Roger Devereux of Norfolk
Quick Facts
Biography
Roger Devereux was the son of William d'Évreux. There are indications he fought at Hastings as he was rewarded with lands in Norfolk that he held on the Domesday Survey in 1086. A noble's Tenant-in-Chief in England often reflects the area of Normandy from which they originated. Roger was a follower of William de Ecouis, and Ecouis is in the region of Normandy near to Évreux and Rouen which were the main holdings of the Counts of Évreux.
Family
He had a son (unknown name) as the Devereux line remained evident in records into the 14th Century. On 25 September 1188 Roger Devereux and his son, Bartholomew, were listed on the charter of John, Bishop of Norwich, confirming grants to Dodnash Priory, Suffolk, at its foundation. In Norfolk around 1214, the Bigod family transferred two fees of Forcnet Manor in Norfolk to Bartholomew Devereux who is stylized as Lord of Hardwick. These Devereux's held Startson-Hall Manor in Earsham Hundred. Bartholomew was succeeded by a Roger Devereux, and then Ralf Devereux who married a woman named Dionise. Ralf Devereux sold his property in 1308 to James Herwardstoke, and no further record of this family has been found.
He may have had a daughter or grand-daughter that married into the Picot family as part of the Norfolk lands passed to Roger Picot who later granted them in 1196 to Deodate, Prior of St. Faith at Horsham, and the convent there.
Domesday landholdings
According to the Domesday Book, Roger Devereux held the following lands valued at about £4 in 1086 under the Tenant-in-chief William de Ecouis: