William of Bitton (died 1264) was a medieval English

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

Life

William was probably born in

Bitton Bitton is a village and civil parish of South Gloucestershire in Gloucestershire, England, to the east of Bristol and on the River Boyd. The parish of Bitton had a population of 9,307, and apart from the village itself, includes Swineford, ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

.Shaw "Button, William" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' He was a relative of

Walter Giffard Walter Giffard (April 1279) was Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York. Family Giffard was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire,Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York: Archbishops' a royal justice, ...

and uncle of William of Bitton II, his two successors in the office of Bishop of Bath and Wells.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Bishops
' He was also uncle of Thomas of Bitton, precentor, archdeacon and dean of Wells,Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Deans of Wells
' and

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

. William was an official of

Jocelin of Wells Jocelin of Wells (died 19 November 1242) was a medieval Bishop of Bath (and Glastonbury). He was the brother of Hugh de Wells, who became Bishop of Lincoln. Jocelin became a canon of Wells Cathedral before 1200, and was elected bishop in 1 ...

in 1231 and was subdean of Wells in 1233.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Subdeans of Wells
' He was named

Archdeacon of Wells The Archdeacon of Wells has been a senior clergy position in the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells since the English reformation, before which it was part of the Roman Catholic Church. The post, having oversight over the archdeaconry of ...

by 7 May 1238 and held the office until he was elected bishop.Greenway
Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Archdeacons of Wells
' During the election of his predecessor, he championed the cause of the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s of Wells, who had been excluded from the election of

Roger of Salisbury Roger of Salisbury (died 1139), was a Norman medieval bishop of Salisbury and the seventh Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England. Life Roger was originally priest of a small chapel near Caen in Normandy. He was called "Roger, priest of t ...

in 1244. William was elected about 24 February 1248 and consecrated 14 June 1248.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 228 In 1251 he signed the proclamation of excommunication against any who did not observe the clauses of

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

dealing with ecclesiastical rights. He served King

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...

by going to Spain in 1253 to bring back a prospective daughter-in-law for the king. In 1257, the bishops made specific reference to William's conflict with the

Abbot of Glastonbury __NOTOC__ The Abbot of Glastonbury was the head (or abbot) of the Anglo-Saxon and eventually Benedictine house of Glastonbury Abbey at Glastonbury in Somerset, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of t ...

in their communications with the king. But mainly, he worked in his diocese, as he issued rules and regulations in the diocese dealing with liturgical and judicial matters for both the laity and clergy. However, he lost a long fight with the abbot of Glastonbury Roger Forde over the right of the bishop to visit and regulate the affairs of

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

, and by the end of his term as bishop, the abbey was independent of the diocese in all but name. William died on 3 April 1264. He was buried in the Lady Chapel at

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells and the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells. There are daily Church of England services in ...

on 8 April 1264. His tomb had disappeared by the 18th century. He should not be confused with his nephew the second William of Bitton who was also Bishop of Bath and Wells, but who died in 1274.

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References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:William of Bitton I Bishops of Bath and Wells Archdeacons of Wells 1264 deaths Year of birth unknown 13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops People from Bitton