Between 1290 and 1293 the King was frequently in the county, coming on more than one occasion for sport amongst the fallow deer of Duffield Frith, at the forest lodge of Ravensdale. Derbyshire was closely concerned in the long dispute as to the succession to the Crown of Scotland, of which Edward I. was made arbitrator in 1291. His decision was in favour of John Balliol, who was most intimately connected with this county. Balliol held for a time the custody of the Peak, with the Honour of Peveril; he was lord of the manors of Hollington and Creswell; and he had served as joint sheriff of the counties of Derby and Nottingham from 1261 to 1264. All the leading men of Derbyshire were engaged from time to time in the prolonged wars with Scotland which resulted in the deposition of Balliol in 1296. This county had its share in the discreditable honours that Edward II. showered on his favourite, Piers Gaveston, for early in the reign he held the custody of the High Peak. In 1322 the Scotch forces entered into alliance with those of the rebel Earls of Lancaster and Hereford. After fierce fighting at the bridge of Burton-on-Trent, the royalists crossed the river by a ford and drove Lancaster’s forces before them into Yorkshire. During the retreat Derbyshire suffered severely. The King, with several of his ministers, tarried for a few days at Derby; from thence he visited Codnor Castle, which was held by one of his ardent supporters, Richard, Lord Grey. Edward II. also, on several different occasions, sojourned at the lodge of Ravensdale, amid the beautiful parks of Duffield Forest.