Walter Espec (died 1153) was a prominent military and judicial figure of the reign of Henry I of England.
His father was probably William Speche (William Espec), who joined William the Conqueror in the Norman conquest of England.[1] The senior Speche is believed to have become the feudal baron of Old Warden by 1086.[2]
In the years up to 1120, Espec controlled northern England, alongside Eustace fitz John.[3] He was the builder of Helmsley Castle; he built also Wark Castle.[4] As an old man, when High Sheriff of Yorkshire, he fought against the Scots at the Battle of the Standard in 1138.[5] He was the founder of Kirkham Priory (Augustinians) and later Rievaulx Abbey (Cistercians).[6] Kirkham Priory was founded around 1130.[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 later became a Cistercian monk himself.[7]