SALISBURY. 
able auspices, the building of it proceeded with such rapidity, 
that in less than five years a portion of it was ready for the 
celebration of divine service. Three altars were, in conse¬ 
quence, consecrated on the vigil of St. Michael, in the year 
1225; one to the honour of the Holy Trinity and All-Saints; 
a second to St. Peter and the Apostles; and a third to St. Ste¬ 
phen, and the rest of the martyrs. On this occasion, many 
valuable donations were offered on the altars; among the 
rest, a text of the bible, set with precious stones, and the relics 
of many saints, which appeal's to have been preserved here 
till the period of the Reformation, as it is mentioned in the 
inventory made by the commissioners of Henry VIII. In 
1226, William Longspee, earl of Sarum, having died, was 
buried in the new cathedral, having been the first person 
who was so honoured: and in the same year the bodies and 
tombs of three bishops, St. Osmund, Roger, and Josceline, 
were removed hither from the church at Old Sarum. Soon 
after this event, bishop Poore was translated, by a papal bull, 
to the see of Durham, when Robert Bingham was elected his 
successor, and was consecrated at Wilton, in 1229. Like 
the illustrious founder, he prosecuted the building of the 
cathedral with great ardour; but though he sat eighteen 
years, it was far from being finished at the time of his death, 
which happened in 1246. William of York, who next ob¬ 
tained the prelacy, rendered himself extremely unpopular by 
reviving the vexations of attending the lords' courts. He 
died in 1256, and was succeeded by Egidius, or Giles de 
Bridport, in whose time the great work of the cathedral was 
brought to a close, as far, at least, as was at first intended ; 
for the spire, which was subsequently erected, is said to have 
been an after thought, and to have formed no part of the 
original design. Bishop Godwin states, that it was dedi¬ 
cated by Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury, Sept. 30, 1258, 
in the presence of king Henry III.; but Wanda says, that 
the king could not attend, being engaged at Shrewsbury. 
The cost of the erection of the whole edifice, as appeared 
from an account then delivered to the king, was 40,000 
marks. 
Bishop Bridport had scarcely survived four years after the 
completion of the cathedral, when he died, and left the 
vacant see to Walter de la Wyle, who founded the college 
of St. Edmund’s in this city. He died, Jan. 3d, 1270, 
and was succeeded by Robert de Wikhampton, the dean, 
whose election was violently opposed by archbishop Kil- 
wardy; but he was nevertheless finally compelled to con¬ 
secrate him, in 1274. This prelate died in 1284, when 
Walter Scammel was chosen bishop, but did not enjoy his 
dignity above two years. His successor was Henry de 
Braundston, who lived only a few months after his election. 
He was succeeded by Laurence de Hawkburn, who like¬ 
wise died before he was confirmed ; his nomination having 
been disputed by William de la Comer, his successor. This 
prelate was consecrated May 14th, 1289, and, dying in 1291, 
had, for his successor, Nicholas Longspee, son of William 
Longspee, earl of Sarum, and his countess Ela. Previous to 
his elevation to the see, he held the office of treasurer of the 
cathedral; and having been far advanced in life, he sat only 
six years, during which period nothing remarkable occurred. 
He died in 1297, when Simon de Gandavo, or Gaunt, was 
consecrated bishop, and enjoyed the prelacy till his death, 
in 1315. This bishop empowered the mayor and citizens of 
Salisbury, to fortify the city with a wall and ditch. His 
successor was Roger de Mortival, dean of Lincoln and 
chancellor of Oxford, who died in 1329, and was succeeded 
by Robert Wyvil, whom Walsingham characterises as one 
of the most deformed, ugly, and illiterate men of his age. 
He instituted, in 1355, a suit against William de Montecute, 
earl of Sarum, claiming the castle of Old Sarum, as the in¬ 
heritance of the bishops of Salisbury, in right of bishop 
Roger, from whom he alleged it had been unjustly wrested 
by king Stephen. So difficult of determination did this 
point appear, that the judges left it to be decided by single 
combat; but the king interposed his authority, and the 
matter was compromised by the surrender of the castle for 
the sum of 2500 marks. Wyvil also recovered for his 
Vol. XXII. No. 1523. 
