Robert Stitchill was a medieval Bishop of Durham in England.

Life

Stitchill probably came from the village of Stitchill in Roxburghshire

Roxburghshire

Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...

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

William Scot

William Scot was a medieval Bishop of Durham elect.Scot was Archdeacon of Worcester in December of 1218. He was elected to the see of Durham before 20 October 1226 but the election was quashed by Pope Gregory IX on 19 May 1227...

 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

Pope Gregory IX

Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...

 in 1227. Stitchill was a monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

 at Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...

 and prior

Prior

Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...

 of a monastic cell at Finchale

Finchale Priory

Finchale Priory was a 13th century Benedictine priory. The remains are sited by the River Wear, four miles from Durham. It is a Grade I listed building.-Current Situation:...

 before he was elected to the see of Durham on 30 September 1260. His dispensation for his illegitimate birth had already been obtained from the pope. He was consecrated bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 on 13 February 1261 at Southwell by Godfrey Ludham

Godfrey Ludham

Godfrey Ludham 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. Matthew Paris gives him the name Godfrey Kineton, but without any explanation of why that was his name...

, the Archbishop of York

Archbishop of York

The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...

.

While bishop, Stitchill gave 1300 acres (5.3 km²) of land to the monks of his cathedral chapter

Cathedral chapter

In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...

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

County palatine

A county palatine or palatinate is an area ruled by an hereditary nobleman possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace"...

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

Stitchill attended the Second Council of Lyon

Second Council of Lyon

The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, France, in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to act on a pledge by Byzantine emperor Michael VIII to reunite the Eastern church with the West...

 in 1274, where he obtained the permission of Pope Gregory X

Pope Gregory X

Pope Blessed Gregory X , born Tebaldo Visconti, was Pope from 1271 to 1276. He was elected by the papal election, 1268–1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church....

 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

Savigny Abbey

Savigny Abbey was a monastery near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux , in northern France. It was founded early in the 12th century. Initially it was the central house of the Congregation of Savigny, who were Benedictines; by 1150 it was Cistercian.-History:It was situated on the confines of...

, although his heart was sent to Durham to be buried there.