Walter Devereux (1411 - 1459)

Walter Devereux (1411 - 22 April, 1459) was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1449 to about 1451.

Family

He was born in Bodenham, Herefordshire to a senior Walter Devereux (or Deverois, c. 1387 - 1420) and his wife Elizabeth Bromwhitch. His maternal grandparents were Thomas Bromwitch, Lord Justice of Ireland and Catherine Oldcastle.

His paternal grandparents were an elder Walter Devereux (c. 1357 - 1403) and Agness Crophull. By a second marriage to John Parr of Kendal, Agness was mother of Thomas Parr and paternal grandmother of Sir William Parr, a noted courtier under Edward IV of England.

The elder Walter was a son of Sir William Devereux (c. 1332 - 1376) and Anne Barre. His paternal grandparents were John Devereux, 2nd Baron Devereux and Margaret de Vere.

Margaret was married previously to Henry Beaumont, 3rd Baron Beaumont and was mother by him of John Beaumont, 4th Baron Beaumont. She was herself daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford and his wife Maud de Badlesmere.

Marriage

He married Elizabeth Merbury. She was a daughter of Sir John Merbury, Chief Justice of South Wales and his wife Alice Pembridge. They had the following children:

*Richard Devereux. (born c. 1426).
*Thomas Devereux. (born c. 1428).
*Anne Devereux (c. 1430 - after 1486). Married William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1468 creation).
*Walter Devereux, 7th Baron Ferrers of Chartley (c. 1431 - 22 August, 1485).
*John Devereux (born c. 1434).
*Katherine Devereux (born c. 1438). Married Sir James Baskerville.
*Isabel Devereux (born c. 1440).

Lord Chancellor

He was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1449. His term was brief and likely uneventful. In 1451, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland appointed his son, the 8-year-old Edmund, Earl of Rutland, as the new Lord Chancellor. Since Rutland was under age, his duties were taken over by Deputy Chancellor Edmund Oldhall.

Devereux was granted land in Drogheda and was a supporter of the Duke of York for the remainder of his life.

External links

* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/%7Eyewenyi/2/11269.htm A short profile of his wife]
* [http://fabpedigree.com/s056/f433074.htm A pedigree of him]
* [http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/dd/devereux1.htm#link1 A listing of the Devereux family]
* [http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/DEVEREUX.htm#Walter%20DEVEREUX%20(Sir)1 A profile of his family]