William of March

{{short description|13th and 14th-century Bishop of Bath and Wells}} {{Infobox Christian leader | name = William of March | image = | religion = Roman Catholic | title = Bishop of Bath and Wells | elected = 30 January 1293 | consecration = 17 May 1293 | consecrated_by = Richard Gravesend, William of Louth, and Thomas of Wouldham, O.S.B. | ended = 11 June 1302 | predecessor = Robert Burnell | successor =Walter Haselshaw | other_post =Canon of Wells | death_date =11 June 1302 | buried = Wells Cathedral | module = {{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes | office = Treasurer | term_start =August 1290 | term_end =August 1295 | monarch =Edward I of England | predecessor = John Kirkby | successor = John Droxford }} }}

'''William of March''' (or '''William March''';<ref name=Clanchy94>Clanchy ''From Memory to Written Record'' p. 94</ref> died 1302) was a medieval Treasurer of England and a Bishop of Bath and Wells.

==Life==

William was always referred to as ''magister'', and may have attended and graduated from Oxford University.<ref name=DNB>Jewell "March, William" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''</ref> He was controller of the wardrobe from 1283 to 1290 and Dean of St. Martin's-le-Grand before being selected as Treasurer in August 1290. He was Treasurer until he was dismissed in August 1295.<ref name=Handbook104>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 104</ref> While treasurer, he introduced the practice of keeping Exchequer Journal rolls, or as accountants know them day books, which recorded the total amount in the treasury at the start of each day along with all payments made that day. This practice began in 1293 and did not record any payments made before taxes arrived at the treasury.<ref name=Clanchy94/>

William was a canon of Wells by 20 March 1291 and a royal clerk.<ref name=BHOBath>Greenway ''[http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=34341 Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 7: Bath and Wells: Bishops]''</ref>

William was elected bishop on 30 January 1293 and consecrated on 17 May 1293.<ref name=Handbook228>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 228</ref> As treasurer he was instrumental in putting forward administrative changes in the way the department was run. For the first time, monies coming into the treasury were recorded on special accounts and the officials of the department became more involved in the collection and assessment of taxes and other varieties of income.<ref name=Edward343>Prestwich ''Edward I'' p. 343</ref> However, in August 1295 William was dismissed as treasurer, although the financial policies did not change. It may be that King Edward I used March as a scapegoat, or it may be that some charges that citizens of London brought against the treasurer were felt to be valid.<ref name=Edward405>Prestwich ''Edward I'' p. 405</ref> After his dismissal from the treasurership in 1295, he devoted himself to the care of his diocese, and was regarded as a pious bishop.<ref name=Edward139>Prestwich ''Edward I'' p. 139</ref>

William died on 11 June 1302,<ref name=Handbook228/> although current historical research challenges that date.<ref name=DNB/> He was buried at Wells Cathedral in the south transept wall on 17 June 1302.<ref name=BHOBath/> In 1325 there was a petition for him to be canonized,<ref name=BHOBath/> which continued to be supported by kings Edward II and Edward III. William is supposed to have built the chapter house at Wells. His will named a brother, John March, and a nephew, Robert Urry, to whom William left monies to go on crusade in William's name.<ref name=DNB/>

==Citations== {{reflist|40em}}

==References== {{refbegin|60em}} * {{cite book |author=Clanchy, C. T. |title=From Memory to Written Record: England 1066–1307 |edition=Second |year=1993 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |location=Malden, MA |isbn=978-0-631-16857-7 }} * {{cite book |author1=Fryde, E. B. |author2=Greenway, D. E. |author3=Porter, S. |author4=Roy, I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology |edition=Third revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-56350-X }} * {{cite book |author=Greenway, Diana E. |section=Bishops |title=Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300 |volume=7: Bath and Wells |section-url=http://british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=34341 |access-date=23 September 2007 |year=2001 |publisher=Institute of Historical Research }} * {{cite encyclopedia |author=Jewell, Helen M. |title=March, William (d. 1302) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/18032 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18032 |access-date=15 November 2007 |url-access=subscription }} {{ODNBsub}} * {{cite book |author=Prestwich, Michael |title=Edward I |author-link=Michael Prestwich |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, CT |year=1997 |isbn=0-300-07157-4 }} {{refend}}

{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef| before=John Kirkby}} {{s-ttl | title=Lord High Treasurer | years=1290–1295 }} {{s-aft | after=John Droxford}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{s-bef | before=Robert Burnell }} {{s-ttl| title=Bishop of Bath and Wells | years=1293–1302}} {{s-aft| after=Walter Haselshaw }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:William of March}} Category:Bishops of Bath and Wells Category:1302 deaths Category:Lord high treasurers of England Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Burials at Wells Cathedral Category:13th-century English Roman Catholic bishops