573 
church Beerewood and Sherborne castles, the latter of which 
had been constructed by bishop Roger, and had shared the 
fate of the fortress of Old Sarum. This prelate died in 1375, 
when Ralph Erghum was consecrated bishop, by the nomi¬ 
nation of the pope, in opposition to John de Wormenshall, 
who had been elected by the canons, and had received the 
approbation of the king. He sat twelve years, after which 
he was translated to the see of Bath and Wells, by a papal 
bull. On his removal, John Waltham, or Waltan, master 
of the rolls, and keeper of the privy seal to king Richard II. 
succeeded, and continued in the enjoyment of all his dig¬ 
nities till his death, in 1395. Richard Metford was the 
next prelate of his see, having been translated hither from 
Chichester in the same year. He died in 1407, when 
Nicholas Bubwith obtained the see, but was soon afterwards 
removed to the bishopric of Bath and Wells, and invested 
with the dignity of treasurer of England. Upon this event, 
Robert Hallam was advanced to the vacant prelacy; but in 
less than two years afterwards, he was nominated to the dig¬ 
nity of a cardinal, and deputed to assist at the council of 
Pisa, convened in 1413. He was likewise present at the 
council of Constance, in 1417, and died in the month of 
September in that year. His successor in the see of Salis¬ 
bury, was John Chandler, the dean, who presided ten years, 
and was followed by Robert Neville, founder of the monas¬ 
tery of Sunning, in Berkshire. He was removed to the see 
of Durham, in 1427, and William Aiscough, or Haolift', 
succeeded to the bishopric of Salisbury. This prelate fell a 
victim to the barbarity of his own tenants, who, taking part 
in Jack Cade’s rebellion, stoned him to death, and pillaged 
his palace at Eddington, on the 29th of June, 1450. 
Richard Beauchamp next obtained the see, having been 
translated hither from that of Hereford, by a papal bull. 
Godwin affirms, that this bishop was the first chancellor of 
the Garter; but Dr. Milner, in his “ History of Winchester,” 
with more probability, claims that honour for William de 
Eddington, one of the bishops of that diocese. Beauchamp 
built a chapel on the south side of the Lady chapel, in 
Salisbury cathedral. His death happened in 1481, when 
Lionel Woodville succeeded, but scarcely survived his eleva¬ 
tion four years. He was son to Richard Woodville, earl 
Rivers, and brother to Elizabeth, consort of Edward IV. 
On his death, in 1484, Thomas Langton, bishop of St. 
David’s, was translated to Salisbury, and presided nine 
years, and at length was removed to the bishopric of Win¬ 
chester. His successor was John Blythe, who received con¬ 
secration in 1493, and was appointed chancellor of Oxford 
the year following. He died in 1499, leaving the vacant 
see to Henry Deane, bishop of Bangor, who, about a year 
afterwards, was nominated Lord Chancellor of England, 
and Archbishop of Canterbury. These preferments were 
bestowed upon him by king Henry VII., whose interest he 
had materially promoted in his capacity of Chancellor of 
Ireland, by crushing the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck. He 
departed this life, in 1502, when Edmund Audley was pre¬ 
ferred to the see of Sarum. This prelate founded and built 
an elegant chapel, or chantry, in his cathedral, and erected 
a stone pulpit in the church of St. Mary, in Salisbury. His 
death happened in 1524, and made way for Cardinal Lau¬ 
rence Campeggio, the pope’s legate in England, whither he 
had been dispatched from Rome to induce king Henry VIII. 
to join the confederation of Christian princes against the 
Turks. He afterwards was again sent to this country to sit 
as judge with Cardinal Wolsey, on the question of the 
king’s divorce from Catharine of Arragon; which proved 
the occasion of his being deprived of his see of Salisbury 
by the king, who conferred it on Nicholas Shaxton, in 1535. 
The latter, however, did not long enjoy it, hgving been 
ejected for non-conformity, in 1539, when John Salcot, or 
Capon, was translated to this bishopric from Bangpr, and 
held it till his death, in 1557. His successor was John Peto, 
who was appointed by pope Paul IV., in opposition to 
Cardinal Pole, the favourite of Queen Mary. Her majesty, 
irritated at this measure, not only refused Peto possession of 
his bishopric, but banished him from her dominions, and 
7 G he 
