The Espec Family

Adeline (Espec) de Ros

Father: William Spech

Married: Peter de Ros

Children:

Everard de Ros ( ? - 1153)
Robert de Ros ( ? - 1162/3)

Notes:
The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795)

Sir Walter Eſpec ... left, at his death, in 1153, an ample portion to his three ſiſters and coheirs; 1. Hawiſia, wife of William Buſcie; 2. Albreda, married to Nicholas de Trailly; and 3. Adelina, wife to Peter de Ros, on whom he particularly beſtowed the patronage of his monaſteries of Kirkham and Rievalx;

Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846)

     NUM. II.
     Fundationis et Fundatorum Historia.
   [Ex MS. in bibl. Cotton, sub effigie Vitellii F. 4]
... residuum verò terrarum suarum divisit inter tres sorores suas, sibi jure hæreditario successuras, quarum nomina hæc sunt: Hauwisa, Albreda, Adelina. Primam duxit in uxorem Willielmus Buscye, secundam Nicholaus de Traylye, et tertiam Petrus de Roos; sed Adelinæ sorori suæ inter cætera dedit specialiter advocationem de Kirkham, et Rievallis
This roughly translates as:
      History of the Foundation and Founders.
     [From Cotton MS, under the bust of Vitellius F. 4]
... he divided the remainder of his lands among his three sisters, who were to succeed him by right of inheritance, whose names are these: Hauwisa, Albreda, Adelina. The first married William Buscye, the second Nicholas de Traylye, and the third Peter de Roos; but to his sister Adeline, among others, he specially advocated Kirkham and Rievalli

Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846)

NUM. III.
Successio Dominorum de Roos post Maritagium Petri Domini de Roos Adelinae sorori Walteri Especk.
[Ibid.[[Ex MS. in bibl. Cotton, sub effigie Vitellii F. 4]]
PETRUS de Roos duxit Adelinam Especk, et genuit ex ea quendam Robertum de Roos, qui quidem Petrus sepultus est in monasterio abbatiæ Rievallensis
This roughly translates as:
The succession of the Lords of Roos after the marriage of Peter Lord of Roos to Adeline, sister of Walter Especk.
PETER de Roos married Adelina Especk, and by her begat a certain Robert de Roos, which Peter was buried in the monastery of the abbey of Rievaulx

Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846)

     NUM. IV.
     Carta Walteri Espec de Fundatione Abbatiæ Rievallis.
   [Ex Registro Abbatiæ de Rievaulx in bibl. Cottoniana, sub effigie Julii D. 1. fol. 24 a. Vide Cart. 1 Edw. III. n. 30; et Pat. 6 Edw. III. p. 2, m. 23.]
... Testimonio etiam et concessu nepotum meorum, scilicet, Willielmi de Buisei et Jordani, et Rogeri, qui sunt filii sororis meæ Haawisiæ, primogenitæ patris et matris meæ, et nepotum meorum Gaufridi de Trali, et Willielmi, et Gilberti, et Nicholai filiorum mediæ sororis meæ Albreæ; et nepotum meorum Everardi, et Roberti* filii sororis meæ Adelinæ postgenitæ.
* De Ros.

The Complete Peerage vol 11 p90 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1949)

ROS or ROOS OF HELMSLEY
PIERS DE ROS ... m. Adeline, yst. of the 3 sisters and coheirs of Walter ESPEC, LORD OF HELMSLEY, &c., Yorks, and OF WARK, Northumberland, founder of 3 monasteries—Kirkham (1122) and Rievaulx (1131) in Yorks, and Wardon, Beds (1135).(^d) Piers predeceased Walter Espec and was presumably dead in 1130. His widow also d. before her brother.(^f)
(^d) The foundation—charters of the first two mention Everard and Robert de Ros, sons of his yst. sister Adeline (Dugdale, Mon., vol. vi, p. 208; Rievaulx Chartulary, Surtees Soc., p. 21).
(^f) After whose death, presumably between Mich. 1157 and Mich. 1158, her son Robert offered 1000 marks for his share of the Espec inheritance (Pipe Roll, 4 Hen. II, pp. 140, 146).

Death: Adeline predeceased her brother, Walter, who died in 1153
Sources:

Father: Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-3 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910); Dictionary of National Biography vol 18 p4 (ed. Leslie Stephen, 1889)
Marriage: The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795); Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846); The Complete Peerage vol 11 p90 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1949)
Notes: The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795); The Complete Peerage vol 11 p90 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1949)
Death: The Complete Peerage vol 11 p90 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1949)

Albreda (Espec) de Trailli

Father: probably William Spech

Married: Geoffrey de Trailli

In the charter for Thornton Abbey (transcribed at Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series p82, we read "me Guffridū de Trailli una cum uxore mea Albretha filiisque meis Goffrido et Willielmo" (I, Geoffrey de Trailli together with my wife Albretha and my sons Geoffrey and William) which seems definitive to me, since he states his name himself, but I note that in the History of the Foundation of Rivaulx Abbey in Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280, it is stated that the sisters of Walter Espec were "Hauwisa, Albreda, Adelina. Primam duxit in uxorem Willielmus Buscye, secundam Nicholaus de Traylye, et tertiam Petrus de Roos" (Hauwisa, Albreda, Adelina. The first married William Buscye, the second Nicholas de Traylye, and the third Peter de Roos).

Children:

Geoffrey de Trailli
William de Trailli
Gilbert de Trailli
Nicholas de Trailli

Notes:
The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795)

Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846)

Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846)

     NUM. IV.
     Carta Walteri Espec de Fundatione Abbatiæ Rievallis.
   [Ex Registro Abbatiæ de Rievaulx in bibl. Cottoniana, sub effigie Julii D. 1. fol. 24 a. Vide Cart. 1 Edw. III. n. 30; et Pat. 6 Edw. III. p. 2, m. 23.]
... Testimonio etiam et concessu nepotum meorum, scilicet, Willielmi de Buisei et Jordani, et Rogeri, qui sunt filii sororis meæ Haawisiæ, primogenitæ patris et matris meæ, et nepotum meorum Gaufridi de Trali, et Willielmi, et Gilberti, et Nicholai filiorum mediæ sororis meæ Albreæ; et nepotum meorum Everardi, et Roberti* filii sororis meæ Adelinæ postgenitæ.
* De Ros.

This roughly translates as:
Charter of Walter Espec on the Foundation of the Abbey of Rievallis..
[From the Register of the Abbey of Rievaulx in the Cotton MSS, under the bust of Julius D. 1. fol. 24 a. See Cart. 1 Edw. III. n. 30; and Pat. 6 Edw. III. p. 2, m. 23.]
... I also testify and consent to my nephews, namely, Willielm de Buisei and Jordan, and Roger, who are the sons of my sister Hawisa, the first-born of my father and mother, and my nephews Geoffrey de Tralee, and William, and Gilbert, and Nicholas, the sons of my middle sister Albreae; and my nephew Everard, and Robert*, the son of my sister Adeline's offspring.
* De Ros.

Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-3 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910)
* Communicated by GEO. GRAZEBROOK

In Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1661, vol. ii., p. 105, we have the Foundation Charter of Kirkham in Yorkshire in 1121. Walter Espec and Adelina his wife, with a very long list of witnesses, which begin “Hiis Testibus Willielmo de Buyssy et Jordano de Buyssy et Rogero de Buyssy, filiis Hawisiæ sororis meæ primogenitæ Et Galfrido de Trailli et Willielmo de Trailli et Nicholao de Traylli et Gilberto de Trailli filiis Albredæ sororis meæ secundæ. Et Everardo de Roos et Roberto de Roos filiis Andelinæ sororis meæ junioris.” [On folio 106 is a highly complimentary personal description of Walter Espec the father.]
In Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1655, vol. i. p. 729, the Foundation Charter of Rievaulx in Yorkshire in 1131 is given: “Walter Espec consilio Aalinæ uxoris meæ Testimonio etiam et concessu nepotum meorum scil^t Willielmi de Busei, et Jordani, et Rogeri qui sunt filii sororis meæ Haawisiæ primogenitæ patris et matris meæ,” and then, as in Kirkham, the Traillis, sons of Albrea, and de Rooses, sons of Adelina.
In Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1655, vol. i. p. 784, is the Confirmation only of Walter Espec’s Foundation and grants to Wardon Priory, co. Bedford, Anno Domini 1135, dated at York 1 Stephen, and among “Testibus Waltero Espec et Gaufrido de Trailli et aliis omnibus nepotibus et herædibus tunc viventibus.” This names “lands in Wardon and Sudgivela.” Sudgivela eventually came to the Trailli family as part of their share, and here they afterwards built the caput of their Barony, and called it Yieldon Castle.
... Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1655, vol. i., p. 246, supplies this curious Charter to Thorney Abbey: “Dominus Abbas Gunterus cunctique fratres Thornensis Cænobii me Guffridū de Trailli una cum uxore mea Albretha filiisque meis Goffrido et Willielmo, immo cum tota mea sobole fraternitatis vel societatis suæ concesserunt collegam fieri, et in cunctis beneficiis suis simul secum æque perpetuo participari; unde eis bone vicissitudinis obnoxius, pro tanti beneficii adeptione ecclesiam de Giveldene cum omnibus oblatis vel offerendis et unam plenarium hidam, sanctæ et intemeratæ Virgini Mariæ et sancto Botulpho, ceterisque Sanctis fidelibus Domini ibidem pausantibus, cum decimis ejusdem villæ, in thesauro ecclesiæ, ad emptionem ornamentorum perpetua largitus sum hereditate, etc. Hujus donationis testes sunt ipse dominus Abbas Gunterus, quem per clavem ecclesiæ saisivi de prædicta possessione Radulfus de Trailli.” Now Robert, the next Abbot to succeed Gunter, was installed in 1113. This was therefore eight years before the foundation of Kirkham Abbey, and Geoffrey and William the sons are mentioned, but in such a manner as to convey no idea of their age—they may have been infants just baptized. Nicholas and Gilbert are not named and so it would seem that the third and fourth sons were not of a ponderable weight until 1121. I think my readers will consider this an interesting Charter, and the giving seisin to the Abbot through the key of the church door very realistic and naive! We can picture Gunter letting himself in and looking around—the monarch of all he surveyed. In the Kirkham and Rievaulx Charters, 1121 and 1131, we find all the four sons named by their uncle.
We now turn to “Bracton’s Note Book,” printed by F. W. Maitland in 1887. This is a most valuable work: some of the original Rolls quoted are no longer extant. No. 1085, at p. 107, gives the digest of a Suit in Banco, co. Bedford, Easter, 9 Henry III. (April 1225). This declares that Walter Espec, the uncle of Nicholas de Trailli the elder, had given all the advowsons of all his churches on this side Humber to Nicholas, senior, and after his death all of these were to revert to William de Busli I., nephew and heir to the said Walter, and to the heirs of the said William, and it goes on to tell us why Walter de Espec gave these to Nicholas the elder. It was “ad se sustentandum ad scolas”—to pay for his education as a priest [this was a very common arrangement; I have noted quite a number of such instances], and that the said Nicholas had died the Parson of the Church of Eyworth, and this suit arose in consequence of his death. This was one of the fifteen manors held by William de Espec in Domesday Book. Unfortunately, except in the case of Royalty, we cannot expect now to find a testament of 9 March 1154, but the above suit seventy years afterwards declares for our information how Walter disposed of some small portions of his great estates! Nicholas, senior, was the third or fourth son of Geoffrey and Albreda de Trailli. The above given curious Charter was executed before 1113, the last year of Gunter the Abbot, and Nicholas the Priest had died some time before the date of this last portion of the suit, which was 112 years after Abbot Gunter and 104 years since the foundation of Kirkham! But this involves no difficulty whatever; it only shews us that Nicholas, senior, had been born between 1113 and 1121, and must therefore have attained the age of over eighty years.
A great margin must always be allowed for delays of the Law. This suit had been initiated in 1198, and here Bracton gives us the verdict of the judges, which was reached twenty-seven years afterwards, in Easter Term, 1225, when the then Abbot of Wardon was adjudged in misericordia for a false claim!
Now let us turn to the “Rotuli Dominabus et Puellis” (Inquisitions taken in 1186 to declare wardships, reliefs, and marriages, and profits due to the King from widows and orphans being tenants in capite), published in 1830. At p. 16, Rot. iv., Bedford and Bucks, Hundred of Wickstanetre; “Maria de Trailli, who was the wife of Geoffrey de Trailli (II.) is in the King’s donation, and is 40 years of age, and was nearly related (cognata) to the Earl Simon. Walter de Trailli is her son and heir, and beside him she has another son a monk, one daughter married, and one a nun. Her land, to wit, Northgile (see p. 78) is worth per annum £14.” This does not give us as much information as I expected; some of these Inquisitions have many more particulars—how many pigs, sheep, etc. Geoffrey de Trailli II. had died some short time before 1185, and Maria his widow is declared to be æt. 40, that is born 1145. [But I must not press this point! These declarations are not always exact. I have in one case found another lady described in the same year as aged both 40 and 60! and we now meet with the like discrepancies when called upon to fill up the census forms.]
But this enquiry has opened out some very interesting conclusions. The de Ros family, who rose up into eminence from so great a marriage, had been largely benefitted out of the Yorkshire estates, in the midst of which stood Rievaulx and Kirkham Abbeys, and it does seem probable enough that Walter de Espec, taking his comprehensive views, should advisedly give to the youngest sister Adelina the advowson of those two neighbouring Abbeys, with the barony of Helmesley. We have not at command the Chartulary of Wardon, but his idea seems to have been to give most of the lands in Beds and Bucks to Albreda and her descendants with the barony of Wardon; and to the heirs of William de Busli I. by Hawitia his eldest sister (both of these parents having, I am sure, died some years before) he allotted Essendine and estates in Rutland and Northants, Lincoln, Beds and Bucks; while Jordanus, the favourite nephew, had the barony of Werk and Carram and other Espec estates in Northumberland and Yorkshire.

