Elevation to episcopacy Walter Langton, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, died on 9 November 1321 and the king issued a licence to elect the new bishop on 22 of the month. However, there was disagreement between the
secular clergy of the
chapter at
Lichfield Cathedral and the
Benedictine monks of the chapter at
Coventry Cathedral, over whether they were to be equal partners in the election: a position agreed during the time of Bishop
Roger Weseham (1245–56), although the dispute stretched back to the tortuous election process following the death of
Geoffrey de Muschamp in 1208. The Lichfield canons decided to appeal to
Pope John XXII over the issue, initiating a case that was to drag on for twelve years. to the see. The Coventry chapter, however, went ahead with the election, choosing their own
prior, Henry, in May the unfortunate Baldock was promised a canonry and prebend at
Salisbury Cathedral. The spring of that year was marked by the revolt of Thomas of Lancaster and the
Battle of Boroughbridge on 16 March. Hence, it not surprising that Northburgh had to wait until 12 April to be
invested with the
temporalities. From this point Northburgh began to take control of the diocese, although he was forced to assemble a team of deputies, as he had not yet set foot in either of the diocesan centres. He appointed Master Ralph Holbeach as his commissary-general, dealing with appointments among other matters. Holbeach was forced to act quickly, responding to recent political events. He installed in the prebend of Gaia Major William of Harlaston, a clerk of the chancery who was trusted to look after both the privy seal and the Great Seal on occasion, as John of Chelmsford, the incumbent, had been deprived for supporting Lancaster's revolt: this was a decision Chelmsford later emerged from prison to contest. Holbeach also had to see that John of Kynardessey, a clerical client of Lancaster, was transferred to the prebend of Flixton, although the details are complex and hazy, and were to lead to further disputes later. While at
Rothwell, Northamptonshire with the king, Northburgh appointed
Gilbert Ó Tigernaig, the
Bishop of Annaghdown (rendered in the diocesan register as
Enagdun) as
suffragan bishop, to carry out ordinations and other necessary episcopal functions, and Stephen Blound as
seneschal. These were troubled times and there were apparently already disturbances in the diocese. A sentence of excommunication had to be read out at Eccleshall against parishioners suspected of breaking into the bishop's
deer parks, although it is unclear whether this concerned Blore, near Eccleshall, or
Brewood, further south, or both, as both are mentioned. Northburgh was at last consecrated on 27 June at
Halesowen Abbey by
Thomas Cobham, the
Bishop of Worcester and five other bishops. He made his profession of obedience to the
Archbishop of Canterbury on 31 August. An underlying problem was that most of the senior diocesan posts, and many of the less important, were filled by papal provision, leading to high rate of absenteeism. Nearly half, 47 out of 98, of the appointments of canons in Northburgh's episcopate were made in this way. Northburgh's treasurers, a key role in the diocese, were both important foreign prelates. Until 1348 the post was occupied by Gaucelin Johannis Deuza of
Cahors, who was
cardinal priest of
Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano: Then came Hugh Pelegrini, a papal nuncio. Both were absentees. The problem became immediately apparent, as Northburgh's first major decision was to conduct a thorough
canonical visitation of the diocese, starting with the
Archdeaconry of Stafford. The
Deanery, another key post in the administration, was occupied by Stephen Segrave, who was absent at the
Roman Curia, at that time based in
Avignon. Northburgh's proposal to visit the chapter itself led to a protest from Dean Segrave, who claimed exclusive rights to discipline the canons. Probably seeing that he would get little practical help from the chapter, Northburgh appointed William Weston as his official, assigned him the prebend of
Dasset Parva, and set out on the visitation of Stafford Archdeaconry, which included the areas immediately surrounding Lichfield itself. Problems and resistance were soon encountered. The king's invasion of Scotland had ended in an ignominious retreat and some parishes had to be exempted from visitation because their men had been called away to help resist a Scottish counter-invasion. The parishioners of
Abbots Bromley refused to appear at
Colton parish church and were excommunicated. At Cheswardine When he visited in 1348 he found that the vicars were still not being allowed to use the premises of the canons. Moreover, absenteeism and poor management had wasted resources, allowing the fabric of the building and the liturgical
vestments to deteriorate alarmingly. This time he cancelled outstanding leases and capped the canons' incomes at 16 marks, earmarking the surplus for necessary work. Language issues seem to have loomed large and Northburgh intervened in various ways to remove barriers to communication. When appointing penitentiaries for the diocese, empowered to hear confessions from all the laity and clergy of their districts, Northburgh took care to ensure that there was one to serve the
Welsh language speakers – the Rector of
Hanmer, near
Wrexham – as well as several to work in English. He also licensed John Gilbert to start an embryonic
