diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/CoreBootManager.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/CoreBootManager.cs
index eda2cf494c..9884fab1ce 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/CoreBootManager.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/CoreBootManager.cs
@@ -30,10 +30,21 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core
 		private bool _isInitialized = false;
 		private bool _isStarted = false;
 		private bool _isComplete = false;
-
+        private readonly UmbracoApplicationBase _umbracoApplication;
 		protected ApplicationContext ApplicationContext { get; private set; }
 
-		public virtual IBootManager Initialize()
+	    protected UmbracoApplicationBase UmbracoApplication
+	    {
+	        get { return _umbracoApplication; }
+	    }
+
+	    public CoreBootManager(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication)
+        {            
+            if (umbracoApplication == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("umbracoApplication");
+            _umbracoApplication = umbracoApplication;
+        }
+
+	    public virtual IBootManager Initialize()
 		{
 			if (_isInitialized)
 				throw new InvalidOperationException("The boot manager has already been initialized");
@@ -56,15 +67,41 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core
             //initialize the DatabaseContext
 			dbContext.Initialize();
 
+            InitializeApplicationEventsResolver();
+
 			InitializeResolvers();
+            
+            //now we need to call the initialize methods
+            ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.ApplicationEventHandlers
+                .ForEach(x => x.OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplication, ApplicationContext));
+
 
 			_isInitialized = true;
 
 			return this;
 		}
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Special method to initialize the ApplicationEventsResolver and any modifications required for it such 
+        /// as adding custom types to the resolver.
+        /// </summary>
+        protected virtual void InitializeApplicationEventsResolver()
+        {
+            //find and initialize the application startup handlers, we need to initialize this resolver here because
+            //it is a special resolver where they need to be instantiated first before any other resolvers in order to bind to 
+            //events and to call their events during bootup.
+            //ApplicationStartupHandler.RegisterHandlers();
+            //... and set the special flag to let us resolve before frozen resolution
+            ApplicationEventsResolver.Current = new ApplicationEventsResolver(
+                PluginManager.Current.ResolveApplicationStartupHandlers())
+            {
+                CanResolveBeforeFrozen = true
+            };
+        }
+
 		/// <summary>
-		/// Fires after initialization and calls the callback to allow for customizations to occur
+		/// Fires after initialization and calls the callback to allow for customizations to occur & 
+        /// Ensure that the OnApplicationStarting methods of the IApplicationEvents are called
 		/// </summary>
 		/// <param name="afterStartup"></param>
 		/// <returns></returns>
@@ -78,6 +115,10 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core
 				afterStartup(ApplicationContext.Current);	
 			}
 
+            //call OnApplicationStarting of each application events handler
+            ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.ApplicationEventHandlers
+                .ForEach(x => x.OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplication, ApplicationContext));
+
 			_isStarted = true;
 
 			return this;
@@ -104,8 +145,15 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core
 				afterComplete(ApplicationContext.Current);	
 			}
 
+            //call OnApplicationStarting of each application events handler
+            ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.ApplicationEventHandlers
+                .ForEach(x => x.OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplication, ApplicationContext));
+
 			_isComplete = true;
 
+            // we're ready to serve content!
+            ApplicationContext.IsReady = true;
+
 			return this;
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/IApplicationEventHandler.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/IApplicationEventHandler.cs
similarity index 60%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/IApplicationEventHandler.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Core/IApplicationEventHandler.cs
index 63c34d1589..e382aa8568 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/IApplicationEventHandler.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/IApplicationEventHandler.cs
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
-using Umbraco.Core;
 using umbraco.interfaces;
 
-namespace Umbraco.Web
+namespace Umbraco.Core
 {
 	/// <summary>
 	/// Custom IApplicationStartupHandler that auto subscribes to the applications events
@@ -11,23 +10,23 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 		/// <summary>
 		/// ApplicationContext is created and other static objects that require initialization have been setup
 		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="httpApplication"></param>
+		/// <param name="umbracoApplication"></param>
 		/// <param name="applicationContext"></param>
-		void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext);
+		void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext);
 		
