Durham Bishopric Estates

The post-Conquest bishops of Durham were heirs to a tradition of ecclesiastical and temporal authority stretching back to the 7th century, which grew at least in part from the reputation of St Cuthbert and his shrine. Their regalian authority as palatine lords, and the judicial institutions associated with it, developed gradually during the Middle Ages - the term palatinus seems first to have been applied to the bishop of Durham towards the end of the 13th century. The geographical area covered by the Palatinate extended from the Tyne to the Tees, together with parts of Northumberland (Norhamshire and Islandshire - Holy Island and an adjoining coastal area - in the north and Bedlingtonshire in the middle of the county) which were sometimes collectively called North Durham, and the manor of Crayke, near York. The Palatinate was thus co-terminous neither with the diocese of Durham nor with the area covered by the bishopric estates (since it excluded the bishop's Yorkshire estates in Allertonshire and Howdenshire, where his franchise was not regalian).

Although the administration of the bishop's spiritualities was distinct from that of his temporal powers, there was much overlap in the financial administration of the Palatinate and of the temporalities of the see, as the records in this collection reveal (see Custodial history below). The bishop owed his wealth primarily to the income from his vast estates rather than to the profits of his palatine lordship. All estate as well as palatine revenues were accounted for at his exchequer, and it was not uncommon for key posts in the estate administration and the palatinate administration to be held by the same man.

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