William Hamilton was deputy chancellor of England from 1286 to 1289, then

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

from 1305 to his death on 20 April 1307. He was also

Dean of York Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

.Powicke ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 83

Life

In 1280, he was a justice ''in itinere'' for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, but for pleas of forest only. In 1282, he was custos of the

bishopric of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

and of the abbey of Hide. He then became a clerk in chancery, and in 1286 vice-chancellor to the king, having occasional custody of the great seal. On the death of

Robert Burnell Robert Burnell (sometimes spelled Robert Burnel;Harding ''England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 159 c. 1239 – 25 October 1292) was an English bishop who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1274 to 1292. A native of Shropshire, h ...

on 25 October 1292, the great seal was delivered into the wardrobe under his seal, and until he set out as the bishop's executor with his corpse for the funeral at Wells he sealed writs. During absences of the next chancellor,

John Langton John Langton (died 1337) was a chancellor of England and Bishop of Chichester. Life Langton was a clerk in the royal chancery, serving as the first Master of the Rolls from May 1286, and became chancellor in 1292.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of B ...

, from 4 to 30 March, and 22 to 27 August 1297, and from 20 February to 16 June 1299, he also had charge of the great seal. Meantime, he had received ecclesiastical preferment of various kinds. In 1287, he received the prebend of Warthill, York, and in 1288 was appointed archdeacon of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and in December 1298

dean of York Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. As William de Hemelthorne he is recorded as a Canon of St Cuthburga's church (Wimborne Minster in East Dorset) under Dean William de Cornere. He also held the deanery of the church of

St Buryan St Buryan ( kw, Pluwveryan) is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of St Buryan, Lamorna and Paul in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village of St Buryan is situated approximately west of Penzance along the B3283 to ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He is mentioned in the Year-Book as engaged in a lawsuit with Robert le Veyl in 1303. In December 1304, the then chancellor, Grenefield, resigned the seals in order to proceed to Rome and induce the pope to permit his consecration as archbishop of York. Hamilton, though absent, was nominated his successor by the king 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 ...

on 29 December, and until his arrival the seal was placed in the wardrobe, under the seal of Sir Adam de Osgodebey, the master of the rolls. On 16 January 1305, Hamilton returned and received the seal from the treasurer, the Bishop of Coventry. Shortly after his appointment on 6 April, he was admonished by the king in full parliament against granting letters of protection from suits brought against them to persons absent in Ireland. During his term of office, he sealed the ''statute de tallagio non concedendo'' and the commission for the trial of Sir

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

. He died on 20 April 1307, while in attendance upon the king at

Fountains Abbey Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near to the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 40 ...

, and was succeeded by

Ralph de Baldock __NOTOC__ Ralph Baldock (or Ralph de Baldoc) was a medieval Bishop of London. Baldock was elected on 24 February 1304, confirmed 10 May, and consecrated on 30 January 1306.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 258 Baldock served as ...

, bishop of London.

Notes

;Attribution

References

* Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961

Life

Notes

References

See also