Walter Devereux (1411–1459)
Following the death of Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, on 18 January 1425, Richard, 3rd Duke of York inherited his estates along the Welsh Marches. This brought Walter Devereux into the retinue of the Duke, and he remained his loyal supporter throughout the War of the Roses. Devereux had been knighted by 22 September 1429 when he first represented Herefordshire in Parliament. He probably was in attendance on the Duke when he travelled with Henry VI to France for his coronation on 16 December 1429. On his return Devereux represented Herefordshire again in Parliament on 16 January 1430. He was listed on the subsidy rolls for Herefordshire of 12 January 1431 as holding his 1/3 of half a fee in Byford.
Walter Devereux (died 1641)
On 25 December 1634 Walter Devereux lost one of his main benefactors when his grandmother, Lettice, died. His family ties were further strained when in mid-1636 his half-brother, Robert Earl of Essex, became suspicious his second wife, Elizabeth Paulet, was having an affair. He had left her at his sister's house in Hertford in March 1636 to return to his estates at Chartley where he was needed to manage his affairs. It is not clear whether Walter took it upon himself, or Robert set him the task, but by July Walter had acquired evidence of Essex's wife's affair with Sir William Uvedale. The Earl began to plan for a divorce, but Lady Essex then announced she was pregnant. Essex was divided on the proper course to take, but came to the conclusion that if the child was born by 5 November it was possible that he was the father. A stressful few months passed and the child was born on 5 November. A son and heir, who Essex accepted as his own. Within a few months the child died of plague and Essex's marriage was over in all but name.