Hugh de Balsham

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Hugh de Balsham (or Hugo; died 16 June 1286) was a medieval English bishop.

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,<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, 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 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 held at London in June 1264 that set up the government of 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 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 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,<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 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. 78–79</ref>