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 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, 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. Growth 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 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 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 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