Henry Woodlock

Henry Woodlock was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Winchester. He is sometimes referred to as Henry de Merewell, from the place of his birth, a manor near Winchester belonging to the bishop.

Before his election as bishop, he had been Prior of the Priory of St. Swithun (1295–1305), the Benedictine monastery which provided the clergy of the Cathedral of Winchester. He was the first Prior to have been elected bishop. In his correspondence as bishop, Henry Woodlock therefore calls himself Frater Henricus.

King Edward I granted permission for an election to take place at Winchester on 23 December 1304, and Henry Woodlock was elected on 23 January 1305. The King granted his assent on 29 January 1305. The Metropolitan, Archbishop Robert Winchelsey of Canterbury, conducted the usual investigation into the canonical validity of the election and the character and suitability of the Elect, and on 10 March notified the King that he had conducted the examination and confirmed Bishop-elect Woodlock. On 12 March, the King granted the Bishop the temporalities of the diocese. Woodlock was consecrated in Canterbury Cathedral on 30 May 1305. He was enthroned at Winchester Cathedral on 10 October 1305.

On 25 February 1308, Bishop Woodlock, who had obtained a special commission from the exiled Archbishop (and been the choice of the King), performed the coronation of King Edward II and Queen Isabella at Westminster Abbey, in a ceremony organized by Piers Gaveston.

Bishop Henry Woodlock consecrated Gilbert de Segrave Bishop of London at Canterbury on 25 November 1313, since the see of Canterbury was vacant at the time. He died at Farnham Castle on 28 June 1316, and was buried in Winchester Cathedral.