Early life – c.1330
Walter Skirlaw was born in the village of South Skirlaugh around the year 1330. His father is thought to have been a sieve maker, or basket maker, working with willow.
Walter may have been educated in the priory of Swine, three miles away, where his sister Joan was later the prioress, but he may also have studied at Beverley Grammar school, which was founded in the town in 700 A.D.
The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Swine in Holderness, which incorporated the remnants of the old priory, is pictured above.
Oxford University – 1352 to 1373
Photo by permission of the Master and Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford.
Walter was an able student, eventually studying both canon and civil law at Oxford, graduating in 1358.
He studied for a further year for his master’s degree and there is evidence that he carried on to do his doctorate at what is now University College Oxford, completing this in 1373, after 21 long years of study.
Walter may also have studied at Balliol College, Oxford, shown in the image above. He is commemorated as a benefactor of the college in a stained-glass window in the Old Library.
After many years of study, Walter was well placed for a career in the church, or as a diplomat.
Church appointments – 1353 to 1359
It is not known how Walter was funded through his long university education, but a recurring figure in his life at that time was the Archbishop of York, John Thoresby.
He appointed Walter to a series of posts in the church, during the early period of his studies, including that of notary in 1353 and, the next year, engaged Walter as his personal chaplain.
In 1359, Archbishop John sent Walter to the papal court at Avignon, calling him” Our Beloved Clerk”. Walter spent over a year abroad on that occasion.
Clearly, Archbishop John recognized Walter as a man of outstanding ability and someone who was destined for higher office.
Ordination – 1357-1361
https://www.prestonbissett.co.uk/Preston Bissett, Buckinghamshire
In 1357, Walter was ordained as a priest and became Rector of Preston-Bissett, in Buckinghamshire, just a few miles down the road from Oxford.
He served four years there, all while continuing his studies at Oxford and fulfilling other obligations to the Archbishop of York, John Thoresby, as well as various diplomatic assignments.
How much time he actually spent in the parish is open to debate but his name is on the roll of the Rectors of the church, in a framed plaque on the wall.
Archdeacon of the East Riding – 30 November 1359
While Walter was still at the papal court in Avignon, Archbishop Thoresby appointed him Archdeacon of the East Riding.
This was a powerful position, as a senior clergyman in the Church and administrative assistant to the archbishop.
He was described as a “secretary” but he carried out the work of the archbishop, with his authority, supervising the churches of the East Riding.
1362
Other appointments followed. Walter resigned his position at Preston-Bissett and became a Canon of York in 1362, a title which went with the post of Archdeacon, and prebend of Fenton. (This post meant that he had an income from the parish, without any duties there.) His duties were in York, where he had a stall in the choir. He also became a Canon at Howden in that year.
He was given a house in Beverley, where it is recorded that he was living, as least for some time, in 1380, but he also had a house in London.
Beverley – 1376
Walter was appointed canon of Beverley and prebend of St Andrew’s in the church of Saint John of Beverley, now referred to as Beverley Minster, which was considered very important. The church owned extensive lands in the area and received considerable income from these.
Beverley at that time had a population of about 4000, which made it the 11th largest town in England at the time and was therefore a place of great importance.
The royal call
Later in 1376, Walter was called to take on royal duties in the service of King Edward III, obligations which lasted several years.
He was appointed Dean of St-Martin-le-Grand in London, which then became his main base and his house in London became therefore very useful.
The church of St Martin-le Grand no longer exists, having been demolished in 1548, but it is commemorated in a street name in London, just north of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.
In 1385 and 1386, Walter received three promotions in very quick succession.
In this year, Walter’s position as Archdeacon of the East Riding came to an end and he became the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield on 28 June 1385 after an eventful twenty-six years.
Walter had clearly impressed Pope Urban VI with his dedication to duty as well as his diplomatic, organizational and legal expertise. The promotion was therefore a natural reward, and Walter was finally consecrated in Westminster Abbey on 14 January 1386.
It was by all accounts an elaborate occasion, led by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, as well as five others, King Richard II, Queen Anne and many English nobles.
However, he had barely a year in office in Lichfield when a better position arose as Bishop of Bath and Wells and he was “translated” to that position by Pope Urban VI 18 August 1386.
He resided in Wells, the smallest cathedral city in England, within a splendid, moated palace near the cathedral.
1388 – Bishop of Durham
Finally, Walter received his most prestigious promotion in the Church, when he was translated from Baths and Wells to the Bishopric of Durham, on 3 April 1388.https://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/
This was one of seven orchestrated moves by the Pope for political reasons, unique in English history, but it could simply have reflected the esteem in which Walter was held by the pontiff.
As bishops were equal in rank to earls, they had their own coats of arms. Walter’s arms are recorded in the The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College adopted the six strands of willow, intertwined on a shield, which denoted his princely status.
The Prince Bishops of Durham
Durham’s political importance lay in the fact that it was a buffer state between England and Scotland.
After two unsuccessful attempts to send an earl to govern this border region, William the Conqueror came up with the solution of giving the bishop of Durham secular powers, and therefore the responsibility for protecting English interests, in return for allegiance.
From 1075, the Bishop of Durham became a Prince-Bishop, with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes. As long as he remained loyal to the king of England, he could govern as a virtually autonomous ruler, reaping the revenue from his territory, but also remaining mindful of his role of protecting England’s northern frontier.
The autonomy of Durham, the prestige associated with the title of Prince-Bishop, and the fact that it was extremely wealthy, made it a desirable place for ambitious, powerful men, not all of whom were particularly pious.
Read more: https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/learn/history/prince-bishops
Bishops of Durham were thus given powers enabling them to:
- hold their own parliament
- raise their own armies
- appoint their own sheriffs and Justices
- administer their own laws
- levy taxes and customs duties
- create fairs and markets
- issue charters
- salvage shipwrecks
- collect revenue from mines
- administer the forests
- and mint their own coins
Indeed the Prince Bishops lived like kings in their castles or ‘palaces’ at Durham City and Bishop Auckland.
Walter died before he achieved his ambition to become Archbishop of York and is buried in a tomb in Durham Cathedral. A statue of him is in the Lady Chapel of York Minster.
Being Prince Bishop of Durham brought him great wealth and just before he died he had this church built in his home village of Skirlaw in the then, popular, early perpendicular style. It was completed after his death.
Walter was a prolific builder. He also built Shincliffe Bridge, Aukland Bridge – both in County Durham, Howden Tower and Howden Manor which was used at a stop off point for Prince Bishops travelling down to London, the cloisters at Durham Cathedral and the Central Tower at York Minster. He also designed the superb East Widow at York Minster.
Acknowledgement
We are hugely indebted to Glynne Jarratt, BA. FCA, LRPS, for his scholarly work, “The Life of Walter Skirlaugh, Medieval Diplomat and Prince Bishop of Durham” , the main source of information for this page. Glynne was the organist at St. Augustine’s church in Skirlaugh for many years, six of which were devoted to completing his in-depth study of the life and works of very remarkable man. The book can be read below:
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