Sources:

Father: Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-3 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910); Dictionary of National Biography vol 18 p4 (ed. Leslie Stephen, 1889)
Marriage: Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series p82 but see Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846) which names him as Nicholas.
Children: named by Walter Espec in the foundation document of Rievaulx Abbey at Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846); Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series p82
Notes: Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-3 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910); The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795); Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846)

Hawise (Espec) de Busli

Father: probably William Spech

Married: William de Busli

William was the eldest son of Ernaldus de Busli.

Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series p23 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910)

... we have seen that Rogerius de Buslei gave to Ernaldus, his younger brother, 7½ knights’ fees of his Honor of Tickhill, and by a tenure free from all the usual services. These lay in Maltby, Sandby, Kymberworth, Scausby, Faldham, and Brodesworth in Yorkshire, and in Stanford-upon-Sore, Peverelthorpe, and Torlakeston in Notts; and in the several lists which we are able to give of various consecutive dates we find the younger branch of De Busli continuously in possession of these same manors.

p77

William de Busli I., the eldest son of Ernaldus, succeeded his father in the 7½ knights’ fees in Yorkshire and Nottingham, allotted to the younger brother out of the vast estates acquired by Rogerius, as detailed in Domesday Book. We see on pages 21 and 24 that at his uncle’s death he was a married man with young children. He had married Hawisia, the eldest sister, and by the same father and mother, of Walter Espec (Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1655, i. p. 728, l. 36^a), and if as we suppose their marriage took place 1085 to 1090 their eldest son would then be only nine years old. Besides the 7½ knights’ fees and other subinfeuded estates held by Ernaldus he was in possession of Wilgatuna, now Willoughton, co. Lincoln.
In the very valuable Survey of co. Lincoln, temp. Henry I. (1109)—very imperfectly printed in Hearne’s “Liber Niger,” 1774, vol. ii., p. 402—of which Mr. James Greenstreet published an exact facsimile in 1884, we read on plate iv., line 15: “In Wilgatuna are 3 carucates and 5 bovates and ½ a bovate which William de Bussa holds. Simon de Canci held 3 carucates and Roger de Busli 5½ bovates.” This Simon de Canci held adjoining lands, and was a friend of the de Buslis, and a frequent witness to their charters. The exact year of this Lincoln Survey is between 1101 and 1109 (9 Henry I.)—the original document is Cott. MS., Claudius, C. 5—and this date is of much interest to me for it shews that William de Busli I. was alive, say 1109. He certainly died some years before the foundation of Kirkham Abbey. If he died in, say 1115, he would then be about 75 years of age.

Children:

William de Busli
Jordan de Busli
Robert de Busli

Notes:
The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795)

Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846)

Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846)

     NUM. IV.
     Carta Walteri Espec de Fundatione Abbatiæ Rievallis.
   [Ex Registro Abbatiæ de Rievaulx in bibl. Cottoniana, sub effigie Julii D. 1. fol. 24 a. Vide Cart. 1 Edw. III. n. 30; et Pat. 6 Edw. III. p. 2, m. 23.]
... Testimonio etiam et concessu nepotum meorum, scilicet, Willielmi de Buisei et Jordani, et Rogeri, qui sunt filii sororis meæ Haawisiæ, primogenitæ patris et matris meæ, et nepotum meorum Gaufridi de Trali, et Willielmi, et Gilberti, et Nicholai filiorum mediæ sororis meæ Albreæ; et nepotum meorum Everardi, et Roberti* filii sororis meæ Adelinæ postgenitæ.
* De Ros.

Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-3 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910)
* Communicated by GEO. GRAZEBROOK

Sources:

Father: Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-3 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910); Dictionary of National Biography vol 18 p4 (ed. Leslie Stephen, 1889)
Marriage: The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795); Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846); Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series p77 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910); William father from Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series p77 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910)
Children: named by Walter Espec in the foundation document of Rievaulx Abbey at Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846)
Notes: The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795); Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846)

Walter Espec

Statue of Walter Espec in Beverley Minster (2013)

photo by Gareth Williams posted on flickr.com

Father: probably William Spech

Married: Adeline

Adeline possibly was Adeline de Bello Campo, and seems to have died between 1131, when her name appears on charters relating to the foundation of Rivaulx abbey, and 1135, when the same does not appear to be the case at the foundation of Wardon Abbey.

Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-81 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910)

* Communicated by GEO. GRAZEBROOK
In the Surtees Society, vol. 83, p. 263, the “Rievaulx Chartulary” is an abstract from papers then penes the Earl of Rutland, taken from Dodsworth, lxxxv., fo. 36, almost identical with Cotton MS., Vitellius, 64, in British Museum, which was also used in Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1661, vol. ii., p. 10; and in mentioning Adelina, the wife of Walter Espec, there is a note in the margin, “de Bello Campo,” supplied by Dodsworth as that lady’s maiden name. There were two, possibly more, of that name de Bello Campo, in England twenty years or so after the Conquest, but very little is known of them. Of course he may have married a lady in Normandy, but I think we have very few particulars of the Beauchamps in England until 100 years after our date, although afterwards they founded a most distinguished family; but refer to p. 78, where a Hugh de Belcamp held lands in Bedfordshire under William Espec. I have a reference to Aalina de Espec (“Archæologia,” xxi., p. 160) but have not that volume.
Perhaps this note (from Add. MS., Brit. Mus., fo. 24,465) may help some other student as to Bello Campo. Joseph Hunter’s memorandum from the Wardon Chartulary: “Charter No. 295 [on page 59 or in pencil 37] Hugo de Bello Campo grants and confirms to the monks of Wardon de Sartis the donation which Walterus de Espec gave to them, all the land in wood and plain which lies,” etc.; also “the wood of Boestone as Roeis, which was wife of Roger Burnardi, gave them.” Now such grant and confirmation shew that Hugo had some hereditary connection with these lands. Dugdale (in his “Baronage,” vol. i., p. 223) begins with Hugo, who had a granddaughter Rohais, who did not marry Burnardi. Still there seems a clue here. If Aalina was a Bello Campo, Walter de Espec would very likely hold her lands under them, and he did hold lands in Beston!
... Now here comes a question—Was Aalina (de Bello Campo, if that was her maiden name) an heiress and only child? As is usual her name conjointly with her husband appears in the Kirkham Deed, 1121. Rievaulx in 1131 was erected with her counsel and consent, “consilio Aalinæ uxoris meæ.” We have not the Wardon Charter, 1135, but the confirmation by King Stephen mentions only Walter Espec. This Charter is dated at York “Anno Incarnationis Dominicæ 1135” [which date would cover till 25 March following] “et regni mei primo” [which year began 26 December 1135]. May we infer from this that Aalina had died between 1131 and 1135? If the actual deed was so then I should venture, because the wife’s rights to dower, etc., legally required her consent to all alienations of lands.

Occupation: Soldier (miles). Walter was also justice of the forests and itinerant justice in the northern counties

Notes:
Walter was a prominent military and judicial figure of the reign of Henry I of England, and a powerful baron in Yorkshire. He was the builder of Helmsley Castle and Wark Castle. He famously fought against the Scots at the Battle of the Standard near Northallerton in 1138. Walter was the founder of Kirkham Priory in 1122 and in 1131 he donated 1,000 acres to found the Cistercian Rievaulx Abbey. He also founded Wardon Abbey in Bedfordshire, a daughter house of Rievaulx, in 1136.

Copy of the Foundation Charter of Kirkham Priory, granted by Walter Espec.
Cartularium abbathiæ de Rievalle in Publications of the Surtees Society vol 83 pp159-61 (ed. J. C. Atkinson, 1889)

CCXVI. TRANSCRIPTUM CARTÆ DE KIRCHAM.³
Sciant præsentes et futuri quod ego, Walterus Espec, dedi et concessi Canonicis de Kircham ecclesiam de Kircham, cum una carucata terræ et omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus: et ecclesiam de Gartona, cum una carucata terræ et omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus, et nominatim campum quem flattum S. Michaelis vocant: et ecclesiam de Kirkebi in Crandale, cum una carucata terræ et cum omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus: et ecclesiam de Helmesle, cum una carucata terræ et cum omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus, et tres toftas—scil., toftam Canonicorum, et toftam Presbiteri, et toftam Aldredi; et in Kircham xx^ti iiii^or acras terræ quæ sunt inter boscum et aquam de Derewenta, et meum novum gardinum, et mansuram quam Radulfus Presbiter ibi habuit; etiam proprii porci Canonicorum ibunt in boscum meum de Kircham sine pannagio, cum suo nutrimento; et segetem suum ad molendinum meum molent sine molitura, et decimum denarium habebunt de firma molendini. Præterea concessi eis septem carucatas terræ de Wiuestoue, cum toto instauramento quod fuerit in eadem villa post decessum meum, ubi in vita mea eis dare noluero. Et pro decima quinque caruca[ta]rum de Tillestona, et pro decima iiii^or carucatarum de Grif,¹ et pro omnibus quæ Canonicis pertinebant, quæ modo habent Abbas et monachi Rievallenses, donavi eis meum purprestum de Kircham, et domos meas, et molendinum et prata mea, et omnia quæ habui inter boscum et aquam, et piscationem de aqua de Kircham et de Husum; et totam villam de Witewelle, cum ix carucatis terræ, in bosco et in plano et in omnibus quæ villæ pertinent; et in Sextendale iiii carucatas terræ et, post decessum meum, alias iiii^or carucatas, quas habeo in manu mea de octo quæ sunt in eadem villa, nisi in vita mea eis dedero, et hoc cum toto instauramento quod ibi erit in die illa; et apud Helmesle ibunt animalia et pecora Canonicorum cum animalibus et pecoribus Walteri Espec in una pastura, et ubi Walterus accipiet boscum ad suas necessitates ibi et Canonici accipient: etiam homines Canonicorum habebunt communem pasturam cum hominibus villæ, et porci Canonicorum et hominum suorum, qui nutriti sunt in hiis terris suis supranominatis, erunt in bosco de Helmesle sine pannagio: set et Canonici habebunt pannagium; et Canonici habebunt decimam cervorum et porcorum et caprarum, et ferarum silvestrium, quæ Walterus et posteri sui capient; et similiter volatilium² quæ capientur per suas riverias; et decimas denariorum de firmis suis, et de mala³ maneriorum, et nominatim de Husum, et de molendino de Husum quod factum est apud Rudell. super ripam aquæ de Derewente, et meas domos de Eboraco, et decimam Lintoniæ: et in Norhumberland, totum manerium de Titlingtona, et ecclesiam de Hildertona, cum omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus; et ecclesiam de Neutona in Glendale, cum omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus, et totam terram Ulfkilli Clerici: et ecclesiam de Karram super Tvedam flumen, cum omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus, et totam villam de Karram, cum omnibus eidem villæ pertinentibus, in terris et aquis, in pratis et pasturis, piscinis, molendinis, et in divisis et in consuetudinibus ejusdem villæ; et totam terram Ulfkilli Clerici, quam de me tenebat in eadem villa, sicut alii liberi homines ejusdem villæ, per easdem divisas: et omnes meas dominicas decimas, et nominatim decimam denariorum de censu terrarum mearum in Norhumberland. Et si dedero alicui aliquam ex terris illis, semper decima remanebit Ecclesiæ S. Trinitatis de Kircham. Hæc omnia supradicta concessi et donavi Priori et Canonicis S. Trinitatis de Kircham, ita bene et quiete, libere et honoriiice, sicut melius et liberius unquam habui, cum omnibus liberis consuetudinibus, et sicut Canonici ejusdem Ordinis liberius et quietius habent; et concedo ea esse quieta de omnibus terrenis servitiis quæ michi et successoribus meis pertinent, salva dignitate Ecclesiæ S. Petri de Ebor., et Archiepiscopi ejusdem Ecclesiæ, et salva dignitate Ecclesiæ S. Cuthberti Dunelm., et Episcopi ejusdem Ecclesiæ. His T. [none given].
³ It may, at first sight, seem out of rule to find a deed recording the conveyance of large, and virtually foundational, grants to another Religious House in the Cartularium of any Abbey whatsoever. But we have already become aware, on the perusal of No. CXLIX., that there were business transactions between the two houses of Rievaulx and Kirkham of a special as well as noteworthy description. The full consideration of this matter, as already intimated in a note to the charter (or rather deed) just adverted to, must be deferred for the present.
¹ A fact of very considerable importance, as illustrative of one part of the relations between Rievaulx and Kirkham, is here brought to the front. Previously to the foundation of Rievaulx the tithes of the lands at Griflf and Tilston then bestowed on the rising Abbey, had belonged to Kirkham.
² I think the inference is that the term is meant to imply waterfowl; at least the presence of waterfowl, in addition to what we are more accustomed to think of as “game birds.”
³ But the merest guess at the meaning of this word can be made. It may be a latinised form of the modern word meal, meaning that which immediately results from the process of grinding, and before it is exposed to the processes by means of which it becomes flour.

