 In 1643 he was collated by Bishop Morton to the seventh stall in Durham Cathedral, and in 1644 to the Archdeaconry of Northumberland with the rectory of Howick annexed.These were, for the present, merely nominal appointments, for in consequence of the civil war both the duties and emoluments were in abeyance.In 1645 the rich living of Stanhope became vacant; it was in the gift of the Bishop of Durham, but Morton, "oppressed and overawed by the terrors of the rebels, durst not dispose of it".