bishop of Winchester, was born in the village of Wykeham, in the county of Southampton, in 1324. He was educated at Winchester and Oxford; and having continued near six years in the university, his patron Nicholas Wedal, governor of the province of Southampton, took him into his family, and appointed him his counsellor and secretary. He could not have made choice of a fitter person for that employment, no man in that age writing or speaking more politely than Wykeham. For this reason Edington, bishop of Winchester, lord high treasurer of the kingdom, appointed him his secretary three years after, and also recommended him to King Edward III., who took him into his service. Being skilled in geometry and architecture, he was appointed surveyor of the royal buildings, and also chief justice in eyre; he superintended the building of Windsor castle. He was afterward chief secretary of state, a keeper of the privy seal; and in 1367 succeeded Edington in the see of Winchester. A little after he was appointed lord-high chancellor and president of the privy council. That he might well discharge the several functions of his employments, both ecclesiastical and civil, he endeavoured on one hand, to regulate his own life according to the strictest maxims, and to promote such parish priests only as were able to give due instructions to their parishioners, and at the same time led exemplary lives; on the other hand, he did all in his power to cause justice to be impartially administered. In 1371 he resigned his chancellorship, and some time after the great seal. Edward returning to England, after having carried on a very successful war in France, found his exchequer in great disorder. The duke of Lancaster, one of his sons, at the head of several lords, having brought complaints against the clergy, who then enjoyed the chief places in the kingdom, the king removed them from their employments. But the laymen, who were raised to them, behaved so ill, that the king was forced to restore the ecclesiastics. The duke of Lancaster showed strong animosity to the clergy, and set every engine at work to ruin Wykeham. He impeached him of extortion, and of disguising things, and obliged him to appear at the King's-bench. He got such judges appointed as condemned him; and not satisfied with depriving him of all the temporalities of his bishopric, he advised Edward to banish him; but this prince rejected the proposal, and afterward restored to Wykeham all that he had been divested of. Richard II., was but 11 years old when Edward died; so that the duke of Lancaster had an easy opportunity of reviving the accusations against the bishop of Winchester; nevertheless Wykeham cleared himself. Then he founded two noble colleges, the one in Oxford, the other in Winchester. Whilst he was exerting his utmost endeavours to improve these two fine foundations, he was recalled to court, and in a manner forced to accept of the office of lord-high-chancellor in 1389.—Having excellently discharged the duties of that employment for three years, he obtained leave to resign it, foreseeing the disturbances that were going to break out. Being returned to his church, he finished his college, and built there so magnificent a cathedral, that it almost equals that of St Paul's in London. He laid out several sums in things advantageous to the public and to the poor; notwithstanding which, in 1397 he was in great danger; for he and some others were impeached of high-treason in open parliament; however, he was again fully cleared. From that time till his death he kept quiet in his diocese, and there employed himself in all the duties of a good prelate. He died in 1424, in the 81st year of his age.

WILLIAM, the name of several kings of England. See ENGLAND, No. 87—92, and BRITAIN, No. 302.

Fort WILLIAM, a fortress in the Highlands of Scotland, erected in King William's reign, as was also a small town adjoining, called Maryburgh, in honour of his queen. It is situated in Inverness-shire, on a narrow arm of the sea called Loch Linn, which by the completion of the Caledonian canal, will be united to the Western sea. Fort William is of a triangular form, having two bastions, and is capable of admitting a garrison of 800 men; but could not be defended against an attack, as it is commanded by several hills in the neighbourhood.

WILLIAM'S Fort, is a factory of Asia belonging to the East India Company, seated on one of the branches of the river Ganges, in the kingdom of Bengal. The fort was first built in the shape of an irregular tetragon of brick and mortar; and the town has nothing regular in it, because every one built a house as he liked best, and for his own convenience. The governor's house is within the fort, and is the best piece of architecture in these parts. Here there are also convenient lodgings for the factors and writers, with store-houses for the company's... company's goods; and magazines for ammunition. About 50 yards from the fort is the church, which was originally built by the merchants. The town of Calcutta is contiguous, containing 500,000 inhabitants. It is governed by a mayor and aldermen, as most of the company's factories in the East Indies now are.

In 1757 it was surprised by the nabob of Bengal, who took it, and put most of those that had made resistance into a place called the Black-Hole, where the greater number was suffocated. This nabob was afterwards killed, and another set up in his room, more friendly to the English; and the factory was re-established. E. Long. 86° O. N. Lat. 22° 27'. See Calcutta.

Sweet.WILLIAM. See Dianthus, Botany Index.