He began his career in the diocese of Bath, where he served two successive bishops, before joining royal service under King John of England.

When John was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III in November 1209, Hugh went into exile in France, where he remained until 1213.

He introduced new administrative methods into the diocese, as well as working to improve the educational and financial well-being of his clergy and to secure the canonisation of his predecessor Hugh of Avalon as a saint in 1220.

He also served as the royal custodian of the diocese of Lincoln while the see was vacant between 1200 and 1203, collecting the revenues of the see, most of which went to the king while a see was without a bishop.

[7] His only known activity while in exile was the writing of a will, which was dated November 1212 and was drawn up at St Martin de Garenne, near Paris.

[6] In 1222, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Norwich, Hugh ordered that all those in their dioceses refrain from contact with Jews.

One reason for Paris' dislike of the bishop may have been the fact that the chronicler's own abbey of St Alban's had to compromise with Hugh over two legal disputes, dealing with the right to appoint to various benefices.

[6] Hugh once was credited with creating 300 new vicarages within the diocese,[19] largely on the basis of his surviving documents dealing with this, known as the Liber Antiquus.

Further research has shown that a number of the vicarages he was once assumed to have founded were instead earlier foundations that Hugh either augmented or reassessed.

[6] Hugh supported the building campaign of Salisbury Cathedral, ordering that money be collected throughout his diocese.

Likewise, he ordered similar collections for Daventry Priory, Sulby Abbey and parish churches in his diocese.

Not only churches benefited from these sorts of collections, as the bishop offered indulgences to those who helped build bridges at Brampton, Rockingham, and Aynho.