Robert was a native of England, but his ancestry was
Flemish, His birthdate and when he became a monk are not known. He was a
Cluniac and a monk of
Lewes Priory and a protégé of
Henry of Blois who employed him at
Glastonbury Abbey on administrative tasks. He may have been the
prior of
Winchester Cathedral but there is no certain evidence of this, and was consecrated probably in March 1136. Robert was instrumental in reorganizing his diocese as well as building and restoration work at Wells. He was the bishop who set up the territorial organization of the
archdeacons of the diocese. Robert continued the building work on church building at Bath, and gave
borough status to the town of
Wells. In 1138, during
Robert of Gloucester's rising against King
Stephen of England, Robert was in charge of the defenses of
Bath. He captured
Geoffrey Talbot, who was a supporter of Robert of Gloucester's, but when he went out to parley with another group of Gloucester's supporters, the bishop was captured even though he had been offered a safe conduct for the parley. The bishop was then exchanged for Geoffrey Talbot. In 1141, he was at the gathering where Henry of Blois changed allegiance to the
Empress Matilda at
Winchester. Robert died 31 August 1166 an identification first made by the historian
R. H. C. Davis in 1962. While it is not certain that Robert was the author, the outlook of the work certainly fits with the known outlook of Robert. ==Citations==