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, 7th Baron Ferrers of Chartley
On 18 June 1463 Devereux was appointed as Constable of Aberystwyth Castle for life, and 10 August 1464 joint keeper of the Haywood in Herefordshire. 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. This was extended into Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire in early 1468, and Devonshire and Gloucestershire later in the year. 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, and in the king's hands by reason of the minority his son and heir, Richard. 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; and on 14 August 1468, Harlech castle finally surrendered to the Yorkists.