Catherine Murray, Countess of Dunmore (31 October 1814 – 12 February 1886), was an English peeress and promoter of

Harris Tweed Harris Tweed, (''Clò Mór'' or ''Clò Hearach'' in Gaelic) is a tweed cloth that is handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the ...

Family

Born Lady Catherine Herbert at Arlington Street,

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the d ...

, London, she was a daughter of

George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke General George Augustus Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke and 8th Earl of Montgomery (10 September 1759 – 26 October 1827) was an English peer, army officer, and politician. Early life He was born Lord Herbert at the family home, Wilton House ...

and his second wife, the former Countess Catherine Vorontsov, daughter of

Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow, russian: Семён Романович Воронцо́в; 26 June 17449 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Russian Vorontsov family, whose siblings included Alexander Vorontso ...

, the Russian Ambassador to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

. On 27 May 1836, Lady Catherine married Alexander Murray, Viscount Fincastle at

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. Fincastle acceded to his father's earldom of Dunmore a few months later. The couple had four children: *Lady Susan Catherine Mary (1837–1915), married 29 November 1860

James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk, KT, DL (16 November 1827 – 21 February 1905) was a Scottish nobleman, explorer and poet. Early life Born in Edinburgh, on 16 November 1827, Southesk was the son of Sir James Carnegie, 5th Baronet and Cha ...

as his second wife, and had issue three sons and four daughters. *Lady Constance Euphemia Woronzow (1838–1922), married William Buller-Fullerton-Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone. * Charles Adolphus, styled Viscount Fincastle, later 7th Earl of Dunmore (1841–1907) *Lady Victoria Alexandrina, or Lady Alexandrina Victoria Murray (1845–1911), married Rev. Henry Cunliffe (1826–1894), son of Sir Robert Henry Cunliffe, 4th Bt. CB, Gen., Bengal Army.

Later life

In 1841, Lady Dunmore was appointed a

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

but resigned upon her husband's death four years later. Following his death, she inherited of the Dunmore estate on the "island" of

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...

. She made several improvements to the estate village, building a school and laying out a new village green.

Harris Tweed

During the economic difficulties of the Highland Potato Famine of 1846–47, Lady Dunmore paid for her tenants to emigrate and gave them a grant to help them settle. Together with "Fanny" Beckett she promoted

, a sustainable and local industry. Recognising the sales potential of the fabric, she had the Murray family

tartan Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...

copied in tweed by the local weavers and suits were later made for the Dunmore estate. Proving a success, Lady Dunmore sought to widen the market by removing the irregularities, caused by dyeing, spinning and

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

(all done by hand), in the cloth to bring it in line with machine-made cloth. She achieved this by organising and financing training in

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot wher ...

for the Harris weavers and by the late 1840s, a London market was established, which led to an increase in sales of tweed. "Fanny" Beckett moved to London in 1888 and the "Scottish Home Industries" which managed the new product, became a limited company in 1896.

Death

The Countess died, aged seventy-one, on 12 February 1886 at Carberry Tower,

Inveresk Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop o ...

, East Lothian, and was buried at

Dunmore, Falkirk Dunmore is a small village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It lies south east of Stirling and north of Falkirk. The village lies along the A905 road between Throsk and Airth on the banks of the River Forth. The population of Dunmore ...

Arms

References

Sources

*Christine Lodge, ''Murray , Catherine, countess of Dunmore (1814–1886)''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
accessed 26 Oct 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunmore, Catherine Murray, Countess of 1814 births 1886 deaths Scottish countesses Daughters of British earls English people of Russian descent Ladies of the Bedchamber

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

19th-century British women 19th-century British people 19th-century British philanthropists Court of Queen Victoria