Former pupils of

St Bees School , motto_translation = Enter so that you may make progress , established = (reformed 2015–2018) , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label ...

, a coeducational independent school founded in 1583, are styled Old St Beghians. An "Old St Beghians' Club" was founded in 1908 by master J. W. Aldous, and today as the Old St Beghians' Society it provides a link between old boys (and girls) and the school. Amongst other things it organises an "Old St Beghians Day" once a year, publishes a magazine called the ''Old St Beghian'' twice a year and holds and participates in many golfing tournaments. There are several regional branches of the society which traditionally hold annual meals and get-togethers.

Notable alumni (by order of birth date)

* William Benn (1600–1680), a Puritan Divine * Archbishop Thomas Lamplugh (1615–1691), Bishop of Exeter, and Archbishop of York *

Sir Joseph Williamson Sir Joseph Williamson, PRS (25 July 1633 – 3 October 1701) was an English civil servant, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1665 and 1701 and in the Irish House of Commons between 1692 and ...

(1633–1701), English politician, Secretary of State, the second president of the Royal Society. *

Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Whitehaven Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 November 1642 – 17 January 1706) was an English gentleman and landowner at Whitehaven. Lowther was born at Whitehaven, in the parish of St Bees, Cumberland, the son of Sir Christopher Lowther, 1st Baro ...

(9 November 1642 – 17 January 1706), MP for Cumberland 1665 to 1701, and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty from 1689 to 1696. * Thomas Tickell (1686–1740), man of letters and minor poet. Under Secretary of State 1717 to Joseph Addison, contributor to "Spectator" and "Guardian". *

Vincent Perronet Vincent Perronet (1693–1785) was an Anglo-Swiss clergyman of the Church of England, vicar of Shoreham and an early Methodist. Life Vincent was the youngest son of David and Philothea Perronet and was born in London on 11 December 1693. His f ...

(1693–1785), Anglo-Swiss clergyman of the Church of England, vicar of Shoreham, and an early Methodist. * The Rev. William Gilpin (1724–1804), painter and clergyman who helped originate the idea of the picturesque. * Thomas Postlethwaite (1731–98), Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University *

Edward Christian Edward Christian (3 March 1758 – 29 March 1823) was an English judge and law professor. He was the older brother of Fletcher Christian, leader of the mutiny on the ''Bounty''. Life Edward Christian was one of the three sons of Charles Ch ...

(1758–1823), first Downing Professor of the Laws of England, older brother of the notorious mutineer Fletcher Christian. * Peter Heywood (1772–1831), Royal Navy hydrographer, retired as a captain although he was a pardoned Bounty mutineer. Published the first Tahitian-English dictionary. * Robert Scott (1811–87), Master of Balliol College, Oxford, joint author of Liddell and Scott's ''Greek-English Lexicon'' *

John Peile John Peile (24 April 1838 – 9 October 1910) was an English philologist. Life He was born at Whitehaven, the son of geologist Williamson Peile, F.G.S., who died when his son was five years old.Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement ...

(1838-1910), Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University *

George Abraham Grierson Sir George Abraham Grierson (7 January 1851 – 9 March 1941) was an Irish administrator and linguist in British India. He worked in the Indian Civil Service but an interest in philology and linguistics led him to pursue studies in the languag ...

(1851-1941), authored and supervised the Linguistic Survey of India. *

John Lindow Calderwood John Lindow Calderwood CBE (22 January 1888 – 7 February 1960) was an English solicitor, a British Army officer and an independent politician in Wiltshire, in the west of England. He was chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1949 until hi ...

(1888–1960), lawyer and politician * John Charles Keith Dowding (1891-1965), Commodore of the Merchant men on PQ17 North Russian Convoy * Lieutenant-General John Hawkesworth (1893–1945), Infantry commander during the Second World War. * Captain

John Fox-Russell Captain John Fox Russell, VC, MC (27 January 1893 – 6 November 1917) was a Welsh physician, a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

(1893–1917), RAMC officer and posthumous Victoria Cross (VC) recipient, killed in Mesopotamia. * The Rt. Rev.

George Algernon West George Algernon West, MM (17 December 1893 – 25 May 1980) was a British Anglican missionary who spent many years in Burma, first as a missionary for the Society for Propagation of the Gospel and then as the Lord Bishop of Rangoon. In the la ...

(1893–1980), Bishop of Rangoon, (1935–1954). * Captain

William Leefe Robinson William Leefe Robinson VC (14 July 1895 – 31 December 1918) was the first British pilot to shoot down a German airship over Britain during the First World War. For this, he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallan ...

(1895–1918),

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

officer and VC recipient who shot down the first airship over Britain. * Captain Richard Wain (1896–1917), Royal Tank Corps officer and posthumous VC recipient, who showed great bravery during the initial advance of the Battle of Cambrai. *

Robert McCance Robert Alexander McCance, CBE, FRS (9 December 1898 in Ulster– 3 March 1993 in Cambridge) was a British paediatrician, physiologist, biochemist and nutritionist and was the first Professor of Experimental Medicine at the University of Cambridge ...

(1898–1993), Professor of Experimental Medicine, Cambridge University. * Owen Lattimore (1900–1989), noted Sinologist who was accused by

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

of being the top Soviet agent in the U.S.A. * E.B. Ford (1901–1988), leading ecological geneticist. * George Rodger (1908–1995), co-founder of Magnum Photos. * William Frankland (1912–2020), Noted doctor and immunologist who invented the

pollen count A pollen count is the measurement of the number of grains of pollen in a cubic meter of air. High pollen counts can sometimes lead to increased rates of allergic reaction for those with allergic disorders. Usually, the counts are announced for sp ...

. * Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker (1912–1986), Known as the one-armed air marshal, he lost his right arm in 1942 attempting to rescue crashed

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

aircrew. * General Sir William Scotter (1922–1981), Senior NATO commander, decorated in Burma during

WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He reviewed the St Bees C.C.F., at St Bees, in 1977. * Douglas Ferreira (1929–2003), formerly General Manager of the

Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a minimum gauge heritage railway in Cumbria, England. The line runs from Ravenglass to Dalegarth Station near Boot in the valley of Eskdale, in the Lake District. At Ravenglass the line ends at Ravengla ...

. *

Bryan Pringle Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2002) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in television, film and theatre productions. Life and career Born in Glascote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, he was brought up in the L ...

, television and film actor *

Alan Birkinshaw Alan Birkinshaw, FRGS (born 15 June 1944) is a British film director, writer, and television and film producer. The son of two physicians, Birkinshaw always wanted to be an actor, but at 17, having failed his audition at LAMDA, he decided tha ...

(born 1944), film director * David Pearson (librarian) (born 1955), Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries at the City of London Corporation *

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

(b. 1955), comedian, writer, and actor (''

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC One from 1983 to 1989. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robins ...

'', '' Mr. Bean''). * Adrian Johnston (born 1961), musician and composer. * Stuart Lancaster (born 1969), England Rugby coach * Richard Baker (Scottish politician) (b. 1974) *

Matthew Postlethwaite Matthew Postlethwaite (born 25 September 1991 in Whitehaven, England) is a British actor, writer, singer, artist and entrepreneur. He produced, created and starred in the 2020 short film ''The Great Artist''. His production company, Purpose Co. ...

(b. 1991), actor, singer and artist ( ''Peaky Blinders'')

Citations

External links

St Bees School Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Old St. Beghians Saint Beghians Cumbria-related lists

Notable alumni (by order of birth date)

See also

Citations

External links