William of Kilkenny

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 or not that was the case, the man who later became bishop of Ely was a king's clerk by 1234. He was sent to Rome on royal business twice, once in 1234–1235 and again in 1237. In 1238 he left royal service, and was employed by two successive bishops of Durham, Nicholas of Farnham and Richard Poore. By May 1247 he was back in royal service, for in that month King Henry III of England sent him overseas.Stacey "Kilkenny, William of" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

William was Archdeacon of Coventry,Greenway [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33863 Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Ely: Bishops] from November 1247, as well as controller of the wardrobe from 1249 to 1252, and chancellor from 1250 to 1255.Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 85

William was elected to the see of Ely about 29 September 1254 and consecrated on 15 August 1255 at Bellay in Savoy by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Boniface of Savoy.

William died on 21 September 1256,Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 244 in Spain where he had gone on a diplomatic mission for the king. His heart was sent to Ely for burial in Ely Cathedral. His only known relative was a nephew who held land in Waterford and was knighted in 1254. He had constructed an elaborate tomb that remained empty, and is now located near the high altar in the north choir aisle of Ely Cathedral. His heart was buried near the altar of Saint Etheldreda.Sayers "Once 'Proud Prelate'" Journal of the British Archaeological Association pp. 77–78

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• {{cite book |author1=Fryde, E. B. |author2=Greenway, D. E. |author3=Porter, S. |author4=Roy, I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology|edition=Third revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-56350-X }}
• {{cite book |author=Greenway, Diana E. |section=Ely: Bishops |title=Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300 |volume=2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces) |section-url= http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33863 |access-date= 25 October 2007 |year=1971 |publisher=Institute of Historical Research }}
• {{cite journal |author=Sayers, Jane |title=A Once Proud Prelate: An Unidentified Episcopal Monument in Ely Cathedral |journal = Journal of the British Archaeological Association |volume=162 |year=2009 |pages=67–87 |doi= 10.1179/006812809x12448232842376|s2cid=192184394 }}
• {{cite ODNB |author= Stacey, Robert C. |title=Kilkenny, William of |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/15527}}

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{{s-bef| before=John Lexington }}

{{s-ttl | title=Lord Chancellor | years=1250–1255}}

{{s-aft| after=Henry Wingham }}

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{{s-bef | before=Hugh of Northwold}}

{{s-ttl | title=Bishop of Ely | years=1254–1256}}

{{s-aft| after=Hugh of Balsham }}

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{{Pre-Reformation Bishops of Ossory}}

{{House of Plantagenet Lord Chancellors}}

{{Bishops of Ely}}

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{{short description|13th-century Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England}}

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Category:Lord chancellors of England

Category:Bishops of Ely

Category:13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops

Category:Archdeacons of Coventry

Category:1256 deaths

Category:Normans in Ireland

Category:Burials at Ely Cathedral

Category:Year of birth unknown