 		/// <summary>
 		/// All resolvers have been initialized but resolution is not frozen so they can be modified in this method
 		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="httpApplication"></param>
+        /// <param name="umbracoApplication"></param>
 		/// <param name="applicationContext"></param>
-		void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext);
+        void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext);
 		
 		/// <summary>
 		/// Bootup is completed, this allows you to perform any other bootup logic required for the application.
 		/// Resolution is frozen so now they can be used to resolve instances.
 		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="httpApplication"></param>
+        /// <param name="umbracoApplication"></param>
 		/// <param name="applicationContext"></param>
-		void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext);
+        void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext);
 	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/ApplicationEventsResolver.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/ObjectResolution/ApplicationEventsResolver.cs
similarity index 90%
rename from src/Umbraco.Web/ApplicationEventsResolver.cs
rename to src/Umbraco.Core/ObjectResolution/ApplicationEventsResolver.cs
index 93edaae441..7f5b6f6365 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/ApplicationEventsResolver.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/ObjectResolution/ApplicationEventsResolver.cs
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Linq;
-using Umbraco.Core.ObjectResolution;
 using umbraco.interfaces;
 
-namespace Umbraco.Web
+namespace Umbraco.Core.ObjectResolution
 {
 	/// <summary>
 	/// A resolver to return all IApplicationEvents objects
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/PluginManager.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/PluginManager.cs
index 4f1f18c2ab..f0514af628 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/PluginManager.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/PluginManager.cs
@@ -396,6 +396,15 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core
         private readonly HashSet<TypeList> _types = new HashSet<TypeList>();
         private IEnumerable<Assembly> _assemblies;
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Returns all available IApplicationStartupHandler objects
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <returns></returns>
+        internal IEnumerable<Type> ResolveApplicationStartupHandlers()
+        {
+            return ResolveTypes<IApplicationStartupHandler>();
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Returns all classes attributed with XsltExtensionAttribute attribute
         /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Umbraco.Core.csproj b/src/Umbraco.Core/Umbraco.Core.csproj
index 96e43ad6a7..2d8ea1de40 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Umbraco.Core.csproj
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Umbraco.Core.csproj
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Events\RollbackEventArgs.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Events\SaveEventArgs.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Events\SendToPublishEventArgs.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="IApplicationEventHandler.cs" />
     <Compile Include="MacroPropertyTypeResolver.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Models\ContentBase.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Models\ContentExtensions.cs" />
@@ -195,6 +196,7 @@
     <Compile Include="Models\Task.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Models\TaskType.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Models\Template.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="ObjectResolution\ApplicationEventsResolver.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Persistence\Caching\InMemoryCacheProvider.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Persistence\Caching\IRepositoryCacheProvider.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Persistence\Caching\NullCacheProvider.cs" />
@@ -650,6 +652,7 @@
     <Compile Include="ReadLock.cs" />
     <Compile Include="TypeFinder.cs" />
     <Compile Include="TypeHelper.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="UmbracoApplicationBase.cs" />
     <Compile Include="UpgradeableReadLock.cs" />
     <Compile Include="DelegateEqualityComparer.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Media\IEmbedProvider.cs" />
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/UmbracoApplicationBase.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/UmbracoApplicationBase.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..df241c2bd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/UmbracoApplicationBase.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Web;
+using System.Web.Hosting;
+using Umbraco.Core.Logging;
+
+namespace Umbraco.Core
+{
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The abstract class for the Umbraco HttpApplication
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// This is exposed in the core so that we can have the IApplicationEventHandler in the core project so that 
+    /// IApplicationEventHandler's can fire/execute outside of the web contenxt (i.e. in console applications)
+    /// </remarks>
+    public abstract class UmbracoApplicationBase : System.Web.HttpApplication
+    {
+
+        public static event EventHandler ApplicationStarting;
+        public static event EventHandler ApplicationStarted;
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Boots up the Umbraco application
+        /// </summary>
+        internal void StartApplication(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+            //boot up the application
+            GetBootManager()
+                .Initialize()
+                .Startup(appContext => OnApplicationStarting(sender, e))
+                .Complete(appContext => OnApplicationStarted(sender, e));
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Initializes the Umbraco application
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="sender"></param>
+        /// <param name="e"></param>
+        protected void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+            StartApplication(sender, e);
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Developers can override this method to modify objects on startup
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="sender"></param>
+        /// <param name="e"></param>
+        protected virtual void OnApplicationStarting(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+            if (ApplicationStarting != null)
+                ApplicationStarting(sender, e);
