John Waltham was a priest and high-ranking government official in England in the 14th century.
15 Facts About John Waltham
2.
John Waltham held a number of ecclesiastical and civic positions during the reigns of King Edward III and Richard II, eventually rising to become Lord High Treasurer, Lord Privy Seal of England and Bishop of Salisbury.
3.
John Waltham was the son of John and Margaret Waltham, whose memorial brass still exists in the chancel of All Saints' Church in Waltham.
4.
John de Waltham is not to be confused with contemporary relatives of the same name; according to records, there was an elder John Waltham who was the nephew of Thoresby and the uncle of the younger John Waltham.
5.
John Waltham held the post of prebendary at Rampton, Nottinghamshire until 1383.
6.
John Waltham held the office of Archdeacon of Richmond from 1385 to 1388.
7.
John Waltham served as Master of the Rolls of the Court of Chancery, the court of equity in England, from 1381 to 1386.
8.
John Waltham is credited as the inventor of the writ of subpoena, having devised this court order to compel defendants to attend a trial.
9.
In 1386, John Waltham was appointed Lord Privy Seal, a post he held until 1389.
10.
John Waltham served as Lord Treasurer from 1391 until his death in 1395.
11.
Chroniclers note that, as Bishop of Salisbury, John Waltham occupied a lodging on Fleet Street in London, Salisbury Court.
12.
John Waltham sent Sir William Scrope to claim the body from Salisbury, and Waltham's remains were brought to London to be buried in the Chapel of Edward the Confessor, the only person not of royal blood to be buried in the royal chapel.
13.
Saul notes that Richard had made similar interventions in the burial of other supporters and friends, including those of John Waltham Hawkwood and Archbishop Courtenay, suggesting that his "finely honed sense of the theatrical possibilities of burial" was a strategy to project an image of power.
14.
John Waltham's grave is located in the north-west corner of the chapel, close to the tombs of Edward the Confessor and Richard II and Anne.
15.
John Waltham's chasuble is decorated with illustrations of the Virgin Mary and he is surrounded by an ornate gothic triple canopy with figures in the niches.