William Winterbotham
| William Winterbotham | |
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Portrait of Rev. William Winterbotham, made by John Ponsford of Devon, Summer 1828.
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| Born |
15 December 1763 Little Minories, Aldgate, London |
| Died | 31 March 1829 (aged 65) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Baptist minister |
| Known for | Writer |
Rev. William Winterbotham (15 December 1763 – 31 March 1829) was a British Baptist minister and a political prisoner. He wrote some books introducing general information about China and the United States.
William Winterbotham was born in Little Minories, Aldgate, London on 15 December 1763. He was a son of John Winterbotham and Miss Elizabeth Hyett. She was a Gloucestershire woman, and her parents, who lived in Cheltenham had a large influence on William's childhood.
At a very early age he was sent to his grandparents' home in Cheltenham where he lived till his 10th birthday. It was his grandparents who taught him to think for himself. One of his grandfather's quotes was "To be poor may be neither disgraceful nor fault" and "To be mean and dependent is always disgraceful".
William left Cheltenham to return to his parents in London in 1774 where he was apprenticed out as a silversmith at the age of 13 years for 15/- a week. One day he agreed with his brother "to go and hear the devil's preach", for thus they spoke of an African man who was there preaching in open spaces in London. They went, and his brother was "saved" that day. His brother's temperament and change deeply affected him so he was persuaded to accompany his brother to a meeting in Pennington Street where a Mr Radford was preaching. It was here in 1796 that he, himself was "saved". His parents were not happy with William's decision because "to become a Dissenter" was considered wrong for him and a disgrace to his parents.
He had promised to accompany a preacher to Sydenham Common to hear an open-air service but at the last minute the preacher failed to turn up so they asked William to take his place. He conducted the service with so much enthusiasm that he was asked to preach at Beckenham that same night.
It was in 1789 he was baptised in the river at Old Ford and thus became a Baptist Minister. In the same year, he was asked to assist a Mr Gibb's, the pastor of the Baptist Church at How's Lane, Plymouth and in the following year he settled in the area.
The church William ministered began to grow in number and strength. It was three years since he settled in Plymouth that he preached the two sermons which cost him his freedom.
In the first – preached on 5 November 1792 on "The commemoration of National Deliverance" – he referred to the French Revolution, that was taking place at the time, and spoke ot with some commendation.
The following is a brief extract from the close of the sermon – "Take no doctrine on trust: you have the scriptures in your hands, use them as the "touchstone of truth:- persecute no man for his religious tenets; labour to spread abroad the rays of divine truth; attend with diligence to the instruction of the rising generation, and instil into their minds proper principles of civil and religious liberty. As Britons, it behoves you in the present important crisis to act with that dignity which has long characterised this nation".
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