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Developers can override this method to do anything they need to do once the application startup routine is completed.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="sender"></param>
+        /// <param name="e"></param>
+        protected virtual void OnApplicationStarted(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+            if (ApplicationStarted != null)
+                ApplicationStarted(sender, e);
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// A method that can be overridden to invoke code when the application has an error.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="sender"></param>
+        /// <param name="e"></param>
+        protected virtual void OnApplicationError(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+
+        }
+
+        protected void Application_Error(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+            // Code that runs when an unhandled error occurs
+
+            // Get the exception object.
+            var exc = Server.GetLastError();
+
+            // Ignore HTTP errors
+            if (exc.GetType() == typeof(HttpException))
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+
+            LogHelper.Error<UmbracoApplicationBase>("An unhandled exception occurred", exc);
+
+            OnApplicationError(sender, e);
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// A method that can be overridden to invoke code when the application shuts down.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="sender"></param>
+        /// <param name="e"></param>
+        protected virtual void OnApplicationEnd(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+
+        }
+
+        protected void Application_End(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+            if (SystemUtilities.GetCurrentTrustLevel() == AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Unrestricted)
+            {
+                LogHelper.Info<UmbracoApplicationBase>("Application shutdown. Reason: " + HostingEnvironment.ShutdownReason);
+            }
+            OnApplicationEnd(sender, e);
+        }
+
+        protected abstract IBootManager GetBootManager();
+
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Tests/BootManagers/CoreBootManagerTests.cs b/src/Umbraco.Tests/BootManagers/CoreBootManagerTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..92212506ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Tests/BootManagers/CoreBootManagerTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Web;
+using NUnit.Framework;
+using Umbraco.Core;
+using Umbraco.Core.ObjectResolution;
+
+namespace Umbraco.Tests.BootManagers
+{
+    [TestFixture]
+    public class CoreBootManagerTests
+    {
+
+        private TestApp _testApp;
+
+        [SetUp]
+        public void Setup()
+        {
+            _testApp = new TestApp();
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// test application using a CoreBootManager instance to boot
+        /// </summary>
+        public class TestApp : UmbracoApplicationBase
+        {
+            protected override IBootManager GetBootManager()
+            {
+                return new TestBootManager(this);
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Test boot manager to add a custom application event handler
+        /// </summary>
+        public class TestBootManager : CoreBootManager
+        {
+            public TestBootManager(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication)
+                : base(umbracoApplication)
+            {
+            }
+
+            protected override void InitializeApplicationEventsResolver()
+            {
+                //create an empty resolver so we can add our own custom ones (don't type find)
+                ApplicationEventsResolver.Current = new ApplicationEventsResolver(
+                    Enumerable.Empty<Type>())
+                    {
+                        CanResolveBeforeFrozen = true
+                    };
+                ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.AddType<TestApplicationEventHandler>();
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// test event handler
+        /// </summary>
+        public class TestApplicationEventHandler : IApplicationEventHandler
+        {
+            public static bool Initialized = false;
+            public static bool Starting = false;
+            public static bool Started = false;
+
+            public void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+            {
+                Initialized = true;
+            }
+
+            public void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+            {
+                Starting = true;
+            }
+
+            public void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+            {
+                Started = true;
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Test]
+        public void Handle_IApplicationEventHandler_Objects_Outside_Web_Context()
+        {
+            _testApp.StartApplication(_testApp, new EventArgs());
+
+            Assert.IsTrue(TestApplicationEventHandler.Initialized);
+            Assert.IsTrue(TestApplicationEventHandler.Starting);
+            Assert.IsTrue(TestApplicationEventHandler.Started);
+        }
+
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Tests/Umbraco.Tests.csproj b/src/Umbraco.Tests/Umbraco.Tests.csproj
index a729aacabb..814bdb938e 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Tests/Umbraco.Tests.csproj
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Tests/Umbraco.Tests.csproj
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <Compile Include="Auditing\AuditTests.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="BootManagers\CoreBootManagerTests.cs" />
     <Compile Include="BusinessLogic\DictionaryTest.cs" />
     <Compile Include="CodeFirst\Attributes\AliasAttribute.cs" />
     <Compile Include="CodeFirst\Attributes\ContentTypeAttribute.cs" />
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/CacheHelperExtensions.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/CacheHelperExtensions.cs
index 6e81bd844d..9ecc14e785 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/CacheHelperExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/CacheHelperExtensions.cs
@@ -24,31 +24,31 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 		/// </remarks>
 		public sealed class CacheHelperApplicationEventListener : IApplicationEventHandler
 		{
-			public void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+            public void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
 			{
-				if (ApplicationContext.Current != null)
+                if (applicationContext != null)
 				{
 					//bind to events to clear the cache, after publish, after media save and after member save
 
