Walter Skirlaw (born Swine parish

Swine, East Riding of Yorkshire

Swine is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north east of Hull city centre and south of Skirlaugh to the west of the A165 road....

, Holderness

Holderness

Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common with the Netherlands than other parts of Yorkshire...

, brought up at Skirlaugh

Skirlaugh

Skirlaugh is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately north east of Hull city centre on the A165 road. Originally a farming community, it is now primarily a commuter village for Hull.According to the 2001 UK...

; died 1406) was an English bishop and diplomat. He was Bishop of Durham from 1388 to 1406. He was an important adviser to Richard II of England

Richard II of England

Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...

 and Henry IV of England

Henry IV of England

Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...

.

Life

Skirlaw was Archdeacon of the East Riding from 1359 to 1385 and archdeacon of Northampton from 1381. In 1382, he was given custody of the privy seal, filling the office of Lord Privy Seal

Lord Privy Seal

The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...

, which office he held until 1386. He was elected bishop of Lichfield and Coventry on 28 June 1385, and consecrated on 14 January 1386. Then he was translated to be bishop of Bath and Wells

Bishop of Bath and Wells

The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...

 on 18 August 1386. On 3 April 1388, he was once again transferred, this time to the see of Durham. He would have become 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...

 in 1398, but Richard II overruled the 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...

, insisting on Richard le Scrope

Richard le Scrope

Richard le Scrope was Bishop of Lichfield then Archbishop of York.Scrope earned a Doctorate in canon law. He was provided to the see of Coventry and Lichfield on 18 August 1386, and consecrated on 19 August 1386. He was given the temporalities of the see on 15 November 1386. He was consecrated at...

.

Skirlaw was employed on diplomatic missions to Italy in 1381–3, to Calais to negotiate with the French in 1388, and to the Scots. He died on 24 March 1406.

Skirlaw is described as "a munificent prelate. He built bridges at Shincliffe

Shincliffe

Shincliffe is a village in the County Durham in England. It is situated just over a mile to the south-east of Durham city centre, on the A177 road to Stockton...

, Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland

Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...

, and Yarm

Yarm

Yarm is a small town and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in North East England. It is on the south bank of the River Tees and for ceremonial purposes is in North Yorkshire...

; a refuge tower, a beautiful chapter-house (now in ruins) at Howden

Howden

Howden is a small market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the M62, on the A614 road about north of Goole and south-west of York. William the Conqueror gave the town to the Bishops of Durham in 1080...

; and was a large contributor to the expense of building the central tower of York Cathedral".

During his episcopacy much was added to 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...

, including its cloisters. He is portrayed in the east stained-glass window in York Minster

York Minster

York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...

, which he had made.