Robert Morton (bishop)

For other people with the same name please see Robert Morton (disambiguation).

The Most Reverend Robert Morton
Bishop of Worcester
Church	Roman Catholic
Appointed	16 October 1486
Term ended	May 1497
Predecessor	John Alcock
Successor	Giovanni de' Gigli
Orders
Consecration	28 January 1487
Personal details
Died	May 1497

Morton's name on the Memorial to graves destroyed in Old St Paul's Cathedral

Robert Morton (1435 – May 1497) was an English priest and Bishop of Worcester.

Life

Morton was son of William Morton, Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury, and the nephew of John Morton, the Archbishop of Canterbury.^[1]

Morton gained an MA from the University of Oxford in 1458, and was awarded an LLD by them in 1480 as a way for the university to honour his uncle.^[2]

Morton received the benefice of All Saints', Huntington in 1458, and by the time he was elected to the episcopate in 1486 he was also the Prebendary of St Paul's, Salisbury, York, Beverley, and Wherwell Abbey, as well as the archdeacon of Gloucester and Winchester.^[1]

On 9 January 1479 Morton became Master of the Rolls, losing it on 22 September 1483 when his uncle opposed Richard III of England. Morton also played a part in the campaign against Richard, and was with Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth. After Henry became king, Morton was again made Master of the Rolls on 13 November 1485.^[1]

Morton was appointed to the sixth stall in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in 1481 and held this until 1486.^[3]

On 16 October 1486, Morton became Bishop of Worcester, and he was consecrated on 28 January 1487. On 15 March 1497, he received a pardon from Henry VII, which was intended to secure his property against extortions. He was the last English Bishop of Worcester before the English Reformation, with his successors being Italian, and served until his death in May 1497. He was buried in the Old St Paul's Cathedral rather than his own Worcester Cathedral.^[2] As a result, his grave and monument were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. His name is now listed on a monument in the crypt giving the names of important graves lost.

Due to the large absence of material on his life from 1458 to 1477, where Morton is recorded receiving a papal dispensation, he is sometimes considered to be the same man as Robert Morton, a composer who lived at around the same time.^[2]

Citations

1 2 3 Bateson 1896.
1 2 3 Harper-Bill 2004.
↑ Fasti Wyndesorienses, May 1950. S.L. Ollard. Published by the Dean and Canons of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle

References

Harper-Bill, Christopher. "Morton, Robert". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19371. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by John Alcock	Bishop of Worcester 1486–1497	Succeeded by Giovanni de' Gigli

Bishops of Worcester

Early Medieval	Bosel Oftfor Egwin of Evesham Wilfrith (I) Milred Waermund Tilhere Heathured Denebeorht Heahbeorht Ealhhun Werferth Æthelhun Wilfrith (II) Koenwald St Dunstan St Oswald Ealdwulf

High Medieval	Wulfstan (I) Leofsige Beorhtheah Lyfing Ælfric Puttoc Lyfing Ealdred St Wulfstan (II) Samson Theulf Simon John de Pageham Alured Roger Baldwin of Forde William of Northall Robert FitzRalph Henry de Sully John of Coutances Mauger Randulf of Evesham Walter de Gray Sylvester William de Blois Walter de Cantilupe Nicholas of Ely Godfrey Giffard

Late Medieval	John St German William Gainsborough Walter Reynolds Walter Maidstone Thomas Cobham Wulstan Bransford Adam Orleton Simon Montacute Thomas Hemenhale Wulstan Bransford John of Thoresby Reginald Brian John Barnet William Whittlesey William Lenn Walter Lyghe Henry Wakefield Robert Tideman of Winchcombe Richard Clifford Thomas Peverel Philip Morgan Thomas Polton Thomas Brunce Thomas Bourchier John Carpenter ("Bishop of Worcester and Westbury") John Alcock Robert Morton Giovanni de' Gigli

Early modern	Silvestro de' Gigli Girolamo Ghinucci Hugh Latimer John Bell Nicholas Heath John Hooper Nicholas Heath Richard Pate Edwin Sandys Nicholas Bullingham John Whitgift Edmund Freke Richard Fletcher Thomas Bilson Gervase Babington Henry Parry John Thornborough John Prideaux George Morley John Gauden John Earle Robert Skinner Walter Blandford James Fleetwood William Thomas Edward Stillingfleet William Lloyd John Hough Isaac Maddox James Johnson Brownlow North Richard Hurd

Late modern	Folliott Cornewall Robert Carr Henry Pepys Henry Philpott John Perowne Charles Gore Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs Ernest Pearce Arthur Perowne William Wilson Cash Mervyn Charles-Edwards Robin Woods Philip Goodrich Peter Selby John Inge

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