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St Bees Theological College

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52-397: St Bees Theological College , close to the coast of Cumberland , was the first independent theological college to be established for the training of Church of England ordinands . It was founded in 1816 by George Henry Law , Bishop of Chester , in what was during those years the northern extremity of his diocese . For many subsequent years the vicar of St Bees was effectively both

104-411: A common entrance exam must be taken before non-graduates could enter a theological college. This dramatically affected the numbers at St Bees as it channelled theological candidates down the graduate route, which St Bees was unable to support. In addition it was still a private institution, and was run at financial risk by the principal. Consequently, Knowles, who was now 75, decided to give notice to close

156-802: A mayor, aldermen and councillors. Outside of municipal boroughs, there was no effective local government until the 1840s. In response to poor sanitary conditions and outbreaks of cholera , the Public Health Act 1848 ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63) and the Local Government Act 1858 allowed for the formation of local boards of health in populous areas. Local boards were responsible inter alia for water supply, drainage, sewerage, paving and cleansing. Eleven local boards were initially formed at Brampton, Cleator Moor, Cockermouth, Egremont, Holme Cultram, Keswick, Maryport, Millom, Penrith, Whitehaven, Wigton and Workington. Further reform under

208-640: A national County flowers of the United Kingdom campaign by the charity Plantlife . In 2012, a flag based on the arms of the former Cumberland County Council was registered as the flag of Cumberland with the Flag Institute . In 2013, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government , Eric Pickles , formally recognised and acknowledged the continued existence of England's 39 historic counties, including Cumberland. In 2021, it

260-423: A new diocese , largely identical with the area of the earldom. However, on the death of King Henry I of England in 1135, the area was regained by King David I of Scotland . He was able to consolidate his power and made Carlisle one of his chief seats of government, while England descended into a lengthy civil war . The Cumbric language is believed to have become extinct in the 12th century. The area returned to

312-666: A parody on Young Lochinvar . He obtained the Seatonian prize at Cambridge in 1830 for his poem on the Ascent of Elijah , ahead of Winthrop Mackworth Praed and others. Parkinson edited for the Chetham Society : With sermons and pamphlets, Parkinson also published: Parkinson married, in 1831, Catherine, daughter of Thomas Hartley of Gill Foot, Cumberland (she died in 1860), and they had two sons and two daughters. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

364-581: A population of 50,000 people or more to become a " county borough ", independent of county council control. In 1914, Carlisle successfully applied for this status, ceasing to form part of the administrative county , although remaining within Cumberland for the purposes such as Lieutenancy and shrievalty . The Local Government Act 1929 imposed the duty on county councils of reviewing the districts within their administrative county so as to form more efficient units of local government. In general, this meant

416-408: A proposed governing council of clergy and laity, and consequently the scheme failed. Had the college progressed in this way, it may well have survived into the 20th century. Instead, Parkinson applied his energies to extending the vicarage and improving the church. Canon Parkinson died in 1858, and his successor, and was succeeded by Rev. G. H. Ainger, the son of the first principal, William Ainger. He

468-406: A series of reforms reshaped the local government of the county, creating a system of districts with directly elected councils. The first changes concerned the administration of the poor law , which was carried at parish level. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 provided for the grouping of parishes into poor law unions , each with a central workhouse and an elected board of guardians . Cumberland

520-526: A special train was put on from Whitehaven. On another occasion, the anniversary dinner of the college in 1862, no fewer than 25 toasts were proposed, which attracted the criticism of the Whitehaven Temperance Society. The popularity of the college meant there had to be additional teaching facilities, and in 1863 a new building was completed to the design of William Butterfield , to provide two large lecture rooms. This still stands to

572-460: A visit in 1816 saw an opportunity to found a college for training of ordinands at St Bees. The Lowthers had become very rich through their extensive coal mines in Whitehaven , but were now in a difficult position. They had manipulated the governors of St Bees School to lease the lucrative mineral rights of Whitehaven from St Bees School for a derisory amount by means of a forged document. This

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624-709: Is a historic county in North West England . The historic county is bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish counties of Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire to the north. The area includes the city of Carlisle , part of the Lake District and North Pennines , and the Solway Firth coastline. Cumberland had an administrative function from

676-755: The Cheviot Hills , then followed a tributary of the River Irthing and crossed Denton Fell to the River Tees . From Tees Head the boundary crosses the Pennines to descend Crowdundale Beck, from where it followed the rivers Eden and Eamont to the centre of Ullswater . The line follows Glencoin Beck to the top of Helvellyn ridge at Wrynose Pass and along the River Duddon (near Millom ) to

