He was a son of Hugh and Margaret Bostock, and was born at
Wheathampstead in
Hertfordshire, owing his name, the
Latin form of which is Frumentarius, to this circumstance. After early schooling at the Abbey School (now
St Albans School) he entered
St Albans Abbey when only sixteen. He was chosen
abbot of this
Benedictine monastery in 1420. In 1423, Whethamstede attended the
Council of Siena. In the
Kingdom of England, his time was mainly occupied with lawsuits, several of which he carried on to defend the property and enforce the rights of the abbey. In 1440, he resigned his post but, in 1451, on the death of his successor John Stoke, he became abbot for the second time. He died on 20 January 1465, and his tomb was recently discovered during archaeological excavations prior to the construction of the new Welcome Centre at
St Albans Abbey. Whethamstede was an energetic and successful abbot. He greatly improved the buildings at St Albans. He was an eyewitness of the
First Battle of St Albans in 1455, the first open conflict of the
Wars of the Roses. It is also likely that he was in attendance when
Richard, Duke of York made his claim for the throne in October 1460, which resulted in the
Act of Accord. He also did some building at
Gloucester College, Oxford. He was also closely, if clumsily, associated with the
humanistic activities of
Henry V's youngest brother,
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who died in 1447 and was buried in St Albans Abbey, where he was honoured as a benefactor. ==Writings==