 					Document.AfterPublish
 						+= (sender, args) =>
-						   ApplicationContext.Current.ApplicationCache.ClearPartialViewCache();
+                           applicationContext.ApplicationCache.ClearPartialViewCache();
 
 					global::umbraco.cms.businesslogic.media.Media.AfterSave
 						+= (sender, args) =>
-						   ApplicationContext.Current.ApplicationCache.ClearPartialViewCache();
+                           applicationContext.ApplicationCache.ClearPartialViewCache();
 
 					global::umbraco.cms.businesslogic.member.Member.AfterSave
 						+= (sender, args) =>
-						   ApplicationContext.Current.ApplicationCache.ClearPartialViewCache();
+                           applicationContext.ApplicationCache.ClearPartialViewCache();
 				}
 			}
 
-			public void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+            public void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
 			{
 			}
 
-			public void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+            public void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
 			{
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/LegacyScheduledTasks.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/LegacyScheduledTasks.cs
index 1ebf9d7903..f79b383b06 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/LegacyScheduledTasks.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/LegacyScheduledTasks.cs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ using System.Text;
 using System.Threading;
 using System.Web;
 using System.Web.Caching;
+using Umbraco.Core;
 using Umbraco.Core.Logging;
 using global::umbraco.BusinessLogic;
 
@@ -17,17 +18,20 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 
 	internal sealed class LegacyScheduledTasks : IApplicationEventHandler
 	{
-		Timer pingTimer;
-		Timer publishingTimer;
-		CacheItemRemovedCallback OnCacheRemove;
+		Timer _pingTimer;
+		Timer _publishingTimer;
+		CacheItemRemovedCallback _onCacheRemove;
 
-		public void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, Core.ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+        public void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, Core.ApplicationContext applicationContext)
 		{
 			// nothing yet
 		}
 
-		public void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, Core.ApplicationContext applicationContext)
-		{
+        public void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, Core.ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+        {
+            if (umbracoApplication.Context == null)
+                return;
+
 			// time to setup the tasks
 
 			// these are the legacy tasks
@@ -35,16 +39,16 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 			// of course we should have a proper scheduler, see #U4-809
 
