 In the late summer and in the autumn of 1296, between the death of Bishop William Fraser and the arrival of the new Bishop of St Andrews William de Lamberton, Nicholas was placed in charge of the diocese of St Andrews as Official.Nicholas thereafter can be found exercising a senior role in Scottish affairs, and by early 1301 he was Chancellor of Scotland.In his late 60s or (more probably) his 70s by this stage, Nicholas was an extremely old man, yet in 1307 he became Bishop of Dunblane.