lighting, roadside verges, car parks, footpaths, litter bins and war memorials. Larger parish councils may also be involved in running markets , public toilets and public clocks, museums and leisure centres . Parish councils may spend money on various things they deem to be beneficial to their communities, such as providing grants to local community groups or local projects, or fund things such as public events, crime prevention measures, community transport schemes, traffic calming or tourism promotion. Parish councils have
2231-532: A relatively minor role in local government. As of September 2023 , there are 10,464 parishes in England, and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of the English population. For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly unparished ; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if demanded by local residents . In 2007
2328-409: A role in the planning system; they have a statutory right to be consulted on any planning applications in their areas. They may also produce a neighbourhood plan to influence local development. The Localism Act 2011 allowed eligible parish councils to be granted a " general power of competence " which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it
2425-589: A set number of guardians for each parish, hence a final purpose of urban civil parishes. With the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930, urban parishes became a geographical division only with no administrative power; that was exercised at the urban district or borough council level. In 1965 civil parishes in London were formally abolished when Greater London was created, as the legislative framework for Greater London did not make provision for any local government body below
2522-938: A small village or town ward to a large tract of mostly uninhabited moorland in the Cheviots, Pennines or Dartmoor. The two largest as at December 2023 are Stanhope (County Durham) at 98.6 square miles (255 km ), and Dartmoor Forest (Devon) at 79.07 square miles (204.8 km ). The two smallest are parcels of shared rural land: Lands Common to Axminster and Kilmington (Devon) at 0.012 square miles (0.031 km ; 3.1 ha; 7.7 acres), and Lands Common to Brancepeth and Brandon and Byshottles (County Durham) at 0.0165 square miles (0.043 km ; 4.3 ha; 10.6 acres). The next two smallest are parishes in built up areas: Chester Castle (Cheshire) at 0.0168 square miles (0.044 km ; 4.4 ha; 10.8 acres) (no recorded population) and Hamilton Lea (Leicestershire) at 0.07 square miles (0.18 km ; 18 ha; 45 acres) (1,021 residents at
2619-458: A sports hall, squash, tennis and fives courts, and an indoor swimming pool. Coast-based recreational activities at St Bees are: windsurfing, kite-surfing, rock climbing, bouldering, swimming, jet-skiing, water-skiing, canoeing and para-gliding. These are undertaken on St Bees Head and off the large sandy surf beach. The circular walk to St Bees Head and Birkhams quarry featured in the May 2012 booklet of
2716-514: A spur to the creation of new parishes in some larger towns which were previously unparished, in order to retain a local tier of government; examples include Shrewsbury (2009), Salisbury (2009), Crewe (2013) and Weymouth (2019). In 2003 seven new parish councils were set up for Burton upon Trent , and in 2001 the Milton Keynes urban area became entirely parished, with ten new parishes being created. Parishes can also be abolished where there
2813-458: A whole, particularly after the boom years of both world wars . However, following the Second World War , two major industries were established which have had a profound effect on the community. The former Marchon Chemical Company at Whitehaven , and UKAEA/BNFL at Sellafield both soaked up village labour released by the declining heavy iron and mining industries, and brought a large influx of
2910-666: Is a co-educational fee-charging school , located in the West Cumbrian village of St Bees , England. In 1583, it was founded by Edmund Grindal , the Archbishop of Canterbury , as a free grammar school for boys. The school remained small, with fewer than 40 pupils, until the expansions of the Victorian era . Paid for by mineral revenues and helped by the arrival of railway, by the First World War there were 300 pupils. The 1930s saw
3007-507: Is at present the only part of England where civil parishes cannot be created. If enough electors in the area of a proposed new parish (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500) sign a petition demanding its creation, then the local district council or unitary authority must consider the proposal. Since the beginning of the 21st century, numerous parish councils have been created, including some relatively large urban ones. The main driver has been
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3104-539: Is evidence that this is in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Examples are Birtley , which was abolished in 2006, and Southsea , abolished in 2010. Every civil parish has a parish meeting, which all the electors of the parish are entitled to attend. Generally a meeting is held once a year. A civil parish may have a parish council which exercises various local responsibilities prescribed by statute. Parishes with fewer than 200 electors are usually deemed too small to have
