 Despite accusations of conflicts of interest and of Roman Catholic sympathies, he retained the confidence of the Crown and was a key ally of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, the Lord Deputy of Ireland.He was born in Suffolk, younger son of Richard Catlin III (1547 - 1596) of Woolverstone Hall, near Ipswich, and his wife Dionysia, daughter of Thomas Marsh, Clerk of the Court of Star Chamber.He came from a landowning family, who were involved in law and politics, and were long associated with Norwich