Life

Taunton was a monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

 of Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...

 before becoming Prior of Winchester in 1250. He was expelled from the office of prior

Prior

Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...

 in 1255 by Aymer de Valence

Aymer de Valence

Aymer de Valence, also known as Aymer de Lusignan or Thelmar de Valence, was a Bishop of Winchester around 1250.-Life:...

, Bishop of Winchester

Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...

 and replaced by Andrew of London

Andrew of London

Andrew of London was a medieval Bishop of Winchester elect. Not to be mistaken for his namesake who participated in the Siege of Lisbon in 1147....

. However, he was named abbot

Abbot

The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

 of Milton Abbey

Milton Abbey

Milton Abbey School is a British independent school in the Dorset countryside. It has 227 pupils in six boarding Houses, called Athelstan, Bancks, Damer, Hambro, Middleton and Tregonwell. Founded in 1954, it welcomes boys from 13 to 16 years and is coeducational in the sixth form.The school has a...

 before 6 December 1256. In 1261, he received a majority of the votes of the chapter of Winchester in an election to become Bishop of Winchester, but a minority selected Andrew of London and both men appealed to 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...

 and Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...

. Urban quashed the elections of both men sometime before 22 June 1262. William, however, received a dispensation

Dispensation (Catholic Church)

In the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, a dispensation is the suspension by competent authority of general rules of law in particular cases...

 for illegitimacy from the pope on 6 July 1262.