Portrait of Katheryn of Berain by Adriaen van Cronenburgh c.1568, in the National Museum Cardiff

Katheryn of Berain (Welsh: Catrin o Ferain) (born 1535 - Latin eulogy; died aged 56 on 27 August 1591), sometimes called Mam Cymru ("mother of Wales"), was a Welsh noblewoman noted for her four marriages and her extensive network of descendants and relations.

Life

She is sometimes referred to as Katheryn Tudor, her father being Tudur ap Robert Vychan[1] and her mother Jane Velville. Her maternal grandfather Sir Roland de Velville (1474 – 25 June 1535), is said to have been a natural son of King Henry VII of England by a Breton lady.[2] Katheryn, who is said to have been a ward of Queen Elizabeth, was the heiress to the Berain and Penymynydd estates in Denbighshire and Anglesey.

John Salusbury

At the age of 22, Katheryn married John Salusbury, Esquire, son of Sir John Salusbury of Llewenni (died 1578), of the prestigious Salusbury Family of Lleweni, Denbighshire. According to John Ballinger, this was probably a "child marriage". There is said to be a letter written by young Salusbury while at Westminster School in which he mentions his wife. He died in late May or early June 1566.[2] They had been married for nine years and had two sons:

Ruthin Myddelton Arms, built in the 16th century in the Dutch style by Richard Clough, who worked in Antwerp.

Sir Richard Clough

Following her first husband's death, Katheryn married Sir Richard Clough, an extremely wealthy merchant, who established the Royal Exchange in the City of London with his business partner Sir Thomas Gresham.[4] Clough had lived in Antwerp, and upon his return to Denbighshire in 1567 he built two houses, Bach-y-graig and Plas Clough. The houses were built in Antwerp style by Flemish craftsmen and were the first brick houses in Wales. Upon Clough's death Plas Clough was inherited by Richard Clough, his son by his first wife.[5]

Katheryn had two daughters by Clough:

  • Anne Clough (b. 1568), married Roger Salusbury,[3] a brother of John Salusbury and paternal uncle to her older half-brothers. Their only son was John Salisbury. Anne inherited "Bach-y-graig".[5]
  • Mary Clough (born 1569). Married William Wynn, a relative of Maurice Wynn.

The Cloughs lived for a time in Antwerp, where Katheryn's portrait was painted, probably by Adriaen van Cronenburgh, as the National Museum now suggests,[1] or perhaps by Lucas de Heere, a previous attribution. Within six years of their marriage, Sir Richard Clough died in Hamburg aged forty. He was probably poisoned because of his work as a spy for Queen Elizabeth I.[4]

Maurice Wynn

Katheryn then married Maurice Wynn[6] of Gwydir. Wynn was Sheriff of Caernarvonshire and left Katheryn an extremely wealthy woman when he died.

Katheryn had a further two children by Maurice Wynn:

  • Henry Wynn, who married Blanche Vaughan.
  • Jane Wynn, who married Simon Thelwall.

Edward Thelwall

Katheryn's fourth and last husband was Edward Thelwall of Plas-y-Ward, who outlived her.

The Welsh poet Robert Parry wrote an elegy on the occasion of Katheryn's death.[7] Her many descendants included Hester Thrale and the 18th century explorer John Salusbury.

References

  1. 1 2 "Katheryn of Berain, 'The Mother of Wales' (1534/5-1591)", Amgueddfa Cymru"
  2. 1 2 Ballinger, John. "Katheryn of Berain", Y Cymmrodon, Vol. XL, The Honourable Society of Cymmrodian, London, 1929
  3. 1 2 3 "Katheryn of Berain". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
  4. 1 2 Davies J.M. and DC Davies, D.C., "Why did the 5th earl of derby die?", The Lancet, 6 October 2001 (Vol. 358, Issue 9288, Page 1187)
  5. 1 2 "Sir Richard Clough – ‘The Most Complete Man’", Legacies – North East Wales, BBC, February 2004
  6. ↑ "Catrin of Berain". BBC Wales North East. June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Robert Parry". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
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