Walter Suffield (died 19 May 1257) was a medieval Bishop of Norwich.
Life
Suffield was a canonist at Paris before his election to the see of Norwich about 9 July 1244. He was consecrated on 26 February 1245. He was an eloquent preacher, and showed generosity to the poor (during one famine, even selling some of his own goods in order to provide them with food).
In 1249, he founded St. Giles's Hospital in Norwich (which remains in use as the Great Hospital to this day) to provide care for the poor.
He has been reported as visiting his bishop's palace at South Elmham Hall where he enjoyed the hunting.
He died on 19 May 1257, leaving bequests to both the poor and the hospital.
Citations
References
- British History Online Bishops of Norwich accessed on 29 October 2007
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- Lewin, Chris (22 June 2017). "A medieval occupational pension". The Actuary. Institute & Faculty of Actuaries. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
