Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford

Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford (1488 – 17 September, 1558) was an English Peer.

Family

He was born in either Chartley Castle or the Chartley Manor which replaced it as the residence of the Barons Ferrers of Chartley following the Wars of the Roses. He was a son of John Devereux, 8th Baron Ferrers of Chartley and Cecily Bourchier.

His paternal grandparents were Anne Ferrers, 7th Baroness Ferrers of Chartley and her husband Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers of Chartley. His maternal grandparents were William Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier and Anne Woodville.

William Bourchier was a son of Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex and Isabel Plantagenet. Anne Woodville was a daughter of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg.

Baron Ferrers

On 5 March, 1501, his father died and Walter succeeded him as the 9th Baron Ferrers of Chantley. He served with distinction in the War of the League of Cambrai (1508-1516) and the Italian War of 1521-1526.

In 1523, the Baron was created a Knight of the Garter by Henry VIII of England alongside diplomat Thomas Boleyn, later Earl of Wiltshire. He served as Custos Rotulorum of Cardiganshire from 1543 to his death.

He was created Viscount Hereford in 1550.

Marriages and children

He was first married to Mary Grey. She was a daughter of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset and his second wife Cecily Bonville, Baroness Harington and Bonville.

Cecily Bonville was the daughter and heiress of William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington (and 1st Baron Bonville) by his wife Katherine Neville. Her maternal grandparents were Alice Montagu, 5th Countess of Salisbury and her consort Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (jure uxoris).

He was secondly married to Margaret Garneys. She was a daughter of John Garneys of Kenton.

He is known to have had at least five children but the years of their birth and which wife was the mother are not known with certainty. The children were:

*Sir Richard Devereux (d. 13 October, 1547). Married Dorothea Hastings. She was a daughter of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford. They were parents to Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex.
*Sir Edward Devereux, 1st Baronet of Castle Bromwich. Married Catherine Arden. They were parents of Walter Devereux, 5th Viscount Hereford, fourth-generation ancestors of Price Devereux, 9th Viscount Hereford and fifth-generation ancestors of Edward Devereux, 11th Viscount Hereford.
*Henry Devereux.
*Katherine Devereux. Married Sir James Baskerville.
*Sir William Devereux of Mirevale Abbey. Married Jane Scudamore, daughter of John Scudamore. They were parents to Barbara Devereux and Margaret Devereux.

External links

* [http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/DEVEREUX.htm#Walter%20DEVEREUX%20(1%B0%20V.%20Hereford) A genealogical profile of him]
* [http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/dd/devereux2.htm#top A listing of his descendants]