Walter Devereux, 8th Baron Ferrers of Chartley
Walter Devereux, 8th Baron Ferrers of Chartley (c.1432 – 22 August 1485) was an English nobleman and a loyal supporter of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the inner circle of King Edward IV, and died fighting for Edward's younger brother, King Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Origins. He was born about 1432 in Weobley, Herefordshire, the son of Sir Walter Devereux (1411–1459), Lord Chancellor of Ireland (from 1449 to 1450), and Elizabeth Merbury, the daughter and heiress of Sir  John Merbury, Chief Justice of South Wales by his first wife, Alice Pembridge. Marriage and children. Walter Devereux married twice: Career. In 1453, Walter and his wife Anne took possession of her father's lands, and Walter received those of his father in 1459. The same year he fought in a skirmish at Ludford under Richard, Duke of York, but then submitted himself to the king's mercy. His lands were ordered confiscated, but he was allowed to redeeem them for 500 marks. He served as knight of the shire for Hereford in 1460, then at the start of 1461  he proceeded to London with Edward, Duke of York and participated in the council resolving that Edward should be king. He fought at the Battle of Towton after which he was knighted, and was subsequently named Baron Ferrers, the title previously held by his wife's family, and given many lands forfeited by the supporters of the deposed Henry VI of England. He fought with the new king, now Edward IV, in the North in November 1462, and over the subsequent decade was named constable or keeper of several castles, including those at Aberystwith, Brecknock, Hay and Huntingdon. He became  sheriff of the county of Carnarvon was named Master-Forester of Snowdon Hills in 1470. In 1472, he was nominated a Knight of the Garter, and the next year was appointed as tutor and councillor of Edward, Prince of Wales. He continued to benefit from royal largesse, being granted Wigston, Leicestershire, in 1476, and Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, in 1484. Death. Walter Devereux supported Richard III of England during his reign, and fought by his side at the Battle of Bosworth (22 August 1485). There, Lord Ferrers commanded in the vanguard under John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, alongside Sir Robert Brackenbury and  Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. Devereux was slain during the initial fight with the opposing van under John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, fighting next to the young John, Lord Zouche. An in-law, Sir John Ferrers, was also killed at Bosworth. He was attainted after his death on 7 November 1485.