John Spalding was a 15th century churchman based at Brechin

Brechin

Brechin is a former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin is often described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese , but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era...

 in Angus

Angus

Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Spalding became Dean

Dean (religion)

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...

 of Brechin in 1456; he was confirmed in this position by the Pope on October 5, 1458. After the resignation of Robert Lauder

Robert Lauder

Robert Lauder, M.A., Bachelor of Canon Law , was a Scottish prelate and Nuncio of the 15th century. The Lauder family produced a large number of senior churchman in this period, and alongside Robert can be named William Lauder, Bishop of Glasgow, Alexander Lauder and Thomas Lauder, both...

 as Bishop of Dunblane

Bishop of Dunblane

The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane/Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland. The bishopric itself certainly derives from an older...

 at the papal curia onSeptember 12, 1466, the Pope provided John Herspolz

John Herspolz

John Herspolz [also John Hepburn] was a 15th century Bishop of Dunblane. On the day of the resignation of the bishopric of Dunblane by Robert Lauder at the papal curia - September 12, 1466 - Pope Paul II provided Herspolz as Lauder's successor.Herpolz's strange name suggests that he was not...

 to that bishopric; King James III of Scotland

James III of Scotland

James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...

 however, perhaps not aware of the Pope's actions, nominated John Spalding in late 1466 or in 1467; this certainly occurred before November 19, 1467. John did not become the bishop however, Herspolz being consecrated in the summer or autumn of 1467. Spalding retained his deanery until 1487, despite challenged by John Barry from 1477 onwards. On February 17, 1487, Spalding exchanged the deanery of Brechin for the precentor

Precentor

A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is "præcentor", from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" ....

ship of the cathedral with Hugh Douglas; Spalding was said to be 69 years old on this occasion.