Walter Espec Explained

Walter Espec (died 1153) was a prominent military and judicial figure of the reign of Henry I of England.

His father was probably William Speche (William Espec), who joined William the Conqueror in the Norman conquest of England.^[1] The senior Speche is believed to have become the feudal baron of Old Warden by 1086.^[2]

In the years up to 1120, Espec controlled northern England, alongside Eustace fitz John.^[3] He was the builder of Helmsley Castle; he built also Wark Castle.^[4] As an old man, when High Sheriff of Yorkshire, he fought against the Scots at the Battle of the Standard in 1138.^[5] He was the founder of Kirkham Priory (Augustinians) and later Rievaulx Abbey (Cistercians).^[6] Kirkham Priory was founded around 1130.^[7] He then donated to Rievaulx, where building started in 1132, and is largely credited for the arrival of the Cistercians in England.^[8] By 1135 he also founded Warden Abbey^[9] (Wardon) in Bedfordshire, a daughter house of Rievaulx. Walter Espec later became a Cistercian monk himself.^[7]

References

• Concise Dictionary of National Biography
• Paul Dalton, "Espec, Walter (d. 1147x58)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Janet E. Burton, The monastic order in Yorkshire, 1069–1215, Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought, Cambridge University Press, 1999, 352 pages. .
• A. Gransden, Historical Writing in England c. 550–c.1307, 1974.
• Christopher Tyerman, " Walter Espec", in Who's Who in Early Medieval England, 1066–1272, Shepheard-Walwyn (editor), 1996, p. 113–114. .

External links

• Four Great Abbeys and Priories of Yorkshire
• Walter Espec, founder of Rievaulx abbey.

Notes and References

1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/pda/A2350027?s_id=11 H2G2
2. Book: Sanders, I.J. . 1960 . English Baronies: A Study of Their Origin and Descent, 1086-1327 . . . 133–134.
3. Paul Dalton, Conquest, Anarchy and Lordship: Yorkshire, 1066–1154 (2002), p. 105.
4. http://www.coldstream-scotland.co.uk/history_wark_castle.html Wark Castle
5. [Frank Barlow (historian)|Frank Barlow]
6. http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/people/walter-espec.php People
7. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36266 Houses of Austin canons – Priory of Kirkham | British History Online
8. http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/medieval/rie/rievaulx.shtml Rievaulx- A Virtual Tour
9. http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/OldWarden/WardenAbbey.aspx Bedfordshire County Council: Warden Abbey