The lands previously owned by the Monastery of St Oswald at Bamburgh were bought from Henry VIII by John Forster. Elizabeth I then made him Constable of Bamburgh Castle, which James I gave outright to a successor Sir Claudius Forster. The combination of the lands from the monastery and the castle included North Sunderland and Fleetham and remained in the Forster family until sold to Nathaniel, Lord Crewe in 1704 after his marriage to Dorothy Forster in 1699, enabling Dorothy and her brother General Tom Forster to pay off the substantial debts accrued by the beginning of the 18th century.

In 1834 the Lord Crewe Charity built this Parish Church, designed by Anthony Salvin, at North Sunderland, carving this new parish out of the existing parish at Bamburgh. 

Through the nineteenth century the Charity spent significant sums on North Sunderland harbour, responding to demand from shipmasters, as it was a rare safe haven on the coast and the Trustees wished to build it up as a centre for the growing herring fishery and to enable their farmers to export corn and lime. As the harbour developed, so did residential development at the coast. These ‘Sea Houses’ eventually became the place name, alongside the continuing identity of North Sunderland. Tourism has now far outpaced traditional industries, but Seahouses is still a hub for the local area. St Pauls continues to serve these communities in the tradition of the Monastery of St Oswald and in the name of Jesus Christ welcomes you today.