William Alnwick (died 1449) was an English Catholic clergyman. He was
Bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher.
The see is in the ...
(1426–1436) and
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
(1436–1449).
Educated at Cambridge, Alnwick was an ecclesiastic priest. He was probably the same hermit who lived in the St Benet's Chapel that was screened off as part of
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. On the night of 20 March 1413, as King
Henry IV lay dying in the
Jerusalem Chamber
The Jerusalem Chamber is a room in what was formerly the abbot's house of Westminster Abbey. It was added in the fourteenth century. The abbot's house was made the deanery when the monastery was dissolved in 1540.
Henry IV of England died in the ...
, his son and heir apparent
Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to:
People
*Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father
*Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460)
*Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...
wandered the precincts and spoke to Alnwick. On 20 March 1415, Alnwick was appointed as confessor-general of
Syon Abbey
Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettines, Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th cen ...
, but after a year returned to Westminster. During Henry V's reign he became
Archdeacon of Salisbury
The Archdeacon of Sarum is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. He or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five Rural Dean, area deaneries of the Sarum archdeaconry, which ...
, but by early 1421 had been appointed King's Secretary, and is recorded as attending Privy Council meetings. In the new reign he was forced to surrender his seals of office to Parliament before being named
Keeper of the Privy Seal on 19 December 1422. He had custody of the seal until 24 February 1432.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 95]
Alnwick was nominated to the
see of Norwich
The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England that forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.
History
It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of the Bishop of the East ...
on 27 February 1426 and consecrated on 18 August 1426. He was translated to the
see of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.
History
The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...
on 19 September 1436.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 262]
While bishop Alnwick built the east wing of bishop's palace at
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
, with chapel and dining-parlour and a gateway tower.
[Bishops of Lincoln]
accessed on 21 October 2007
While at Lincoln Alnwick attempted a resolution of a dispute within the cathedral, producing an elaborate arbitration. He then reviewed the whole body of statutes of the diocese, then largely unaltered since the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
, creating an improved one. He finished this by 1440, but the dean of the cathedral was hostile, and they argued over the implementation of the reforms until Alnwick's death.
Alnwick was an assiduous heresy-hunter, and persecutor of the
Lollards
Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...
, punishing them with imprisonment, forced entry into monasteries and, in at least one case, execution. He twice tried
Margery Baxter who was sentenced to be flogged in church and in public. He also tried
Hawise Mone (fl. 1428–1430) and they both agreed to recant their heresies.
Alnwick was involved in the foundation and building of
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
, as well as modifying Norwich and Lincoln Cathedrals, and the palaces in both of the dioceses of which he was bishop.
He died in 1449, and was buried in
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...
with a lengthy epitaph, now destroyed, recording his virtues. In his will he left money to St Michael's Church, Alnwick, as well as vestments, a
missal
A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a pries ...
, an
antiphoner
An antiphonary or antiphonal is one of the liturgical books intended for use (i.e. in the liturgical choir), and originally characterized, as its name implies, by the assignment to it principally of the antiphons used in various parts of the L ...
, and a chalice.
Alnwick died in office as Bishop of Lincoln on 5 December 1449.
[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 256]
His executors are listed as: John Breton, of Therfeld, parson; John Wygnell, master & doctor of decretals; Thomas Dunken, of Chalfhunt, master & parson; Thomas Twyer, master & parson
[ Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; year: 1460; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no799/aCP40no799fronts/IMG_0168.htm ; county margin Rutland ]
Citations
References
Bishops of Lincolnaccessed on 21 October 2007
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alnwick, William
Bishops of Norwich
Bishops of Lincoln
15th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
Lords Privy Seal
1449 deaths
Year of birth unknown