FitzRoger was the son of the Anglo-Norman nobleman Roger fitzRichard, who held Warkworth Castle in Northumberland.
[2] FitzRoger's first appointment as sheriff was due to the influence of William de Longchamp, who was Lord Chancellor.
[6] He purchased royal confirmation of his ownership of Warkworth in 1199[7] and in 1205 was granted Newburn and the barony of Whalton in Northumberland.
[7] FitzRoger married Margaret,[12] one of the daughters and heiresses of William de Chesney, the founder of Sibton Abbey.
[8][16] Margaret survived fitzRoger and paid a fine of a thousand pounds to the king for the right to administer her lands and dower properties herself.