3201-507: Is known as the 'Old St. Beghians' Society' and provides a link between the students and the school. Among other things, it organizes "Old St Beghians Day" once a year, publishes a magazine called the Old St. Beghian twice a year, and both holds and participates in many golfing tournaments. There are several regional branches of the society which traditionally hold annual meals and reunions. Notable Old St. Beghains include two Vice-Chancellors of
3298-405: Is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this, a parish council must meet certain conditions such as having a clerk with suitable qualifications. Parish councils receive funding by levying a " precept " on the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) served by the parish council. In
3395-504: The 'Standards Board regime' with local monitoring by district, unitary or equivalent authorities. Under new regulations which came into effect in 2012 all parish councils in England are required to adopt a code of conduct with which parish councillors must comply, and to promote and maintain high standards. A new criminal offence of failing to comply with statutory requirements was introduced. More than one 'model code' has been published, and councils are free to modify an existing code or adopt
3492-711: The Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park. Wainwright recommended that walkers dip their booted feet in the Irish Sea at St Bees and, at the end of the walk, in the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay . At St Bees, the start is marked by the "Wainwright Wall" which explains the walk and its history. A new interpretation board and
3589-742: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were
3686-1010: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) to become the smallest geographical area for local government in rural areas. The act abolished the civil (non-ecclesiastical) duties of vestries . Parishes which straddled county boundaries or sanitary districts had to be split so that the part in each urban or rural sanitary district became a separate parish (see List of county exclaves in England and Wales 1844–1974 ). The sanitary districts were then reconstituted as urban districts and rural districts , with parishes that fell within urban districts classed as urban parishes, and parishes that fell within rural districts were classed as rural parishes. The 1894 act established elected civil parish councils as to all rural parishes with more than 300 electors, and established annual parish meetings in all rural parishes. Civil parishes were grouped to form either rural or urban districts which are thereafter classified as either type. The parish meetings for parishes with
3783-472: The break with Rome , parishes managed ecclesiastical matters, while the manor was the principal unit of local administration and justice. Later, the church replaced the manor court as the rural administrative centre, and levied a local tax on produce known as a tithe . In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed increasingly from the lord of the manor to the parish's rector , who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or
3880-425: The parish vestry . A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with a population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as the communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have
3977-427: The "Church town of Bega", relating to the local Saint Bega . She was said to be an Irish princess who fled across the Irish Sea in the ninth century to St Bees to avoid an enforced marriage. Carved stones at the priory show that Irish-Norse Vikings settled here in the tenth century. The Normans did not reach Cumberland until 1092, and when they took over the local lordships, William Meschin , Lord of Egremont, used
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4074-463: The (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries , the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Poor Relief Act 1601 . Both before and after this optional social change, local (vestry-administered) charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of
4171-468: The 1930s. The situation became so critical that the governors attempted to have the school nationalized . In the end, the old boys put together a rescue package and the school remained independent. Help was at hand, but during the Second World War, Mill Hill School was evacuated to St Bees after their buildings were occupied by the government. Under-used facilities could now be put to good use, to
4268-454: The 1970s, but has since been revived, and there are now two working quarries in the parish. Agriculture was originally the mainstay of the village economy. Gradually, during the 19th century, service employment for the school and lodgings for the college gave additional income, and with the advent of commuters, the village's social mix was becoming more middle class. Tourism and quarries also provided employment, and many village men found work in
4365-564: The 19th century is useful to historians, and is also of cultural significance in terms of shaping local identities; reinforced by the use of grouped parish boundaries, often, by successive local authority areas; and in a very rough, operations-geared way by most postcode districts. There was (and is) wide disparity in parish size. Writtle , Essex traditionally measures 13,568 acres (21 sq mi) – two parishes neighbouring are Shellow Bowells at 469 acres (0.7 sq mi), and Chignall Smealy at 476 acres (0.7 sq mi) Until
