 He was the first Tractarian to be appointed bishop in the Church of England.Howley did not state who had recommended him for the position, but it is probable that the recommendation had come from Medley's friends and fellow Tractarians John Taylor Coleridge and William Ewart Gladstone, who were treasurers of the Colonial Bishoprics Fund.Medley was consecrated as first Bishop of Fredericton by Howley himself at Lambeth Palace on 4 May 1845.