 			// ping/keepalive
-			pingTimer = new Timer(new TimerCallback(global::umbraco.presentation.keepAliveService.PingUmbraco), httpApplication.Context, 60000, 300000);
+            _pingTimer = new Timer(new TimerCallback(global::umbraco.presentation.keepAliveService.PingUmbraco), umbracoApplication.Context, 60000, 300000);
 
 			// (un)publishing _and_ also run scheduled tasks (!)
-			publishingTimer = new Timer(new TimerCallback(global::umbraco.presentation.publishingService.CheckPublishing), httpApplication.Context, 30000, 60000);
+            _publishingTimer = new Timer(new TimerCallback(global::umbraco.presentation.publishingService.CheckPublishing), umbracoApplication.Context, 30000, 60000);
 
 			// log scrubbing
 			AddTask(LOG_SCRUBBER_TASK_NAME, GetLogScrubbingInterval());
 		}
 
-		public void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, Core.ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+        public void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplicationBase httpApplication, Core.ApplicationContext applicationContext)
 		{
 			// nothing
 		}
@@ -88,10 +92,10 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 
 		private void AddTask(string name, int seconds)
 		{
-			OnCacheRemove = new CacheItemRemovedCallback(CacheItemRemoved);
+			_onCacheRemove = new CacheItemRemovedCallback(CacheItemRemoved);
 			HttpRuntime.Cache.Insert(name, seconds, null,
 				DateTime.Now.AddSeconds(seconds), System.Web.Caching.Cache.NoSlidingExpiration,
-				CacheItemPriority.NotRemovable, OnCacheRemove);
+				CacheItemPriority.NotRemovable, _onCacheRemove);
 		}
 