This roughly translates as:

226 A TRANSCRIPT OF THE CHARTER OF KIRKHAM.
Let the present and the future know that I, Walter Espec, gave and granted to the Canon of Kirkham the church of Kirkham, with one carucate of land and all belonging to the same church: and the church of Garton, with one carucate of land and all belonging to the same church, and specifically the field which they call the flat of St. Michael: and the church of Kirkeby in Crandale, with one carucate of land and with all belonging to the same church: and the church of Helmesley, with one carucate of land and with all belonging to the same church, and three tufts—viz., the tuft of the Canons, and the tuft of the Presbytery, and the tuft of Aldred; and in Kirkham 24 acres of land which are between the wood and the water of Derewenta, and my new garden, and the manor which Radulfus Presbyter had there; even the own pigs of the Canons shall go into my wood of Kirkham without pannage, with their nourishment; and they grind their corn at my mill without grinding, and they shall have a tithe of a penny from the mill's farm. Moreover, I granted them seven carucates of land in Wiuestoue, with all the rest that was in the same town after my decease, which I will not give them in my lifetime. And for the tithes of five carucates of Tilleston, and for the tithes of thirteen carucates of Grif, and for all that belonged to the Canons, which only the Abbot and monks of Rievalnes have, I gave them my prize of Kirkham, and my houses, and my mill and meadows, and all which I had between the forest and the water, and the fishing from the water of Kirkham and Husum; and the whole town of Witewell, with 9 carucates of land, in the forest and in the plain, and in all that belongs to the town; and in Sextendale 4 carucates of land and, after my decease, another 4 carucates, which I have in my hand out of the eight that are in the same town, except in my lifetime I will give them, and this with all the establishment that will be there on that day; and at Helmesley the animals and cattle of the Canons shall go together with the animals and cattle of Walter Espec in one pasture; are in these lands of theirs above-named, they shall be in the forest of Helmesley without a pannage: and indeed the Canons shall have a pannage; and the canons shall have the tenth of the deer and swine and goats and wild beasts, which Walter and his posterity shall take; and likewise of the fowls which shall be caught by their rivers; and tithes of pence from his farms, and from the meal of the manors, and especially from Husum, and from the mill of Husum, which was made at Rudell on the bank of the water of Derewent, and my houses of York, and the tithes of Linton: and in Northumberland, the whole manor of Titlington, and the church of Hilderton, with all the church belonging to the same; and the church of Neuton in Glendale, with all belonging to the same church, and all the land of Ulfkill Cleric: and the church of Karra on the river Tweed, with all the churches belonging to the same, and the whole town of Karra, with all the villages belonging to the same, in lands and waters. in meadows and pastures, ponds, mills, and in the divisions and customs of the same town; and all the land of Ulfkill the Cleric, which he held of me in the same town, as other free men of the same town, divided by the same: and all my tithes of Sundays, and especially the tithe of pence from the census of my lands in Northumberland. And if I give any of those lands to any one, the tithe shall always remain to the Church of St. Trinity of Kirkham. I granted and gave all the aforesaid to the Prior and Canon of St. Trinity de Kirkham, so well and quietly, freely and honorably, as better and freer than I ever had, with all free customs, and as the Canons of the same Order have more freely and quietly; and I grant it to be quiet from all earthly services that pertain to me and my successors, save the dignity of the Church of St. Peter of York, and the Archbishop of the same Church, and save the dignity of the Church of St. Cuthbert of Durham, and the Bishop of the same Church. These Witnesses [none given].

The second, and ultimate, Foundation Charter of Kirkham Priory, granted by Walter Espec.
Cartularium abbathiæ de Rievalle in Publications of the Surtees Society vol 83 pp243-5 (ed. J. C. Atkinson, 1889)

CCCXLVII. FUNDATIO² MONASTERII DE KIRKHAM IN COMITATU EBORACENSI
Trustino,³ D. G. Ebor. Archepiscopo, et Galfrido,⁴ eadem Gratia Dunelm. Episcopo, et successoribus eorum, Walterus⁵ Espec, et Alina, uxor ejus, salutem. Sciatis nos concessisse et dedisse Deo et Ecclesiæ S. Trinitatis de Kirkham, et Canonicis ibidem Deo servientibus, concessu Regis Henrici Anglorum, et concessu nostro, et assensu et concessu nepotum meorum—filiorum, videl., sororum mearum, pro animabus patrum et matrum nepotum, et omnium parentum et benefactorum nostrorum, et omnium fidelium defunctorum, in liberam et perpetuam elemosinam,—videl., totum manerium de Kirkham,⁶ in bosco et plano, in terris et aquis, in pratis et pascuis, in piscinis [sic] et molendinis, et omnibus eidem loco pertinentibus; et ecclesiam parochialem⁷ de Kirkham, una cum carucata terræ et omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus; et ecclesiam de Helmeslac, cum una carucata terræ et omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus, et nominatim tres toftas—scil. toftam Canonicorum, toftam Presbiteri, et toftam Aldredi; et ecclesiam de Kirkby in Crendale,¹ cum una carucata terræ et omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus; et ecclesiam de Gartona, cum una carucata terræ et omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus, et nominatim campum quem vocant flattum S. Michaelis, et totam villam de Wivesto,² cum septem carucatis terræ et omnibus eidem villæ pertinentibus, in bosco et plano, in terris et pascuis, et omnibus omnino rebus; et totam villam de Whitwell, cum novem carucatis terræ, in bosco et plano, in pratis et pascuis, et omnibus eidem villæ pertinentibus; et in Sextendala octo carucatas terræ, cum omnibus eidem terræ pertinentibus, et decimam denariorum de firmis meis et decimas³ maneriorum meorum, et nominatim de villa et de molendino de Howsom, et piscationem aquæ de Darwent et cir[c]a Howsom; et meas domos de Eboraco, et decimam Lintoniæ⁴ de meo dominico. Et iidem Canonici habebunt [decimam] cervorum⁵ et porcorum et caprarum et ferarum sylvestrium quas vel ego vel posteri mei capiemus, et volatilium⁶ quæ capientur per meas riveras. Et proprii porci Canonicorum et hominum suorum, qui nutriti sunt in his suis terris supranominatis, erunt in bosco de Hamylac quieti de pannagio. Similiter Canonici habebunt inde pannagium; et animalia et pecora eorundem Canonicorum ibunt ubique cum animalibus et pecoribus meis et hæredum meorum in eadem pastura, et ubi⁷ ego vel hæredes mei accipimus boscum ad nostras necessitates, ibi et Canonici accipient, et homines Canonicorum habebunt ubique communem pasturam cum hominibus meis. Præterea concessimus et donavimus eisdem Canonicis totam villam de Carham super Twedam fluvium, et ecclesiam ejusdem villæ et [omnia] eidem ecclesiæ pertinentia, in terris et aquis, et pratis et pascuis, in piscinis et molendinis, in divisis et consuetudinibus; et unam mansuram in Warch,⁸ et totam villam de Tidhutona,⁹ cum omnibus eidem villa pertinentibus . . . et ecclesiam de Hildreton, cum omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibus; et ecclesiam de Neuton in Glendala, cum omnibus eidem ecclesiæ pertinentibiis; et omnes meas decimas et nominatim decimas denariorum de censu terrarum mearum in Northumberland, et duas partes decimæ de dominio de Myndrom, et de Dooltrine,¹ et de molendino de Bolton. Et si dedero alicui homini aliquam de terris supranominatis, semper decima² remanebit Ecclesiæ S. Trinitatis de Kirkham. Hæc omnia supradicta concessimus et donavimus prædictis Canonicis in elemosinam sol[ut]a et quieta, ad Tenendum ita bene et quiete, libere et honorifice, sicut aliqua unquam melius et liberius habuimus vel tenuimus, cum omnibus liberis consuetudinibus, et sicut alii Canonici regulares liberius et melius et quietius tenent in Anglia; et concedimus [eandem]³ quietam esse de omnibus terrenis servitiis quæ nobis et successoribus nostris pertinebant, salva dignitate [Ecclesiæ] S. Petri de Eboraco, et Archiepiscopi ejusdem Ecclesiæ, et salva dignitate Ecclesiæ S. Cuthberti Dunelm., et Episcopi ejusdem Ecclesiæ. Hiis T. etc.
³ Dodsworth gives a copy of this deed also in vol. vii. p. 191, where Thurstino stands for the Trustino here; and again in vol. cxxi. p. 98, where the reference is “Cartæ Antiquæ, littera V. u. z.” And yet again another copy is found on p. 113 of the same volume. It is to be remembered, also, that two copies are given in the Cartularium proper, or Julius D., and one by Dodsworth, vol. ix. p. 161, of the document printed above as No. CCXVI, headed “Transcriptum Cartæ de Kircham.” These two documents, thus repeatedly copied, are of equally great interest and importance, and must be carefully compared with each other, as well as collated with No. CXLIX. An attempt is made in the Introduction, to bring out at least a part of their full significance. Only explanatory or illustrative notes will be offered in the present place.
⁴ Thurstan was Archbishop from 1119 to 1139-40.
⁵ Geoffrey was Bishop of Durham between 1133 and 1139-40. The date of the present deed, therefore, is limited to the interval between 1133 and 1139. Thus the King Henry mentioned is the first of that name,
⁶ Written Walterius.
⁷ The extent of the grant as described here should be collated with that specified in No. ^CCXVI.
⁸ Perochialem.
¹ Kirkby Grindalyth.
² Written Divesto; now Westow.
³ The writing here is very difficult to decipher, being almost illegible. But it is nearly certain that the reading suggested is well-founded and reasonable.
⁴ It does not seem to be quite certain what, and where, this Linton is. It is desirable, however, to note the descriptive manner in which it is mentioned.
⁵ Written bonorum.
⁶ This word, and the application of it, were noted under No. CCXVI.
⁷ Written ibi.
⁸ This is written Werth. But there can be little doubt it should be Werch, and that, as denoting Wark, it affords another indication as to the manors held by Espec.
⁹ This is Titlington (or Tidlington) in the other Foundation charter.
¹ The emendation liere must be entirely hypothetical.
² Decimam.
³ Dam is all that is written here. Eandem supplies the wanting sense.

