Walkelin was important in beginning St Giles's Fair in Winchester and was greatly active in national politics.

For example, he signed the Accord of Winchester, was involved in the Council of London in 1075, and sought to resolve a conflict between Anselm of Canterbury and William II.

However, Lanfranc, a monk who had just been consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury by a selection of bishops including Walkelin himself, opposed the change, and succeeded in blocking it.

[1][6][7] According to his successor William Giffard, to raise funds in a different way, Walkelin divided the assets of the see between himself and the monastery and appropriated some of the monks' land and patronages.

[1] Nevertheless, the Annals of Winchester say that Walkelin improved the cathedral and monastery "in the devotion and number of its monks and in the buildings of the house".

[8][10] The monks moved into the completed parts of the new building in 1093, along with the relics of St Swithun in a feretory, allowing the demolition of the Old Minster to begin.

In response, the bishop gathered lots of carpenters and cut the whole wood down within the allotted time, angering the king.

Walkelin avoided his wrath by putting on "an old cape"[c] and begging that he would retain his royal friendship and chaplaincy, even if he lost his role as Bishop of Winchester.

He was one of the bishops that consecrated Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070, attended the Council of London in 1075 and was a signatory of the Accord of Winchester.

[9] He tried to persuade Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, to drop his demand to be allowed to travel to Rome in a dispute with William II in 1097.