4462-584: The 2011 census, Newland with Woodhouse Moor and Beaumont Chase reported inhabitants, and there were no new deserted parishes recorded. Nearly all instances of detached parts of civil parishes (areas not contiguous with the main part of the parish) and of those straddling counties have been ended. 14 examples remain in England as at 2022, including Barnby Moor and Wallingwells , both in Nottinghamshire. Direct predecessors of civil parishes are most often known as "ancient parishes", although many date only from
4559-505: The 2021 census). The 2001 census recorded several parishes with no inhabitants. These were Chester Castle (in the middle of Chester city centre), Newland with Woodhouse Moor , Beaumont Chase , Martinsthorpe , Meering , Stanground North (subsequently abolished), Sturston , Tottington , and Tyneham (subsequently merged). The lands of the last three were taken over by the Armed Forces during World War II and remain deserted. In
4656-572: The Coast to Coast walk and increasing recognition of the unique landscape of the St Bees Heritage Coast. In 2014, it was rated one of the most attractive postcode areas to live in England. In 1981 an archaeological excavation at the priory revealed a vault with a lead coffin containing an astonishingly well preserved body – now known as the St Bees Man. He has been identified as Anthony de Lucy,
4753-650: The North Head which is the most westerly point of Northern England . St Bees is a popular holiday destination due to the coastline and proximity to the Western Lake District . In the village there is St Bees Priory dating from 1120, and St Bees School founded in 1583. The Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk starts from St Bees and the National Trail, the England Coast Path , runs along the coast. It has
4850-724: The administration of the poor laws was the main civil function of parishes, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 , which received royal assent on 10 August 1866, declared all areas that levied a separate rate or had their own overseer of the poor to be parishes. This included the Church of England parishes (until then simply known as "parishes"), extra-parochial areas , townships and chapelries . To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies. Parishes using this definition subsequently became known as "civil parishes" to distinguish them from
4947-680: The best coastal walks in UK published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper; it being one of only two walks covered in the north west of England. St Bees is the start of the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk , which was devised by Alfred Wainwright in 1973. It is an 192-mile (309 km) unofficial and mostly unsignposted long-distance footpath in Northern England . As planned by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting National Parks :
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#17328593403315044-566: The building of many of the larger houses and Lonsdale Terrace. The railway brought tourists, and as early as 1851 the Lord Mayor of London stayed at the Seacote Hotel. This long history of attracting tourists for "bucket and spade" holidays has continued to this day. The railway made possible the export of St Bees sandstone . Huge amounts of stone were quarried, much of it for building the boom town of Barrow-in-Furness . This industry died out in
5141-399: The charter, the charter may be transferred to a parish council for its area. Where there is no such parish council, the district council may appoint charter trustees to whom the charter and the arms of the former borough will belong. The charter trustees (who consist of the councillor or councillors for the area of the former borough) maintain traditions such as mayoralty . An example of such
5238-456: The college, the monastic chancel of the Priory was re-roofed and served as the main lecture room, and additional lecture rooms were built in the 1860s. At one time the college had 100 students, and over 2,600 clergy were trained before it closed in 1895. St Bees School embarked on an era of rapid expansion starting with the construction of the quadrangle in 1846 using compensation from the rich mine-owning Lowther family. They had illegally obtained
5335-529: The council are carried out by a paid officer, typically known as a parish clerk. Councils may employ additional people (including bodies corporate, provided where necessary, by tender) to carry out specific tasks dictated by the council. Some councils have chosen to pay their elected members an allowance, as permitted under part 5 of the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003. The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to
5432-464: The council of the urban district or borough in which they were contained. Many urban parishes were coterminous (geographically identical) with the urban district or municipal borough in which they lay. Towns which included multiple urban parishes often consolidated the urban parishes into one. The urban parishes continued to be used as an electoral area for electing guardians to the poor law unions . The unions took in areas in multiple parishes and had
5529-466: The council will an election be held. However, sometimes there are fewer candidates than seats. When this happens, the vacant seats have to be filled by co-option by the council. If a vacancy arises for a seat mid-term, an election is only held if a certain number (usually ten) of parish residents request an election. Otherwise the council will co-opt someone to be the replacement councillor. The Localism Act 2011 introduced new arrangements which replaced
