The Equestrian Life of Catherine Walters, the Victorian Courtesan
They say one way to afford to own horses is to find a rich husband. After all, horses are an expensive and time consuming hobby. If you’re working to afford it, you hardly have time to ride.
She never married, but she did find many men willing to pay for her love of horses, which some might say is an even better arrangement. This is the story of Catherine Walters, nicknamed “Skittles,” a woman born into humble surroundings, but with filled with ambition. She saw there was a better life for herself, one that would allow her to pursue her love of horses and riding.
In 19th century Britain, the social classes were well defined and rigid. Birth and inheritance determined where a person would be for their entire life. The upper class was filled with aristocrats and royalty. The middle class was business owners and other professionals. The lower class was laborers and servants.
Rarely did people change classes, but it did happen. The industrial revolution gave the opportunity for many to become business owners. It also created new skilled worker jobs to operate machines. Education began to become more widely available, although still limited. Even with these new opportunities, life was still limited for women. Gender roles were strictly defined by society, and there weren’t many respectable options for jobs.
But there was still a very old profession that could improve women’s lives: The Courtesan.
Early Life
Not much is known about Catherine’s early life. She was born in 1839, the third of five children. Her mother later died during childbirth. Her father worked as a customs official in Liverpool. They weren’t destitute, but there were few luxuries.
Her father was said to be a drunk, and would frequently bring Catherine with him to the local pubs. Although most people would agree this is not an appropriate activity for a child, it gave Catherine an introduction to the art of conversation. It also reportedly gave her the mouth of a sailor, which she kept for her whole life.
As a teenager, she worked briefly at a bowling alley, setting up the pins for customers. It’s theorized that she perfected her wit at this point, as there was a monetary incentive in charming the customers: tips. It was also at this time that she earned her nickname of “Skittles,” the British term for bowling.
The Beginning of the Courtesan Career
The courtesan has long been the companion of the wealthy. It is, after all, a variation of the world’s oldest profession.
Although courtesans and prostitutes are sometimes considered synonymous, there are differences. While both offer physical intimacy as part of their services, courtesans also offer wit, charm and stimulating conversation. They are means to be companions, to laugh and talk together. To be a listening hear and a sympathetic friend. Their company was so desired that men would pay for them to live in lavish homes and live extravagant lives.
But that didn’t mean they were accepted into polite society. Often times they were held at the same rank as a prostitute.
Catherine, who had chestnut hair and bright blue eyes, was considered attractive. But she was more than just attractive, she had a warm personality that drew people to her. It would have been easy for her to just accept being prostitute, having an average life, and disappearing into obscurity. But she knew there could be more, so she set her sights high.
From the very beginning, she was thoughtful about her choices. She recognized opportunity, and also what to avoid. Despite growing up on a rough dock in Liverpool, her thoughtfulness enabled her to gain a very impressive first patron.
At age 16, Catherine was noticed by the wealthy Lord Fitzwilliam. He was immediately taken with her, and set up in a house in London. He gave her 2000 pounds a year, but was so impressed with her that even after they parted ways, he continued to pay her an annual pension of 300. Lord Fitzwilliam provided her with her first opportunity, and the start of connections to the upper class world. She did not let this go to waste.
The Equestrian
It’s not clear how Catherine became such a good rider, as her upbringing wouldn’t have afforded her the luxury of hobby horseback riding. There’s a chance her father owned his own horse for transportation and she snuck rides on it. It’s also possible that her father moved them next to the Cheshire Hunt, giving Catherine the opportunity to befriend and ride out with them. But even if she didn’t start riding because of that particular hunt, foxhunting would become a big part of her life, and she continued to fox hunt for the majority of her life.
A more fanatical theory is that she worked for the circus as a bareback rider, but it’s highly likely this tale was invented by her admirers.
Although I have no evidence she did this, I will say that there’s always been a long standing tradition for aspiring riders to exchange stable work for riding privileges, so perhaps she found a stable willing to work with her.
When she moved to London, she got a job working for a stable owner. The man recognized the marketing potential of having an attractive, capable rider taking his horses out among the upper class in London. She saw the potential of being able to both ride and network with wealthy men. This was to be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
It didn’t take her long to attract a considerable amount of attention.
A Fashionable Influence
London’s Rotton Row, in Hyde Park, was the place to be seen. (Not to mention it was very easy to see there, as it was the first highway in London with artificial lighting.) Even characters in the show Bridgerton mention it as a place to go. It was a mixing ground of all the classes of society. The fashionable upper class went to be seen, and the lower class went to admire. Or, in the case of Catherine, a low class woman, to show herself to the upper class.
With her stable owner employer helping her, Catherine procured a new wardrobe of the most fashionable riding clothes. They were reportedly so tight fitted that she wore no under garments with them. She quickly attracted both men admiring her, and women who were in envy of her fashionable appearance. She gained such notoriety that she became a tourist attraction, with people traveling to the city just to see her ride through the park.
The rides helped her with her ultimate end goal though. She became known as a “horse breaker,” which could be the equivalent to a horse trainer today, but was also slang for a courtesan on horseback.
She caught the attention of Lord Hartington, heir to the 7th Duke of Devonshire. At age 19, she became his mistress. He made her equestrian dreams come true by setting her with a townhouse and an entire stable of thoroughbreds to ride.
A Celebrity Courtesan
For Catherine, her courtesan career and her horses were intertwined. She had the wit, charm and “heart of gold,” that was admired by her wealthy clients, but what set her apart from other courtesans was her riding. Horseback riding was the past time of the elites. For a woman to be so good at it, and look so good while doing it, was rare. People were fascinated by her.
Her rides in Hyde Park made her famous. She was fawned over by both the working man and the upper class. She was admired by women for her style, and lusted over by men for her looks.
She might have attracted admirers from her appearance, but she kept them with her kind personality. People loved being in her company, as she was kind, witty, and overall, just a nice person. She stayed humble, and even as her star rose, stayed true to her roots. She disliked pretentiousness, and would even call out those who she felt where acting inappropriately. She was discrete about her clients, and they trusted her. Her kind demeanor helped her have a long and successful career in a job where looks mattered a great deal.
Even as she grew wealthier, she understood that her career choice put her in the fringes of society. She exercised discretion with her clients, never revealing their secrets, and never invading their lives with demands, and giving them complete understanding of relationship ups and downs. Many of them became lifelong friends.
They respected her greatly, and several times men set up allowances for her for the remainder of her life.
The Later Years
Catherine moved around a few times, either due to different lovers or just trying someplace new. She had many famous lovers, and many famous friends that really were “just friends.” She found a second home in Paris, where she would frequently drive a carriage through the streets. She would continue to return to England for foxhunting every season.
She never did marry but she did use her connections to secure her sister a good marriage as a Viscountess. Catherine eventually got a long term boyfriend and retired from her courtesan life around 1890. She had become a very wealthy woman, with considerable savings and a few businesses. She was able to enjoy the next thirty years, riding until she physically could not anymore.
Many will judge her for her career choice, but this was at a time when women didn’t have many options. She held her head up, and carried a respect for herself and her clients that allowed her to pursue a full life, one that many women of the time would not have had the freedom to pursue. It was a life that most little girls born at the time would not believe was real.
It may not have been the most orthodox or respected approach to pursuing her dreams, but she was still able to live the life she wanted, on her own terms. And she got to spend the majority of her life riding horses. Really, it was a pretty good life.