Walter Devereux first came to my attention when reading a biography of Richard III by Matthew Lewis. Walter was born c. 1432 at Weobley Castle into a Herefordshire gentry family and was a loyal supporter of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses.
His father, also called Walter, was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1449 to about 1451. His mother, Elizabeth Merbury, was the daughter and heiress of Sir John Merbury, Chief Justice of South Wales. The alabaster effigies of unknown persons in Weobley Church may possibly be those of his parents, Walter and Elizabeth.
There were three branches of the Devereux family in Herefordshire. The family seats of those I have found during my research were at Lyonshall Castle, Weobley Castle and Devereux Court, Bodenham.
Devereux Court still exists as a Grade II listed building from c. 15th century and was the manor house of the Bodenham Devereux family from the 12th century (in the predecessor of the existing building) until it was sold in 1803. Bodenham Court farmhouse, also a Grade II listed building, is believed to have been the farmhouse belonging to Devereux Court. It now forms part of the Hampton Court Estate.
Lyonshall Castle dates from the 11th century or earlier. Lyonshall was granted to Sir John Devereux in 1390 and stayed in the family for two centuries until the death of Robert Devereux.
Our Walter was from Weobley Castle, an 11th century building attributed to either Roger or Hugh de Lacy. In 1383, Sir John Crophull, who had owned Weobley Castle since 1361, died, leaving his granddaughter, Agnes de Crophull, as his sole heiress. Walter was the great-grandson of Agnes and her husband Sir Walter Devereux. There were several Walters in the family, so care is needed to avoid misidentification, especially in overlapping lifetimes.
Walter married his first wife Anne de Ferrers when he was only 13 years old. Anne was the daughter and heiress of William Ferrers, 6th Baron of Chartley resulting in Walter becoming the next baron by right of his wife. Walter gained Chartley Castle and great wealth from Anne’s inheritance. They had at least six children.
Anne predeceased Walter by 17 years and he then married Johane with whom he had no children. After Walter’s death, Johane married three more times. Her last husband was Thomas Poyntz an Esquire of the Body of King Henry VII at the baptism of his first-born son, Prince Arthur. Thomas was the second son of Sir Robert Poyntz, a supporter of Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. What would Walter Devereux, a loyal Yorkist, have thought of his wife marrying a member of the opposition?
In 1452, Walter’s father was attainted for treason for supporting Richard, Duke of York (father of the boys later to become Edward IV and Richard III), during his confrontation with King Henry VI. His father served as a steward of many of the Duke of York’s Welsh lordships in the 1450s.
In 1453, Walter represented Herefordshire in Parliament as Lord Ferrers, in place of his father. Also in 1453, Walter and his father were appointed to investigate the escape of prisoners in Herefordshire. Walter’s father was pardoned following the First Battle of St Albans.
In May 1457, prominent Yorkists in Herefordshire, including Walter Devereux, were placed under a recognizance of 5000 marks if they did not immediately present themselves for imprisonment at Marshalsea.
Walter fought in the Battle of Ludford Bridge on 12th October 1459 with the Duke of York. York was defeated and fled to Ireland, leaving Walter no choice but to surrender to the king to save his own head. His life was spared, but he was attainted for treason, his lands being awarded to Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. The next year, Walter was able to regain his lands by paying a fine of 500 marks.
When the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury raised a rebellion and captured Henry VI, they appointed Walter Devereux to arrest and imprison anyone in Herefordshire who resisted the rebellion. With the Duke of York now Protector of the Realm, Walter was granted a general pardon.
Walter fought successfully in countering rebellions and in pitched battles. When the Duke of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield, Walter fought on behalf of the Duke’s son Edward, Earl of March (to become Edward IV), at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross on 2nd February 1461, where he commanded the left wing of the battle line. Walter accompanied Edward to the Second Battle of St Albans where Henry VI was captured. On 3rd March 1461, Walter was present at Baynard’s Castle (the London base of the House of York) when it was agreed that Edward would be made king. He then rode alongside Edward to Westminster where Edward was proclaimed King of England.
On 29th March 1462, Walter fought for Edward at the Battle of Towton – a battle where an estimated 30,000 men were slain in one day. Walter was knighted on the field at Towton, a 10-hour battle fought in a snowy blizzard and believed to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil:
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/the-battle-of-towton.html
Walter became part of Edward’s inner circle and was placed on several Commissions of Array to remove pockets of Lancastrian resistance, and was given several commissions of oyer and terminer to inquire into treasons, insurrections and rebellions. ‘Oyer and terminer’ is a partial translation of the Anglo-French phrase ‘oyer et terminer’, which means ‘to hear and determine’; hence the Court of Oyer and Terminer. In England, such a court would be formed to investigate a specific offence defined by a commission.
Walter was one of Edward’s chief lieutenants in Wales and fought alongside the earl of Pembroke, helping to end Lancastrian resistance in South Wales.
In 1461 and 1462, Walter was appointed Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, a position he then kept for life. In recognition of his service, he was granted large areas of land and was assigned to raise more troops in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. He was appointed Constable of Aberystwyth for life; joint keeper of the Haywood in Herefordshire; and oyer and terminer in Wales and some English counties including Herefordshire, where he was tasked with investigating counterfeiting, clipping and sweating, and other falsifications of money.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, age 15 (later to become Richard III), was appointed to a commission in 1468 by his brother, Edward IV. He was joined by a number of knights, including Walter Devereux. Walter assisted Richard in several commissions from 1468 until his death in 1485. He would have known Richard very well as a close associate to whom he probably provided tutelage in Richard’s younger years, and practical assistance throughout Richard’s life. It has been noted that the men who had known Richard as a teenager and who had worked alongside him were among those who were the most loyal to him when he took the throne in place of his young nephew, Edward V.
