On 15 April 1464 Prince-Bishop Booth of Durham was released from House Arrest In 1464 Lawrence Booth was held under House Arrest. It had led to his removal, in the short-term, as the holder of the temporalities of the palatinate of Durham.
His initial arrest and release were the result of the politics of the North East of England at the time. Booth was a longstanding supporter of the Lancastrian cause. He had served as Chancellor in the Government dominated by Margaret of Anjou and as the Keeper of the Privy Seal and Lord of the Privy Seal.
He was held in such high regard that he was appointed by Queen Margaret as guardian of the young Prince Edward of Westminster. His loyalties to the Lancastrian cause and his fierce defence of the palatinate’s rights brought him into conflict with the Neville family.
They clashed over the rights to the lordship of Barnard Castle. The matter was raised several times, with King Edward IV himself having to make a final judgment on the matter. Edward judged that the crown owned the rights and gave control of the Castle and other lands to the Neville family. This brought Prince-Bishop Booth into conflict with Durham Prior.
The conflict became bitter enough for Booth to be placed under house arrest and his powers, temporalities, removed. He was released on 15 August 1464. This was a politically important time in the region, 10 days before this peace negotiations with the Scots had begun, the Battle of Hedgely Moor was fought soon after, Booth’s release was, perhaps, an attempt to maintain law and order and ‘normality’ as far as was possible.