Yesterday's news of Andrew's arrest invites us to look back more than five centuries to a far more dramatic royal downfall — that of George, Duke of Clarence — and to ask an intriguing local question:
What did such high political drama mean for Sutton and its clergy?
A Prince Who Fell
Clarence was the brother of Edward IV and later Richard III. During the turbulent Wars of the Roses, he shifted loyalties, rebelled, reconciled, and ultimately fell fatally out of favour.
In 1478, he was arrested, attainted by Parliament and privately executed in the Tower of London.
In 15th-century England:
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Politics and family were inseparable.
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Royal authority was personal.
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Rebellion by a prince was existential.
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Consequence could mean death.
Clarence's downfall was not merely a scandal. It was the elimination of a dynastic threat.
Sutton's Rector Was No Minor Figure
At first glance, such drama seems far removed from the quiet churchyard of St Nicholas, Sutton.
Yet our Rector in that period, William Morland, was not simply a country priest quietly tending a Surrey parish.
He was a serious political and legal figure.
Morland had served as a Clerk in Chancery and, at the Readeption of Henry VI in 1470–71, he rose to become Master of the Rolls — one of the most important judicial officers in England.
The Master of the Rolls was:
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A senior judge in Chancery.
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Keeper of the legal archives of the realm.
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Responsible for the enrolment and custody of royal records.
This was not a ceremonial post. It was central to the legal machinery of the kingdom.
Morland was, quite clearly, a player.
A Dangerous Elevation
The timing matters.
The Readeption of Henry VI in 1470 was engineered by the Neville affinity — the powerful political network that included Clarence. When the tables turned again in 1471, and Edward IV regained the throne, Neville's influence collapsed.
For those who had risen under the Readeption, the danger was acute.
Morland's elevation to Master of the Rolls placed him directly within the political upheaval of the time. He was not a distant observer. He stood within the administrative heart of regime change.
And yet, when Edward IV returned and the Nevilles fell, Morland survived.
Leverage, Clerical Protection and Survival
How?
Several factors likely worked in his favour:
1. Clerical Status
As an ordained priest, Morland enjoyed a degree of ecclesiastical protection. Clergy were not immune from punishment, but their treatment differed from that of lay political rebels.
2. Administrative Utility
He possessed deep knowledge of legal process and the custody of royal records. Such expertise was valuable to any regime.
3. Political Prudence
There is no evidence that Morland became entangled in open rebellion or conspiracy. He appears to have navigated the transition with care.
4. Institutional Position
Even if he lost certain offices after Edward IV's restoration, he retained the rectory of Sutton. A benefice could provide stability when court favour fluctuated.
Morland may have fallen from some of his highest offices, but he did not fall from everything.
He remained Rector of Sutton until 1488, when he resigned in favour of his kinsman William Kellet. That long tenure suggests not disgrace, but resilience.
Then and Now: Power and Consequence
The recent fall from public life of Prince Andrew is not comparable in scale to Clarence's execution. Modern Britain is governed by constitutional law, not dynastic survival. Disgrace today leads to 11 hours in a police cell, not the Tower of London.
Yet one broad principle holds across five centuries:
Proximity to the throne does not guarantee protection.
In 1478, consequence could mean death and attainder.
In the 21st century, consequence means loss of role and honour.
The nature of the state has changed. The vulnerability of those near power has not.
Why This Matters in Sutton
For the Friends of St Nicholas Churchyard, this history reminds us that our parish church has never stood apart from national life.
William Morland was not merely a parish incumbent. He was:
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A royal lawyer.
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A senior judge.
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Custodian of the realm's legal records.
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A man who rose during one regime and survived its collapse.
The quiet stones of St Nicholas Churchyard belong to a church that once had at its head a figure operating at the very centre of English political drama.
History teaches us that power is rarely secure, that alliances shift, and that survival sometimes depends not on immunity, but on judgment, leverage and careful positioning.
