Early in the reign of Henry II, however, he is found acting as a clerk in the King's court, probably under Thomas Becket.
However, in the next two or three years he visited Pope Alexander III and the Emperor Frederick I in the interests of the English King.
[1][5] One of Richard's duties was to oversee the making of the Pipe rolls, as well as keeping the treasurer from falling asleep.
[5] Although immersed in secular business, Richard received several rich ecclesiastical offices, including treasurer of the diocese of Poitiers, and on 1 May 1173 he was elected bishop of Winchester,[2] being consecrated at Canterbury in October 1174.
[1] Bishop Richard gave an endowment to a hospital in Winchester and allowed it to double the number of poor people it fed.