728-575: The Liberty of Tynedale was later also added to the new county of Carliol for financial reasons. By 1177, Carliol had become known as Cumberland. The border between England and Scotland was made permanent by the Treaty of York in 1237. The boundaries formed in the 12th century were not changed substantially over the county's existence. There are four English historic counties and two Scottish counties that it borders: Northumberland and County Durham to

780-531: The Local Government Act 1888 , the Cumberland County Council was created as the county council for Cumberland, taking over administrative functions from the Court of Quarter Sessions . The Local Government Act 1894 reconstituted the existing sanitary districts as urban districts and rural districts , each with an elected council. The Act of 1888 also allowed any municipal borough with

832-538: The Preston Pilot . In 1823 he was ordained, and became curate of St. Michael's-on-Wyre , Lancashire . Three years later he was appointed theological lecturer or tutor at St Bees Theological College , Cumberland; twenty years later he was its principal. In 1830 he was appointed perpetual curate of Whitworth , near Rochdale This living he resigned in 1841, in favour of his curate. In 1833 he preached at Bishop Charles Sumner 's visitation at Manchester ; and he

884-568: The Public Health Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55) saw the creation of sanitary districts throughout England and Wales. The existing municipal boroughs and local boards became "urban sanitary districts", while "rural sanitary districts" were formed from the remaining areas of the poor law unions. Three more local boards were formed: Arlecdon and Frizington in 1882, Harrington in 1891 and Aspatria in 1892. In addition Workington and Whitehaven received charters of incorporation to become municipal boroughs in 1883 and 1894 respectively. In 1889, under

936-633: The "New College Halls", and the lower hall was for a while a public library. They are now in parochial use for meetings and village organisations. A few of the college archives survived within the St Bees parish records , now deposited with the Cumbria Archive Service at nearby Whitehaven . 54°29′37″N 3°35′39″W  /  54.4936°N 3.5941°W  / 54.4936; -3.5941 Cumberland Cumberland ( / ˈ k ʌ m b ər l ə n d / KUM -bər-lənd )

988-634: The 12th century until 1974, when it was subsumed into Cumbria with Westmorland as well as parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire . It gives its name to the unitary authority area of Cumberland , which has similar boundaries but excludes Penrith . In the Early Middle Ages , Cumbria was part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde in the Hen Ogledd , or "Old North", and its people spoke a Brittonic language now called Cumbric . The first record of

1040-482: The 1870s but picked up again in the 1880s, with a maximum yearly intake of 47 in 1883. However, although St Bees College had been a pioneering institution, the rest of the country had caught up. There were now numerous theological colleges modelled on the St Bees example, but mainly in large cities and affiliated in some way to a university. Standards were rising, and in 1893 the bishops of the Church of England agreed that

1092-713: The Cumberland Athletics Club; and various organisations and companies, such as the local newspapers The Cumberland News , and The West Cumberland Times and Star , and the Cumberland Building Society . It is also mentioned in Macbeth as the kingdom given to Prince Malcolm, and is also the initial setting for the Geoffrey Trease historical novel Cue for Treason . In June 1994, during the 1990s UK local government reform ,

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1144-614: The English crown in 1157, when Henry II of England took possession of the area (from Malcolm IV of Scotland ). Henry II formed two new counties from the former earldom: Westmorland and Carliol – originally an abbreviation of the Latin Carlioliensis '[bishop] of Carlisle'. Westmorland also included areas formerly part of the Earldom of Lancaster . The lead- and silver-mining area of Alston , previously associated with

1196-569: The Local Government Commission published draft recommendations, suggesting as one option a North Cumbria unitary authority (also including Appleby , the historic county town of Westmorland). It also suggested that Cumberland could be reinstated as an independent ceremonial county . The final recommendations, published in October 1994, did not include such recommendations, apparently due to lack of expression of support for

1248-462: The college during the course of its history. Lacking an adequate corporate administrative and financial basis, and also suffering from a loss of much individual interest from subsequent bishops of Chester and bishops of Carlisle , the theological college finally closed in 1895. Bishop George Henry Law of Chester had a severe problem with the shortage of new good clergy in his large and growing diocese. He had local connections with West Cumbria, and on

1300-490: The college in December 1895. St Bees Theological College had an productive and influential life in the history of the Church of England. It trained over 2,600 clergy for the ministry, and had been the model for the new breed of theological colleges. However, the seeds of failure were sown because of its remote geographical position, and the refusal of Parkinson to allow it to come fully under Church management. The closure of

1352-548: The college offered no accommodation, and students lodged in the village. Students had a very good chance of employment in the Diocese of Chester , and the cost of living and fees were much lower than at the two universities. The first principal, William Ainger, was only 31 when appointed, and had no previous experience of running a theological institution. However, the college prospered immediately, with numbers rising to 36 admissions in 1822. Ainger had to work alone until 1826, when

