Walter Devereux, 8th Baron Ferrers of Chartley

He was born about 1432 in Weobley, Herefordshire, the son of Sir Walter Devereux (1411–1459), Lord Chancellor of Ireland (from 1449 to 1450), and Elizabeth Merbury, the daughter and heiress of Sir John Merbury, Chief Justice of South Wales by his first wife, Alice Pembridge.

Walter Devereux married twice:

• Firstly before 25 October 1446, at age 13,[1] he married Anne Ferrers (d.9 January 1469), the daughter and heiress of William de Ferrers, 7th Baron Ferrers of Chartley,[2][3] and thereby became jure uxoris Baron Ferrers of Chartley (in right of his wife) on 26 July 1461.[4] His wife Anne inherited great wealth upon the death of her father. Through the marriage, the Devereux family gained Chartley Castle as well as its barony.[5] By his wife, who predeceased him by seventeen years,[lower-alpha 1] he had at least six children including:
  • Sir Robert Devereux of Ferrers (c1455 to ?)[6] who was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Shropshire on 24 February 1473, and again on 8 Nov 1473.
  • John Devereux, 9th Baron Ferrers of Chartley (1463 - 3 May 1501)[4][2]
  • Elizabeth Devereux (c1454 to 1516)[lower-alpha 2][4][2]
  • Anne Devereux (c1453 to aft 1475)[lower-alpha 3][7][2][8]
  • Sir Richard Devereux[4][2]
  • Sir Thomas Devereux[4][2]
• Secondly, he married Joan (fl.1522),[9][10] widow of Thomas Ilom,[11][lower-alpha 4] in 1482, and by whom he had no further children. She survived him and remarried thrice: firstly to Thomas Vaughan, secondly to Sir Edward Blount of Sodington, and thirdly to Thomas Poyntz (d.1501) of Alderley, Gloucestershire,[4] an Esquire of the Body of King Henry VII at the baptism of his first-born son, Prince Arthur. He was the second son of Sir Robert Poyntz (died 1520), Lord of the manor of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire, a supporter of King Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.[12]

On 6 November 1450 the Escheator of Buckinghamshire was instructed to deliver the manor of Dorton to Elizabeth, widow of the late Baron Ferrers of Chartley. An Inquisition post mortem declared that her heir was Anne, wife of Walter Devereux. His father was attainted for treason in 1452 for supporting Richard, Duke of York, on his march to London and subsequent confrontation with the king at Dartford Heath. On 6 March 1453 he attended Parliament as Lord Ferrers, and represented Herefordshire in place of his father. On 17 March 1453 Walter and Anne Devereux were granted livery of her father's lands as she was 14 years of age or older,[13] deemed the age of majority for females.

On 20 March 1453 the escheators were ordered to take the fealty of Walter Devereux for his wife's lands.[lower-alpha 5] On 24 January 1454 the Escheator of Warwickshire released to Walter and Anne Devereux her lands there.[lower-alpha 6] An agreement was acknowledged on 4 March 1454 between Walter and Anne Devereux and Elizabeth, widow of the late Sir William Ferrers of Charteley, that they would honor her dower rights when she entered the church, and Anne would receive the inheritance of these estates when she reached 21 years of age.[14] On 8 June 1455 Urias and Elizabeth de la Hay, and Henry and Joan ap Griffith, granted to Walter Devereux and his father, Sir William Herbert; John Barrow; and Miles Skull a moiety of Wellington manor, and Adzor manor; and 100 acres of land and 20 shillings of rent in Wellington forever. Devereux acquired half the manor of Tonge, Shropshire, on 1 November 1456 as his wife's inheritance from a distant cousin, Sir Richard Vernon.[15]

