Robert Stillington
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| Denomination | Catholic |
|---|---|
| Senior posting | |
| See | Diocese of Bath and Wells |
| Title | Bishop of Bath and Wells |
| Period in office | 1465–1491 |
| Predecessor | Thomas Beckington |
| Successor | Richard Foxe |
| Personal | |
| Date of birth | 1420 |
| Date of death | May 1491 |
Robert Stillington (1420-1491) was Bishop of Bath and Wells and Lord Chancellor of England. It is alleged by some that it was he who presented evidence that the marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville was invalid due to Edward's earlier betrothal to Lady Eleanor Talbot.
[edit] Life
He was Archdeacon of Wells when he was made Keeper of the Privy Seal from 1460 to 1467.[1]
He was selected as Bishop of Bath and Wells on October 30, 1465, and was consecrated on March 16, 1466.[2] He was appointed Lord Chancellor on June 20, 1467 and held the office until September 29, 1470. He then was restored to office when Edward IV returned to the throne and held it until June 18, 1473.[3]
In 1478 he spent some weeks in prison, apparently as a result of some association with the disgraced George, Duke of Clarence. He was imprisoned again in 1485, shortly after Henry VII's victory at Bosworth. Some say this was due to Stillington's involvement in the matter of Edward IV's bigamy, for the new king needed to reverse the bigamy charges that made his future queen, Elizabeth of York, illegitimate.
Some years after his second release, Stillington became involved in the plot to place the impostor Lambert Simnel on the throne in 1487. He was imprisoned a third time, and died in prison, in May of 1491.[2]
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Laurence Booth |
Lord Privy Seal 1460–1467 |
Succeeded by Thomas Rotheram |
| Preceded by George Neville |
Lord Chancellor 1467–1470 |
Succeeded by George Neville |
| Roman Catholic Church titles | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Beckington |
Bishop of Bath and Wells 1466–1491 |
Succeeded by Richard Foxe |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stillington, Robert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Bath and Wells; Lord Privy Seal; Lord Chancellor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1420 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 1491 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
