Editing Robert Burnell (section)

==Death and legacy==
Burnell died in [[Berwick-upon-Tweed|Berwick]], on 25 October 1292. His body, without his heart, is interred in the nave of [[Wells Cathedral]]; his heart was buried at [[Bath Abbey]].<ref name=BHOBath>Greenway "Bishops" ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'': Volume 7: Bath and Wells</ref> Although he was usually busy with royal business, Burnell managed to expand his bishopric and provide for his relatives.<ref name=DNB/> He amassed great wealth, and acquired numerous estates in [[Shropshire]], [[Worcestershire]], [[Somerset]], [[Kent]], [[Surrey]] and elsewhere. At his death, he owned 82 manors over 19 [[Counties of the United Kingdom|counties]], most of them his personal property rather than that of the diocese of Bath and Wells.<ref name=Moorman169>Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 169</ref>

[[File:Acton Burnell Castle 2016.jpg|alt=A ruined building minus a roof and with crumbling walls. Some of the walls are crenelated. The walls are build with red stones in the middle and grey stones as edging on the tops and corners|thumb|Ruins of [[Acton Burnell Castle|the house]] built by Burnell at [[Acton Burnell]]]]
Even after he became a bishop Burnell kept a mistress, Juliana. Rumours circulated that they had four sons, and that he had a number of daughters, all of which Burnell denied.<ref name=Prestwich136>Prestwich ''Edward I'' p. 136</ref> He kept a magnificent household, sufficient for him to be able to host a [[Parliament of England|parliament]] at his home in Acton Burnell in autumn 1283.<ref name=Powell208>Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 208</ref> He married off a number of young female relatives, rumoured to be his daughters, to noblemen.<ref name=Moorman167>Moorman ''Church Life'' p. 167</ref> Amabilla Burnell married a member of a royal justice's family, and a Joan Burnell was the subject of a guarantee to the bishop that the son of William of Greystoke would marry her. A William Burnell was [[Dean (religion)|dean]] of Wells Cathedral, and was named as one of the bishop's executors. Robert Burnell's eventual heir was his nephew, Philip.<ref name=DNB/>

Burnell built extensively at [[Acton Burnell Castle]], and large parts of his house have survived. It was substantially different in plan from the older hall-style houses, which had the private quarters at the back of a large hall. At Acton Burnell the bishop's quarters were well away from the building's main public spaces, and included a [[latrine]]. The house was not quite a castle, but it was designed to have some defensive capability.<ref name=Platt83>Platt ''Castle'' p. 83</ref> The overall form of the structure was of a fortified hall-house, much like the Norman-era hall-keeps.<ref name=Castles209>Pettifer ''English Castles'' p. 209</ref> He also built the chapel and great hall in the [[Bishop's Palace, Wells|Bishop's Palace in Wells]].<ref name=Chapel>"[http://www.bishopspalacewells.co.uk/chapel Bishop's Palace Chapel Wells, UK]" Palace Trust</ref>

Burnell was a dominant figure during the first part of Edward's reign, and he controlled most aspects of royal administration.<ref name=Govern59/> He was involved not only in domestic issues but also in foreign relations,<ref name=Govern70>Huscroft "Robert Burnell and the Government of England" ''Thirteenth Century England VIII'' p. 70</ref> a responsibility he retained for two decades after Edward's return to England in 1274.<ref name=Should108>Huscroft "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" ''Nottingham Medieval Studies'' pp. 108–109</ref> Huscroft argues that he may have been the most important royal administrator of the 13th century.<ref name=Should97>Huscroft "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" ''Nottingham Medieval Studies'' p. 97</ref>