Walter Devereux and William Mayell acquired from Henry Gryffith of Bakton and Thomas Herbert of Billingsley the wardship and marriage of Thomas, minor heir of Edmund de Cornewaylle on 1 July 1453.[16] Walter Devereux and his father were appointed on 14 December 1453 to investigate the escape of prisoners in Herefordshire.[17] On 22 May 1455 Richard, 3rd Duke of York, led the Yorkists to victory at the First Battle of St Albans, and captured Henry VI. On 25 May the Duke crowned Henry VI again, and was re-instated as Protector of the Realm. Walter Devereux's father was pardoned shortly after at the Parliament meeting on 9 July 1455. Over the next several years the Devereux carried on an intermittent war with the Tudors along the Welsh Marches. Walter Devereux, along with other prominent Yorkists of Herefordshire, were placed under a recognizance of 5000 marks on 13 May 1457 if they did not immediately present themselves for imprisonment at Marshalsea.[18] His father was added to the group on 2 June.

Following his father's death on 22 April 1459, Walter Devereux assumed his place as the Steward of York's lands in Radnor, and in the Duke's retinue.[19] He was with the Duke of York at the Battle of Ludford Bridge on 12 October 1459, but surrendered and threw himself on the King's mercy when York fled to Ireland following the defeat. Granted his life, he was attainted on 20 November 1459, and his lands awarded to Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham.[20] Devereux was permitted in 1460 to redeem his properties for a fine of 500 marks.[21][22]

On 26 June 1460 the earls of Warwick and Salisbury landed at Sandwich, and raised a Yorkist rebellion. They marched on London, and captured Henry VI at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July 1460. Walter Devereux was appointed to arrest and imprison any in Herefordshire resisting the rebellion,[23][24] Richard of York returned to England and Walter Devereux attended Parliament on 7 October as a knight of the shire for Herefordshire. The Duke became Protector of the Realm again on 31 October, and Devereux was granted a general pardon.

In December 1460 Walter Devereux accompanied Edward, Earl of March, to Wales to raise an army to counter a Lancastrian rebellion led by the Tudors. On 30 December, Richard, 3rd Duke of York, was killed at the Battle of Wakefield, and a Lancastrian army moved south towards London. Devereux fought on behalf of Edward, now the 4th Duke of York, at his victory in the Battle of Mortimer's Cross on 2 February 1461, and commanded his left wing.[25] He remained at the side of the future Edward IV on his advance from Gloucester to London. The Lancastrian army marching south was again victorious at the Second Battle of St Albans on 17 February, and recovered Henry VI here. On 3 March 1461, Walter Devereux was present at the council held at Baynard's Castle where it was resolved that Edward would be made King, and rode at his side to Westminster where Henry VI was deposed in absentia and Edward IV proclaimed King of England.

Walter Devereux was with the army as Edward IV marched north, and fought in the victory at the Battle of Towton on 29 March 1461, where he was knighted.[26] On 8 July Devereux was appointed Justice of the Peace, and place on the Commission of Array for Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Shropshire to raise troops to stamp out Lancastrian resistance in Wales.[27] He was also placed on a commission of Oyer and terminer to inquire into all treasons, insurrections and rebellions in South Wales, and granted the authority to receive submission into the king's peace of rebels.[28] In September Walter Devereux met with the king and William Herbert at Ludlow Castle where they were assigned to take into the king's hands all the castles, lordships, manors, land and possessions of the late Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, in South Wales.[29] On 30 September 1461, Herbert and Devereux captured Pembroke Castle. On 16 October Herbert and Devereux defeated the Lancastrians under Pembroke and Exeter at the Battle of Twt Hill, effectively ending resistance in Wales. Walter Devereux attended Parliament on 4 November 1461, but was back in Wales for the capture of Denbigh Castle in January 1462.

On 10 February 1462 Devereux was again Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, and would effectively retain these offices for the rest of his life, at times extending his authority to Shropshire as well.[30][31][32] On 20 February 1462, Devereux received an extensive grant of forfeited lands for his service,[33] and was assigned to raise further troops in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. John Salwey granted the manor of Stanford, Worcestershire, to Walter Devereux on 18 April, and Herbert and Devereux captured Carreg Cennen Castle in Wales in May 1462.

