Life

He was a papal chaplain and proctor as well as a royal envoy. He successively held the offices of prebendary of Teinton Regis and Highworth in the diocese of Salisbury

Diocese of Salisbury

The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England. The diocese covers Dorset and most of Wiltshire and is a constituent diocese of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Salisbury and the diocesan synod...

, precentor

Precentor

A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is "præcentor", from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" ....

 of the diocese of York

Diocese of York

The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire....

, and archdeacon

Archdeacon

An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...

 of Northumberland. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the bishopric of Salisbury in March 1288, losing out to Lawrence de Awkeburne

Lawrence de Awkeburne

Lawrence de Awkeburne was a medieval Bishop of Salisbury elect.He held the prebend of Ruscombe in the diocese of Salisbury before being elected bishop on 10 May 1288, but he died at Canterbury on 8 August 1288 before he could be consecrated.-References:* accessed on 30 October 2007...

. After Lawrence's death, William was elected on 24 November or 25 November 1288 and consecrated on 8 May 1289. He died in 1291, probably on 10 October.