This roughly translates as:

347 FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERY OF KIRKHAM IN THE COUNTY OF YORK.
Trustino, D. G. York. To the archbishop, and to Galfrid, the same Grace of Durham. Greetings to the bishop and their successors, Walter Espec, and Alina, his wife. Know that we have granted and given to God and to the Church of the Holy Trinity of Kirkham, and to the Canons there serving God, with the consent of King Henry of England, and with our consent, and with the consent and consent of my nephews—sons, that is, of my sisters, for the souls of my father and mother's nephews. and of all our parents and benefactors, and of all the faithful deceased, in free and perpetual alms,—viz., the whole manor of Kirkham, in wood and plain, in lands and waters, in meadows and pastures, in ponds and mills, and all in the same place belonging to and the parish church of Kirkham, together with the carucate of land and all the church belonging to the same; and the church of Helmeslac, with one carucate of land and all belonging to the same church, and namely three tofts—viz., the toft of the Canons, the toft of the Presbyter, and the toft of Aldred; and the church of Kirkby in Crendale, with one carucate of land and all the church belonging to the same; and the church of Kirkby in Crendale, with one carucate of land and all the church belonging to the same; and the church of Garton, with one carucate of land and all belonging to the same church, and in particular the field which they call the flat of St. Michael, and the whole town of Wivesto, with seven carucates of land and all belonging to the same town, in wood and plain, in lands and pastures, and in all things absolutely; and the whole town of Whitwell, with nine carucates of land, in the wood and plain, in the meadows and pastures, and all belonging to the same town; and in Sextendale eight carucates of land, with all the appurtenances of the same land, and the tithes of the penny of my farms and the tithes of my manors, and specifically of the town and mill of Howsom, and the fishing of the water of Darwent and about Howsom; and my houses from York, and the tithes of Linton from my domain. And the same canons shall have a tenth of the deer and swine and goats and wild beasts which either I or my posterity shall catch, and of the fowls which shall be caught by my streams. And the proper pigs of the Canons and their people, which were reared in these above-mentioned lands of theirs, shall be in the wood of Hamylac at rest from pannage. In the same way the canons will have pannage thence; and the animals and cattle of those Canons shall go everywhere with the animals and cattle of me and my heirs in the same pasture, and where I or my heirs receive a forest for our needs, there the Canons will also receive it, and the men of the Canons shall everywhere have a common pasture with my men. Furthermore, we granted and gave to the same canons the whole town of Carham on the river Tweed, and the church of the same town and everything belonging to the same church, in lands and waters, and meadows and pastures, in pools and mills, in divisions and customs; and one manor in Warch, and the whole town of Tidhuton, with all the town belonging to it. . . and the church of Hildreton, with all belonging to the same church; and the church of Neuton in Glendale, with all the appurtenances of the same church; and all my tithes, and in particular the tithes of pence from the census of my lands in Northumberland, and two parts of the tithes of the lordship of Myndrom, and of Dooltrine, and of the mill of Bolton. And if I give to any man any of the above-mentioned lands, the tithe shall always remain to the Church of St. Trinity of Kirkham. We granted all the aforesaid things and gave them to the aforesaid Canons in free and quiet alms, to be held so well and quietly, freely and honorably, as we ever had or held any better and freer, with all free customs, and like other regular Canons more freely and better and quietly they hold in England; and we consent to the same quit of all earthly services which belonged to us and our successors, save the dignity of the Church of St. Peter of York, and the Archbishop of the same Church, and save the dignity of the Church of St. Cuthbert of Durham, and the Bishop of the same Church. To these Witnesses etc

Walter Espec's charter of the foundation, granting land in Helmsley and Bilsdale to the Abbey of Rievaulx.
Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846)

     NUM. IV.
     Carta Walteri Espec de Fundatione Abbatiæ Rievallis.
   [Ex Registro Abbatiæ de Rievaulx in bibl. Cottoniana, sub effigie Julii D. 1. fol. 24 a. Vide Cart. 1 Edw. III. n. 30; et Pat. 6 Edw. III. p. 2, m. 23.]
IN nomine sanctæ et individuæ Trinitatis, Walterus Espec universis sanctæ catholicæ matris ecclesiæ filiis salutem. Notum sit omnibus vobis, me dedisse, et concessisse, concessu Henrici regis Anglorum, et consilio Aalinæ uxoris meæ, Deo et ecclesiæ sanctæ Mariæ de Rievalle, in manu Willielmi abbatis, et fratribus ibi Deo servientibus, et pro Dei amore, et salute animæ regis Willielmi Anglorum, et pro salute Henrici regis Anglorum, et omnium parentum suorum, et pro salute animæ patris mei, et matris meæ, et pro anima Hugonis de Wildecher, et pro anima patris et matris, uxoris meæ, et omnium parentum et antecessorum nostrorum, novem carucatas terræ; scilicet terram de Grift, ubi sunt quatuor carucatæ, et terram de Tillestona, ubi sunt quatuor carucatæ cum omnibus appenditiis, et rebus eisdem terris pertinentibus, in bosco et plano, in pastura, et pratis, et aquis, et omnibus aliis locis, bene et in pace, et honorifice, et libere, et quiete de omnibus consuetudinibus, et auxiliis, et assisis, et occasionibus, et placitis, et querelis, et omni terreno servitio imperpetuum tenere; his divisis, scilicet ab eo loco ubi Sperragata venit ad Riam, omnem aquam usque ad Fangadala, et inde per Fangdala, sicut divisæ sunt inter me, et Steintone, usque ad magnam viam, quæ venit de Wildheris, et inde supra clivum montis, quantum meæ divisæ tenduntur versus Cliveland, et subtus clivum montis a monte qui vocatur Traneshof, per vallem quæ dicitur Landesmere, usque ad aquam quæ currit per Bildesdala. Hæ sunt divisæ a parte occidentis; ex parte vero orientis, a supradicta Sparagata per eam, usque ad illam viam, qua itur de Grif, ad molendinum de Sproxton, et inde per viam qua itur inter duas haias, scilicet illam de Grif, et mediam haiam usque ad sartam, et inde totam vallem usque ad parvam haiam de Thillestone. Inde inter planum de Thileston, et oram nemoris usque ad quandam fossam è contra, ubi Depadala, et Lithlebec conveniunt; et inde totam vallem Lithlebec usque ad Raudepade, et inde per magnam viam usque ad furcam viarum, et inde per viam à dextra super Sundhesdala usque ad acervum lapidum qui vocatur Bachely, et inde recto ductu super Thriplesdala usque ad magnam viam quæ venit de Thurchilesti, et per illam viam, quantum meæ divisæ tenduntur versus Cliveland super clivum montis, et subtus clivum, per rivulum qui vocatur Willesmesbec, et est divisa inter me et Johannem de Engelram, usque ad supradictam aquam quæ currit per Bildesdale. Et præter hæc concedo eis omnia aisiamenta sua in manerio et foresta mea de Helmeslac, scilicet materiem, et ligna ad suos proprios usus, et pascua, et pannagia ob omni consuetudine quieta, in omnibus boscis meis de Helmeslac, sicut ego ipse liberiùs et quietiùs habeo ad meum proprium opus. Hiis testibus, Thoma præposito de Beverlaco, Arnaldo sacerdote de Beverlaco, Godefrido capellano, Henrico de Munford, Waltero capellano, Eustachio filio Johannis, Roberto capellano Walteri Espec, Galfrido clerico de Wartra, Ivone, Pagano, Hugone, Willielmo, Clemente fratribus ejus. Testimonio etiam et concessu nepotum meorum, scilicet, Willielmi de Buisei et Jordani, et Rogeri, qui sunt filii sororis meæ Haawisiæ, primogenitæ patris et matris meæ, et nepotum meorum Gaufridi de Trali, et Willielmi, et Gilberti, et Nicholai filiorum mediæ sororis meæ Albreæ; et nepotum meorum Everardi, et Roberti* filii sororis meæ Adelinæ postgenitæ. Testimonio quoque et consilio meorum hominum; scilicet, Willielmi de Steingrif, Roberti Lenveiset, Drogonis de Hirum, Roberti de Sproxton, Petri de Surdevals, Willielmi Luvelle, Johannis Elgelram, Willielmi filii Amfrei, Willielmi de Surdevalle, Rogeri de Flameville, Hugonis Camin. Testibus etiam vicinis meis; scilicet, Henrico de Munfort, Stephano de Meinill, Gervasio de Sneit, et Benedicto filio ejus, Rogero de Hiltune, Auschetino filio Willielmi filii Achelini; et multis aliis meis vicinis, et amicis. Hanc abbatiam Rievallis fundavi ego Walterus Espec, consilio et concessu Turstini archiepiscopi Eboracensis, concessu etiam, et consilio Henrici regis Anglorum, domino Papa Innocentio, auctoritate apostolica hæc omnia confirmante.
* De Ros.

This roughly translates as:
Charter of Walter Espec on the Foundation of the Abbey of Rievallis..
[From the Register of the Abbey of Rievaulx in the book Cottoniana, under the effigy of Julius D. 1. fol. 24 a. See Cart. 1 Edw. III. n. 30; and Pat. 6 Edw. III. p. 2, m. 23.]
IN the name of the holy and personal Trinity, Walter Espec greets all the children of the holy catholic mother church. Let it be known to all of you that I gave myself, and granted, by the consent of Henry, king of England, and by the counsel of my wife Aalina, to God and the church of Saint Mary of Rievalle, in the hand of William the abbot, and of the brethren who serve God there, and for the love of God, and for the safety of the king's soul William of the English, and for the safety of Henry, king of the English, and of all his parents, and for the safety of the soul of my father and my mother, and for the soul of Hugh de Wildecher, and for the soul of my wife's father and mother, and of all our parents and ancestors, nine carucates of land; that is to say, the land of Grift, where there are four carucates, and the land of Tilleston, where there are four carucates with all the appurtenances, and things belonging to the same lands, in wood and plain, in pasture, and meadow, and water, and in all other places, well and to hold in peace, and honorably, and freely, and quietly from all customs, and aids, and assizes, and occasions, and pleas, and complaints, and all earthly service; divided by these, that is to say, from the place where the Sperragata comes to the Ria, all the water as far as Fangadala, and thence through Fangdala, as they are divided between me and Steintone, as far as the great road that comes from the Wildhers, and thence over the slope of the mountain, as far as my divisions are drawn towards Cliveland, and under the slope of the mountain from the mountain called Traneshof, through the valley called Landesmere, to the water that runs through Bildesdal. These are divided on the west side; on the east side, from the aforesaid Sparagata through it, as far as that road which goes from Grif, to the mill of Sproxton, and thence along the road which goes between two hedges, namely that from Grif, and the middle hedge as far as Sarta, and thence the whole valley as far as the little hill of Thillestone. Thence between the plain of Thileston and the edge of the forest to a certain ditch on the opposite side, where Depadala and Lithlebec meet; and thence the whole valley of Lithlebec as far as Raudepade, and thence along the great road to the fork of the roads, and thence along the road on the right above Sundhesdala to the heap of stones called Bachely, and from thence by a straight line over Thriplesdala to the great road which comes from Thurchilesti. and by that road, as far as my divisions extend towards Cliveland, on the slope of the mountain, and under the slope, by the stream called Willesmesbec, and it is divided between me and John de Engelram, as far as the aforesaid water which runs through Bildesdale. And besides these things I grant them all their easements in my manor and forest of Helmeslac, that is to say, material, and wood for their own use, and pastures, and pannage for all customary quiet, in all my woods of Helmeslac, as I myself have free and quiet to my own work. By these witnesses, Thomas the prefect of Beverlaco, Arnald the priest of Beverlaco, Godfrid the chaplain, Henry de Munford, Walter the chaplain, Eustace the son of John, Robert the chaplain to Walter Espec, Galfrid the cleric of Wartra, Ivon, Pagano, Hugh, William, and Clement his brothers. I also testify and consent to my nephews, namely, Willielm de Buisei and Jordan, and Roger, who are the sons of my sister Hawisa, the first-born of my father and mother, and my nephews Geoffrey de Tralee, and Willielm, and Gilbert, and Nicholas, the sons of my middle sister Albreae; and my nephew Everard, and Robert*, the sons of my sister Adeline's offspring. By the testimony and advice of my men; viz., William de Steingrif, Robert Lenveiset, Drogon de Hirum, Robert de Sproxton, Peter de Surdevalls, William Luvelle, John Elgelram, William the son of Amfrei, William de Surdevall, Roger de Flameville, Hugh Camin. To the witnesses also of my neighbours; namely, Henry de Munfort, Stephen de Meinill, Gervasius de Sneit, and Benedict his son, Roger de Hiltune, Auschetin son of William son of Achelinus; and to many other neighbors and friends of mine. I, Walter Espec, founded this abbey of Rievallis, with the advice and consent of Turstin, archbishop of York, with the consent and advice of Henry, king of England, lord Pope Innocent, confirming all this by apostolic authority.
* De Ros.

There is a good discussion on where the places named in this charter in notes to another transcription in Cartularium abbathiæ de Rievalle in Publications of the Surtees Society vol 83 pp16-21 (ed. J. C. Atkinson, 1889).

