Robert the Essex geezer

Was Robert the Bruce born in Essex and not Scotland? Could the King of the Scots have been an Essex Man? The best historical claim of last year came in a book on Bruce called Traitor, Outlaw, King by historian Fiona Watson. Dr Watson claims that one 14th century chronicler writes that Bruce was born in Writtle, rather than Ayrshire. So it's quite likely that he took on the English at Bannockburn wearing a Barbour jacket and a flat cap, hollering, "'Ave some of that!"