1404-536: The college resulted in three substantial halls becoming available for parochial use. The original lecture room, in the re-roofed monastic chancel, known as the Old College Hall, has had various uses, including as a music room by St Bees School , with which the college has sometimes been confused. It was restored in 2012 and is in regular parish use, and the rehearsal room for the priory choir. The additional lecture rooms designed by Butterfield became known as

1456-425: The college until 1833, when he was appointed a Fellow of Manchester Collegiate church (now the cathedral). Under Parkinson College admissions rose, and he set about schemes for improving the college and buildings. He proposed to incorporate the college with a charter, so it could confer degrees, and to build residential accommodation. Parkinson offered to donate £5,000 personally. However, he would not surrender power to

1508-485: The cost of rebuilding the vicarage-house and the old conventual abbey of St Bees. On 1 March 1857 Parkinson was seized with an attack of paralysis while in the pulpit of Manchester Cathedral. On 28 January 1858 he had a second paralytic seizure at St. Bees, and died on the same day. He was one of the founder Members of the Chetham Society , and served as Vice-President from 1843 to 1858. Parkinson wrote for Blackwood's Magazine , one of his pieces (November 1820) being

1560-589: The east; Westmorland to the south, the Furness part of Lancashire to the southwest; Dumfriesshire to the north and Roxburghshire to the northeast. To the west the county is bounded by the Solway Firth and the Irish Sea . The northern boundary is formed by the Solway Estuary and the border with Scotland running east to Scotch Knowe at Kershope Burn. The boundary runs south from Scotch Knowe along

1612-467: The first time in Whitehaven, over 3,000 people came to hear him. Although principal, he took very seriously his responsibility for Whitehaven with 20,000 people, which was still part of the ecclesiastical parish of St Bees. Whitehaven had three chapels of ease; Trinity, St James and St Nicholas, each with a curate. Buddicom died in 1846. His successor was Richard Parkinson , who had been a lecturer at

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1664-513: The future county was part of Scotland, although some villages around Millom , which were the possessions of the Earl of Northumbria , had been incorporated into Yorkshire . In AD 1092, King William Rufus of England invaded the Carlisle district, settling it with colonists. He created an Earldom of Carlisle, and granted the territory to Ranulf le Meschin . In 1133, Carlisle was made the see of

1716-556: The increasing scope of the training course obliged him to take on an assistant, the Rev. Richard Parkinson, and to double the fees to £10 a term. Although Ainger also carried out all the duties of a parish priest, he had the time and energy to make the reputation of the college grow. Shortly before Ainger's death in 1840 at the age of 55, St Bees College was mentioned specifically in national legislation along with Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and St David's College, Lampeter . Ainger's successor

1768-457: The lowest level of local government. Cumberland Ward included Carlisle and Wigton as well as parts of Inglewood Forest . The parish of Stanwix just to the north of Carlisle was partly in both Eskdale and Cumberland wards. * Parts or all of these parishes and townships constituted the City of Carlisle, and were largely outside the jurisdiction of Cumberland Ward. During the 19th century

1820-430: The male inhabitants for the county's defence from Scottish troop incursions. Each ward was composed of a number of parishes, areas originally formed for ecclesiastical administration. In common with other northern England counties, many ancient parishes in Cumberland were very large, often consisting of a number of distinct townships and hamlets. Many of these ancient parishes eventually became civil parishes and form

1872-419: The merging of small or lightly populated areas into larger units. A review was carried in Cumberland in 1934. The following table lists the urban and rural districts before and after the changes. The distribution of population in 1971 was as follows:1971 Census; Small Area Statistics In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 , the administrative county and county borough were abolished and their former area

1924-411: The monastic church to house the college, and donated land for a vicarage. They offered to Bishop Law the patronage of the living, which they held, so that the principal of the new college would also be the vicar of St Bees. Law grasped this opportunity, and so was born St Bees Theological College. This was to be a pioneering institution; the first Church of England College for the training of clergy outside

1976-454: The principal of the college and also its proprietor. The college drew students both from England and from Wales. It catered particularly for those prospective ordinands for whom the cost of a traditional university degree course would have been prohibitive. They attended lectures and had their library within the rebuilt chancel of St Bees Priory , whilst living in lodgings throughout the parish. Over 2,600 clergy are believed to have trained at

2028-501: The proposal to the commission. The Grass-of-Parnassus was the county flower . It had been associated with the county since 1951, when it was included in the coat of arms granted to the Cumberland County Council. It subsequently featured in the arms granted to Cumbria County Council and Copeland Borough Council , in both cases to represent Cumberland. The flower was also attributed to Cumbria in 2002 as part of

