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Catherine Walpole

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Lady Walpole
Detail of mezzotint, c. 1748 – c. 1760
Born
Catherine Shorter

1682 (1682)
Died20 August 1737(1737-08-20) (aged 54–55)
Resting placeSt Martin at Tours' Church, Houghton
Known forSpouse of the prime minister of Great Britain (1721–1737)
Spouse
(m. 1700)
Children6; including Robert, Edward and Horace
RelativesWalpole family

Catherine, Lady Walpole (née Shorter; 1682 – 20 August 1737) was the first wife of the first British prime minister Sir Robert Walpole.

Origins

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She was a daughter of Sir John Shorter (born 1660), of Bybrook, in Kent, a wealthy merchant (the son of Sir John Shorter (1625–1688), Lord Mayor of London),[1] by his wife Elizabeth Philipps (born c. 1664), a daughter of Sir Erasmus Philipps, 3rd Baronet. Her sister Charlotte Shorter became the third wife of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway, and was the mother of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford.[2]

Life

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In 1700, she married Sir Robert Walpole of Houghton Hall in Norfolk, the first British prime minister, to whom she brought a dowry of £20,000.[1] She was renowned for her extravagant lifestyle, frequently attending the opera and buying expensive clothes and jewellery. The couple became estranged during his premiership, and he had a succession of mistresses. He lived with Maria Skerrett at both Richmond, Surrey, and at Houghton while Lady Walpole was still alive.[3] She aroused controversy when it was noted that her youngest son Horace Walpole, born 10 years after his siblings, did not resemble in looks any of his siblings or his supposed father.[1] Lady Walpole's lover at that time was reported to be Carr Hervey, Lord Hervey (1691–1723), the son of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol.[4]

Children

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Catherine and Robert Walpole had six children.

She is buried at the Church of St Martin on the Walpole estate at Houghton in Norfolk, England. She has a memorial plaque at Westminster Abbey.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Biographies.net website, Catherine, Lady Walpole
  2. ^ Cokayne, G. E.; Gibbs, Vicary & Doubleday, H. Arthur, eds. (1913). The Complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct or dormant (Canonteign to Cutts). 3 (2nd ed.). London: The St. Catherine Press, p.403
  3. ^ "British Prime Ministers: I". 24 June 2003. Archived from the original on 24 June 2003. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  4. ^ ill|Carr Hervey, Lord Hervey|lt=Lord Hervey|WD=Q18534129
  5. ^ Westminster Abbey website, Catherine, Lady Walpole

Further reading

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  • Lundy, Darryl (23 November 2016), "Catherine Shorter", thepeerage.com, Wellington, New Zealand, retrieved 1 May 2018
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