Robert Stitchill (sometimes Robert Stichel; died 1274) was a medieval Bishop of Durham in England.

Life

Stitchill probably came from the village of Stichill in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

. His father was a priest, and may have been the

William Scot William Scot (or William of Stitchill; died ) was a medieval Bishop of Durham-elect. Scot was Archdeacon of Worcester in December 1218.Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces ...

who was elected to the see of Durham in 1226. William Scot was never confirmed as bishop, for his election was quashed by Pope Gregory IX in 1227.Piper "Stichill, Robert of" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' Stitchill was a monk at

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

and

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of a monastic cell at FinchaleGreenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Durham: Bishops
' before he was elected to the see of Durham on 30 September 1260.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 242 His dispensation for his illegitimate birth had already been obtained from the pope. He was consecrated bishop on 13 February 1261 at Southwell by

Godfrey Ludham Godfrey Ludham (died 1265) was Archbishop of York from 1258 to 1265. Life Ludham's parents were Richard and Eda of Ludham, Norfolk, and he had a brother Thomas who was also a priest.Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: Yo ...

, the Archbishop of York. While bishop, Stitchill gave of land to the monks of his

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

for their support, as well as books and other gifts. However, there were disputes with the monks over the retirement of their prior, and also over the right of the bishop to oversee the affairs of the chapter. He also founded a hospital at

Greatham, County Durham Greatham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Hartlepool (borough), Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The population of the civil parish (including Newton Bewley) was taken in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 2,132. ...

that survived into the modern age. He defended the rights of the bishop to the

palatinate Palatinate or county palatine may refer to: *the territory or jurisdiction of a count palatine United Kingdom and Ireland *County palatine in England and Ireland * Palatinate (award), student sporting award of Durham University *Palatinate (col ...

of Durham, securing a number of court decisions that upheld the palatinate rights of the bishop. Stitchill attended the

Second Council of Lyon :''The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council, took place in 1245.'' The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arl ...

in 1274, where he obtained the permission of Pope Gregory X to resign his see. He died on 4 August 1274 near Lyons, before he was able to return to Durham to resign. He was buried at Savigny Abbey, although his heart was sent to Durham to be buried there.

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stitchill, Robert Bishops of Durham 1274 deaths 13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Year of birth unknown