Wulfric's family was linked with the Wulfsige the Black to whom King Edmund I granted land in Staffordshire.

Their sister was Ælfthryth whose daughter Ealdgyth married Morcar, killed in 1015 along with his brother Sigeferth on the orders of King Æthelred.

[2] Wulfric's byname, Spot, while it may have the same sense as in modern English, that is that it referred to some form of mark on his face, could also indicate a short, fat person.

[4] Little is known of Wulfric's life, but his will, approved while he was still living or shortly after his death by King Æthelred, shows him to have been exceptionally wealthy.

The lands which he had owned "between Ribble and Mersey" alone were assessed as having been worth 145 pounds in 1066 by the compilers of the Domesday Book.

As well as the substantial lands he left to Burton in his will, Wulfric, like many noble founders of monasteries, had written into it other clauses to ensure that the new abbey, which was to pray for his soul and for that of his mother, would be provided with powerful friends.

Wulfric also sought to involve the king in his new foundation, giving over his proprietarial rights to Æthelred, who in turn agreed that he would be lord and protector of Burton Abbey.