Richard de Capella or Richard of the ChapelChrimes ''Introduction'' p. 25 (died 1127) was a medieval

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. Until 1534, the Diocese of Hereford was in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and two of its bishop ...

Life

Capella was a member of the

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

in charge of the king's seal during the reign of King

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

before being elected

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

.Barrow
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 8: Hereford: Bishops
' As such "he was responsible for the preparation and validation of all royal charters, including many grants for major ecclesiastics, who were quickly recognising the financial rewards to be realised from markets and fairs."Hillaby "Bishop Richard de Capella" ''Essays'' This was a good qualification for his future role in developing Herefordshire economically. Capella was elected to the

see of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...

on 7 JanuaryFryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 250 or just before 2 February 1121. He was consecrated on 16 January 1121 at

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

by Archbishop

Ralph d'Escures Ralph d'Escures (also known as RadulfEadmer. ''Eadmer’s History of Recent Events in England = Historia Novorum in Anglia''. Translated by Geoffrey Bosanquet. London: Cresset Press, 1964.) (died 20 October 1122) was a medieval abbot of Séez ...

of Canterbury. Capella attended the legatine council held by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, William de Corbeil, at London in 1127. At this council, Urban, Bishop of Llandaff brought charges against both Richard and Bernard, Bishop of St David's for intruding into the jurisdiction of Llandaff. However, nothing concrete was decided at the council and Urban appealed to the papacy.Brett ''English Church'' p. 81 The ultimate decision, after Richard's death, was in Hereford's favour. Capella also attempted to improve the financial condition of the diocese and obtained from Henry I confirmation of the right to hold a fair in

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, an institution dating from well before the Conquest. He also co-operated with the king in building the first bridge across the Wye at Hereford, and in the re-establishment of the minster at

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

. Only a few charters exist from when he was bishop.Barrow "Richard de Capella" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' It was probably during his episcopate that towns were founded on the episcopal manors of

Ledbury Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills. It has a significant number of Tudor style timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane a ...

Bromyard Bromyard is a town in the parish of Bromyard and Winslow, in Herefordshire, England, in the valley of the River Frome, Herefordshire, River Frome. It is near the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 road, A44 between Leominster and Worc ...

, and

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the border with Wales. It had a population estimated at 10,978 in 2021. It lies in the south-east of the county, on the River Wye and on the northern edge of the Fore ...

.Hillaby ''Ledbury'' Capella died on 15 August 1127 at

. He was buried in

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Hereford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Hereford and the principal church of the diocese of Hereford. The cathedral is a grade I listed building. A place of wors ...

Citations

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capella, Richard de Bishops of Hereford 12th-century English Roman Catholic bishops 1127 deaths Burials at Hereford Cathedral Year of birth unknown