 		public void CacheItemRemoved(string k, object v, CacheItemRemovedReason r)
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Umbraco.Web.csproj b/src/Umbraco.Web/Umbraco.Web.csproj
index 5ce59b214e..24cc484f92 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/Umbraco.Web.csproj
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/Umbraco.Web.csproj
@@ -245,7 +245,6 @@
       <Link>Properties\SolutionInfo.cs</Link>
     </Compile>
     <Compile Include="ApplicationContextExtensions.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="ApplicationEventsResolver.cs" />
     <Compile Include="CacheHelperExtensions.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Dynamics\DynamicExpression.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Dynamics\DynamicGrouping.cs" />
@@ -290,7 +289,6 @@
       <SubType>ASPXCodeBehind</SubType>
     </Compile>
     <Compile Include="HtmlHelperRenderExtensions.cs" />
-    <Compile Include="IApplicationEventHandler.cs" />
     <Compile Include="IPublishedStore.cs" />
     <Compile Include="IPublishedMediaStore.cs" />
     <Compile Include="LegacyScheduledTasks.cs" />
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/UmbracoApplication.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/UmbracoApplication.cs
index c3d32c2ce2..7a47847b5e 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/UmbracoApplication.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/UmbracoApplication.cs
@@ -15,99 +15,12 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 	/// <summary>
 	/// The Umbraco global.asax class
 	/// </summary>
-	public class UmbracoApplication : System.Web.HttpApplication
+    public class UmbracoApplication : UmbracoApplicationBase
 	{
-		public UmbracoApplication()
-		{
-			_bootManager = new WebBootManager(this);
-		}
-
-		private readonly IBootManager _bootManager;
-
-		public static event EventHandler ApplicationStarting;		
-		public static event EventHandler ApplicationStarted;
-
-		/// <summary>
-		/// Initializes the Umbraco application
-		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="sender"></param>
-		/// <param name="e"></param>
-		protected void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
-		{
-			//boot up the application
-			_bootManager
-				.Initialize()
-				.Startup(appContext => OnApplicationStarting(sender, e))
-				.Complete(appContext => OnApplicationStarted(sender, e));
-		}
-
-		/// <summary>
-		/// Developers can override this method to modify objects on startup
-		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="sender"></param>
-		/// <param name="e"></param>
-		protected virtual void OnApplicationStarting(object sender, EventArgs e)
-		{
-			if (ApplicationStarting != null)
-				ApplicationStarting(sender, e);
-		}
-
-		/// <summary>
-		/// Developers can override this method to do anything they need to do once the application startup routine is completed.
-		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="sender"></param>
-		/// <param name="e"></param>
-		protected virtual void OnApplicationStarted(object sender, EventArgs e)
-		{
-			if (ApplicationStarted != null)
-				ApplicationStarted(sender, e);
-		}
-
-		/// <summary>
-		/// A method that can be overridden to invoke code when the application has an error.
-		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="sender"></param>
-		/// <param name="e"></param>
-		protected virtual void OnApplicationError(object sender, EventArgs e)
-		{
-			
-		}
-
-		protected void Application_Error(object sender, EventArgs e)
-		{
-			// Code that runs when an unhandled error occurs
-
-			// Get the exception object.
-			var exc = Server.GetLastError();
-
-			// Ignore HTTP errors
-			if (exc.GetType() == typeof(HttpException))
-			{
-				return;
-			}
-			
-			LogHelper.Error<UmbracoApplication>("An unhandled exception occurred", exc);
-			
-			OnApplicationError(sender, e);
-		}
-
-		/// <summary>
-		/// A method that can be overridden to invoke code when the application shuts down.
-		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="sender"></param>
-		/// <param name="e"></param>
-		protected virtual void OnApplicationEnd(object sender, EventArgs e)
-		{
-			
-		}
-
-		protected void Application_End(object sender, EventArgs e)
-		{
-			if (SystemUtilities.GetCurrentTrustLevel() == AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Unrestricted)
-			{
-				LogHelper.Info<UmbracoApplication>("Application shutdown. Reason: " + HostingEnvironment.ShutdownReason);
-			}
-			OnApplicationEnd(sender, e);
-		}
+		
+	    protected override IBootManager GetBootManager()
+	    {
+            return new WebBootManager(this);	        
+	    }
 	}
 }
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/WebBootManager.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/WebBootManager.cs
index 58992253ff..2127f0f014 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/WebBootManager.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/WebBootManager.cs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ using Umbraco.Core;
 using Umbraco.Core.Configuration;
 using Umbraco.Core.Dictionary;
 using Umbraco.Core.Dynamics;
+using Umbraco.Core.ObjectResolution;
 using Umbraco.Core.PropertyEditors;
 using Umbraco.Web.Dictionary;
 using Umbraco.Web.Media;
@@ -27,9 +28,8 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 	public class WebBootManager : CoreBootManager
 	{
 		private readonly bool _isForTesting;
-		private readonly UmbracoApplication _umbracoApplication;
 
-		public WebBootManager(UmbracoApplication umbracoApplication)
+		public WebBootManager(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication)
 			: this(umbracoApplication, false)
 		{
 			
@@ -40,11 +40,10 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 		/// </summary>
 		/// <param name="umbracoApplication"></param>
 		/// <param name="isForTesting"></param>
-		internal WebBootManager(UmbracoApplication umbracoApplication, bool isForTesting)
+		internal WebBootManager(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, bool isForTesting)
+            : base(umbracoApplication)
 		{
-			_isForTesting = isForTesting;
-			_umbracoApplication = umbracoApplication;
-			if (umbracoApplication == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("umbracoApplication");
+			_isForTesting = isForTesting;			
 		}
 		
 		/// <summary>
@@ -71,43 +70,18 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 			//set model binder
 			ModelBinders.Binders.Add(new KeyValuePair<Type, IModelBinder>(typeof(RenderModel), new RenderModelBinder()));
 
