[2] On the death of William of Kilkenny in 1256 the monks elected him Bishop of Ely, to the annoyance of King Henry III of England and Boniface of Savoy, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

[4] He was present at the Parliament held at London in June 1264 that set up the government of Simon de Montfort.

[5] Much of Balsham's time was spent in repairing damage done to his diocese by various people, first the royal administrators during the election dispute, and then later some of the baronial supporters who occupied the Isle of Ely in 1265.

Gifts to the monks of the cathedral chapter as well as to churches in his diocese contributed to his reputation as a good bishop.

In 1280, he obtained a charter from the king allowing him to replace the secular brethren residing in the diocesan hospital of St John at Cambridge by "studious scholars"; a second charter four years later entirely differentiated these scholars from the brethren of the hospital,[1] and for them Balsham founded and endowed the college of Peterhouse,[6] the first Cambridge college.