5626-453: The creation of town and parish councils is encouraged in unparished areas . The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 created a procedure which gave residents in unparished areas the right to demand that a new parish and parish council be created. This right was extended to London boroughs by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – with this, the City of London
5723-463: The desire to have a more local tier of government when new larger authorities have been created, which are felt to be remote from local concerns and identity. A number of parishes have been created in places which used to have their own borough or district council; examples include Daventry (2003), Folkestone (2004), Kidderminster (2015) and Sutton Coldfield (2016). The trend towards the creation of geographically large unitary authorities has been
5820-439: The ecclesiastical parishes. The Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, have become officially (and to avoid ambiguity) termed ecclesiastical parishes . The limits of many of these have diverged; most greatly through changes in population and church attendance (these factors can cause churches to be opened or closed). Since 1921, each has been the responsibility of its own parochial church council . In
5917-521: The established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England , before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due in part to the progress of Methodism . The legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question, and
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#17328593403316014-457: The existing religious site to found a Benedictine priory for a prior and six monks sometime between 1120 and 1135. The priory was subordinate to the great Benedictine monastery of St Mary at York . The magnificent Norman doorway of the priory dates from just after this time; probably about 1150. The priory had a great influence on the area. The monks worked the land, fished, and extended the priory buildings. The ecclesiastical parish of St Bees
6111-493: The extensive mineral rights for a minimal amount on which much of the prosperity of the Lowthers was built. As a result of this fraud being exposed in 1812, the case eventually went to Court of Chancery . In 1842, compensation was paid by the Lowthers which was used to build the present open quadrangle, which includes the original schoolhouse. Further expansion was facilitated by more equitable mineral revenues. The Royal Hotel
6208-526: The extensive monastic buildings were plundered or fell into decay. Remarkably, the small village of St Bees produced two of the archbishops of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I : Edmund Grindal , Archbishop of Canterbury and Edwin Sandys ; Archbishop of York . In about 1519 Edmund Grindal was born in Cross Hill House, St Bees, which still exists, and is marked with a plaque. He was probably educated at
6305-529: The financial benefit of St Bees School. The two schools were run independently, and sports teams from each school would frequently play against each other. The cadet corps of the two schools combined with village volunteers to form the St Bees Home Guard . Seventy-two boys died during the Second World War, and the Memorial Hall was established in their memory. During the 1950s, a new science block
6402-638: The gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of the lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making
6499-455: The government at the time of the Local Government Act 1972 discouraged their creation for large towns or their suburbs, but there is generally nothing to stop their establishment. For example, Birmingham has two parishes ( New Frankley and Sutton Coldfield ), Oxford has four, and the Milton Keynes urban area has 24. Parishes could not however be established in London until the law was changed in 2007. A civil parish can range in area from
6596-444: The iron ore mines at Cleator . Thus the 19th century saw the change from a rural backwater based on agriculture, to the more diversified role of a dormitory village for professional and industrial worker alike, and its growth into a minor academic centre. The start of the 20th century saw yet another decline in agriculture, and this has continued to today, when there are only a few farms left. Industrial decline also hit West Cumbria as
6693-471: The late 19th century, most of the "ancient" (a legal term equivalent to time immemorial ) irregularities inherited by the civil parish system were cleaned up, and the majority of exclaves were abolished. The census of 1911 noted that 8,322 (58%) of "parishes" in England and Wales were not geographically identical when comparing the civil to the ecclesiastical form. In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by
6790-557: The lucrative mineral rights for Whitehaven from the School in 1742 at a derisory sum. This was the first step in St. Bees School's rise from a local institution to becoming one of the new "public schools" on the fashionable model of Dr Arnold 's Rugby School . By 1916 numbers had reached 350, many new buildings had been erected, and the school had become known nationally. The school was forced to close in 2015 because of financial struggles but re-opened
