a particular war-time charter granted by alan, confirming the lands of kirkby thore and hillbeck to john of newbiggin, also evidences alan's allegiance with alexander against john. although these particular lands laid within westmorland, and had been granted by john to robert de vieuxpont in 1203, alan's morville ancestors had held the district as late as 1173, giving him a claim to the region. the charter itself may have been granted in westmorland, no earlier than about june 1216 and no later than about october 1217, and indicates that robert's effective overlordship of the region had been superseded by alan. the names of many of those who attested the charter had strong familial or tenurial connections with scotland, and many were open opponents of john. not only does the charter reveal that alan pursued territorial claims whilst serving scottish interests, but it forms part of a body of evidence suggesting that alexander envisaged the imposition of scottish royal authority over northumberland. although alan's war-time acquisitions in northern england were only temporary, appearing to have lasted about a year, the after-effects of his influence reverberated for years to come. for instance, in about 1219 his clerk was indicted for unlawfully drawing revenues in penrith, and in 1223 robert de vieuxpont was still having difficulty regaining possession of lands that alan had confirmed to john of newbiggin.