grammar school at
Oswestry. Latin was a barrier even to many clerics and religious. After visiting
Farewell Priory, very close to Lichfield, in 1331, Northburgh had a good deal to say about enforcing better discipline and segregation from lay people, but was compelled to have his decrees translated from the customary Latin into
Norman French to ensure there was no excuse of incomprehension for the nuns. Northburgh carried out numerous visitations to religious houses, as well as intervening on other occasions to secure improvements in governance. In 1322 William de Bloxham, the Prior of
Arbury, offered his resignation as soon as a visitation was announced, explaining that he was
insufficiens ad regimen, not up to the task of leadership, as soon as Northburgh arrived in the diocese and Holbeach was deputed to hold an inquiry. but this appears out of place: it cannot refer to Borebach, who survived in office until 1329. John of Chetwynd, abbot of
Lilleshall seems to have resigned in 1330 with a visitation in the offing. Northburgh's register records the proposals made for his retirement by the
Augustinian canons, who described Chetwynd as "much beloved." His allowance was substantial and burdensome to the community: the building where he lived, including several rooms and a chapel, heating, wax for six candles during winter, a
corrody equal in value to that of two canons, a servant, two grooms, a canon to act as chaplain, and a
palfrey and baggage-horse, with their fodder. Allegedly to cover his clothing, he was also to receive the income from two of the abbey's
manors,
Blackfordby in Leicestershire and Freasley, near
Tamworth and of two of its churches. Finally his guests and family were to receive to receive reasonable hospitality at Lilleshall. An earlier visitation, probably in 1324, had reported that Chetwynd ran the abbey in a wasteful, dictatorial and unaccountable way. In fact Chetwynd had a history of criminality and violence. In 1316 he and John Ipstones, one of Staffordshire's most turbulent landowners, had raised an armed force to rescue a highway robber who had taken a large sum of money belonging to the king and destined for Ireland. Warrants were issued for their arrest but Chetwynd escaped and went into hiding. Old habits continued and, a year after his retirement, Chetwynd fell out with his successor and raided the abbey with a gang of armed men to seize goods, necessitating a royal intervention to restore order. Women's houses brought criticisms, often of a similar kind. Northburgh had to intervene in the case of Elizabeth la Zouche, who, with another canoness, deserted
White Ladies Priory, near Brewood, in 1326. Initially the case was simply advertised in churches. However,
Polesworth Abbey in Warwickshire seems to have had a special relationship with the Bishops, Northburgh included, through most of the 14th century and enjoyed unusual favour. One of Northburgh's earliest measures after taking up the see was to grant extraordinary pastoral and liturgical powers to Maud, the abbess-elect. On taking up the post, Thomas found the remaining third of the revenue insufficient to support him. The Pope had already intervened, ordering members of the Lichfield chapter to annul the oath: Richard Bernard, the
Archdeacon of Salop, William de Bosco, the Chancellor, and Gilbert de Bruer, prebendary of
Wolvey. He had also ordered the abbess to take the matter no further. However, she had got judgement against Thomas in the secular courts, claiming that the pension was a charge on the rectory instituted by Walter Langton, Northburgh's predecessor. Moreover, the Chancellor and Bruer had delegated their powers to Roger le Mareschall, the prebendary of
Dernford, and he and Bernard refused to take the matter further. Once Thomas appealed to the Pope, the abbess had deprived him of his rectory and given it to William de Ipstones. Nothing more is reported of the case. When Northburgh visited the abbey in 1352 he found little to remark upon. He had his injunctions delivered in French, as was now the custom with women's houses. Northburgh also attracted papal criticism for refusing to deal with a
consanguinity case. In February 1331 he and
Stephen Gravesend, the Bishop of London, were ordered by John XXII to summon witnesses to London to investigate the case of
John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford, and Margaret Bassett, of a prominent Staffordshire family. The couple had discovered after their marriage that they were related to the fourth degree. They were at that time living apart. However, a papal letter three years later makes clear that Northburgh refused to act. The pope was forced to relaunch the enquiry, nominating canons from London and Lincoln to replace Northburgh on the panel. The reasons for Northburgh's inaction are not made clear. He certainly had no principled objection to giving dispensations for
cousin marriage: he had ratified a papal dispensation in exactly the same circumstances in the interim. into revolt alongside Lancaster, and was killed at Boroughbridge. The
Black Death struck in 1348 and must have created enormous spiritual and practical challenges for the diocese. However, Northburgh's register mostly reflects this only indirectly. One definite reference occurs when a recent pestilence is mentioned when dealing with the need to consecrate a chapel yard at
Didsbury for burials in 1352. ==Later political career==