Walter Espec

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

[2] In the years up to 1120, Espec controlled northern England, alongside Eustace fitz John.

[4] As an old man, when High Sheriff of Yorkshire, he fought against the Scots at the Battle of the Standard in 1138.

[7] He then donated 1,000 acres (4 km2) to Rievaulx, where building started in 1132, and is largely credited for the arrival of the Cistercians in England.

[8] By 1135 he also founded Warden Abbey[9] (Wardon) in Bedfordshire, a daughter house of Rievaulx.

Walter Espec (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 .