Eustace fitz John construction of fortifications at Tickhill and Knaresborough in Yorkshire are also recorded in this pipe roll. 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 death of Henry I on 1 December 1135 led to the accession of Stephen de Blois, to whom Eustace submitted. Stephen's seizure of the throne was contested by Henry I's daughter, the Empress Matilda, who had been Henry's designated heir. The "Gesta Stephani" claimed that certain "very
Henry I, Count of Eu Henry I, Count of Eu Henry I, Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings (ca. 1075-12 July 1140) was the son of William II, Count of Eu, and his wife Helisende d'Avranches was the sister of Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester. Henry descended from Richard I, Duke of Normandy. His father died in 1096, having revolted against King William II of England. As the eldest son, Henry succeeded William as Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings. In 1101, he supported Duke Robert Curthose against his brother Henry Beauclerc who has just seized the English throne. Robert left Tréport, the