Life

Nothing is known of Balsham's background, although during the dispute over his election he was alleged to have been of servile birth. He was a Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 monk at Ely, and appears first as sub-prior of the cathedral chapter

Cathedral chapter

In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...

 there. On the death of William of Kilkenny

William of Kilkenny

William of Kilkenny was a Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Ely.-Life:William may be the same William of Kilkenny who was elected Bishop of Ossory in 1231, but resigned the office in 1232 before being consecrated. Whether that William is the same William that later became Bishop of Ely, the...

 in 1256 the monks elected him Bishop of Ely

Bishop of Ely

The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...

, to the annoyance of King Henry III of England

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

 and Boniface of Savoy, the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

. Boniface declared the election invalid, and attempted to install Adam Marsh

Adam Marsh

Adam Marsh was an English Franciscan, scholar and theologian.-Biography:He was born about 1200 in the diocese of Bath, and educated at Oxford under the famous Grosseteste....

 into the see. Both sides appealed to Rome. The election was confirmed by Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV

Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...

 in 1257.

Balsham was consecrated on 14 October 1257 by the pope. Balsham also promised that he would visit Rome every three years, but he was released from this promise in 1278.

Balsham legislated against the sale of the sacraments. He was present at the Parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

 held at London in June 1264 that set up the government of Simon de Montfort

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...

. Much of Balsham's time was spent in repairing damage done to his diocese by various people, first the royal administrators during the election dispute, and then later some of the baronial supporters who occupied the Isle of Ely in 1265. The bishop issued statues for his diocese, and worked to improve the administration of the diocese. He promoted the cult of Ethelreda

Æthelthryth

Æthelthryth is the proper name for the popular Anglo-Saxon saint often known, particularly in a religious context, as Etheldreda or by the pet form of Audrey...

, the local saint of Ely. Gifts to the monks of the cathedral chapter as well as to churches in his diocese contributed to his reputation as a good bishop.

Balsham played an important role in the early history of Cambridge University

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

. In 1280 he obtained a charter from the king allowing him to replace the secular brethren residing in the diocesan hospital of St John at Cambridge by "studious scholars"; a second charter four years later entirely differentiated these scholars from the brethren of the hospital, and for them Balsham founded and endowed the college of Peterhouse

Peterhouse, Cambridge

Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...

, the first Cambridge college. He left 200 pounds to the college in his will.

Balsham died on 16 June 1286 at the manor of Dodington on the Isle of Ely. He was buried in Ely Cathedral

Ely Cathedral

Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...

 on 24 June 1286. A brass in the church at Balsham, Cambridgeshire supposedly depicts the bishop. An unidentified tomb slab now in Ely Cathdral has sometimes been identified as his, but this identification is not secure.

Further reading