Catherine Smithies (née Bywater; 1785 – 1877) was an English philanthropist and campaigner for animal welfare, abolitionism and temperance.

Her son, Thomas Bywater Smithies (1817–1883), the second of ten children, was born in 1817;[4] he later became a close partner in her campaigns for abolition and temperance.

[6] Smithies was an active member of the Band of Hope, a temperance organisation founded in Leeds in 1847 that encouraged children to pledge abstinence from alcohol.

[1] On her deathbed she stated: "the teaching of children to be kind and merciful to God's lower creatures is preparing the way for the gospel of Christ.

Smithies' family and friends erected an obelisk and a public drinking fountain in Wood Green as a memorial to honour her life and contributions.