Chatterton wrote a letter, purportedly from William Canynge and addressed to Rowley, in which Canynge explained the circumstances of his joining the priesthood.
'Lyfe ys a sheelde where ne tyncture of joie or tene haveth preheminence.Kynge Edwarde yesterdaie dyd feeste at mie rudde house, goeynge ynne the boate uponne the tyde. Canynge, quod hee, I haveth a wyfe for thee of noble howse. Mie good Liege, quod I, I am oulde and neede not a wyfe. Bie oure Ladie, quod he, you moste have one.'
Joining the celibate priesthood was Canynge's way of avoiding the King's wish to find him a wife.
Barrett prints this in his History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol (1789). Chatterton uses this reference in the letter in order to place his heroic character, and leading light of Bristol society, in the Red Lodge, a famous landmark in his lifetime as now. In fact, the Lodge was not built until the Elizabethan period, a century after Canynge's death.