Thomas Spofford

Thomas Spofford (d. 1456) was a medieval Bishop of Hereford and Abbot of St Mary's Abbey, York.^[1]

Thomas Spofford
Bishop of Hereford
The tombstone of Thomas Spofford from St. Mary's Abbey, York.
Appointed	18 November 1421
Term ended	resigned about 4 December 1448
Predecessor	Thomas Polton
Successor	Richard Beauchamp
Orders
Consecration	24 May 1422
Personal details
Born	1370s
Died	1456 York, Yorkshire
Denomination	Catholic

Early life

Spofford was probably born in Spofforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, in the 1370s. He entered the Benedictine order at the abbey of St Mary's in York in 1392 and was elected as its abbot on 8 June 1405. He became visitor of the Benedictines in York province, and proctor of the province and the archbishop at the Council of Pisa in 1409. He was one of Henry V's ambassadors to the Council of Constance in 1414. In November 1417 he was one of the six English members of the conclave that elected Pope Martin V.^[1]

He was nominated by the Pope to the position of Bishop of Hereford on 18 November 1421 and consecrated on 24 May 1422.^[2] He went on pilgrimage to Rome in 1429 but mainly remained in Hereford. He twice petitioned King Henry VI and two popes to be allowed to resign his position.^[1] He resigned his see about 4 December 1448.^[2]

References

1. "Spofford [Spofforth], Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/95148. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 251. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Thomas Polton	Bishop of Hereford 1421–1448	Succeeded by Richard Beauchamp