Born in
1534/5
,
Katheryn
was the daughter of
Tudur ap Robert Vychan
of
Berain, Denbs.
, by his wife
Jane
, daughter of
Sir
Roland
Velville
(d.
1527
), a natural son of
Henry
VII
, whom
Henry
made
constable of Beaumaris castle
.
Katheryn
, who is said to have been a ward of
queen
Elizabeth
, ultimately acquired by mortgage
Penmynydd
in
Anglesey
. She was m. four times: (1) to
JOHN
SALUSBURY
, son and heir of
Sir
John
Salusbury
of
Llewenni
(the settlement deed is dated
11 Feb. 1556/7
). They had two sons (
a
)
Thomas
(b. probably
1564
)
and (
b
)
John
(b.
1565
or
1566
);
John
d.
1566
, before his father; (2) in
1567
to
Sir
Richard
Clough
(q.v.)
; she went with
Clough
to
Antwerp
, where he was concerned in business for
Sir
Thomas
Gresham
. It is said that
Maurice
Wynn
of
Gwydir
proposed to her as he led her from the church after her first husband's funeral, but she refused as she had already accepted
Sir
Richard
on the way to church, promising, however, ‘that in case she performed the same sad duty (which she was then about) to the
knight
, he might depend on being the third’ (
T.
Pennant
,
Tours in Wales
,
1810
ed., ii, 146-7). From
Antwerp
they travelled to
Spain
and in
1569
they moved to
Hamburg
, where
Clough
d. in
1570
. She and
Clough
had two daughters, (
a
)
Anne
(b.
1568
), who m.
Roger
Salusbury
, and (
b
)
Mary
(b.
1569
), who m.
William
Wynn
of
Melai
.
Clough
provided handsomely for his widow and
daughters and for his two stepsons. Katheryn returned to
Berain
and engaged
William
Cynwal
of
Penmachno
, the
bard
and
genealogist
(q.v.)
, to compile a record of her family — see his own words in
Christ Church MS. 184
(photostat in
N.L.W. MS. 6496
). (3) Sometime
before Jan. 1573
, to
Maurice
Wynn
of
Gwydir
(
see under
Wynn
of
Gwydir
) as his third wife, thus becoming the step-mother of
Sir
John
Wynn
of
Gwydir
(q.v.)
. A child marriage between her son
Thomas
Salusbury
, and
Margaret
, daughter of
Maurice
Wynn
by his first wife, was arranged in
1574
. This led to trouble over the wardship of
Thomas
, who upon the death of his grandfather (
18 March 1577/1578
) became the ward of the
earl of Leicester
, who, however, gave his consent to the completion of the marriage agreement.
Maurice
Wynn
d. in
Aug. 1580
. There were two children of
Katheryn
's third marriage, (
a
)
Edward
and (
b
)
Jane
. (4) Sometime in
1583
, to
Edward
Thelwall
, son of
Simon
Thelwall
of
Plâs-y-ward, Denbs.
(see the article on that family). At the same time a child marriage was arranged between her daughter
Jane
Wynn
and his son
Simon
(b.
1570
)
.
In
1585/6
a daughter was born to
Thomas
and
Margaret
Salusbury
, and in
Sept. 1586
Thomas
(q.v.)
, who was implicated in the
Babington conspiracy
, was
executed for alleged treason
, and a commission was sent to inquire into his estate. In Dec. of the same year,
Katheryn
's other son
John
(now
Sir
John
Salusbury
of
Llewenni
) m.
Ursula
, a daughter of
Henry
Stanley
,
4th earl of Derby
(see
N.L.W. MS. 5390
). On the death of her father-in-law
Katheryn
and
Edward
Thelwall
moved to
Plâs-y-ward
, and
Berain
was settled on her grand-daughter,
Margaret
Salusbury
.
Katheryn
d.
27 Aug. 1591
and was buried in
Llanefydd
church. Many were the stories, true and untrue, told of her in
North Wales
. During her lifetime and after her death many tributes to her goodness were produced; see, for example, the poems preserved in
Christ Church MS.
(see above) and in
N.L.W. MS. 5496
. Interesting as a personality,
per se
, she is also of importance as the ancestress of several
North Wales
families or of families connected with
Wales
. Thus
Hester Lynch
Salusbury
(aft.
Thrale
, aft.
Piozzi
) (q.v.)
was a descendant of
Katheryn
's first marriage, whilst
Sir
Watkin
Williams-Wynn
,
3rd. bart.
of
Wynnstay
(q.v.)
, was a descendant of her third marriage.
Sir
John
Ballinger
(in a long article on
Katheryn
in
Y Cymm.
, xl) gives four genealogical tables, facsimiles of her signature (she appeared to favour the form ‘
Katheryn
’), and reproduces four alleged portraits, to the authenticity or otherwise of each of which he devotes attention.
Sir William Llewelyn Davies, M.A., LL.D., F.S.A. (1887-1952),
Aberystwyth
