Kathleen Pelham-Clinton, Duchess of Newcastle

Kathleen Florence May Pelham-Clinton, Duchess of Newcastle-under-Lyme OBE (née Candy; 6 May 1871 –1 June 1955), was a well-known conformation show judge and dog breeder who influenced the Borzoi and Wire Fox Terrier breeds.

Early life Born in 1871, the future Duchess was the daughter of Major Henry Augustus Candy by his marriage to Hon. Frances Kathleen Westenra, the daughter of Henry Robert Westenra, 3rd Baron Rossmore.

Marriage She married Henry Pelham-Clinton, 7th Duke of Newcastle, in 1889, with whom she shared several common interests. Both were interested in animals, with horses and dogs being their favourites. Prior to the marriage, Kathleen was already a judge and dog show exhibitor, primarily of Fox Terriers. The Duke knew of the Duchess's knowledge of dogs, and when a dealer attempted to sell him a spaniel he once said "It would not suit me to do that. Her Grace knows the market value just a bit too well to suit my fancy." The couple had no children.

Dogs and kennels

Charles Henry Lane wrote in his 1902 work Dog Shows and Doggy People of the popularity of the Duchess of Newcastle amongst those involved in dog shows, being the "most popular of her sex" apart from the Queen. The book itself was dedicated to the Duchess, with an image of her as the frontispiece. The Duchess was involved in the breeding of several different dog breeds, including Borzois, Fox Terriers (both Smooth and Wire), Whippets, Scottish Deerhounds and Clumber Spaniels; the breed named after the ancestral home of the Dukes of Newcastle. Sixteen of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia's Borzois were brought to England to participate in Crufts in 1892, and although they were described as "badly constructed", the Duchess purchased Oudar, thought to be the best of the lot, for £200,

She bred eight Borzoi champions and owned a further five. These included the Russian-bred Ch. Milka, who was the first bitch champion of the breed, and the first British bitch champion, Ch. Vikhra. Her dog Ch. Tsaretsa won 17 CCs, a record held until World War I. Ch. Tsaretsa was bred to Ch. Velsk, producing three champion dogs in a single litter. Between 1900 and 1923, the Duchess bred twelve Wire Fox Terrier champions, the first being the highly influential Ch. Cackler of Notts who is considered to be an ancestor of every Wire Fox Terrier in the world. She also bred nine Smooth Fox Terriers, and purchased another two. She left her show dogs to her kennel man and her house dogs to her maid.