Thomas Spofford (d. 1456) was a medieval

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. Until 1534, the Diocese of Hereford was in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and two of its bishop ...

and Abbot of St Mary's Abbey, York.

Early life

Spofford was probably born in Spofforth,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, in the 1370s. He entered the Benedictine order at the abbey of St Mary's in York in 1392 and was elected as its abbot on 8 June 1405. He became visitor of the Benedictines in York province, and proctor of the province and the archbishop at the

Council of Pisa The Council of Pisa (; , also nicknamed the , "secret meeting", by those who considered it illegitimate) was a controversial council held in 1409. It attempted to end the Western Schism by deposing both Benedict XIII (Avignon) and Gregory XII ...

in 1409. He was one of

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

's ambassadors to the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

in 1414. In November 1417 he was one of the six English members of the conclave that elected

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

. He was nominated by the Pope to the position of Bishop of Hereford on 18 November 1421 and consecrated on 24 May 1422. He went on pilgrimage to Rome in 1429 but mainly remained in Hereford. He twice petitioned King Henry VI and two popes to be allowed to resign his position. He resigned his see about 4 December 1448.

References

Bishops of Hereford 15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Abbots of St Mary's, York 15th-century Christian abbots 15th-century English abbots {{England-bishop-stub