Mrs Kate Bircham
(1812-1892)
7 March 1862

Volume 6, page 79, sitting number 7187.

[A portrait of this sitter's daughter Margaret Bircham, later Mrs Marwood Tucker, appears on page 56 of this section.]

Born Katherine Dalrymple in Norwich in or about 1812, her father was Dr John Dalrymple, who according to the 1851 census was a 'F.R.C.S. practising as an opthalmic surgeon.'

She married her cousin, Francis Thomas Bircham (1810-1883), a solicitor who was also an accomplished classical scholar.

The couple appear on the 1881 census living at 45 Eaton Place, London, with two unmarried daughters, Alice and Frances, and nine servants, including a butler and a footman.

Francis Thomas Bircham died on 25 November 1883, aged 73, at his residence, Burhill, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. Accoding to a short obituary in the Ipswich Journal (1 December 1883), he 'was widely known and esteemed in the legal profession, of which he was a member for little short of 50 years. [...] The Liberal party have lost in him a staunch and judicious supporter, and a large circle of friends will miss his cheery smile and ready wit. Mr Bircham leaves a widow, daughter of the late Dr Dalrymple, of Norwich, and a large family.'

Mrs Bircham died on 29 January 1892 at 20 Cadogan Place, Chelsea. She left an estate valued at £16,195. 

[From an album compiled by Astley Fellowes Terry.]