Walter Branscombe

Infobox bishopbiog
name =Walter Branscombe


religion =Catholic
See =Diocese of Exeter
Title = Bishop of Exeter
Period = 1258–1280
Predecessor = Richard Blund
Successor =Peter Quinel
ordination =March 9 1258
bishops =
post =Archdeacon of Surrey
date of birth = c. 1220
place of birth =
date of death =July 22 1280
place of death =

Walter Branscombe (or Walter Bronscombe, Walter Branescombe, Walter Bronescombe, or Walter Bronescomb) was bishop of Exeter from 1258 to 1280.

Life

Nothing is known of his ancestry or education, but he was born in Exeter about 1220. He held a prebend in of St Nicholas's College at Wallingford Castle, as well as a number of other benefices.Denton "Bronescombe, Walter of (c.1220–1280)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"] He also was archdeacon of Surrey.Greenway " [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33880 Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: volume 2: Monastic cathedrals (northern and southern provinces): Archdeacons: Surrey] "] In 1250, he acted as King Henry III of England's representative at the papal curia, and was appointed the king's proctor the next year. Besides being a royal clerk, he was often named as a papal chaplain also. Before 1254 he became a canon of Exeter Cathedral.

He was elected to the see of Exeter on February 23 1258 and consecrated on March 10 1258.Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 246] He was consecrated a priest on March 10 1258, with both consecrations being done by Boniface of Savoy, the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was enthroned at Exeter on April 14 1258.

Maurice Powicke's opinion was that, having been trained in the royal service, he settled down to become an assiduous diocesan bishop. [Powicke "The Thirteenth Century", p. 485] He faced some problems at the start of his time as bishop, for right after the death of the previous bishop, Richard Blund, a number of Blund's officials and clerks had used Blund's seal to forge letters giving away benefices as well as Blund's property. This left Branscombe with debts and administrative issues.Moorman "Church Life in England" p. 173] He undertook building work on the Lady Chapel and choir in Exeter Cathedral. [ [http://www.nicholls.edu/art-dhc/surveyessays/exeter.htm Exeter's Architectural Treasure: The Cathedral of St. Peter] accessed on August 31, 2007] He also continued to perform diplomatic missions for the king, as he was at Paris in 1258 and 1263. He attended a general council of the church held at Lyons in the summer of 1274.

His register of his diocesan administration is the earliest episcopal one surviving from Exeter. He was a founder of a number of churches in his diocese, and issued sets of instructions for his cathedral church as well as others in his diocese. His last years were occupied with a dispute with Edmund earl of Cornwall over the earl's infringement of ecclesiastical rights.

He died on July 22 1280 at Bishopsteignton. He was buried in Exeter Cathedral, where his tomb, with the bishop's effigy, still survives.

Notes

References

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* Hollie, April [http://www.nicholls.edu/art-dhc/surveyessays/exeter.htm Exeter's Architectural Treasure: The Cathedral of St. Peter] accessed on August 31, 2007
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* Powicke, F. Maurice "The Thirteenth Century"

Further reading

* Robinson, O. F. "The Register of Walter Bronescombe, Bishop of Exeter, 1258-1280", three volumes, Canterbury & York Society, from 1995

External links

* [http://www.dsnell.zynet.co.uk/Oliver/12.html Oliver's Lives of the Bishops of Exeter: Walter Bronescombe]
* [http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/branscombe.htm Legendary Dartmoor: Branscombe's Loaf and Cheese]
* [http://www.exeter-cathedral.org.uk/Tour/Tour15.html The Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Exeter: Bishop Bronescombe's Tomb]

Persondata
NAME= Branscombe, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Exeter
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=July 22, 1280
PLACE OF DEATH=