Durdent was a Benedictinemonk before his elevation to the episcopate.[1] He was prior of Christ Church Priory in Canterbury when he was elected to Coventry through the influence of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury.[2] Walter was consecrated as Bishop of Coventry on 2 October 1149.[3] He was considered an excellent theologian.[2] During his time as bishop, he forbade the practice of selling the chrism used in various ecclesiastical rituals.[4]
Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-56350-X.
Knowles, David (1976). The Monastic Order in England: A History of its Development from the Times of St. Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council, 940–1216 (Second reprint ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-05479-6.