In October 1462 Margaret of Anjou landed and raised a Lancastrian rebellion in northern England. Devereux accompanied King Edward on an expedition to the north in November 1462, which put the rebellion down by January 1463. Walter attended Parliament on 29 April 1463 where he was rewarded with an exemption from the crown's Act of Resumption revoking various gifts and grants.[lower-alpha 7]

On 18 June 1463 Devereux was appointed as Constable of Aberystwyth Castle for life,[34] and 10 August 1464 joint keeper of the Haywood in Herefordshire.[35] In late 1467 he was granted Oyer and terminer in Wales with power to pardon or arrest, and specifically tasked with investigating counterfeiting, clipping, sweating and other falsifications of money.[36] This was extended into Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire in early 1468,[37] and Devonshire and Gloucestershire later in the year.[38] Devereux was further rewarded on 30 May 1468 with the grant of the custody of all castles, lordships, manors, lands, rents, and possessions with knights’ fees, advowsons, courts leet, views of frankpledge, fairs, markets, privileges and franchises of the late Sir Roger Corbet,[39] and in the king's hands by reason of the minority his son and heir, Richard.[lower-alpha 8] In June 1468, Jasper Tudor, 1st Earl of Pembroke landed near Harlech Castle and captured Denbigh. Walter Devereux and William Herbert were assigned to raise an army in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, and the marshes of Wales to attack the rebels;[40] and on 14 August 1468, Harlech castle finally surrendered to the Yorkists.

In 1468 Edward IV announced his intent to invade France. On 3 August 1468 Walter Devereux was assigned to muster at Gravesend with his men for service overseas,[41] but other events in the kingdom prevented this from occurring. On 12 February 1469 he was commanded to deliver prisoners to the gaol of Hereford Castle.[42] On 22 May he was appointed to a commission of Oyer and terminer for the counties of York, Cumberland, and Westmoreland; and the city of York.[43] He was probably at the Battle of Edgecote Moor on 26 July 1469 when the Earl of Warwick defeated King Edward, and Devereux's brother-in-law, William Herbert, was killed. Edward IV was captured, but Warwick was forced to release him within a few months. By September 1469 Walter Devereux was assigned to raise new troops for the Yorkists in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire.[44] On 16 November he was rewarded with the grant of the offices of Constable of the Castles of Brecon, Hay, and Huntington; and Steward of the Lordships of Brecon, Hay, and Huntington during the minority of Henry Stafford.[45]

On 6 January 1470 he was granted Oyer and terminer over Wales.[46] He probably fought for Edward IV at the resounding victory of the Battle of Losecoat Field, which resulted in the flight of the earl of Warwick and Duke of Clarence to France. On 26 March Devereux was assigned to raise additional troops in Herefordshire to defend against the rebels.[47] On 28 July 1470 he was rewarded with appointment as sheriff of Caernarfonshire and Master-Forester of the Snowdon Hills in North Wales for life.[48]

On 13 September 1470 after Edward IV had been lured north to deal with rebels, Warwick landed at Plymouth raising a Lancastrian rebellion in his rear. Edward was forced to flee to Flanders, and Henry VI was readapted to the throne of England on 3 October. When Edward IV returned, landing at Ravenspur, Yorkshire, on 14 March 1471, Devereux joined him for the victory at the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471, which deposed Henry VI once again. Walter Devereux was assigned to raise more troops in Shropshire, and Herefordshire,[49] and fought at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471 where Edward IV finally secured his throne. Devereux was at the king's side when he entered London in triumph, and was one of the Lords who swore in the Parliament Chamber at Westminster on 3 July 1471 to accept Edward, Prince of Wales, as heir to the crown.[50] On 27 August he was granted the power to receive the submission of all rebels in South Wales and the marshes,[51] and to raise an army in South Wales, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, and the marches to resist Jasper Tudor.[52]

