His elder brother,
Robert III de Brus, predeceased their father, never holding the lordship of
Annandale. William de Brus thus succeeded his father when the latter died in 1194. William de Brus possessed large estates in the north of England. He obtained from
John, King of England, the grant of a weekly market at
Hartlepool, and granted lands to the canons of
Gisburn. Very little else is known about William's activities. He makes a few appearances in the English government records and witnessed a charter of
William the Lion, King of Scotland. ==Christina mac Uhtred==