Frederick Thomas Wintle (1803–1853)
Frederick Thomas Wintle was born in Bicester and baptised there on 30 March 1803. He was the son of William Wintle, who came from an old Gloucestershire family, and his wife Sophia.
Wintle was assistant apothecary at the Radcliffe Infirmary when on 6 September 1828 he inserted a notice soliciting the favour and support of the governors and subscribers to the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum (now the Warneford Hospital) for his appointment there as a resident apothecary, who was also to be Secretary and House Steward. He was duly appointed on 25 November 1828. He was responsible for the day-to-day running of the asylum, assisted by two female nurses, two male “keepers”, a cook and a housemaid.
On 18 December 1828 at St Giles’ Church, Frederick Thomas Wintle, described as an apothecary of Headington, married Jane Tustin (baptised at St Giles in 1803 and daughter of Thomas and Hannah Tustin). His wife moved up to his accommodation at the Warneford Asylum.
On 31 March 1831, Wintle was matriculated at the University of Oxford as a “Chirurgus et Pharmacopola”, or surgeon and apothecary, although he had already been working in Oxford without. this formality.
Frederick and Jane Wintle had the following children:
- Frederick Thomas William Wintle (baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Headington on 23 February 1831)
- Francis Edward Wintle (baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Headington on 9 March 1832, died at the age of 13, and buried there on 20 November 1845)
- Ogle Richard Wintle (baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Headington on 8 August 1834)
- Sophia Jane Wintle (baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Headington on 6 March 1836)
- Vaughan Benjamin Wintle (baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Headington on 22 November 1837)
- William Samuel Wintle (baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Headington on 16 September 1838)
- Richard Prior Wintle (baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Headington on 11 October 1840).
Their son Ogle was probably named after Dr James Adey Ogle, visiting physician at the Asylum, and Vaughan after Vaughan Thomas, who had worked with Warneford on getting the Asylum built. From 1837 to 1840 Wintle’s job in the baptismal register is given as “Apothecary to the Lunatic Asylum”.
At the time of the 1841 census Wintle and his wife Sophia were living at the Asylum with six of their seven children, who were then aged between eight months and ten years. Wintle was described as Surgeon, and his wife as the Matron. The missing child, Francis. died at the age of 12 in November 1845.
In 1851 just one of their children, Sophia Jane (15), was living with them at the Asylum. Their eldest son Frederick (20) was now a Bible Clerk and living at Magdalen College; Ogle (16) was at George Rust's school in Westminster; Vaughan (13) was boarding at Christ's Hospital School in London, and William (12) and Richard (10) were at the Diocesan Boarding School at Temple Cowley run by John McKay Colgan Bennett.
In an 1852 directory Frederick Wintle was described as the Asylum’s resident medical superintendent, while his wife continued as matron.
Frederick Thomas Wintle died at Cheltenham on 14 February 1853 at the age of 50 and was buried at St Andrew's Church in Old Headington on 24 February. The inscription on his table tomb in the churchyard reads as follows:
FREDERIC THOMAS WINTLE
Resident Physician to the Warneford Asylum
Died XIV Feb. MDCCCLIII
Aged L
His son Francis, who had died eight years before his father at the age of 13, is buried in the same tomb.
The new medical superintendent appointed to the Warneford Asylum was Thomas Allen, who had been matriculated as “Chirurgus et Pharmacopola” just before Wintle on 14 February 1831.
Frederick's widow Jane Wintle was living with her son Richard in London in 1871.
Wintle’s surviving children
- Frederick Thomas William Wintle (born 1831) was a chorister at Magdalen College School and was matriculated at the University of Oxford by Magdalen College on 30 May 1849 at the age of 18. He was headmaster of Callington Grammar School from 1864 to 1866, the Rector of Rame from 1866 to 1867, the Vicar of Maker from 1867 to 1875, and the Rector of Bere Ferrers from 1875. He died on 11 December 1912
- Ogle Richard Wintle (born 1834) was a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral School. He was matriculated at the University of Oxford by Lincoln College at the age of 19 on 2 June 1853. was Curate of Bridgwater from 1864 to 1872 and Headmaster of King James's Grammar School from 1864 until his death on 12 November 1875.
- Sophia Jane Wintle (born 1836) was living at 4 Warwick Gardens, London when on 8 July 1875 at St Barnabas' Church in Kensington she married the Revd William Slatter Leonard. He died in Cirencester at the age of 59 in 1905, and Sophia died there at the age of 78 in 1914.
- Vaughan Benjamin Wintle (born 1837) attended Bloxham School from the age of sixteen in April 1854 and went on to Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1861 he was boarding in Worksop and working as an assistant classics master. In 1883 at Bere Ferrers, Devon he married Marguerite Eugenie Greer, In 1891 he was a private schoolmaster, living at Frome in Somerset with his wife and daughter. In 1911 he was aged 73 and boarding without his wife in a house at 58 Howard Street to the east of Oxford. He died in 1919 at the age of 81 and was buried in Cowley St John churchyard on 18 February.
- William Samuel Wintle (born 1838) was matriculated at the University of Oxford by Magdalen Hall at the age of 31 on 29 March 1870. He lived in North Kensington and was Secretary of the Foundling Hospital. He died on 8 December 1924 and was buried in Highgate Cemetery.
- Richard Prior Wintle (born 1840) studied medicine at St George's Hospital in London and was paying a visit to his brother Vaughan in Worksop at the time of the 1861 census. He qualified as MRCS England in 1863, and worked as a general practitioner in London for a few years. In 1878 entered the Truro Theological College, and was admitted to Holy Orders in 1880, becoming the Curate of St Mary's Church in Truro. He was then Rector of Weston-in-Gordano near Bristol, and later curate of Frome Selwood in Somerset. At the time of the 1901 census he was the Assistant Curate at Cowley St John Church and was living at 208 Iffley Road. He died at that address on 16 April 1901 at the age of 60 after contracting pneumonia and was buried in Cowley St John churchyard.