Catherine McAvoy

Catherine McAvoy

Portrayed by Keeley Hawes
Full Name	Catherine Helen McAvoy, Dowager Countess of Kirkfries
Associated Noble House(s)	Earldom Parry, Barony of Loseley, Earldom of Kirkfries
Date of Birth	18th March 1781
Father	Henry Layton (deceased)
Father's Rank	Earl
Mother	Louisa Layton (nee Barnet)
Mother's Rank	Dowager Countess
Town Residence	{{{residence}}}
Year of Debut	1798
Dowry	£40,000
Year of Marriage	1798
Spouse	Godfrey McAvoy
Spouse's Rank	Earl
Year of Widowhood	1800
Issue	None

Lady Kirkfries is the eldest child of the first Earl and Countess Parry. She married the Earl of Kirkfries in 1798 and was widowed in 1800 after two years of unhappy marriage. Since then, she has become a fashionable hostess in Edinburgh, known for her feminist opinions, outspoken opinions, and her lovers.

Catherine is played by Rose.

Family

Henry Layton, Earl Parry (deceased) - father
Louisa, Dowager Countess Parry - mother
Henry Layton, Earl Parry - brother
Lady Phoebe Layton/Sister Maria Agnes - sister

Archibald Layton, Marquess of Crantock - great-uncle

Jane, Duchess of Welby (deceased) - cousin
Lady Madalene Rossington - first cousin once removed

Sophia, Duchess of Leighton (deceased) - paternal aunt
Nicholas, Duke of Leighton - cousin
Lord William Gosling - cousin

Constance Blackwood - maternal aunt
Richard Blackwood - cousin

Background

Lady Catherine Layton, elder sister of the current Earl and Lady Phoebe Layton was brought up at Loseley Park in Berkshire and made her debut in 1798. She was one of the most admired young ladies of the season, being beautiful, extremely lively and witty, an excellent singer and most importantly rich. Drunk on adoration and full of self-confidence and desire for independence she married the Earl of Kirkfries for his unentailed title on a very short acquaintance. This was a mistake. Once Lord Kirkfries had got his young wife back to his estate in Scotland, he proceeded to treat her with coldness and tyranny bordering on the cruel. Catherine who had felt merely indifferent towards him on their marriage soon grew to loathe him and herself for marrying him. Fortunately he died of food poisoning after only two years of matrimony in 1800, leaving her his entire fortune and property. The title itself has reverted to the crown.

Since Lord Kirkfries' death, Catherine has thrown herself into Scottish high society, taking a house in Edinburgh during the season and entertaining lavish house parties at Kirkfries Castle in the summer. She has taken and discarded many lovers since her husband's death but shows no sign of contemplating remarriage.

She remains close to her brother Henry and she has recently arrived in London to stay with him, following a falling out with a lover in Edinburgh and his wife and mother.

Relationships

Friends

Henry, Earl Parry: Catherine has a strong, close relationship with her brother.

Georgiana, Lady Louth: Met Lady Louth at church and immediately liked her.

Lady Gwendolyn Moncrieff: Met Lady Gwendolyn at Henry's party and immediately talked to her about rather personal matters.

Robert Vickery: A school friend of Henry's whom Catherine has now met.

Emma Vickery: Catherine enjoyed riding with her.

Robert Fitzgerald: Catherine enjoys flirting with Lady Viola's brother.

Lady Viola Fitzgerald: Catherine enjoys Lady Viola's company though does not know her ell.

Thread Tracking

Tuesday 30th April

• Lady Kirkfries to Lord Parry[1]: Catherine announces her intention to come to London

Saturday 4th May

• La Belle Ecossaise[2]: Catherine arrives at Layton House

Sunday 5th May

• Hills of the North in a Southern Church[3]: Catherine and Henry meet Lady Louth at church
• du besoin d'avoir une femme dans ma confidence[4]: With Lady Gwendolyn, Miss Pritchard and the Duke of Leighton

Monday 6th May

• Riding in Rotten Row[5]: Out riding with Henry and meeting Mr. And Miss Vickery
• Curiosity and the Cat[6]: Calling on the Baroness de Grave

Tuesday 7th May

• From One Brother to Another[7]: Calls on Robbie Fitzgerald with Henry