Eustace acquired a great deal of property in the region, controlled Bamburgh Castle, and served jointly with Walter Espec as justiciar of the North.
[1] His father John fitzRichard was a tenant-in-chief who appeared in the Domesday Book owning estates in Essex and Norfolk.
[6] He probably received, in addition, land in Lincolnshire as well as five-and-a-half knight's fees in Yorkshire previously belonging to Ranulf de Mortimer (died 1104).
[7] Although it has often been claimed that this marriage brought Eustace the lordship of Old Malton, a former royal manor in the North Riding of Yorkshire, this was probably a separate gift from the king.
[9] The other marriage, which also occurred before 1130, was to Agnes daughter of the constable of Chester William fitz Nigel, and this eventually brought Eustace more land in Yorkshire at Bridlington as well as in Northamptonshire at Loddington.
[12] Eustace had thus emerged as one of the key players in Henry's reordering of Northumbrian society following the destruction of the earldom of Northumbria in the late 11th century.
[13] According to historian William Kapelle, Eustace was one of the "three mainstays of Henry's new regime in the North", the other two being Walter Espec and King David of Scotland.
[15] Henry I's only surviving pipe roll, for 1129–30, shows that Eustace served jointly as justiciar of the north along with Walter Espec, and had custody of the former capital of the Northumbrian earldom, Bamburgh Castle.
[10] Allowances made to Eustace for the repair of the gate of Bamburgh Castle and the construction of fortifications at Tickhill and Knaresborough in Yorkshire are also recorded in this pipe roll.
[10] This and evidence of royal writs show that Eustace and Walter Espec had justiciar responsibility for the counties of Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire, a role that involved hearing pleas and conveying instructions from central government.
The battle ended in defeat, and Eustace was wounded and fled to Alnwick in its aftermath, leaving his castle at Malton to be captured soon after.
[32] In the following year, Eustace attested a charter King Stephen issued at York in favour of Pontefract Priory.
[33] Henry confirmed Eustace's gifts to his son William de Vescy and would recognise the latter's succession to his father's lands.
Eustace died in July 1157 at the Battle of Ewloe near Basingwerk in Flintshire, where on a campaign with Henry against the Welsh he was ambushed and killed.
[41] Several sources, including Roger of Howden, report that Eustace had only one eye;[1] however, this is likely to be a reference to his father, John "Monoculus" FitzRichard.