Richard Oldham (died 1485/86) was a pre-

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

cleric who served as the

Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Cathedral Church of St German where ...

in the second half of the 15th century. He was elected

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

in 1455 and appointed

on 11 or 15 February 1478, holding both posts until his death. Contemporary records reveal some acrimony between Oldham and the townsfolk of

. In 1474 and 1478, the

Exchequer of Chester The Exchequer of Chester was a fiscal court based in the County Palatine of Chester. In 1071 the Earldom of Chester was created, and due to the Earldom's size it ruled Chester almost entirely independently as a County Palatine. This arrangement nec ...

guaranteed his safety and that of his monks, and in a later turnaround of events in 1480 he and twelve fellow monks were themselves bound over to keep the peace in the city. He died in office either on 13 October 1485 or 19 September 1486 and was buried at

Chester Abbey Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldham, Richard 1480s deaths 15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Benedictine abbots Benedictine bishops Bishops of Sodor and Man 15th-century English abbots 15th-century Christian abbots Year of birth unknown