Hugh is the son of Richard le…

Hugh is the son of Richard le Goz, Viscount of Avranches and Emma de Conteville, and inherits from his father a large estate, not just in the Avranchin but scattered throughout western Normandy.

The Avranchin is located on the Contentin Peninsula of northern France, just east of Mont-Saint-Michel; it is among the areas (illegally) granted under the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte to Normandy by the Kingdom of France that had previously belonged to the Duchy of Brittany.

Hugh has become an important councilor of William, Duke of Normandy.

His father had contributed sixty ships to the invasion of England, his presence on Senlac Hill in 1066 if not proved, was possible.

His father remained in Normandy both to protect the duchy and because he was ill, so Hugh may have been his representative at Hastings.

Hugh had been given the command of Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire after Duke William became William I of England.

Gerbod the Fleming, the first Earl of Chester, is taken prisoner in 1071 at the Battle of Cassel in France.

Taking advantage of the circumstances, the king declares his title vacant, giving Hugh the Earldom (of the second creation).

The new Earl is also given palatine powers in view of Cheshire's strategic location on the Welsh Marches.

On Hugh's promotion, Tutbury and its surrounding lands are passed to the Norman Knight, Henry de Ferrers, who had also fought with William I at the Battle of Hastings.