St Bees history
The village has a history going back as far as 850 AD. Much of the early history is linked to Priory and School and is covered in those sections.
Village History in a nutshell
The coming of the railway
Three notable shipwrecks
Theological College
St Bees community Millennium Book
The Priory was founded in 1120 but its early history goes back even further to the times of St Bega in the 850s AD.
Pre-conquest
Benedictine
Post Reformation
19th Century
20th Century
Conjectural layout
Monastic Services
St Bees School was founded in 1583 by Edmuund Grindal, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was born in the village.
Click here for history, and present day activities.
Printed history guides are on sale in the Priory, which is open to the public daily. Front covers shown below.
1000 Years of History
St Bees Man
Bob’s Jottings
St Bees – A Cumbrian Coastal Village
Current news
St Bees News (Parish Magazine)
The discovery in 1981 of the almost perfectly preserved body of a medieval knight, now known as ” St Bees Man”, was one of the most extraordinary archaeological burial finds in Britain in the late 20th century. There is permanent display about him and his discovery in the Priory Church. Open daily.
Thanks to the work of Bob Jopling, we now have a proper record of the St Bees parish people who died in the Boer War and the two World Wars.
Boer War
World War 1
World War 2
School Victoria Crosses
Roll of Honour
The Memorials described
In 1939 Mill Hill School from North London was evacuated to St Bees for the duration of the Second World War.
These pages record the history and subsquent reunions
Downloadable Articles
These downloadable specialist articles are available
The Dragon Stone at St Bees
Life of Archbishop Grindal
St Bega – Fact, Cult or Legend
St Bees – A minster church?