2080-599: The sea . The highest point of the county is Scafell Pike , at 3,208 feet (978 m), the highest mountain in England. Carlisle is the county town . The Earldom of Carlisle was partitioned into baronies. When the County of Cumberland was created, the baronies were subdivided as wards , a county sub-division also used in Durham , Northumberland and Westmorland . These originated as military subdivisions used to organise

2132-500: The south of the priory and is known as the New College Halls. Ainger was principal until 1871, when he moved to be vicar of Rothbury . The new principal was Canon E H Knowles, who had been a mathematics and classics master at St Bees School from 1843 to 1864, then headmaster of Kenilworth Grammar School. He had close ties with the college, having married Revd. G. H. Ainger's sister. College numbers initially dropped during

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2184-672: The term 'Cumberland' appears in AD 945, when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the area was ceded to Malcolm I , king of Alba (Scotland), by King Edmund I of England . As with 'Cymru' , the native Welsh name for Wales , the names 'Cumberland' and 'Cumbria' are derived from kombroges in Common Brittonic , which originally meant "compatriots". At the time of the Domesday Book (AD 1086) most of

2236-416: The universities of Oxford and Cambridge. By 1817 the repair work was complete. The roofless monastic chancel had been restored, and became the main lecture room for the college. News of the college soon spread, and it first opened to admit 20 students, who paid £5 a term. Although the principal would also perform all the duties of the vicar, the college was effectively a private business. Perhaps surprisingly,

2288-473: Was elected (on 20 May 1833) as fellow of the collegiate chapter. In 1837, and again in 1838, he was Hulsean lecturer at Cambridge. His retention of the fellowship (and then canonry) of the collegiate church after his appointment in September 1846 as principal of St Bees Theological College , and incumbent of St Bees Priory , led to some bad feeling. He was a liberal donor to church objects, and gave towards

2340-430: Was an English clergyman , known as a canon of Manchester Cathedral , college principal, theologian and antiquarian. The son of John Parkinson, by his wife Margaret Blackburne, he was born at Woodgates, Admarsh , near Lancaster , on 17 September 1797. He was educated at the grammar schools of Chipping, Hawkstead, and Sedbergh , and at St John's College, Cambridge , where he matriculated in December 1815. At Sedbergh he

2392-559: Was announced that on 1 April 2023 local government in Cumbria would be reorganised into two unitary authorities , one of which is Cumberland and includes most of the historic county, with the exception of Penrith and the surrounding area. The new authority covers 77% of the area and 90% of the population of the historic county. 54°45′N 3°00′W  /  54.750°N 3.000°W  / 54.750; -3.000 Richard Parkinson (priest) Richard Parkinson (1797–1858)

2444-605: Was combined with Westmorland and parts of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire to form the new county of Cumbria . The area from Cumberland went on to form the districts of Carlisle , Allerdale , Copeland and part of Eden . The name continues in use as a geographical and cultural term, and it survives in Cumberland sausages ; HMS Cumberland ; the Cumberland Fell Runners Club;

2496-562: Was divided into nine unions: Alston with Garrigill, Bootle, Brampton, Carlisle, Cockermouth, Longtown, Penrith, Whitehaven and Wigton. In the following year the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 was passed, reforming boroughs and cities in England and Wales as municipal boroughs with a uniform constitution. The corporation of the City of Carlisle was accordingly remodelled with a popularly elected council consisting of

2548-471: Was now coming to light, mainly through the efforts of the Rev W Wilson, headmaster of St Bees School, who whistle-blew, but was sacked for his pains in 1816. But the story was out, and the Lowthers were anxious for an opportunity to restore their reputation. They were receptive to Bishop Law's suggestion that they fund the building of a college at St Bees. The Lowthers offered to restore the ruined chancel of

2600-502: Was the Rev. Richard Buddicom, aged 60, who had quite a different theological standpoint and came from the evangelical wing of the church. He was an early supporter of the Church Missionary Society , and was elected to the newly built chapel of St George's, Everton, in 1813, where he remained until coming to St Bees. He had published a large body of sermons and had a huge reputation as a preacher. When he preached for

2652-519: Was the last pupil who studied mathematics under John Dawson , and at Cambridge his tutor was Thomas Calvert . He graduated B.A. in 1820, proceeding M.A. in 1824, B.D. in 1838, and D.D. on 10 December 1851. On leaving Cambridge in 1820, Parkinson was for a short time master of Lea School, near Preston . He edited the Preston Sentinel , a conservative newspaper, during its one year's existence (1821), and contributed to its successor,

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2704-455: Was to be known as the great builder of the college and restorer of the priory. The college continued to prosper, and during the 1860s annual admissions were frequently over 40. College life seems to have been particularly lively at this time, with many grand celebrations. There was a gala day at the Priory when Ainger was presented with a handsome portrait costing £100. The Militia band played, and

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