Scottish tenants in chief, which Ormesby carried out with unflinching severity and with no politic respect to persons, driving into exile all those who refused the oaths to Edward I.

With the absence of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham in England, Ormesby bore the chief weight of responsibility for Edward's harsh rule over the Scots. When William Wallace's revolt broke out in May 1297, Ormesby was attacked by