St Bees Priory
54°29′38″N 3°35′36″W / 54.493777°N 3.593461°W
St Bees Priory Church in 2008 | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | The Priory Church of Saint Mary and Saint Bega |
| Other names | Priory Church of SS Mary and Bega |
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | Ca. 1130 |
| Disestablished | 1539 |
| Mother house | St Mary's Abbey, York |
| Diocese | Carlisle |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | William Meschin |
| Site | |
| Location | St Bees, Cumbria, England |
| Visible remains | Nave, tower crossing, and transepts: still used as the parish church. Monastic chancel: formerly the theological college, now used as parish rooms. |
| Public access | Yes |
St Bees Priory is the parish church of St Bees, Cumbria, in England. There is evidence of a pre-Norman religious site, on which a Benedictine priory was founded by the first Norman Lord of Egremont William Meschin. It was dedicated by Archbishop Thurstan of York, sometime between 1120 and 1135.
Sculptural and charter evidence suggests the site was a principal centre of religious influence in the west of the county, and an extensive parish developed, with detached portions covering much of the Western Lakes.
The priory was dissolved in 1539. Since then, the buildings have served as the Anglican church of St Bees parish, and are now Grade I listed buildings.