The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795)

Sir Walter Eſpec, knight, baron of Helmeſley (of whom the abbot of Rievalx has preserved ſome slight memorials¹⁸), was in the battle of the Standard againſt the Scots, and in the ſame reign was one of the justices itinerant. Having loſt an only ſon, Walter, by a fall from a fleet horſe, he determined to devote a portion of his property to religious purpoſes; to which end he founded three monaſteries¹⁹; Kirkham²⁰, 1122, Rievalx²¹,1131, in Yorkshire; and Wardon²², 1136, in Bedſordshire; To Kirkham he appropriated ſeven churches, with right of patronage, and poſſeſſions to the value of 1100 marks. His benefactions to Rievalx were ſtill more magnificent; and, among other articles, he gave them the manor of Helmeſley, with wood and pannage for their hogs out of his foreſt of Hamelake. His gifts to Wardon were also considerable. Notwithstanding these bountiful deeds, he left, at his death, in 1153, an ample portion to his three ſiſters and coheirs; 1. Hawiſia, wife of William Buſcie; 2. Albreda, married to Nicholas de Trailly; and 3. Adelina, wife to Peter de Ros, on whom he particularly beſtowed the patronage of his monaſteries of Kirkham and Rievalx; in which last place he paſſed the ten laſt years of his life in the habit of a monk, and was there buried.
¹⁸ “Adfuit & Walterus Eſpec, vir ſenex, & plenus dierum, acer ingenio, in conſiliis prudens, in pace modeſtus, in bello providus, amicitiam sociis, fidem ſemper regibus ſervans. Erat ei ſtatura ingens, membra omnia tantæ magnitudinis, ut modum excederent; & tantæ proceritati congruerent; capilli nigri; barba prolixa; frons patens & libera; oculi grandes & perſpicaces; facies ampliſſima, tractitia tamen; vox tubæ ſamilis, facundiam quæ ei facilis erat quadam ſoni majeſtate componens. Erat præterea nobilis carne, ſed Chriſtianâ pietate nobilior; nempe cum liberis careret, hæredibus, licet ei ſtrenui nepotes non deeſſent, de optimis tamen quibuſque poſſeſſionibus ſuis Chriſtum fecit hæredem: nam in loco amœniſſimo, Kirkham nomine, monaſterium regularium condidit clericorum, multis illud donariis ornans, & ditans poſſeſſionibus.” Lelandi Collectanea, vol. II. p. 312 ; è libello Alredi Rievallenfis abbatis, de bello Standardico, inter X Scriptores, edito col. 337.
¹⁹ The particulars of theſe ſeveral foundations, with the ſucceſſion of the lords Ros, may be ſeen in the Appendix, N^o IV.
²⁰ The beautiful gate of this priory remains, with ſtatues and the following coats: 3 chevronels; 3 lions paſſant guardant in pale; three water-bougets twice; chequè; three cartwheels; barry of ten, three chaplets; a bend; two water-bougets in chief; a croſs patonce. Buck published a North view 1721. Sir H. C. Englefield, bart. has a beautiful drawing; of its remains more conſiderable. Part of the ruins of the church were blown down March 14, 1782. Gough’s Camden, vol. III. p. 69.
²¹ The abbot and convent of Wardon obtained from Henry III. an annuity of £.20. for damages ſuſtained in their woods at Puttenho in Bedford. See Rot. Parl. vol. I. pp. 54. 170. 372.—There are conſiderable remains of this abbey fitted up as a farm house. See Buck’s good N. E. view of it, 1730. It belonged, 1777, to Mrs. Auſtin, of Staffordſhire; and the farm of 120 acres was let for £.120.
²² The church of Rievalx is almoſt perfect, except the tower and roof. The maſonry within, of a clear brown ſtone, is as perfect as if lately built, and highly ornamented. Large fragments of the apartments belonging to the abbey adjoin to theſe ruins. Account annexed to the beautiful Eaſt view of it in the Monaſtic Remains, N^o IV. A poor Weſt view of it by Buck, 1721. On the brink of a hill, which almoſt perpendicularly overlooks this abbey, is one of the fineſt terraces in England, with a temple at each end of the walk.

Note 18 roughly translates as:

¹⁸ “There was also Walter Espec, an old man, and full of days, keen in wit, prudent in counsels, modest in peace, prudent in war, friendly to his allies, always keeping faith with kings. He was of enormous stature, all his limbs of such a size that they exceeded measure; And they would correspond to such a large number of stories; black hair; long beard; open front & free; large and penetrating eyes; His face is very large, but his movements are still; a trumpet-like voice, combining the fluency that was easy for him with a certain majesty of sound. He was already noble in flesh, but more noble in Christian piety; that is, when he lacked children, heirs, although he did not lack strong nephews, he made Christ his heir of the best of all his possessions: for in a most memorable place, called Kirkham, he founded a monastery of regular clergy, adorning it with many gifts, and enriching it with possessions.” Lelandi Collectanea, vol. II. p. 312; and in the booklet Alredi Rievallenfis abbot, on the Standard War, among the 10 Writers, published in col. 337

Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846)

     NUM. II.
     Fundationis et Fundatorum Historia.
   [Ex MS. in bibl. Cotton, sub effigie Vitellii F. 4]
DOMINUS Walterus Especke miles strenuus et decorus in ætate juvenili uxorem duxit quandam, nomine Adelinam, quæ concepit, et peperit ei unum filium, nomine Walterum, similem patri suo. Qui formosus factus adolescens, multum delectabatur in equis velocibus equitare. Contigit ut quadam die, cum equum velocem ascendisset, et ipsum ad currenduæ, ultra vires urgeret, apud parvam petrinam crucem, versus^a Frithby, equus suus graviter cespitavit: et ille subito de equo cadens, collo suo fracto, vitam finivit temporalem. Quod cum rumor infortunii ad patrem suum pervenisset, consternatus dolore nimio, deliberavit de hæredibus sibi disponendis. Licet præcipue quando vir conquestus erat, et armorum actibus, quicquid habuit, acquisivit. Invocata igitur Spiritus Sancti gratia, amicos suos consuluit, præsertim Willielmum Gartonensem rectorem, et avunculum suum cujus consilio plurimùm acquievit. Qui igitur consuluit ut de parte terrarum suarum Christum faceret hæredem, quod ad finem usque perduxit, fundans tria monasteria. Et primò monasterium de Kirkham viij. kal Marcii feria quarta anno Domini M.C.xxij. anno regni regis H. primi xxij. et præsulatus Thurstani Ebor. archiep. anno quinto. Et idem præsul primum priorem, Willielmum videlicet supradictum tunc canonicum, instructum in domo sancti Oswaldi ordinavit et constituit in pastorem, adjuncto sibi uno socio de eadem domo; qui quidem Willielmus prior rexit prioratum in domo de Kirkeham per unum annum menses tres et duos dies, et sic quinto nonas Julii ab hac luce subtractus est, et ad vitam migravit æternam fœliciter regnaturus. Et ad sustentationem ejusdem domus et onus hospitalitatis supportandum idem Walterus dedit jus patronatus septem ecclesiarum per ipsum appropriandarum eisdem, in proprios usus habendum, et terras redditus ac possessiones ad summam mille et centum marcarum in comitatibus Eboraci et Northumbriæ.

Postea fundavit monasterium Rievallis A.D. M.C.xxxj. Et postea fundavit monasterium de Wardon A.D. M.C.xxxvj. Vixit autem idem Walterus, postquam fundavit monasterium de Kirkham, triginta annis, miles strenuus et circumspectus. Tandem dictus dominus Walterus, senio confractus, armis militaribus valefecit, Willielmum hæredem habens de corpore suo legitimè procreatum: residuum verò terrarum suarum divisit inter tres sorores suas, sibi jure hæreditario successuras, quarum nomina hæc sunt: Hauwisa, Albreda, Adelina. Primam duxit in uxorem Willielmus Buscye, secundam Nicholaus de Traylye, et tertiam Petrus de Roos; sed Adelinæ sorori suæ inter cætera dedit specialiter advocationem de Kirkham, et Rievallis, et postea sumens habitum monachilem apud Rievallem, ibidem inter monachos per biennium conversans vitam finivit temporalem, jacens ibidem in sua ecclesia humatus vij. Idus Marcii Anno Domini M.C.liij. cujus animæ propitietur Deus, Amen.
Pro reorum venia Kirkham domus bona,
Rievallis deinceps et hæc tria, Wardona
Est fundata primitùs à dicta persona,
Pro quorum meritis datur illi trina corona.
^a Juxta prioratum de Kirkham in com. Ebor.
This roughly translates as:
History of the Foundation and Founders.
[From Cotton MS, under the bust of Vitellius F. 4]
LORD Walter Especke, a brave and handsome soldier, married a certain woman named Adelina at a young age, who conceived and bore him one son, named Walter, like his father. He, who became handsome as a youth, took great pleasure in riding on swift horses. It happened that one day, when he had mounted a swift horse, and was urging himself beyond his strength to run, at a small stone cross, towards Frithby^a, his horse reared heavily: and he suddenly fell from the horse, breaking his neck, and ended his temporal life. When the news of the misfortune reached his father, he was dismayed by excessive grief, and resolved to dispose of his inheritance. It is true, especially when the man was indignant, whatever he had he had acquired by acts of arms. Invoking therefore the grace of the Holy Spirit, he consulted his friends, especially William, rector of Garton, his uncle, by whose advice he obtained most of his consent. He then took counsel to make Christ his heir of part of his lands, which he carried through to the end, founding three monasteries. And the first monastery of Kirkham on Wednesday, the 8th day before kalends of March [22 February] in the year of the Lord 1122, in the 22nd year of the reign of King H. the first, and the fifth year of the office of Thurstan archbishop of York. And the same prelate ordained and appointed the first prior, namely William aforesaid then canon, trained in the house of St. Oswald, and made pastor, with one associate from the same house attached to him. William the Prior ruled the priory in the house of Kirkeham for one year, three months and two days, and thus on the fifth of the ninth of July he was removed from this light, and passed away to reign happily in eternal life. And to support the maintenance of the same house and to support the burden of hospitality, the same Walter gave the right of patronage of seven churches to be appropriated by him, to be held for their own use, and lands and possessions to the sum of one thousand and one hundred marks in the counties of York and Northumbria.
Later he founded the monastery of Rievallis A.D. 1131. And afterwards he founded the monastery of Wardon A.D. 1136. And the same Walter, after he had founded the monastery of Kirkham, lived thirty years, an active and circumspect soldier. At length the said Lord Walter, retired in old age and bid farewell to military arms. William having an heir legitimately begotten of his body: he divided the remainder of his lands among his three sisters, who were to succeed him by right of inheritance, whose names are these: Hauwisa, Albreda, Adelina. The first married William Buscye, the second Nicholas de Traylye, and the third Peter de Roos; but to his sister Adeline, among others, he specially advocated Kirkham and Rievalli, and afterwards taking the monastic habit at Rievalli, there he lived among the monks for two years and ended his temporal life, lying there buried in his church on the 7th day before Ides of March [9 March] Anno Domini 1153, on whose soul may God have mercy, Amen.
For the pardon of the guilty, the good house of Kirkham,
Rievallis next and these three, Wardon
It was originally founded on the said person,
For whose merits a triple crown is given to him.
^a next to the Priory of Kirkham in the county of York

A Chronicle of England, B.C. 55-A.D. 1485 pp143-5 (James E. Doyle, 1864)

David, king of Scotland, having again determined to support by arms the cause of his niece Matilda, had twice invaded and twice retired from England, in the first months of the year 1138. In August he returned a third time, and his numerous hordes, (breaking loose from his control,) had swept the country as far as Yorkshire, destroying the villages, churches, and monasteries, slaying men, women, and children, and perpetrating in their course every atrocity that the most savage barbarians could commit. A body of troops, which attempted to stop their progress at Clitheroe, was cut to pieces. Some of the enemies of Stephen joined the king of Scots, and distrust and alarm everywhere began to prevail. In this emergency, Thurstan, archbishop of York, appealed to the nobility of his diocese, who had assembled to take counsel at the chief city, and exhorted them to make a resolute effort for the defence of their homes. Encouraged by his spirited address, the barons speedily assembled their vassals, and bringing among them the young heir of De Mowbray, returned to York, whither the parish priests also led the fighting men of their flocks. After a solemn fast, the whole force was sent forward with the blessing of the archbishop to meet the invaders. Infirm as he was, Thurstan was ready to accompany the troops; but being at last prevailed upon to remain behind, he deputed the bishop of the Orkneys to act as his representative in the field. The English army, under the command of William, earl of Albemarle, advanced to Cuton Moor, near Northallerton, and there took post to await the approach of the enemy.

