The Third Wintour Brother Part 2

                                  The missing trial of John Wintour 

By Unknown (printed for P. Brooksby, I. Deacon, I. Blare, I. Back.) - http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20990/citation, Public Domain,

In a previous post published on 1st October 2021,  The Third Wintour Brother I looked at  the participation of John Wintour,  younger half brother to the leading conspirators Thomas Wintour and Robert Wintour. in the Gunpowder Treason,  All three brothers were executed for treason in 1606, facing the full penalty. Surprisingly little has been written about John Wintour.  In fact a mystery surrounds where his trial took place.

To recap, John Wintour born either 1586 or 1587, was not connected to the planned attack on Westminster, but was convicted for treason due to taking part in the doomed West Midlands  rebellion organised by some of the key Gunpowder Treason players: Launched on 5th November 1605  at Dunchurch and ended at Holbeach House, cornered by the Sheriff of Worcester's posse on 8th November 1605. The local Roman Catholics far from being inspired, shunned the insurrection. John Wintour deserted during the night of 7th-8th November. The eldest brother Robert also left, it is not clear who fled first. Whilst John gave himself up to the authorities, Robert Wintour remained on the run, not caught until January 8th 1606. Thomas Wintour was wounded in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt and captured at Holbeach.

I was pleased to find the text of a talk given by Birmingham Archaeology Society on 14th December 1904, and published in 1905  HUMPHRIES . The published version also included a statement that John Wintour allegedly wrote and signed on 23rd November 1605. Guy Fawkes had already succumbed to torture and named both Thomas and Robert  Wintour as accomplices, most likely on 8th November 1605.But by then the authorities would start to receive news that the Midlands rebellion had been crushed. The authorities were keen to establish how far John was involved. The question of whether or not he knew where his older brother Robert might be hiding didn't seem to have been raised. Thomas Wintour would also face the Privy Council on 23rd November 1606. 

In his statement, John claimed to have no prior knowledge of the Gunpowder Treason. On 4th November 1605 he admits to being at John Grant's house ( Norbrook, Warwickshire)  This is likely. John Grant was effectively involved in arming the rebellion, and was married to Dorothy 'Doll' Wintour, sibling to the Wintour Brothers. John Wintour went to explain that he went with Grant to a small town called Rugby,  the following day. They were drinking and playing a card game called mawe , and seemed to be ready to retire for the night, when a messenger invited them to the Red Lyon at Dunchurch to 'make merry'.Blacker Morgan 

The statement of John Wintour went on to say how he arrived at Dunchurch, and found Robert Catesby and the rebels ready to ride away. Humphreys In other words, Robert Catesby had already arrived from London, though Fawkes had been captured and any attack on Westminster was foiled. Catesby still proclaimed some sort of success desperately, trying  to launch a rebellion. A large number of gentry in attendance at Dunchurch immediately left, quite possibly taking their servants and other retainers with them.  Of course implying that it was Catesby who encouraged him to rebel may have been a tactic on John Wintour's part. Catesby died at Holbeach House so could not be questioned concerning this conversation. 

John Wintour's statement advised that he was feeling ' very hevy' after riding through the night , Humphreys Rode with the rebels to a place called Emscott, a house of Sir Thomas Besos  and then went back to the family home at Huddington Court. Humphreys Emscott is not on the Gunpowder Treason trail as it were. There is an Emscote in Warwickshire which is now a small town, So rather than just get as far away as he could from the rebels, John remained nearby. The rebels, possibly only down to 30 or 40 men, arrived at Huddington Court around 2pm on 6th November 1605.  The rebels left at 3am on the morning of the 7th November, John Wintour was amongst them. He lasted to nightfall . His statement maintained that it was having a conversation with leading conspirator Thomas Percy, who also was to die at Holbeach, made John desert with a view to surrendering. 

On 14th November 1605 John Wintour was amongst the captured  rebels who were moved from Worcester to the Tower of London, The fact that he appeared in front of the Privy Council confirms this. Yet there is still confusion where he was tried.The emphasis is on the Westminster Hall hearing that took place on 27th January 1606. None of the official  accounts mention John Wintour being present.  The emphasis is firmly on the plight of  Thomas and Robert Wintour, John Grant, Thomas Bates, Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, Ambrose Rookwood, along with Everard Digby- who was tried separately as he pleaded guilty. 

Jesuit priest Father John Gerard, who knew some of the plotters, though most probably did not know of their plans to devastate Westminster or to launch an armed rebellion, managed to escape abroad and lived in exile until his death in 1637. His narrative of the Gunpowder Treason mentions that at the Westminster Hall trial of the 27th January 1606  The youngest of the three Winters  ( sic) did speak little, but on that he did not being to assist to the Plot of Powder, but was after drawn in by the example and persuasion of this brother  Gerard/Morris 

The other Jesuit priest who managed to escape during the aftermath of the Gunpowder Treason  and write his own account was Oswald Tesimond , who  survived in exile until 1635. Father Tesimond also placed John at the Westminster Hall trial : John Wintour, the youngest of the three brothers defended himself by saying that he knew nothing about the plot before it was discovered. It was only as his brother's persuasion that he joined the company, and that was after they had taken up arms Tesimond/Edwards  But both priests were in exile and it is not clear where this information was coming from. 

Yet the Bishop of Chichester, John Williams, writing about the Gunpowder Treason based on both Protestant and 'Popish' source material published in 1679  maintains that John Wintour  was tried at the Worcester Lent Assizes Williams  

All sources agree that John Wintour was executed at Redhill, Worcester on 7th April 1606. And John Humphreys maintained that John Wintour's body parts were returned to his family for burial Humphreys  which was very unusual for someone executed for treason. With all three brothers dead, Robert's widow Gertrude would be his next of kin. Another issue is that as John was Catholic, it is not clear what burial service took place. 

How guilty was John Wintour? He took part in an armed rebellion which also stole horses from the stables at Warwick Castle and arms, powder, and money from Hewell Grange. In contemporary terms he was guilty of treason. How much he knew about the Gunpowder Treason to attack Westminster is open to question. He lived at Huddington Court, where the Catholic mass was said unlawfully, though this was true of other Catholic gentry families who were totally opposed to committing treason, His brother Thomas had been absent abroad  John may have been kept in the dark concerning Thomas' clandestine  activities. John was young, had no wealth to offer the Gunpowder Treason, or military ability. There was no reason to call on him until the final and quite hopeless rebellion began. 

Sources- Books 

Please note that any errors or howlers in this piece are my responsibility, and can not be connected to any of the source material that I have cited. 

'The Great English Treason for Religion known as Gunpowder Plot', George Blaker Morgan, 1931 

  'Intended Treason-What Really Happened at the Gunpowder Plot ; Paul Durst 1970 

'The Condition of Catholics Under James I / Father Gerard's narrative of the Gunpowder Plot' , Father John Gerard, edited by John Morris , 2005 edition

'The Wyntours of Huddington and the Gunpowder Plot' ,John Humphreys,  'Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeology Society' December 14th 1904, published by 1905 

'The History of the Gunpowder Treason, Collected from approved authors, as Popish as Protestant'  by John Williams Bishop of Chichester 1679

'The Gunpowder Plot ; The Narrative of Oswald Tesimond Translated and annotated by Francis Edwards ' 1973 edition 

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Wishing all visitors to the blog a wonderful festive season and a much improved 2022. Thank you for your interest and support. 

Michael Bully 

Brighton

11th December 2021