Outside the affairs of parliament, little is known of Doreward. He was apparently the son of William Doreward of Bocking, Essex who was a member of parliament for Essex in the eighteenth and twentieth parliaments of Edward III.Round, J. H., 'John Doreward, Speaker (1399, 1413)' in The English Historical Review, Vol. 29, No. 116 (Oct., 1914), pp. 717-719 According to James Alexander Manning, he was "of Dorewood Hall",Manning, James Alexander, The Lives of the Speakers of the House of Commons, from the Time of King Edward III to Queen Victoria (London: George Willis, 1851) page 24 online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 11 August 2008 and the name survives in 'Durward's', at Bocking in Essex and in 'Durward's Hall', between Witham and Kelvedon. At Bocking, he founded a chantry in 1397.
