Peter des Roches

Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) (Latinised as Petrus de Rupibus ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. He was a native of the Touraine, in north-central France.

Biography Towards the end of Richard I's reign, Peter became Lord Chamberlain and an influential counsellor. He held the ecclesiastical offices of Archdeacon of Poitiers, treasurer of Poitiers, and was a precentor of the diocese of Lincoln in 1204.

In early 1205, through John's influence, Peter was elected to the see of Winchester. His election was disputed but, on appeal, confirmed on 25 September 1205 by Pope Innocent III. Peter was consecrated on 24 March 1206, This promotion was justified by the fidelity with which Peter supported the king through the First Barons' War. However, by 1215, Hubert de Burgh was Chief Justiciar.

At the battle of Lincoln in 1217 Peter led a division of the royal army and earned some distinction by his valour; but he played a secondary part in the government so long as William Marshal held the regency. After Marshal's death in 1219 Peter led the baronial opposition to Hubert de Burgh, with varying success. At first the justiciar was successful.

Peter was responsible for founding several monasteries in England and France, including Titchfield Abbey and Netley Abbey,

In 1225 a plot to ship Eleanor of Brittany, who as cousin to Henry III always posed a potential threat to the crown and was thus viewed as a state prisoner and then confined at Bristol Castle, away to France, was reported. The plot might have been false and only fabricated to discredit Peter, and he eventually fell out of royal favor in spring 1234.

Peter participated in the Sixth Crusade alongside William Briwere, who was Bishop of Exeter. Both bishops were influential advisors to Frederick II the Holy Roman Emperor On the 18th of February 1229, both bishops were witnesses at the Treaty of Jaffa which restored Jerusalem to the Christians.