The oath of Walter Espec (left, with beard)

Walter Espec (left, with beard) swears to conquer or be killed by the Scots, while shaking the hand of William of Albemarle, just before the Battle of the Standard.

image from A Chronicle of England, B.C. 55-A.D. 1485 p144 (James E. Doyle, 1864)

In their midst was erected upon a car the mast of a ship, having at its summit a cross containing the Sacrament, and decorated below with the banners of Saints Peter, Wilfrid, and John of Beverley. Walter l’Espec, an aged knight of high repute, mounting the car, addressed his comrades in a stirring harangue, which he concluded by grasping the hand of William of Albemarle, and exclaiming:—“I pledge thee my troth, that I will this day either conquer the Scots, or die by the Scots.” This oath was repeated with enthusiasm by the other leaders, after which the bishop of the Orkneys eloquently exhorted all present to do their duty. While he was yet speaking, he saw the Scottish host rapidly advancing, whereupon he terminated his discourse by giving the solemn absolution to the whole army, which knelt to receive it. Then leaping to their feet, the English made the surrounding hills re-echo with their shouts of “Amen“ Amen!” In answer, the advancing Scots sent forth their national war-cry “Alben! Alben!” and impetuously dashed forward on the Anglo-Norman lines. The front ranks of these were driven in, and the wings outflanked and outnumbered, were thrown into disorder. But the main body stood firm round the standard, forming a hedge of steel, upon which the wildest valour of the assailants could make no impression. For two hours, nevertheless, the Scots continued their attacks, suffering heavily from the English archers who were mingled with the knights and men-at-arms. At length the invaders gave way, and fled towards their own country. The king was with difficulty extricated from the rout by some of his guards and nobles, and brought off in safety, having lost, it was reported, more than 11,000 men in the battle and flight. His son Henry, who had penetrated into the rear of the English army, seeing the battle lost, threw away every distinguishing mark, and pretending to join in the pursuit, escaped into the woods, and rejoined his father on the third day at Carlisle. Notwithstanding his defeat and losses, David continued the war on the border until the commencement of the following year, when the presence of Stephen with a powerful force induced the Scottish monarch to consent to a peace on honourable terms.

Dictionary of National Biography vol 18 pp4-5 (ed. Leslie Stephen, 1889)

ESPEC, WALTER (d. 1153), founder of Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire, was probably the son of William Spech, who in 1085 held Warden, Bedfordshire, where some fifty years later Walter Espec founded and endowed an abbey (Domesday Book, i. 214b, 215a; DUGDALE v. 280). Espec’s chief property was in Yorkshire, and he resided at Helmsley. Under Henry I he was justice of the forests and itinerant justice in the northern counties. Under Stephen he actively resisted the Scotch invasion. On 10 Jan. 1138 FitzDuncan failed in a night attack on Espec’s castle of Wark. Then King David and his son Henry came up and formed a regular siege for three weeks, after which the main body passed on to harry Northumberland. Three months later (c. 8 May) the garrison swooped down upon the Scotch king’s commissariat, and had to submit to a second siege. The castle was stoutly defended by Walter’s nephew, John de Bussey, but had to surrender about 11 Nov. Two months previously (22 Aug.) Espec was one of the leaders of the battle of the Standard. According to Ailred of Rievaulx, Espec was at the time regarded by the other barons of the north as their ‘dux et pater’ (De Bello Stand, ap. TWYSDEN, pp. 346-7). He was already an aged man (ib. p. 337), and there is no reason for doubting the tradition which makes him withdraw in 1152 into the abbey of Kirkham, which he had founded in 1121, and where he is said to have died 7 March 1153 (Cotton MS. Vitell. F. 4, quoted in DUGDALE).
Ailred, abbot of Rievaulx [see ETHELRED, 1109?-1166], describes his patron as a man of immense height and build, with black hair, full beard, broad features, and trumpet voice. Having no surviving children by his wife Adelina, he founded the Cistercian abbeys of Rievaulx, Yorkshire, and Warden, Bedfordshire, the former in 1131, and the latter in 1135, besides the priory for Augustinian canons at Kirkham, Yorkshire. According to tradition, Espec’s son and namesake fell from his horse and broke his neck about 1121 while still a young man. This led his father to found the abbey of Kirkham, over which he set his uncle, William Garton, as first prior (1132). The foundation charter mentions the name of William Rufus, from which it would appear that Espec at one time had been on friendly relations with his king. Archbishop Thurstan of York aided in his pious works, and the concession of the lands was sanctioned by Espec’s heiresses, his three sisters Hawisa Bussey, Albreda Traylye, Adelina Roos, together with their husbands and children.
It was from Espec that Lady Constance FitzGilbert, or her husband Ralph, borrowed the copy of Geoffrey of Monmouth which Geoffrey Gaimar used for his ‘Estoire des Engles.’ Espec procured it from Earl Robert of Gloucester (GEOFFREY GAIMAR, ap. Monumenta Historica Britannica, p. 829a).
[Dugdale’s Monasticon, ed. 1817, v. 280 et seq., vi. 207 et seq., 369; Richard of Hexham; Chronicle of Melrose, Henry of Huntingdon, sub. ann. 1132, 1138; Foss’s Judges; and authorities cited above.] T. A. A.

Cartularium abbathiæ de Rievalle in Publications of the Surtees Society vol 83 page x to xi (ed. J. C. Atkinson, 1889)
INTRODUCTION.

... For myself, I feel no sort of certainty that the story of the younger Walter Espec, of the catastrophe which resulted in his alleged premature death, and of his father’s seeking, in consequence, and finding “religious consolation” in the founding and endowing of the three monasteries named, is in any respect one to be depended upon. When we turn to the second and final so-called Endowment or Foundation Charter of Kirkham, we find the souls of the fathers and mothers of the Founder’s nephews mentioned, as also those of all their fore-elders and benefactors, and those of all the faithful dead, mentioned, but no reference to the son of whom he had been bereaved. Should we examine the corresponding clause of the so-called Foundation Charter of Rievaulx, what we meet with is thought of the salvation of the dead King William, of the living King Henry, and of all their ancestors; of that of the Founder’s father and mother, of Hugh de Wildecher, of that of his wife’s father and mother, and of all their fore-elders and ancestors in common, but no hint even—not even so much as that in the phrase “all the faithful dead” in the Kirkham deed—of a lost and lamented child, grief for whose removal had inspired and led to both the one foundation and the other..

Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp78-81 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910)

* Communicated by GEO. GRAZEBROOK
Walter Espec was in every respect a representative and remarkable man; married Aalina . . . . (Cotton MS., Vitellius, F. 4; and Dodsworth puts a marginal note, ? de Bello Campo, see Surtees Society, vol. 83, p. 263). Besides inheriting his father’s Bedfordshire estates described in Domesday Book, 1086, and besides those Bedfordshire manors there mentioned as held by him under his father, he held in his own right under the Bishop of Lincoln “Essendine 1 hide, arable land 6 carucates, there are in demesne 2 carucates with 1 slave, and 16 villeins and 5 bordarii, who had 4 carucates. There was a mill worth 16 shillings yearly and 3 acres of meadow. The wood was 6 furlongs in length and 4 furlongs in breadth. T.R.E. was worth £4, now worth Cs. Bardi formerly held it.” It was accounted in Gisleburgh Hundred, Northants (Domesday, i., p. 221; also C. Gowen Smith’s “Lincolnshire Domesday,” p. 261), This valuable and prosperous manor stood on the very borders of several counties; it is now counted in Rutland, and is a member of Ryhall parish, in which the Countess Judith also held lands 1½ hides. Besides Essendine, Walter also held under the Bishop of Lincoln in 1086 several adjoining manors formerly held by Bardi, viz., Lidentone, Corbi, and the soc appurtenant to Corbi in Billesfelt (now Bitchfield) in Rutland, in Lincoln, and in Northants (Domesday, i., p. 344^b; also Blore’s “History of Rutland,” p. 14).
We find Walter witnessing so early as 1085-7 the original Foundation Charter of Bardney Abbey, and among goodly company—(1) Lanfranco, Archbishop Cant.; (2) Remigio, Bishop of Lincoln; (3) Roberto, (4) Willelmo and (5) Henrico, sons of King William; (6) Willelmo, Comte of Chester; (7) Roberto fil. Henrici; (8) Roberto Bigod; (9) Waltero de Espec; (10) Eudone dapifers—and then this “oasis” of the aristocracy ceases. This is given in the Inspeximus copy in the Restoration Charter of the Abbey confirming their lands, and which was dated 1115 (Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1655, vol i. p. 142), and my greatly respected friend Mr. R. W. Eyton (Add. MS., Brit. Mus., No. 31,395, fo. 24) thought the list must have been incorrectly copied. The other witnesses were all reasonable enough, but he considered that the three sons of William I. could never have been together anywhere” I only introduced it to shew the eminent estimation in which, even at that early date, Walter Espec was held; and as I do not like to abandon my “oasis,” will prove this by giving one or two other Charters. The Confirmation Charter to Nostell Priory, which was before 1129, by Henry I., who was himself the first witness, has (2) Turstin, Archbishop; three Bishops; (6) Eustace fitz John; (7) Pagan fitz John; (8) Walter Espec (Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1660, vol. ii. p 35). The Charter of David Rex Scotorun to the Priory of St. Trinity in London has five witnesses, of whom Walter Espec comes last; the date is between 1128 and 1136 (Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1660, vol ii. p. 80). The Charter of Henry I. to Will’mo fil’ Ulfi’ Testibus (1) Roberto de Ferrariis, (2) Waltero Espec, (3) Rogero de Valoniis, (4) Fornone fil’ Sigulfii apud Nottingham, before 1139 (“Archæologia,” vi., p. 49. The original MS. is now in the Heralds’ College, Vincent, No. 59).
I think I have really said enough to shew the high position which Walter Espec occupied. There are dozens of references where he appears.
There is on the banks of the River Tweed, nearly opposite the present town of Coldstream, a castle called Werk or Wark with the neighbouring lordship of Carram, a post of the greatest strategic value to England as the key to the approaches from Scotland. At this point nearly all the great invasions were initiated—on the west was the direct road to Carlisle, and due south Northumberland and the way to York lay open—probably the passage across Tweed was easier there.
This important lordship was committed by successive Kings to the most able and valiant commander whom they could select, and so the Barony of Werk was bestowed by Henry I. on Walter Espec for life; and we find him in 1121 giving the Church of “Carham et unam mansuram” in Werch to the Priory of Kirkham (Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1661, vol. ii., p. 105). The late Rev. W. H. Hartshorne says (“Border Fortresses;” Archit. Inst. at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1852, vol. ii., p. 31) that Walter Espec built a castle of great strength; and our dates prove that at any rate he greatly added to fortifications of earlier date. He held the barony from before 1121 until the autumn of 1138, when with the King’s approval he gave the barony for life to his nephew Jordanus de Busli, who continued to hold it till his death in 1163. I shall fully treat of him when we arrive at the Pedigree of de Busli [Family B].
In the Pipe Roll, 1130-31, we find Walter Espec and Eustace Fitz John were then Justices Itinerant in Yorkshire and Northumberland. The coronation of Stephen in 1135 brought very perplexing times for conscientious men, and at the Battle of the Standard in 1138 Espec and FitzJohn were fighting on opposite sides! I leave my notice of that great battle until we come to the nephew Jordanus de Busli, but would like to include here what Lord Lyttelton says in his “Life of Henry II.” (ed. 1767, vol. i., p. 192) as to the generals commanding there; “But the man to whose counsels they all deferred was Walter Espec, a gallant old officer of a very extraordinary strength and stature, who, from his long experience in the art of war, joined to a most amiable and venerable character, was revered as a father, and obeyed as a general by the whole army, the chief direction and conduct of which is by some of the best contemporary writers ascribed to him.” Ailred of Rievaulx in his History ascribes that great victory chiefly to the military talents and skill of Walter Espec.
Walter Espec had one only son. “In his youthful years he took to wife a certain lady named Adeline, and by her had one only child called Walter (a comely person), who took such great delight in swift horses that on a time, spurring his courser to run past his strength, he occasioned him to stumble, hard by the stone cross at Frithby, near Kirkham in Yorkshire, by means whereof the horse fell and broke his rider’s neck, to the great grief of this our famous Walter Espec, his father; who thus bereft of issue, and in no small care how to dispose his estates, consulting with William his Uncle, then Rector of the church of Garton, was by him advised to make Christ his heir unto part of it, which he accordingly did by founding those three monasteries, etc.” I give the simple and beautiful wording of Dugdale in his “Baronage,” vol., i. p. 590. These particulars are several times given in contemporary documents. (See also “Monasticon,” 1655, vol. i., p. 727.)
In the Surtees Society, vol. 83, p. 263, the “Rievaulx Chartulary” is an abstract from papers then penes the Earl of Rutland, taken from Dodsworth, lxxxv., fo. 36, almost identical with Cotton MS., Vitellius, 64, in British Museum, which was also used in Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1661, vol. ii., p. 10; and in mentioning Adelina, the wife of Walter Espec, there is a note in the margin, “de Bello Campo,” supplied by Dodsworth as that lady’s maiden name. There were two, possibly more, of that name de Bello Campo, in England twenty years or so after the Conquest, but very little is known of them. Of course he may have married a lady in Normandy, but I think we have very few particulars of the Beauchamps in England until 100 years after our date, although afterwards they founded a most distinguished family; but refer to p. 78, where a Hugh de Belcamp held lands in Bedfordshire under William Espec. I have a reference to Aalina de Espec (“Archæologia,” xxi., p. 160) but have not that volume.
Perhaps this note (from Add. MS., Brit. Mus., fo. 24,465) may help some other student as to Bello Campo. Joseph Hunter’s memorandum from the Wardon Chartulary: “Charter No. 295 [on page 59 or in pencil 37] Hugo de Bello Campo grants and confirms to the monks of Wardon de Sartis the donation which Walterus de Espec gave to them, all the land in wood and plain which lies,” etc.; also “the wood of Boestone as Roeis, which was wife of Roger Burnardi, gave them.” Now such grant and confirmation shew that Hugo had some hereditary connection with these lands. Dugdale (in his “Baronage,” vol. i., p. 223) begins with Hugo, who had a granddaughter Rohais, who did not marry Burnardi. Still there seems a clue here. If Aalina was a Bello Campo, Walter de Espec would very likely hold her lands under them, and he did hold lands in Beston!
If as we may reasonably suppose, Walter the son would be about fifteen years of age at his death, and that the father was in consultation with his uncle for say two or three years before he decided and began to build an Abbey, then we may safely conclude that Walter the younger was born twenty years before the first Abbey, that at Kirkham, was founded in 1121. I suggest, therefore, about 1101 or 1102; and the date, although only an approximate one, will be useful to us for comparison with other dates as we proceed. In Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1661, vol. ii., p. 105, we have the Foundation Charter of Kirkham in Yorkshire in 1121. Walter Espec and Adelina his wife, with a very long list of witnesses, which begin “Hiis Testibus Willielmo de Buyssy et Jordano de Buyssy et Rogero de Buyssy, filiis Hawisiæ sororis meæ primogenitæ Et Galfrido de Trailli et Willielmo de Trailli et Nicholao de Traylli et Gilberto de Trailli filiis Albredæ sororis meæ secundæ. Et Everardo de Roos et Roberto de Roos filiis Andelinæ sororis meæ junioris.” [On folio 106 is a highly complimentary personal description of Walter Espec the father.]
In Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1655, vol. i. p. 729, the Foundation Charter of Rievaulx in Yorkshire in 1131 is given: “Walter Espec consilio Aalinæ uxoris meæ Testimonio etiam et concessu nepotum meorum scil^t Willielmi de Busei, et Jordani, et Rogeri qui sunt filii sororis meæ Haawisiæ primogenitæ patris et matris meæ,” and then, as in Kirkham, the Traillis, sons of Albrea, and de Rooses, sons of Adelina.
In Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1655, vol. i. p. 784, is the Confirmation only of Walter Espec’s Foundation and grants to Wardon Priory, co. Bedford, Anno Domini 1135, dated at York 1 Stephen, and among “Testibus Waltero Espec et Gaufrido de Trailli et aliis omnibus nepotibus et herædibus tunc viventibus.” This names “lands in Wardon and Sudgivela.” Sudgivela eventually came to the Trailli family as part of their share, and here they afterwards built the caput of their Barony, and called it Yieldon Castle.
The Chartulary of Wardon is very imperfectly known. In Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” we have only the Confirmation by King Stephen, and a similar document granted by Richard I., 11 November 1198, with a long list of further donations of churches and granges upon the Bedfordshire estates of Espec. Beyond this I know not where to look for the original Chartulary! At the beginning of the nineteenth century it was said to be in the possession of Mr. H. B. Bright. I have enquired of the family of that name, but no one seems to know anything about it, or where it now is. In the new edition of the “Monasticon,” by Bandinell, Caley, and Ellis (1817-30), is a list of Charters, merely the names with no particulars! In the British Museum (Add. MS. 24,465) is a document called “Joseph Hunter’s Notes on the Wardon Chartulary,” but it is only a single sheet of paper with short memoranda of 195 deeds, without witnesses or any sufficient particulars whatever. It looks like a mere memorandum-guide for some future search. However in May 1822, Mr. Hunter lent this paper to Mr. Ellis, and he was thankful to add it to their new edition of the “Monasticon.” And I feel if, with all their influence and searching in 1817, they could not recover it, then to me it seems hopeless! I therefore intend in this our present History to notice sometimes (if apt), as they come before us, estates which it can be shewn by plain records formed portions of William Espec’s fifteen manors in Domesday, and came down at the division of his son’s estates to his later descendants. It will, I think, consolidate our Pedigree.
I need say little more about Walter Espec. He was of a great age, yet full of vigour, at the Battle of the Standard on 22 August 1138, and survived that great and glorious day for fifteen years. Two years before his death he assumed the habit of a monk and retired to his Abbey of Rievaulx, where he died in 1153-4. and was buried there of the vii Ides of March (9 March 1153-4).
After his many great gifts to religion he left all his possessions to be divided among the children of his three sisters, so carefully set out in his Foundation Charters.