He was selected on 20 February 1473 to serve on the Council of Wales as a tutor and councilor of the king's heir until the Prince of Wales reached the age of 14 years.[53] On 26 February 1474 he was assigned to raise troops in Herefordshire and Shropshire to suppress another rebellion.[54] On 1 July, Margaret, widow of John Walsh and wife of Henry Turner, remised and quitclaimed (for 9L annually during her life) to Walter Devereux the following in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire: Andrews manor; 1 messuage, 20 acres of land, and 20 acres of pasture; and a moiety of La Mote manor. She also quitclaimed 1 messuage in Holborn (London). On 25 October Walter Devereux, Lord Dacre, and the king's chaplain were granted the collation to the next vacant prebend in the king's College of St George within Windsor Castle.[55][56] In 1481, Walter Devereux granted the advowson of The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.[57]

On 26 May 1475 Devereux and others were granted a license to found a perpetual guild in St Bride's Church near his London properties.[58] He was with Edward IV when he led an army into France in July, and at the Conference at Saint-Christ in Vermandois, France, on 13 August where the king agreed to withdraw in exchange for a yearly payment.[59] Devereux was rewarded on 31 January 1476 with the grant of the manor and lordship of Wigston, Leicestershire, in the king's hands following the attainder of John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford; and the Welshman, a brewhouse outside Ludgate in the ward of Farringdon Without (St Martin parish, London).[60]

Over the next 4 years Walter Devereux served on various commissions of Oyer and terminer in Middlesex, Yorkshire, and London.[61] On 14 February 1480 he was identified as a member of the king's council hearing petitions in the Star Chamber at Westminster.[62] Devereux was assigned on 12 June 1481 to survey the land of the king's lordship of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire; the land of Thomas, abbot of Waltham, in Essex; and the boundary between the counties there.[63]

As a member of the Council of Wales, Walter Devereux was probably with Edward V when he was declared king following the sudden death of Edward IV on 9 April 1483. It would be expected that he accompanied Edward as he set out for London, and was probably among the retinue that was dismissed when Richard, Duke of Glouucester intercepted them at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire on 29 April. Following the deposition of Edward V and crowning of the Duke as Richard III on 6 July 1483, Walter Devereux transferred his allegiance to the new king and was confirmed as Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, and Hertfordshire. On 1 August Walter Devereux of Ferrers; his son, Sir John Devereux of Ferrers; and others were assigned in Herefordshire to assess and appoint collectors of the subsidies granted by the last Parliament from aliens (with the exception of the nations and merchants of Spain, Brittany, and Almain).[64] Devereux attended Parliament on 23 January 1484,[65] and was assigned to raise an army on 1 May 1484 in Hertfordshire, and Herefordshire.[66] He was rewarded with the grant of Cheshunt manor, Hertfordshire, for life on 12 August;[67] and assigned to investigate certain treasons and offenses committed by William Colingbourne late of Lidyard, Wiltshire; and John Turburville late of Firemayne, Dorset.[68]

On 26 July 1461 Walter Devereux was raised to the rank of Baron in right of his wife and on account of his great services against Henry VI, the Duke of Exeter, the earls of Pembroke and Wiltshire, and the other rebels and traitors, thereby becoming Lord Ferrers.

On 24 April 1472 he was honored by creation as a Knight of the Garter.

Walter Devereux supported Richard III of England during his reign, and fought by his side at the Battle of Bosworth (22 August 1485). There, Lord Ferrers commanded in the vanguard under John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, alongside Sir Robert Brackenbury and Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. Devereux was slain during the initial fight with the opposing van under John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, fighting next to the young John, Lord Zouche. An in-law, Sir John Ferrers, was also killed at Bosworth. He was attainted after his death on 7 November 1485.

• Cokayne, G.E. Complete Baronetage. (New York; St. Martin's Press, 1984). Volume V, page 321 to 333, Ferrers
• Horrox, Rosemary (2004). "Tyrell family (per. c.1304–c.1510)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52799. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Watson, G.W. (1926). "Ferrers of Chartley (1299–1558)". In Vicary Gibbs & H.A. Doubleday (eds.). The Complete Peerage. 5 (2nd ed.). London: St. Catherine Press. pp. 305–328.

|}