Life

Melton was the son of Henry of Melton, and the brother of Henry de Melton. He was born in Melton

Melton, East Riding of Yorkshire

Melton is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about west of Kingston upon Hull city centre and lies to the north of the A63 road.With Welton and Wauldby, it forms the civil parish of Welton....

 in the parish of Welton

Welton, East Riding of Yorkshire

Welton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north of the town of Brough on the north side of the A63 road to Kingston upon Hull....

, about nine miles from Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

. He was a contemporary of John Hotham

John Hotham (bishop)

John Hotham was a medieval Bishop of Ely.Hotham was elected to Ely about 20 June 1316 and consecrated on 3 October 1316.Hotham was appointed Lord High Treasurer of England on 27 May 1317 and left that office before 10 June 1318....

, Chancellor of England and 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...

. The two prelates were often associated in public matters and were the most powerful churchmen of their period in England.

Melton was Comptroller of the Wardrobe at the accession of King Edward II and was a pluralist through and through at the time of his elevation to the See of York. Among other things, he was also Archdeacon of Barnstaple

Archdeacon of Barnstaple

The Archdeaconry of Barnstaple is one of the oldest Archdeaconries in England. It is an administrative division of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter.-History:...

 and Provost of Beverley. He was Lord Privy Seal

Lord Privy Seal

The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...

 from 1307 to about 1312, having been Dean of St. Martin's-le-Grand at that time also. He was elected by the Chapter of York within a month of Archbishop Greenfield

William Greenfield

William Greenfield served as both the Lord Chancellor of England and the Archbishop of York. He was also known as William of Greenfield.-Life:...

's death, in December 1315, but difficulties arose and he was not consecrated until September 1317, at Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

 by Pope John XXII

Pope John XXII

Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...

.

Throughout his Archiepiscopate, he was actively concerned in the affairs of Scotland. Between 1318 and 1322, the Scots, under James Douglas, Lord of Douglas

James Douglas, Lord of Douglas

Sir James Douglas , , was a Scottish soldier and knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence.-Early life:...

, made forays into Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, devastating great parts of the country, destroying churches and sacking the richest monasteries. During the raid of 1319, the King was at the Siege of Berwick and much of the trained soldiery was there with him. Archbishop Melton was ordered to collect what men he could and to lead them against the Scots. Clergy, friars and citizens of York were accordingly gathered and the result was the Battle of Myton

Battle of Myton

The Battle of Myton, nicknamed the Chapter of Myton or The White Battle because of the number of clergy involved, was a major engagement in the First Scottish War of Independence, fought in Yorkshire on 20 September 1319.-Berwick Falls:...

 (12 October 1319) on the Swale

Swale

Swale is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its council is based in Sittingbourne. The borough is named after the narrow channel called The Swale, a channel that separates the mainland of Kent from the Isle of Sheppey, and which occupies the central part of the...

, in which the English were entirely routed. Queen Isabella

Isabella of France

Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...

, who was in York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 at the time, managed to escape to safety at Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

.

Connected with the Scottish foray of 1322 was the battle of Boroughbridge

Battle of Boroughbridge

The Battle of Boroughbridge was a battle fought on 16 March 1322 between a group of rebellious barons and King Edward II of England, near Boroughbridge, northwest of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the king and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his most powerful subject, it...

, in which the Earl of Lancaster was taken prisoner. He was led from Boroughbridge

Boroughbridge

Boroughbridge is a small town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of York. Until its bypass was built, it was on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh...

 to his own castle of Pontefract

Pontefract

Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

 and there beheaded. Archbishop Melton had aided Lancaster at one point, and seems, in consequence, to have fallen into some disfavour with Edward II

Edward II of England

Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

. By 1325 however, the King's good opinion had been recovered, since Melton then became Lord Treasurer of England

Lord High Treasurer

The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...

 until 1326.

Melton did not desert King Edward in his latter days, regarding his imprisonment with great displeasure. Nor was he present at the coronation of Edward III

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

, and is said afterwards to have been engaged in a dangerous intrigue to upset the new government, for which he was arrested, though acquitted. In January 1328, Melton married the young King to Philippa of Hainault

Philippa of Hainault

Philippa of Hainault, or, Philippe de Hainaut was the Queen consort of King Edward III of England. Edward, Duke of Guyenne, her future husband, promised in 1326 to marry her within the following two years...

. In 1330 he was reappointed Treasurer, but left the office in 1331.

Work and Legacy

Archbishop Melton completed the building of the nave of York Minster

York Minster

York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...

 and his figure still remains above the great western portal. He is said to have assisted largely in building St. Patrick's Church, Patrington

St. Patrick's Church, Patrington

St. Patrick's Church, Patrington is a parish church in the Church of England located in Patrington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The church is a Grade I listed building.-History:The church dates to the medieval era....

, in Holderness

Holderness

Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common with the Netherlands than other parts of Yorkshire...

, and certainly gave much toward the fabric of Beverley Minster

Beverley Minster

Beverley Minster, in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire is a parish church in the Church of England. It is said to be the largest parish church in the UK....

. He died 5 April 1340 at Cawood Palace, and was buried in the north aisle of the nave at York Minster, a memorial window installed shortly after his death being transferred to St James' Church, High Melton

St James' Church, High Melton

St James' Church, High Melton, is a parish church in the Church of England in High Melton.-Background:The Church of St James dominates the village of High Melton, near Doncaster, in South Yorkshire...

 in 1790's by the Dean of York

Dean of York

The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral.-11th–12th centuries:* 1093–c.1135: Hugh* c.1138–1143: William of Sainte-Barbe...

, John Fountayne

John Fountayne

John Fountayne, M.A. , DD, was a Church of England clergyman and the longest serving Dean of York.-Life:Fountayne was the younger of two sons of John Fountayne...

.

Melton died very wealthy, having custody many manors and estates. His heir was his nephew, William Melton Junior of Aston, near Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, who was the progenitor of one of the most powerful knightly families in the south of Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

.

He kept a detailed log of his activities while he was Archbishop of York, published as The Register of William Melton in five volumes.

The Guardian newspaper

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

, mentioned Archbishop Melton in an article they ran discussing the possibility of charging for admittance to York Minster, saying

"The minister no longer owns sumptuous legacies such as the estates in Hampshire and Devon bought by the 14th century Archbishop William Melton, who was such a successful businessman that he organised loans for his Italian bankers."