6887-465: The mid 19th century. Using a longer historical lens the better terms are "pre-separation (civil and ecclesiastical) parish", "original medieval parishes" and "new parishes". The Victoria County History , a landmark collaborative work mostly written in the 20th century (although incomplete), summarises the history of each English "parish", roughly meaning late medieval parish. A minority of these had exclaves , which could be: In some cases an exclave of
6984-465: The new district councils (outside London) to review their parishes, and many areas left unparished in 1972 have since been made parishes, either in whole or part. For example, Hinckley , whilst entirely unparished in 1974, now has four civil parishes, which together cover part of its area, whilst the central part of the town remains unparished. Some parishes were sub-divided into smaller territories known as hamlets , tithings or townships . Nowadays
7081-488: The other conurbations. Civil parishes vary greatly in population: some have populations below 100 and have no settlement larger than a hamlet , while others cover towns with populations of tens of thousands. Weston-super-Mare , with a population of 71,758, is the most populous civil parish. In many cases small settlements, today popularly termed villages , localities or suburbs, are in a single parish which originally had one church. Large urban areas are mostly unparished, as
7178-401: The parish the status of a town, at which point the council becomes a town council . Around 400 parish councils are called town councils. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 , a civil parish may be given one of the following alternative styles: As a result, a parish council can be called a town council, a community council, a village council or occasionally
7275-404: The parish. As the number of ratepayers of some parishes grew, it became increasingly difficult to convene meetings as an open vestry. In some, mostly built-up, areas the select vestry took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers. This innovation improved efficiency, but allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite. The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of
7372-562: The parish; the church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868. During the 17th century it was found that the 1601 Poor Law did not work well for very large parishes, which were particularly common in northern England. Such parishes were typically subdivided into multiple townships , which levied their rates separately. The Poor Relief Act 1662 therefore directed that for poor law purposes 'parish' meant any place which maintained its own poor, thereby converting many townships into separate 'poor law parishes'. As
7469-499: The perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places. For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ad hoc boards and other organisations, such as the boards of guardians given responsibility for poor relief through the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 . Sanitary districts covered England in 1875 and Ireland three years later. The replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in
7566-411: The population of the parish. Most rural parish councillors are elected to represent the entire parish, though in parishes with larger populations or those that cover larger areas, the parish can be divided into wards. Each of these wards then returns councillors to the parish council (the numbers depending on their population). Only if there are more candidates standing for election than there are seats on
7663-404: The principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in the 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on the secular functions of
7760-469: The priory across the valley. A devout Protestant , he made his mark in the reign of Edward VI , but had to flee to Strasbourg when the Catholic Mary I ascended the throne. On Mary's death the country once again became Protestant, and Grindal became Bishop of London , Archbishop of York and then Archbishop of Canterbury . His undoing was opposing Queen Elizabeth I on liberal religious meetings and he
7857-586: The quadrangle. The main campus is now concentrated around Wood Lane, adjacent to the Foundation block. The school was founded in 1583 by Edmund Grindal , Archbishop of Canterbury , who was born in St Bees , at Cross Hill House. The oldest part of the school, known as Foundation was built in 1587, opposite the Priory Church. Thanks to an agreement with Queen's College Oxford and the purchase of local tithes,
7954-438: The right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by the monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of
8051-411: The school 'good' on their quality scale. One of the aims of St Bees is to provide an opportunity for pupils to appreciate the arts as well as to experience the benefit of time on stage and behind the scenes. Music is also featured strongly in the curriculum. Former pupils of St Bees School are styled 'Old St. Beghians.' An Old St. Beghians' Club was founded in 1908 by master J. W. Aldous. Today, it
8148-444: The school prospered both financially and academically. Although specifically incorporated for the education of boys from Cumberland and Westmorland , in 1604, pupils from outside those counties were also being educated at St Bees. However, the school only grew gradually. The school enjoyed financial security for many years, but this was threatened from 1742 onwards when Sir James Lowther fraudulently obtained an 867-year lease of
