Fulk FitzWarin at the time of his death in 1197. Whittington Castle lies on the English side of Offa's Dyke, which during the Norman era and before was the border between England and Wales. The site was fortified as a castle by William Peverel in 1138, in support of Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I (1100–1135), in her struggle (known as The Anarchy) for the throne against King Stephen (1135–1154), grandson of William the Conqueror. In the late 1140s the lordship of Whittington, like Oswestry and Overton ceased to be part of England and became part of the Kingdom of
Succession to the French throne association of the eldest son to the kingship continued for two more generations, with Philip II Augustus being the last king so crowned. Henry I became sole ruler on his father's death in 1031. The succession, however, was hotly contested by his younger brother Robert. Constance of Arles, Henry’s mother, preferred to place her younger son, Robert, on the throne. She allied herself with one of the more powerful counts of the time, Odo II, Count of Blois. This alliance was particularly worrisome for Henry I. Odo II of Blois was a very powerful lord and had warred against Henry’s