Robert Morton (bishop)

Robert Morton (1435 – May 1497) was an English priest and Bishop of Worcester. Born to William Morton, Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury, Robert Morton was also the nephew of John Morton, the Archbishop of Canterbury.^[1] He 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.

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

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 Field.^[1] After Henry became king, Morton was again made Master of the Rolls on 13 November 1485.^[1]

On 16 October 1486 he became Bishop of Worcester, and he was consecrated on 28 January 1487. He was the last English Bishop of Worcester before the English Reformation, with his successors being Italian, and served until his death in 1497.^[1] He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral rather than his own Worcester Cathedral. Due to the large absence of material on his life from 1458 to 1477, where he 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.^[1]

Notes

References

• Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961