[1] [2] William Wickham bishop of Winchester, be|ing a man of great age, deceassed this yeare,The death of Williã Wick|ham. leauing behind him a perpetuall memorie of his name, for the notable monuments which he erected, in building [page 527] two colleges, one at Winchester for grammari|ans, and the other at Oxenford called the new col|ledge, purchasing lands and reuenues for the main|tenance of students there to the great commoditie of the commonwealth: for from thence, as out of a good nursserie, haue come foorth diuerse men in all a|ges excellentlie learned in all sciences. ¶ And héere I haue not thought it impertinent to speake some|what of this worthie prelat (considering that by him so great a benefit hath returned to the common|wealth) according to such notes as I haue séene col|lected by that painfull traueller in search of antiqui|ties Iohn Leland, who saith, that as some haue suppo|sed, the said Wickham, otherwise called Perot, was base sonne to one Perot, the towne-clerke of Wick|ham in Hampshire, of which place he tooke his sur|name, and that one maister Wodall a gentleman, dwelling in the said towne, brought him vp at schoole, where he learned his grammar, and to write verie faire, in so much that the constable of Winche|ster castell, a great ruler in those daies in Hamp|shire, got him of maister Wodall, and reteined him to be his secretarie, with whome he continued, till king Edward the third, comming to Winchester, conceiued some good liking of the yoong man, and tooke him to his seruice, and withall vnderstanding that he was minded to be a churchman, he first made him parson and deane of saint Martins in London, then archdeacon of Buckingham.