In 1498 he was made principal of Magdalen Hall, and in 1505 vice-president of Magdalen College.
The dedication to Mary Magdalen was no doubt derived from the hospital at Winchester of which the founder had been master.
Having obtained a papal bull, he founded it by deed of the 12th of June 1458, converting the hospital into a college with a president and six fellows, to which college two days later Magdalen Hall surrendered itself and its possessions, its members being incorporated into "the New College of St Mary Magdalen."
The foundation is commonly dated from this year and not from 1448, when Magdalen Hall was founded, though if not dated from 1448 it surely dates from 1458, when that hall and St John's Hospital were converted into Magdalen College.
The statutes were for the most part a replica of those of New College, members of which were, equally with members of Magdalen, declared to be eligible for the presidency.