Katherine Paston

Katherine Paston, Lady Paston (1578 – March 10, 1629) was an English estate manager and letter writer.

Katherine Paston
from her memorial by Nicholas Stone
Born
Katherine Parry

1578
DiedMarch 10, 1629
NationalityKingdom of England
Occupationestate manager
Known forcorrespondence
Spouse(s)(Sir) Edmund Paston
Parent(s)Lady Muriel (born Parry) and Sir Thomas Knyvett

Life

Paston was baptised in Ashwellthorp on 22 June 1578. Her parents were Lady Muriel (born Parry) and Sir Thomas Knyvett.[1] Katherine had a sister Muriel who married Sir Edmond Bell as his second wife.[2] On 28 April 1603 she married Edmund Paston and in 1610 his grandfather died and they moved into the ancestral home of Paston Hall. They would have two sons.[1]

The Paston's hold on their inheritance was confused as her grandfather, Sir William Paston, had placed his estate in a trust because his heir, Christopher, was mentally ill. Christopher was insane in 1609.[3] They were granted £800 a year from that trust. Her husband was "sickley" so in order to resolve the legal disputes she at one time moved to London with her two sons so they she could progress their case through the chancery courts.[1]

Letters

She would write many letters including to her husband's brother in law Sir John Heveningham who had married her husband's sister. Informative letters are also made to her son, William; who she hopes is learning about bother human and divine knowledge at university. Her letters remind her son of his responsibilities and the importance of the church.[1] Her son was 14 when he started at Cambridge and two of his fellow students, Edmund and Robert Bell, are cousins - as their mother is Muriel Bell, Katherine's sister.[2]

She died in 1629 and her husband survived her.[1]

Legacy

In 1941 the Norfolk Record Society published her correspondence.[4]

References
  1. "Paston [née Knyvett], Katherine, Lady Paston (bap. 1578, d. 1629), estate manager and letter writer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/46917. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  2. Weir, Gillian (2010). "Orthography in the correspondence of Lady Katherine Paston, 1603-1627" (PDF). Glasgow University. p. 27. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  3. "Paston, Sir William (1528–1610), benefactor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21516. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  4. The Correspondance of Lady Katherine Paston, 1603-1627.
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