Editing Hugh de Balsham (section)

==Life==
Nothing is known of Balsham's background, although during the dispute over his election he was alleged to have been of servile birth, and his name suggests a connection with the [[Cambridgeshire]] village of [[Balsham]]. He was a [[Benedictine]] monk at [[Ely Abbey|Ely]],<ref name=DNB>Owen "Balsham, Hugh of" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''</ref> and appears first as sub-prior of the [[cathedral chapter]] there.<ref name=BHOEly>Greenway ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Ely: Bishops''</ref> On the death of [[William of Kilkenny]] in 1256 the monks elected him [[Bishop of Ely]], to the annoyance of King [[Henry III of England]] and [[Boniface of Savoy (archbishop)|Boniface of Savoy]], the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. Boniface declared the election invalid, and attempted to install [[Adam Marsh]] in the see. Both sides appealed to Rome.<ref name=DNB/> The election was confirmed by Pope [[Pope Alexander IV|Alexander IV]] in 1257.<ref name=BHOEly/>

Balsham was consecrated on 14 October 1257 by the pope.<ref name=Handbook244/> Balsham also promised that he would visit Rome every three years, but he was released from this promise in 1278.<ref name=DNB/>

Balsham legislated against the sale of the sacraments.<ref name=Moorman228>Moorman ''Church Life in England'' p. 228</ref> He was present at the [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] held at London in June 1264 that set up the government of [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]].<ref name=Lords195>Powell and Wallis ''House of Lords'' p. 195</ref> Much of Balsham's time was spent in repairing damage done to his diocese by various people, first the royal administrators during the election dispute, and then later some of the baronial supporters who occupied the [[Isle of Ely]] in 1265. The bishop issued statues for his diocese, and worked to improve the administration of the diocese. He promoted the cult of [[Æthelthryth|Ethelreda]], the local saint of Ely. Gifts to the monks of the cathedral chapter as well as to churches in his diocese contributed to his reputation as a good bishop.<ref name=DNB/>

Balsham played an important role in the early history of [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]]. In 1280, he obtained a charter from the king allowing him to replace the secular brethren residing in the diocesan hospital of St John at Cambridge by "studious scholars"; a second charter four years later entirely differentiated these scholars from the brethren of the hospital,<ref name=DNB/> and for them Balsham founded and endowed the college of [[Peterhouse, Cambridge|Peterhouse]],<ref name=Moorman161>Moorman ''Church Life in England'' p. 161 footnote 2</ref> the first Cambridge college. He left 200 pounds to the college in his will.<ref name=DNB/>

Balsham died on 16 June 1286<ref name=Handbook244>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 244</ref> at the manor of [[Doddington, Cambridgeshire|Doddington]] on the Isle of Ely. He was buried in [[Ely Cathedral]] on 24 June 1286. A [[monumental brass]] in the church at Balsham, Cambridgeshire, supposedly depicts the bishop.<ref name=DNB/> An unidentified tomb slab now in [[Ely Cathedral]] has sometimes been identified as his, but this identification is not secure.<ref name=Tomb78>Sayers "Once 'Proud Prelate'" ''Journal of the British Archaeological Association'' pp.&nbsp;78–79</ref>