Archbishop William Melton

William Melton was born of humble parentage at Melton, in the parish of Welton, near Hull, and rose to be archbishop of York, one of the most lucrative posts in medieval church in England.

Melton entered the royal service in the times of King Edward I (r. 1272-1307), probably serving in the household of the young Prince of Wales, future King Edward II (1307-1327). He is first mention in official capacity in 1299 as rector of Repham, Lincolnshire. From then on he held a number of ecclesiastical appointments, but the highlights of his career were his appointment as archbishop of York in 1317, and his service as treasurer of England from 1325 until 1327.

Melton was kind to the poor and relieved his poor tenants of their debts. From 1317 he made a total of at least 388 loans totaling £23,551, some at hefty interest rates. At the time of his death in 1340 he was worth around £20,000, equivalent to about 0.38% of the £5.2m net national income. In 2010's money that would be £4.2bn.