William Devereux

William Devereux
Died	after 1110
Spouse(s)	Hawise de Lacy
Issue Walter Devereux, Lord of Lyonshall Robert Devereux
Father	William d'Évreux

William Devereux was an Anglo-Norman nobleman living during the reigns of kings William I, William II, and Henry I of England. The Devereux, along with the Baskervilles and Pichards, were prominent knightly families along the Welsh marches at the beginning of the twelfth century, and linked to the Braose and Lacy lordships of the region. William Devereux's descendants would later give rise to the Devereux family of Hereford, and the Devereux Viscounts of Hereford and Earls of Essex.

William was the son of William d'Évreux by a second unnamed wife. There are indications he fought at Hastings as he was rewarded with lands along the Welsh Marches in Herefordshire and Gloucester that he held in 1086.Lyonshall Castle was constructed at the direction of his overlord, Roger de Lacy during the late 11th century. When de Lacy was exiled in 1095 the castle came under more direct control of the Devereux family, and eventually they became its chief lords.

William Devereux was a benefactor of the Abbey at Gloucester (Church of St. Peter in Gloucester). In 1086 William the Conqueror issued a charter to the abbey confirming the land it possessed, and William Devereux was identified as giving 1 hide of land. During the time of King William Rufus in 1096 he was identified as granting a hide in Herefordshire, and two tenths (duas decimas) from 'Leech and Hadrop'. A list of donations to the abbey showed William Devereux giving one hide of land in Jerchenfeld, Westone, and tithes from Haythrop, in the time of Abbot Serlo (1072 to 1104). Other sources indicate he confirmed the grant of a hide in Herefordshire to St. Peter’s Abbey at Gloucester in the tenth year of Henry I (1110). During the time of Abbot William (1113 to 1130) a woman named Hawise, identified as the widow of William Devereux, appeared on a list of donations as giving the land called Hyde, and that Walter de Lacy had given this to her upon her marriage. The gift of William Devereux of one hide of land to the abbey was confirmed again by King Stephen in 1138, the Archbishop of Canterbury between 1139 and 1148, and King Henry II about 1174.