Hugh de Balsham
Hugh de Balsham (or
Hugo; died
1286) was an
English churchman. He appears first as sub-prior of the
Benedictine monastery of
Ely. 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 who had handed over the temporalities of the see to his favourite,
John de Waleran. The election was confirmed by
Pope Alexander IV in
1257 and Hugh set to work to repair the harm done to the diocese by the intruder.
Little is known about his administration of the diocese, but it is certain that he remained in possession of it for almost thirty years.
Hugh 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, and for them Hugh de Balsham founded and endowed the college of
Peterhouse, the first Cambridge college, and, it is presumed, a model for all the rest.
