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.
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.
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:
A story recorded by Askew Roberts for his History of the Gwydir Family states that Katheryn was accompanied to the funeral of her first husband, by Maurice Wynn, who is said to have proposed marriage to her upon leaving the church. Roberts states that the widow declined the offer on the basis that she had already promised to marry Sir Richard Clough, who had proposed to her on the way to the church service. However, Katheryn offered to marry Maurice Wynn "when there was a vacancy". [4]
Katheryn did indeed marry Richard Clough, an extremely wealthy merchant, who established the Royal Exchange in the City of London with his business partner Sir Thomas Gresham. [5] 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. [6]
Katheryn had two daughters by Clough:
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. [5]
Katheryn then married Maurice Wynn [7] 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:
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. [8] Her many descendants included Hester Thrale and the 18th century explorer John Salusbury.
There have been two baronetcies created for persons with the same surname - Wynn, these baronetcies descended from north Wales.
The Salusbury family was a Anglo-Welsh family notable for their social prominence, wealth, literary contributions and philanthropy. They were patrons of the arts and were featured in William Shakespeare's The Phoenix and the Turtle and other works. The family mostly rose in power by supporting the rising Tudor dynasty.
Sir Thomas Myddelton was a Welsh merchant who was Lord Mayor of London before becoming a Member of Parliament for London.
Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet, was a Welsh baronet, Member of Parliament and antiquary.
Sir Thomas Salisbury was one of the conspirators executed for his involvement in the Babington Plot.
Sir Richard Clough, known by his Welsh contemporaries as Rhisiart Clwch, was a merchant from Denbigh, north-east Wales, and an agent of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Lleweni Hall was a stately home in Denbighshire, northeast Wales, around 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of Denbigh on the banks of the River Clwyd. It was the principal seat of the Salusbury family and their descendants from 1289 until 1748, and the present territorial designation of the most senior branch of the family.
The Williams-Wynn Baronetcy, of Gray's Inn in the County of Middlesex was created in the Baronetage of England on 6 July 1688 for William Williams, a prominent Welsh politician and lawyer from Anglesey, Wales. A member of the family, Sir Watkin, became one of the richest men in Britain.
Sir William Williams, 2nd Baronet, of Glascoed, Llansilin, Denbighshire was a Welsh landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1710.
There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Salusbury family, the first in the Baronetage of England and the second in the Baronetage of Great Britain. Neither title has survived to the present day although the senior baronetcy is technically considered to be dormant.
The first High Sheriff of Denbighshire was John Salusbury, snr, appointed in 1540. The shrievalty of Denbighshire, together with that of Flintshire, continued until 1974 when it was abolished after the county and shrievalty of Clwyd was created.
Sir Thomas Salusbury, 2nd Baronet was a Welsh poet, politician and soldier, who supported King Charles I in English Civil War and was a colonel of a Royalist regiment.
Sir John Salusbury was a Welsh knight, politician and poet of the Elizabethan era. He is notable for his opposition to the faction of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and for his patronage of complex acrostic and allegorical poetry that anticipated the Metaphysical movement.
Maurice Wynn or Morys Wynn ap John of Gwydir was a Welsh courtier and politician.
Lt-Col. Sir Owen Watkin Williams-Wynn, 10th Baronet, CBE, KStJ, was a Welsh soldier and landowner. He was Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire from 1966 to 1974, then Lord Lieutenant of Clwyd from 1976 to 1979.
John Salusbury, of Lleweni Hall, Denbighshire, was a Welsh landowner, county officer, and member of parliament.
Sir Evan Lloyd, of Bodidris, Llanarmon yn Iâl, Denbighshire, was a Welsh politician, Member of Parliament. He was High Sheriff of Denbighshire and took part in the Earl of Leiceister's expedition.
Simon Thelwall was a Welsh Member of Parliament.
Nantclwyd Hall is a 17th-century Grade II* listed mansion near the village of Llanelidan, Denbighshire, Wales, built by the Parry family, and rebuilt by Eubule Thelwall and his wife Mary Parry, the heiress of the estate.
Plas Clough is a country house and Grade II* listed building at Denbigh, North Wales, built by Sir Richard Clough and begun about 1567.