The Cistercians in Yorkshire p39 (Joseph Smith Fletcher, 1919)

4. WALTER ESPEC.
Nevertheless, in their eyes—and quite properly—Walter Espec remained for ever a noble figure. The third Abbot of Rievaulx, Ailred, who was something of an historian, and wrote an account of the Battle of the Standard, at which Walter Espec fought, left a pen-picture of the old knight as he appeared when venerableness had come upon him, as the first tinge of russet comes on the oak. “An old man and full of days,” he writes, “quick-witted, prudent in council, moderate in peace, circumspect in war, a true friend, and a loyal subject. His stature was passing tall, his limbs all of such size as not to exceed their just proportions, and yet to be well matched with his great height. His hair was still black, his beard long and flowing, his forehead wide and noble, his eyes large and bright, his face broad but well featured, his voice like the sound of a trumpet, setting off his natural eloquence of speech with a certain majesty of sound.” It seems sad that the prevalent legend as to the founding of Rievaulx should be but a legend—invented, or put together, on inaccurate information, by some medieval chronicler. That ran to the effect that Walter Espec founded Kirkham, Rievaulx, and Warden in memory of an only son who was killed by a fall from his horse—a legend closely related to that of Bolton Priory. But Walter Espec never had a son, so far as is known; Abbot Ailred speaks of him as a childless man, and in the foundation charter of Rievaulx, amongst the long list of names of those for whose benefit the house was established, and for whom, of course the prayers of the brethren were asked, there is no mention of the founder’s son, as there most certainly would have been had he ever possessed one.

The Victoria History of the Counties of England Yorkshire vol 3 pp219-20

52. THE PRIORY OF KIRKHAM
The Augustinian priory of Kirkham was founded about 1130,¹ and was the earliest of the three religious houses which owed their existence to Walter Espec. In his foundation charter,² addressed to Archbishop Thurstan and Geoffrey, Bishop of Durham, Walter Espec records that he had given to God and the church of the Holy Trinity of Kirkham, and to the canons serving God there, the whole manor of Kirkham, with the parish church and the churches of Helmsley, Garton, and Kirby Grindalythe, and other property, including (in Northumberland) the whole vill of Carham-on-Tweed, a mansura at Wark, the whole vill of Titlington, and the churches of Ilderton and Newton-in-Glendale (now known as Kirknewton). As Thurstan and Geoffrey were contemporaries in the sees of York and Durham from 1133 to 1139, the date of this charter is definitely fixed between those years.
There is no reference to any son or child of the founder,³ and no suggestion whatever in support of the legend that Walter Espec was led to found Kirkham and his two other monasteries of Rievaulx and Warden out of grief at the loss of his only son by an accident. That story is told with such definiteness of detail in a chartulary of Rievaulx, that, were it not incidentally negatived by the silence of all contemporary accounts, including the foundation charters of the monasteries in question, it would almost carry a conviction of truth with it. The legend, as told in the chartulary under the heading ‘Fundatio monasteriorum de Kyrkham Ryevalx et Wardon, &c.’,⁴ is that Walter Espec, miles strenuus, married, when quite young, a certain Adelina, who bore him a son named Walter. The son was a handsome youth, and greatly devoted to riding swift horses. One day, mounting and urging his steed beyond control, it stumbled against a small stone cross at Frithby and threw him, breaking his neck. The father, inconsolable at his bereavement, consulted his uncle William, then rector of Garton, at whose advice he made Christ his heir, founding three monasteries at Kirkham, Rievaulx, and Warden, appointing his uncle William, who had received monastic instruction in the house of St. Oswald, Nostell, the first Prior of Kirkham, which he endowed to the extent of 1,300 marks a year.⁵ Of the founder himself a vivid picture has been drawn by Aelred, the third Abbot of Rievaulx, in his account of the battle of the Standard.⁶ He describes Walter Espec as at that time an old man, full of days, of quick wit, foreseeing in counsel, sober-minded in peace, wary in war, always keeping friendship with his companions, and faith with kings; a tall, big man with black hair, a full beard, an open and free countenance, with large and keen-sighted eyes, and a voice like a trumpet. Noble in the flesh, Aelred says, but nobler far for his Christian piety.
The most important incident in the early history of Kirkham is undoubtedly the proposed cession to the abbey of Rievaulx of Kirkham itself, and a considerable amount of its property, on the condition that the patron gave other lands to the canons in lieu of those which were to pass to Rievaulx. The proposal never took effect. The document in the Rievaulx Chartulary⁷ is headed Cyrographum inter nos [Rievallenses| et Kirkham. It begins: ‘These are the things which we have conceded and given to the monks of “Rievalle,” for the love of God, and the well-being of our souls, for peace, and the honour of our prior, and at the will and desire of our patron.’ They are enumerated as ‘Kirkham with the church and our buildings, and our garths, gardens, and mills, and everything in that place except one barn . . ., Whitwell, and Westow, and 4 carucates in Thixendale (those 4, to wit, which our patron hitherto holds in his possession), and a wagon, and 100 sheep of our stock,’ and then follows the condition under which the concession had been made, viz., ‘that our patron shall give us all Linton and “ Hwersletorp” with all the appurtenances belonging to the same vill.’ The chirograph then proceeds: ‘And our prior and his assistants shall build us a church, chapter-house, dormitory, refectory, and other houses of sufficient size, as an infirmary, cellar, hospice, bake-house, stable, granary, barn, and establish a good mill there, if possible, at the least cost; the church to be covered with shingle, and the claustral offices thatched. The charters and evidences of Linton, and of all our possessions, shall be acquired by us. . . . Be it known also that we shall retain with the church of Westow the carucate of land belonging to it, and the monks shall pay us tithes of land they may cultivate in that parish, in Whitwell, and in the demesne lands of our patron. . . . . All our moveables, when we leave Kirkham we shall take away, that is to say crosses, chalices, books, robes, and all church ornaments, including stained glass windows,⁸ for which we will make them white ones. One bell shall remain for them according to our choice. Vessels, and utensils, and necessary articles, whether at Kirkham, or Whitwell, it shall be lawful for us to take away. This, however, is to be known, that we will not depart from our place, or lose our prior, until the things agreed between us are accomplished. If perchance within a year we shall have changed our place, the property and rents of our church, as they now are, shall for the whole year be in our hands and possession, for the acquittance of our debts. In like manner the property and rents of Linton shall be in the hands of the monks, for constructing our buildings. . . . Be it known also, that all the canons and brothers of Kirkham now living shall have the same position in the Cistercian chapter and order as monks of that order.’
There are several points to be noted. In the first place the concession is spoken of in the past tense—‘we have conceded and given’ (concessimus et donavimus), which implies that the interchange was very near actual accomplishment, and can only have fallen through because some or all of the conditions were not fulfilled. Then the advocatus noster—our patron—must allude to Walter Espec himself, and not, as Mr. Walbran has surmised, Lord de Ros⁹; but the chief point is, what did the chirograph imply, and what would have taken place if its conditions had been carried out? A clue seems to be given in the final clause that each canon and brother was to have a like standing in the Cistercian chapter and order. This can hardly mean anything else than that it was proposed to hand over Kirkham to Rievaulx, perhaps as a cell, or at any rate as a Cistercian house, and that those canons and brothers of the Augustinian order who became Cistercians were to have the same position they held reserved to them as monks; while it looks as if a new house at Linton was to be established, where we may suppose that the dissentient canons of Kirkham would be formed into an Augustinian monastery. It must not be forgotten that Walter Espec became a Cistercian monk himself, and he may have wished that his three houses should all be of the Cistercian order.
¹ Dugdale, Mon. Angl. vi, 207. The date there given for the foundation, 1121, appears to be too early.
² Ibid. 208.
³ The gifts were made with the assent of his nephews, for the welfare of the souls of his and their parents.
⁴ Cott. MS. Vitell. F. 4.
⁵ Dr. Atkinson rejects (Rievaulx Chartul. p. xlvy this sum as a gross exaggeration; but when, in 1321, the convent returned a statement of their revenues to the archbishop, they stated that in time of peace they were wont to receive 1,000 marks a year from their Northumberland property alone.
⁶ Cited Dugdale, Mon. Angl. vi, 209.
⁷ Rievaulx Chartul. (Surt. Soc.), 108, no. cxlix. The date of this document, which, as shown later on, was compiled within the lifetime of Walter Espec, must be anterior to 1154, for he died as a monk of Rievaulx on 15 March in that year. Ibid. 265.
⁸ ‘Et fenestras vitreas coloratas nobis retinemus, pro quibus illis albas faciemus.’ Rievaulx Chartul. 109. A very notable allusion, The Cistercians rejected stained windows.
⁹ See Rievaulx Chartul. p. xxiv. This is clear from the clause as to the 4 carucates in Thixendale which it is said (Rievaulx Chartul, 108) ‘advocatus noster adhuc tenet in manu sua.’ In what is called the ‘Secunda Fundatio’ of Kirkham, Walter Espec granted the canons 4 carucates in Thixendale, and after his death 4 more carucates of land there (Rievaulx Chartul. 160). These latter are those alluded to as still in Walter Espec’s possession.

