Catherine Walters

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Catherine Walters (1839–1920) was a fashion trendsetter and the last of the great courtesans of Victorian London, England.

[edit] Life as a courtesan

She was rumoured to have had leaders of political parties and a member of the British Royal Family amongst her benefactors. Nicknamed Skittles, she was born in Liverpool and moved to London before her twentieth birthday.

Her nickname is alleged to have originated when she worked as a prostitute in what was called a skittle alley behind a London pub, starting at around the age of 13. Skittles is, from the description and location, actually Chesterfield Street near Park Lane. Another rumor is that her waist was said to be as small as a skittle.

Her classical beauty was matched by her brilliance as a horsewoman, for which she was almost equally renowned. [1] In the 1860s the fascinating sight of Catherine riding in Hyde Park drew huge crowds of sightseers. Aristocratic ladies copied the cut of her perfectly fitting "Princess" habit, and she was well known as a trendsetter.

A letter written to the The Times in July 1861 described in detail the fever of anticipation caused by Catherine's waiting admirers: "Expectation is raised to its highest pitch: a handsome woman drives rapidly by in a carriage drawn by thoroughbred ponies. The driver is attired in the pork pie hat and the Poole paletot [a kind of loose-fitting cloak] introduced by 'Catherine', but alas!, she caused no effect at all, for she is not 'Catherine'; she is only the Duchess of A-, the Marchioness of B-, the Countess of C-, or some other of 'Catherine’s' many imitators." At last their patience was satisfied and Catherine herself appeared; she threaded her way through the throng, "commented upon by the hundreds who admire her and the hundreds who envy her", speaking to a chosen few along the way. This done, "she turns, and drives back again towards Apsely House, and then away into the unknown world, nobody knows whither".

She had a long term relationship with Wilfrid Scawen Blunt.

During her life as a courtesan, her discretion and loyalty to her benefactors became the focal point of her career. There were many rumors about her being involved with certain wealthy men of the time, but she never confirmed nor denied these. This gave her great weight in the courtesan lifestyle, and made her a sought after commodity. This also gave long life to her career, and helped her to retire a wealthy woman of society around 1890.