John Hotham (died 1337) was a medieval Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord High Treasurer, Lord Chancellor and

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

. He was also the effective Governor of Ireland for a time. Hotham was the son of Alan and Matilda Hotham of Hotham and nephew of William Hotham,

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

. His early career was spent in Ireland, where he became

Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the office was sometimes called ...

until 1310. He was then appointed, on 13 December 1312,

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

in England, a post he held until June 1316. Due to his knowledge of Irish affairs, he spent a good part of the

Bruce Campaign in Ireland The Bruce campaign was a three-year military campaign in Ireland by Edward Bruce, brother of the Scottish king Robert the Bruce. It lasted from his landing at Larne in 1315 to his defeat and death in 1318 at the Battle of Faughart in County ...

in that country, overseeing the Irish defences and exercising temporary powers of government. His firm action is generally credited with helping to bring about the defeat of the Scots invasion. Hotham was elected to Ely on about 20 June 1316 and consecrated on 3 October 1316.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 244 Later that year he went to meet the pope in Avignon with the earl of Pembroke, partly to plead the case for the promotion of Alexander Bicknor as Archbishop of Dublin. After returning from Avignon, he was appointed

Lord High Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...

of England on 27 May 1317 but left that office in June 1318.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 104 when he was promoted as

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

of England on 11 June 1318, an office he held until 26 January 1320.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 86 Although close to

King Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

, Hotham switched allegiance to Queen Isabella when she successfully invaded to depose the king in September 1326. He was consequently appointed chancellor for the second time by her on behalf of the young

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

on 28 January 1327. He retired from government in 1328. Memorial to Bishop Hotham in Ely Cathedral

Hotham died about 14 January 1337 after two years of paralysis and was buried in

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hotham, John Year of birth unknown 1337 deaths Chancellors of the Exchequer of Ireland Chancellors of the Exchequer of England Lord chancellors of England Lord high treasurers of England Bishops of Ely