8245-421: The school reopened on 6 September 2018. Numbers at the school have continued to increase, and as of 2024, there are over 100 students. The school grounds occupy approximately 250 acres (100 ha), and the oldest buildings date from the late 16th century. The buildings around the main quadrangle in the Foundation block are Grade II listed . This includes the original schoolroom on the lower northern side of
8342-485: The school were awarded the Victoria Cross . (See St. Bees V.C. winners for more details). Old boy Alfred Critchley became one of the youngest Brigadier-Generals, at the age of 27. One hundred and eighty boys and staff died during the war, and a memorial was built overlooking the sports fields where so many had previously played. After the war, in common with many other schools, the numbers decreased, especially in
8439-488: The school would close in summer 2015. In response, a four-point rescue plan was proposed on 23 March by a "rescue team" made up of interested parties. However, on 17 April 2015, it was confirmed by the governors that the school would shut down. A formal statement said that the governors were also trustees of the St Bees Foundation and that they are committed to it having a future in education in west Cumbria and "to
8536-460: The steel banner were installed in summer 2013 by St Bees Parish Council and the Wainwright Society. Civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes , which for centuries were
8633-479: The technical and scientific university-educated middle class into the village; rather like the first arrival of the professional classes a century earlier. There is now an extensive science park – Westlakes, on the northern fringe of the parish, at which the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has its national headquarters. The last two decades have seen a significant revival in tourism, boosted by
8730-453: The use of the site as support both for the future activities of the foundation and the village of St Bees." On 20 March 2017, it was announced that the school would re-open in partnership with Full Circle Education Group after refurbishment. The school re-opened on 6 September 2018. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection was in 2018, six months after the school reopened with 10 pupils. Following this inspection, Ofsted inspectors rated
8827-490: The village expanded it grew up on the opposite side of the valley. The oldest existing house dates from the early 16th century and the present Main Street was based on a string of farms and farmworkers' dwellings. The 19th century saw the start of great changes. In 1816 St Bees Theological College was founded, and proved popular as it was first for the training of Church of England clergy outside Oxford and Cambridge . To house
8924-520: Was bought and converted into the Grindal house, while the construction of the School House and the headmaster's residence was done on Wood Lane. By 1900, the school's chapel, additional classrooms, library, swimming baths, Gymnasium, science labs, and lecture theater had been built. By the beginning of the First World War, the school had reached three hundred pupils. During the First World War, old boys of
9021-462: Was built, formally opened by Barnes Wallis in 1959, and in the 1970s the school became co-educational . New boarding houses were purchased off-campus for both girls and boys, Bega House and Abbot's Court respectively. To celebrate the school's quatercentenary in 1983, an appeal was launched which would give the school a new sports hall, opened in 1988. The 1990s the Whitelaw Building
9118-583: Was inaugurated by Prince Charles. It was a multi-function business center and teaching area which was named after the then chairman of the board of Governors, William Whitelaw . In 2000, Barony House was refurbished entirely and renamed the Fox Music Centre in memory of old St Beghin Bill Fox. To mark the millennium , a time capsule was buried in the northeast corner of the Quadrangle. In September 2008,
9215-526: Was large and stretched to Ennerdale , Loweswater , Wasdale and Eskdale . The coffin routes from these outlying areas to the mother church in St Bees can still be followed in places. The priory was closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries on the orders of Henry VIII in 1539. The nave and transepts of the monastic church have continued in use as the parish church to the present day, but much of
9312-418: Was suspended. He died in 1583 still in disgrace, but, virtually on his death bed, he founded St Bees School . The primary school in the village was established in the 1870s. The site of the priory is an area of firm ground higher than the peat beds that fill the valley, and due to the absence of level ground it is logical that the original settlement would grow up there. However the area was constricted, and as
9409-744: Was wrapped. St Bees is within the Copeland UK Parliamentary constituency . Trudy Harrison is the Member of parliament . Before Brexit , it was in the North West England European Parliamentary Constituency. The village is served by St Bees railway station on the Cumbrian Coast Line , with trains from Barrow-in-Furness , Lancaster , Preston and Carlisle . As from May 20, 2018, there are 30 stopping passenger trains Monday to Saturday, and 16 trains
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