-
-			//find and initialize the application startup handlers, we need to initialize this resolver here because
-			//it is a special resolver where they need to be instantiated first before any other resolvers in order to bind to 
-			//events and to call their events during bootup.
-			//ApplicationStartupHandler.RegisterHandlers();
-			//... and set the special flag to let us resolve before frozen resolution
-			ApplicationEventsResolver.Current = new ApplicationEventsResolver(
-				PluginManager.Current.ResolveApplicationStartupHandlers())
-				{
-					CanResolveBeforeFrozen = true
-				};
-			//add the internal types since we don't want to mark these public
-			ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.AddType<CacheHelperExtensions.CacheHelperApplicationEventListener>();
-			ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.AddType<LegacyScheduledTasks>();
-
-			//now we need to call the initialize methods
-			ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.ApplicationEventHandlers
-				.ForEach(x => x.OnApplicationInitialized(_umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext));
-
 			return this;
 		}
 
-		/// <summary>
-		/// Ensure that the OnApplicationStarting methods of the IApplicationEvents are called
-		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="afterStartup"></param>
-		/// <returns></returns>
-		public override IBootManager Startup(Action<ApplicationContext> afterStartup)
-		{
-			base.Startup(afterStartup);
-
-			//call OnApplicationStarting of each application events handler
-			ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.ApplicationEventHandlers
-				.ForEach(x => x.OnApplicationStarting(_umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext));
-
-			return this;
-		}
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Adds custom types to the ApplicationEventsResolver
+        /// </summary>
+        protected override void InitializeApplicationEventsResolver()
+        {
+            base.InitializeApplicationEventsResolver();
+            ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.AddType<CacheHelperExtensions.CacheHelperApplicationEventListener>();
+            ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.AddType<LegacyScheduledTasks>();
+        }
 
 		/// <summary>
 		/// Ensure that the OnApplicationStarted methods of the IApplicationEvents are called
@@ -121,13 +95,6 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web
 
 			base.Complete(afterComplete);
 
-			//call OnApplicationStarting of each application events handler
-			ApplicationEventsResolver.Current.ApplicationEventHandlers
-				.ForEach(x => x.OnApplicationStarted(_umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext));
-
-			// we're ready to serve content!
-			ApplicationContext.IsReady = true;
-
 			return this;
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/umbraco.presentation/umbraco/Search/ExamineEvents.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/umbraco.presentation/umbraco/Search/ExamineEvents.cs
index f122e2013b..1f1471bc7e 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/umbraco.presentation/umbraco/Search/ExamineEvents.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/umbraco.presentation/umbraco/Search/ExamineEvents.cs
@@ -15,20 +15,20 @@ namespace umbraco.presentation.umbraco.Search
     public class ExamineEvents : IApplicationEventHandler
     {
 
-        public void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+        public void OnApplicationInitialized(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
         {
         }
 
-        public void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+        public void OnApplicationStarting(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
         {
         }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Once the app has booted, then bind to the events
         /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="httpApplication"></param>
+        /// <param name="umbracoApplication"></param>
         /// <param name="applicationContext"></param>
-        public void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplication httpApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
+        public void OnApplicationStarted(UmbracoApplicationBase umbracoApplication, ApplicationContext applicationContext)
         {
             //do not continue if the app context or database is not ready
             if (!applicationContext.IsConfigured || !applicationContext.DatabaseContext.IsDatabaseConfigured)
diff --git a/src/umbraco.businesslogic/PluginManagerExtensions.cs b/src/umbraco.businesslogic/PluginManagerExtensions.cs
index da8fdea46b..7a61414315 100644
--- a/src/umbraco.businesslogic/PluginManagerExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/umbraco.businesslogic/PluginManagerExtensions.cs
@@ -10,16 +10,6 @@ namespace umbraco.businesslogic
 	/// </summary>
 	public static class PluginManagerExtensions
 	{
-		/// <summary>
-		/// Returns all available IApplicationStartupHandler objects
-		/// </summary>
-		/// <param name="resolver"></param>
-		/// <returns></returns>
-		internal static IEnumerable<Type> ResolveApplicationStartupHandlers(this PluginManager resolver)
-		{
-			return resolver.ResolveTypes<IApplicationStartupHandler>();
-		}
-
 		/// <summary>
 		/// Returns all available IApplication in application
 		/// </summary>