diff --git a/core/control/ContentController.php b/core/control/ContentController.php
index 572ee9797..9357334d8 100755
--- a/core/control/ContentController.php
+++ b/core/control/ContentController.php
@@ -154,6 +154,14 @@ class ContentController extends Controller {
 
 		return new $controllerClass($widget);
 	}
+	
+	/**
+	 * @uses ErrorPage::response_for()
+	 * @return HTTPResponse
+	 */
+	public function httpError($code, $message = null) {
+		return ($resp = ErrorPage::response_for($code, $this->request)) ? $resp : parent::httpError($code, $message); 
+	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Get the project name
diff --git a/core/control/ModelAsController.php b/core/control/ModelAsController.php
index a09c9c72b..0a0b9e92d 100644
--- a/core/control/ModelAsController.php
+++ b/core/control/ModelAsController.php
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ class ModelAsController extends Controller implements NestedController {
 	
 	public function handleRequest($request) {
 		$this->pushCurrent();
+		
+		$this->request   = $request;
 		$this->urlParams = $request->allParams();
 		
 		$this->init();
@@ -74,7 +76,7 @@ class ModelAsController extends Controller implements NestedController {
 					return $response;
 				}
 				
-				$child = $this->get404Page();
+				return ErrorPage::response_for(404, $this->request);
 			}
 		
 			if($child) {
@@ -137,15 +139,6 @@ class ModelAsController extends Controller implements NestedController {
 		return false;
 	}
 	
-	protected function get404Page() {
-		$page = DataObject::get_one("ErrorPage", "\"ErrorCode\" = '404'");
-		if($page) {
-			return $page;
-		} else {
-			// @deprecated 2.5 Use ErrorPage class
-			return DataObject::get_one("SiteTree", "\"URLSegment\" = '404'");
-		}
-	}
 }
 
 ?>
diff --git a/core/model/ErrorPage.php b/core/model/ErrorPage.php
index 5e942dcf0..b507921e0 100755
--- a/core/model/ErrorPage.php
+++ b/core/model/ErrorPage.php
@@ -24,6 +24,46 @@ class ErrorPage extends Page {
 	
 	protected static $static_filepath = ASSETS_PATH;
 	
+	/**
+	 * Get a {@link HTTPResponse} that is suitable for responding to a reques that has thrown a specific error code.
+	 *
+	 * @param int $statusCode The HTTP error code.
+	 * @param HTTPRequest $request The request object that triggered the error.
+	 * @return HTTPResponse
+	 */
+	public static function response_for($statusCode, HTTPRequest $request = null) {
+		$errorPage = null;
+		
+		// First attempt to dynamically generate the error page, then fall back on using a cached version.
+		if (
+			(!$request || !$request->isMedia()) && !$errorPage = DataObject::get_one('ErrorPage', "\"ErrorCode\" = $statusCode")
+		) {
+			$cachedPath = self::get_filepath_for_errorcode($statusCode, Translatable::get_current_locale());
+			
+			if(file_exists($cachedPath)) {
+				$response = new HTTPResponse();	
+				
+				$response->setStatusCode($statusCode);
+				$response->setBody(file_get_contents($cachedPath));
+				
+				return $response;
+			}
+		}
+		
+		// If the request is for a simple media type, or there was no matching dynamic or cached error page just return
+		// a simple error string to avoid clogging up server resources.
+		if(!$errorPage) {
+			$response = new HTTPResponse();
+			
+			$response->setStatusCode($statusCode);
+			$response->setBody(sprintf('Error %s: %s', $response->getStatusCode(), $response->getStatusDescription()));
+			
+			return $response;
+		}
+		
+		return ModelAsController::controller_for($errorPage)->handleRequest(new HTTPRequest('GET', ''));
+	}
+	
 	/**
 	 * Ensures that there is always a 404 page
 	 * by checking if there's an instance of