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.
John Devereux, 1st Baron Devereux
John Devereux was sheriff of Herefordshire in 1376. He was appointed Constable of Leeds Castle in Kent (1 March 1377/8), Captain of Calais (17 January 1379/80), and supervisor of the castles and fortalices in the parts of Calais and Guînes (17 April 1381). John served as a Commissioner to treat with the King of France on 20 May and 16 December 1381, 4 November 1383, 22 January 1385/6, 26 November 1388, and 8 April 1390. John Devereux was a Commissioner to treat with the Count of Flanders on 1 June and 4 November 1383, 26 November 1388, and 8 April 1390. From 12 March 1387/8 to 1392 he was Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and from February 1387/8 until his death Steward of the King’s Household.