Walter Devereux

Sir Walter Devereux of Bodenham and Weobley was a prominent knight in Herefordshire during the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV. He represented Hereford in Parliament, and gave rise to the Devereux Earls of Essex and Viscounts of Hereford. Ancestry and childhood Walter Devereux was born about 1361, the son of Sir Walter Devereux (died c. 1383) of Bodenham and a woman named Maud. His father was the cousin of John Devereux, 1st Baron Devereux of Whitchurch Maund, and they were close allies. Walter's grandfather, William Devereux of Bodenham, had made land concessions in Bodenham Parish (Hereford) to John Devereux about 1360, and throughout his life Baron Devereux appears to have promoted the careers of his cousin's family in the royal household. His arms were: Argent a fesse gules, in chief three torteaux. Career When Walter Devereux came of age, he joined the retinue of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, like his father. He was a King's esquire by 8 February 1382 when he attended Parliament with his father. Both Devereux's were appointed to a Royal Commission to arrest William Solers for disseising John ap William ap Jankin of the manor of Dorstone. Walter Devereux was also granted for life the office of Constable of Builth Castle in Radnorshire during the minority of Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March.