The Complete Peerage vol 11 p90 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1949)

Re-Writing English Identity: Medieval Historians of Anglo-Norman Britain pp190-1 (Teresa Marie Lopez, 2017)
Also mentioned in this epilogue is Walter Espec, the helpful figure who procured an important source for Gaimar. Walter, a “baron and justice, succeeded to the Bedfordshire estates held in 1086 by William Speche, possibly his father or maternal uncle, and by c.1122 had acquired (probably from the crown) additional lands centred on Wark, Northumberland, and Helmsley, Yorkshire” (Dalton, “Espec”). Walter’s occupation involved him in various aspects of political and royal life. It also afforded him the benefits of royal patronage. Paul Dalton’s brief entry on Walter Espec in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography addresses some of his most important judicial contributions: “Between c.1119 and 1135 Walter Espec witnessed or was addressed in many royal charters, sometimes with Eustace Fitz John, and in 1121 he attended an assembly of northern magnates at Durham. By 1130 Espec and Eustace had heard pleas as royal justices in several northern counties, and Espec had also recently been restocking royal manors in Yorkshire and estates in the vacant bishopric of Durham” (“Espec”). Indeed, Walter appears to be a well-respected justice, as well as a prominent landowner in Yorkshire. In addition to acting in a judicial capacity for the county and as a witness to royal charters, Walter contributed to the establishment of several religious houses in Yorkshire and surrounding areas: “Walter, who died in 1153, was the founder of the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx and the Augustinian priory of Kirkham, both in Yorkshire, and of the Cistercian abbey of Wardon in Bedfordshire, thus having contacts with both north and south England” (Gransden 209). Through Walter’s influence and relationship with his patron, Gaimar was able to reach far outside his own social sphere as a secular clerk and access vital sources for his history. In particular, Walter was instrumental in obtaining a crucial source for the Estoire from Robert of Gloucester that was eventually passed on to Gaimar’s patron, Ralph Fitz Gilbert, and made its way to the author. It is unlikely the author knew Walter personally, as he received the text through his patron and not directly from Walter, but he received necessary assistance for his history, and thus, includes a note of his gratitude to Walter for his intercession.

Yorkshire's Castles: Helmsley Castles
History
Helmsley was granted by William The Bastard to his half-brother Robert de Mortain. It is possible that it was he who began construction of the castle in the unusual double-ringwork form, as his castle Berkampstead in Hertfordshire had a similar plan. In 1088 William Rufus, son of William the Bastard and Robert de Mortain's nephew, confiscated the estate.
Few records of the castle in the 12th Century survive, although it is known that the castle was in the possession of Walter Espec by 1120. Walter Espec was a member of the royal court, was a justiciar (law officer), and a soldier, fighting against Scotland at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. Walter Espec's father William Speche had been a loyal follower of William The Bastard. Many believe that Helmsley Castle was built under Walter Espec to mark the centre of his estate as its position has little strategic value. It is known that during this time it was still an entirely wooden castle behind the double-moats.
Walter Espec had no children, and granted much of his lands to the Cistercian monastery of Rievaulx. On Walter's death in 1154 Helmsley Castle passed to his sister Adelina who had married Peter de Roos.

Death: 1153(4)

Burial: 9 March 1153(4), in Rivaulx abbey, Yorkshire, England

Sources:

Father: Cartularium abbathiæ de Rievalle in Publications of the Surtees Society vol 83 page xlv (ed. J. C. Atkinson, 1889); Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-3 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910); Dictionary of National Biography vol 18 p4 (ed. Leslie Stephen, 1889)
Marriage: Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846); Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-81 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910); Adeline family, death from Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp80-81 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910)
Occupation: Soldier from Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846); justice from Dictionary of National Biography vol 18 p4 (ed. Leslie Stephen, 1889) and Re-Writing English Identity: Medieval Historians of Anglo-Norman Britain pp190-1 (Teresa Marie Lopez, 2017)
Notes: The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795); Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p281 (William Dugdale, 1846); A Chronicle of England, B.C. 55-A.D. 1485 pp143-5 (James E. Doyle, 1864); The Complete Peerage vol 11 p90 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1949); wikipedia (Walter Espec)
Death: The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795)
Burial: Monasticon Anglicanum vol 5 p280 (William Dugdale, 1846); The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester vol 2 part 1 p28 (John Nichols, 1795)

William Spec

Children:

Hawise Espec
Walter Espec ( ? - 1153)
Albreda Espec
Adeline Espec

Notes:
William was a follower of William the Conqueror, and by 1086 was a feudal baron of Wardon, Bedfordshire. William is found in the Domesday Book. William's lands in Wardon, Bedfordshire were inherited by Walter Espec, who founded an Wardon Abbey there in 1136.

Entry in the Domesday Book for William Spec in [Old] Warden, Bedfordshire

image from Open Domesday

Open Domesday
[Old] Warden was a settlement in Domesday Book, in the hundred of Wichestanestou and the county of Bedfordshire.
It had a recorded population of 27 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 40% of settlements recorded in Domesday, and is listed under 3 owners in Domesday Book.
Land of William Speke
Households
Households: 18 villagers. 4 smallholders. 4 slaves.
Land and resources
Ploughland: 9 ploughlands. 1 lord's plough teams. 1 lord's plough teams possible. 7 men's plough teams.
Other resources: 3.5 lord's lands. Meadow 6 ploughs. 1 mill, value 12 shillings.
Valuation
Annual value to lord: 6 pounds in 1086; 6 pounds when acquired by the 1086 owner; 8 pounds in 1066.
Owners
Tenant-in-chief in 1086: William Speke.
Lord in 1086: William Speke.
Lord in 1066: Freemen, eight.
Other information
Phillimore reference: Bedfordshire 25,13

Old Warden in 1086 - Bedfordshire Archives
Domesday Book was commissioned by William the Conqueror (1066-1087) at Christmas 1085. It was designed to show who held every piece of land in the newly conquered Kingdom of England. It was known colloquially as the Domesday Book because it was seen as being as final as the Last Judgement and as difficult to conceal things from. The book does not cover the whole country - Cumberland, Durham, Northumberland, and Westmorland were omitted and London and Winchester likewise, along with some other towns. A separate book, called Little Domesday covered the counties of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk and, despite its name, it is actually bigger and more detailed than the Great Domesday Book containing the other counties.
Three holdings are recorded in Old Warden by Domesday Book. The first of these was held by William Speke or Espec who held the manor without a tenant. His holding comprised nine hides and contained a mill worth twelve shillings, which would have been a watermill as windmills were unknown in England in 1086. Eighteen villagers, four smallholders and four slaves were attached to the manor. It had belonged to eight freemen in 1066 and had been worth £8. This value had fallen to £6 when Speke acquired it and remained at that level in 1086. It is suggested by historians that the reason for the general lowering of the value of manors in the area is accounted for by William I's armies coming through Bedfordshire on their way to put down rebellions in the north. They would have lived off the land and no doubt have committed certain acts of vandalism in what was, to them, still alien, even enemy, territory.

Cartularium abbathiæ de Rievalle in Publications of the Surtees Society vol 83 page xliv to xlv (ed. J. C. Atkinson, 1889)
INTRODUCTION.

... Now, here let me draw attention to the circumstance that King Stephen in 1135, in the presence of Walter Espec himself, Geoffrey de Trailli, and all Walter’s other nephews still living, confirms Espec’s foundation grant to Wardon Abbey in the following terms:—“Scitote me concessisse Deo et Ecclesiæ S. Mariæ de Essartis et monachis . . . qui de Abbatia Rievallis exierunt, ut ibi abbatiam faciant, totam essartam de Wardona et de Sudgivela, et totum illud boscum de illis duabus villis, per illas divisas et metas quas Walterus Espec, qui hæc eis donavit, illis fecit et statuit.” On turning to the Bedfordshire Domesday we find under the heading “XXV. TERRA WILLELMI SPECH,” and among the half dozen manors, with sundry other lands, amounting in all to more than sixty hides, specified as held in capite by Spech, the manors of Wardone and Sudgivele mentioned as comprising, the one of them nine hides and the other five and half a yardland, together with a variety of interesting details as to the nature of the property and its value. But the fact of special interest is that William Spech, at the date of the return in question, or 1087, is the feudal occupant of the lands and rights granted forty-eight years afterwards by Walter Espec to the nascent monastery of Wardon. This can scarcely be a fortuitous coincidence; for there is the absolute identity of the manors specified and the practical or de facto identity of the name of the tenant in capite of 1087 with that of the grantor of 1131. The inference that Walter Espec was, not simply the heir, but the son—or at least the nephew on the fathers side—of William Spech is unavoidable, for anything we can see to the contrary. And there is no apparent reason for not accepting the inference that he was son rather than nephew, and this decides the form of the name.

Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp77-8 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910)

* Communicated by GEO. GRAZEBROOK
William Espec in 1086 (Domesday Book, i., fos. 214^b and 215) held fifteen manors in Bedfordshire, five of which have the mark of double manors. He was then an old man, and Walter Espec his son is named in that Record as holding under his father in the Hundreds of Willey, Hinwick, and Wymmington in 1086; but William the father still held in his own hands the other manors, five in Wixantree Hundred, viz., Southill, Stanford, Wardon, Beston, and Northill, two of which were double manors. I give these names because we find Walter dealing with them afterwards, also because nearly all these lands mentioned in Domesday appear at later dates among the possessions of the descendants of Walter. The Churches and small portions of land in each were given in endowment of Wardon Abbey.
... William Espec, who left surviving one son and three daughters, must have died before the year 1110.
In the year 1813 the following very early inscription was discovered in Bilsdale Church, Yorkshire, which was and is a dependency on the manor of Helmesley. It stands about ten miles distant, and is still a perpetual curacy belonging to that Parish Church: “Condidit ecclesiam Willelmus nobilis istam, Intemerate nomine Sancte Virginis Hilde.” The Christian name William shews it was after the Conquest, for in the whole Cartularium Saxonicum it only occurs four times, and only once among the pre-Conquest names in the Yorkshire Domesday. This Church was given to Kirkham Priory by Walter Espec in 1122 (Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1661, vol. ii., p. 105, l. 46^a). In the Domesday Record there were three manors in Helmesley, two of which belonged to the King and one to his uterine brother, the Earl of Mortain, Therefore this inscription must have been between 1087 and 1122. Walter Espec had an uncle William, Rector of Garton and first Prior of Kirkham for only two years (“Rievaulx Chartul.,” Surtees Society, vol. 83, p. 264), but the term “nobilis” was never applied to a man in holy orders. William Espec, however, held Wardon in Bedfordshire, with fifteen manors in that county, and was father of Walter Espec, who succeeded to his possessions there and elsewhere. It seems certain, therefore, that Helmesley and its dependencies, including Bilsdale, were granted by the Crown to William Espec, who built this Church as lord of the manor, and to whom succeeded his son Walter, who we find dealing with this manor in 1122 (see “Yorkshire Archæological and Topographical Journal,” vol. xvi., p. 238). It is constantly stated that Helmesley was given to W. Espec by Henry I. (1100-1135) (see Burton’s “Mon Ebor.,” p. 358, etc.; Lansdowne MS., No. 887; Add. MSS., Brit. Mus. No. 34,385), but does “W” stand for William or Walter? The balance of evidence would shew it was to William the father, and that it descended from him to Walter his son.

Sources:

Notes: Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica vol 3 4th series pp77-8 (ed. W. Bruce Bannerman, 1910); Dictionary of National Biography vol 18 pp4-5 (ed. Leslie Stephen, 1889); Open Domesday; Old Warden in 1086 - Bedfordshire Archives;

Return to Chris Gosnell's Home Page

If you have any comments, additions or modifications to the information on this page, please feel free to email me.
Created and maintained by: chris@ocotilloroad.com