The fate of Edward V is unknown, with a number of theories surrounding his murder or survival abounding. Matthew Lewis, author and historian, offers a very interesting view here:
https://mattlewisauthor.wordpress.com/2018/07/24/lambert-simnel-and-edward-v/
In 1469, Walter was granted the offices of Constable of the Castles of Brecon, Hay and Huntington.
The spring of 1470 saw Walter helping Edward to suppress a rebellion raised by the Earl of Warwick and George, Duke of Clarence (Edward’s other brother). When Henry VI temporarily regained his throne, Walter was dismissed from all his county commissions of the peace.
Walter helped Edward IV in 1471, on Edward’s return from exile in Flanders, when they were the victors at the Battle of Barnet:
http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource- centre/warsoftheroses/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=5
He raised troops from Herefordshire and Worcestershire and fought at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4th May 1471¬:
https://www.britishbattles.com/wars-of-the-roses/battle-of-tewkesbury/
He also helped to force Jasper Tudor and his nephew, Henry Tudor, into exile in Brittany, restoring the authority of the House of York in Wales.
Walter rode through London alongside Edward as he regained the throne and was amongst the lords who swore in the Parliament Chamber at Westminster to accept Edward as heir to the crown. In 1472, Walter was made a Knight of the Garter. Later he was given the important and trustworthy job of assisting Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in his 1473 appointment as tutor and councillor of the King’s heir, also called Edward, until he was 14 years old. Edward was placed at the old Mortimer and Yorkist stronghold of Ludlow Castle, where men such as Walter would train him in the skills needed by a future king.
Walter raised a troop of men-at-arms and archers to accompany himself and Edward IV when Edward led an army into France with the intention of deposing Louis XI. This ended without a war, with Edward agreeing to withdraw in return for a handsome pension paid to him by Louis.
In 1484, Walter was part of a commission of oyer and terminer that convicted William Colyngbourne of treason. Colyngbourne had written the verse “The Catte, the Ratte and Lovell our dogge rulyth all England under the hogge”, which he pinned to the door of St Paul’s Cathedral. In addition to this, Colyngbourne had been encouraging Henry Tudor to invade England from his exile in France. The commission sentenced Colyngbourne to death.
When Edward IV died, aged 40, his brother Richard was crowned as the anointed King of England. His nephew and Edward IV’s son and heir, Edward V, had not been crowned and had been taken to the Tower of London, allegedly for his own protection along with that of his younger brother Richard, Duke of York (the ‘Princes in the Tower’). Walter pledged allegiance to Richard and was made Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, and Hertfordshire. Richard also rewarded Walter’s loyalty with a grant of lands and an annuity of £146 a year.
The fact that Walter, who was a very loyal supporter of the House of York and who had been trusted to look after and tutor Edward V in his preparation as the king’s heir, was apparently happy to support Richard when he took the throne may possibly suggest that he had inside knowledge and knew that Richard was protecting his nephews. The situation was very volatile, and a young boy who was not old enough to rule would have resulted in endless attempts by the Lancastrians to remove him. Richard, who was Duke of Gloucester and brother of Edward IV, was a man with proven military skills and years of experience of governing successfully in the north of England, and was the obvious choice as the new king.
Walter was a loyal supporter and servant of Richard III, though in 1483 he provided hospitality at Weobley Castle for a week to Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and his wife and two sons after Buckingham had raised rebels in the Welsh marches against Richard. Buckingham’s rebellion failed and he attempted to escape in disguise, staying at Weobley for a week and then leaving his family to be hidden at Kinnersley Castle by Sir Richard Delabere while he hid in a Shropshire cottage of a staunch Lancastrian, Ralph Banaster. Richard III had placed a bounty on Buckingham’s head and he was turned in by Ralph. He was taken to Richard at Salisbury where he received a summary trial and was beheaded the following day, 2nd November 1483. Richard III was very generous to Buckingham’s widow, granting her a substantial pension and paying Buckingham’s debts on her behalf.
At the Battle of Bosworth on 22nd August 1485, Walter fought alongside Richard, commanding the vanguard under John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. The vanguard was the right wing of the battle line that was the first line of men to advance towards the enemy. Walter was slain during this initial fight with the opposing van under the Earl of Oxford:
https://www.britishbattles.com/?s=Bosworth
Having won at Bosworth and taken the English crown (backdating his reign to the day before Bosworth!), Henry VII issued a proclamation regarding Richard III’s body, in which Walter is mentioned:
“And moreover, the king ascertained you that Richard duke of Gloucester, late called King Richard, was slain at a place called Sandeford, within the shire of Leicester…And also there was slain upon the same field…Sir Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers…with many other knights, squires and gentlemen, of whose souls God have mercy.”
The Battle of Bosworth was not known by this name until after 1500. A contemporary record written the day after the battle described it as taking place at the field of Redemore, a location lost to modern geography. Sandeford is also a lost place name. In 1858 James Hollings identified Sandeford as the point where the current Shenton−Sutton Cheney road passes over the watercourse that flows towards Market Bosworth. Part of the road that crosses the ford was apparently known as Sand Road, though there is no mention of Sand Road in documents that start as 17th-century estate records. Another historian, Peter J. Foss, positions Sandeford to the south in the wetland of Redemore at a point on Fenn Lanes, a crossing point on the causeway across marshy land. This location fits well with the fact that Richard III’s horse became stuck in a marsh, resulting in his fighting valiantly on foot to the death. This scene is, of course, the origin of Shakespeare’s famous line, “A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!” depicting the moment where Richard shouts for a fresh horse on which to continue the battle.
In the November following the death of Henry VII at Bosworth, Walter was attainted in the first Parliament of Henry VII and his estates were confiscated by the Crown.
Hilary Boughton
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