 Early in his tenure Norreis appears to have been somewhat circumspect and did not greatly annoy his monks . The change appears to have happened around 1195 , when the monks are first recorded as appealing to higher authority . Because Evesham had traditionally claimed to be exempt from episcopal oversight by the see of Worcester , in which it was located , the monks could only appeal to the papacy or to a papal legate . Hubert Walter , the Archbishop of Canterbury after Baldwin , held a legateship for England until July 1195 and so the monks appealed to him . Walter forced Norreis to make some compromises with his subordinates , but the truce did not last long , and the monks once again complained of their treatment . They were visited by the new Bishop of Worcester John of Coutances some time between 1196 and 1198 , but Norreis succeeded in avoiding any severe sanctions by offering gifts to the bishop . The monks again appealed to Walter in about 1200 , but between the archbishop 's preoccupation with political affairs and Norreis 's promises to reform , no solid changes occurred . 
