Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux, who was created a Knight of the Bath on 20 February 1547 and died that same year, in the lifetime of his father, The 1st Viscount Hereford. Walter Devereux's mother was Lady Dorothy Hastings, daughter of The 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, said to have been a mistress of Henry VIII. Through his paternal ancestry he was related to the Bourchier family, to which previous Earls of Essex had belonged: John Devereux, son of Walter Devereux who died at the Battle of Bosworth, married Cecily Bourchier, sister of Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex.
Walter Devereux (died 1402)
On 8 February 1391 Devereux conducted an inquiry into the alienation of the manor of Eaton Tregoes, Herefordshire. On 20 January John and Julian Kirby of La Verne sold for 100L Kimbolton manor, Huntingdonshire; and 2 carucates of land, 12 acres of meadow, and 13 shillings of rent in Laysters, Weston, Mappenore, Leominster, and Aston in Herefordshire to Walter Devereux. A writ was issued in Herefordshire on 17 February 1392 for Thomas, son of Llewelyn le Taillour, for not appearing to answer Walter Devereux regarding a debt of 40L. On 1 March 1392 Devereux was assigned to raise troops in Hertfordshire to resist an invasion in case of war after the expiration of the current truce.