Hugh of Wells
He began his career in the diocese of Bath, where he served two successive bishops, before joining royal service under King John of England.He introduced new administrative methods into the diocese, as well as working to improve the educational and financial well-being of his clergy and to secure the canonisation of his predecessor Hugh of Avalon as a saint in 1220.[7] His only known activity while in exile was the writing of a will, which was dated November 1212 and was drawn up at St Martin de Garenne, near Paris.One reason for Paris' dislike of the bishop may have been the fact that the chronicler's own abbey of St Alban's had to compromise with Hugh over two legal disputes, dealing with the right to appoint to various benefices.[6] Hugh once was credited with creating 300 new vicarages within the diocese,[19] largely on the basis of his surviving documents dealing with this, known as the Liber Antiquus.Further research has shown that a number of the vicarages he was once assumed to have founded were instead earlier foundations that Hugh either augmented or reassessed.[6] Hugh supported the building campaign of Salisbury Cathedral, ordering that money be collected throughout his diocese.Likewise, he ordered similar collections for Daventry Priory, Sulby Abbey and parish churches in his diocese.Not only churches benefited from these sorts of collections, as the bishop offered indulgences to those who helped build bridges at Brampton, Rockingham, and Aynho.