An inquiry into the state of mind of W. F. Windham, Esq., of Fellbrigg Hall, Norfolk, before Samuel Warren, Esq., Q.C., and a special jury : upon the petition of General Windham, C. B., etc., the uncle of the alleged lunatic, and other members of the family, at Her Majesty's Court of Exchequer, Westminster, commencing December 16, 1861.

Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the state of mind of W. F. Windham, Esq., of Fellbrigg Hall, Norfolk, before Samuel Warren, Esq., Q.C., and a special jury : upon the petition of General Windham, C. B., etc., the uncle of the alleged lunatic, and other members of the family, at Her Majesty's Court of Exchequer, Westminster, commencing December 16, 1861. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    The examination of witnesses in favour of the case of the promoters of the in- quiry was then proceeded with. ME. NICHOLS, SURGEON, NORFOLK. Mr. Nichols, who was examined by Mr. Field, Solicitor:— I am in practice as a surgeon in Norwich, and have been for more than 30 years. During the last 25 years I have had between 100 and 200 cases of insanity under my care. I am the proprietor of a large private asylum in Norfolk, and am chief surgeon to the Bethel Hospital, in Norwich. I have been for many years acquainted with the Windham family at Fellbrigg-hall. I knew the late Mr. Wind- ham up to the time of his death, which took place in 1854. I know William Frederick Windham, the subject of the present inquiry.. My professional attention was drawn to him by his father when the son was about four years of age. I found him to be a child of infirm mental organization. He was unable to speak, was slavering from the mouth, and presented other indications of mental deficiency which induced me to believe that in all probability he would become an idiot. He has not become an idiot, which I confess has surprised me, but he is the next thing to it. I was not afterwards consulted by his father. About two years since I saw the son at a ball in Norwich. I was introduced to him as a friend of the family. He shook hands with me, and immediately burst out into a violent idiotic laugh. I endeavoured to get him into conversation, but his replies were quite incoherent and convinced me that the malady I had warned his father of had mani- fested itself in an extraordinary degree. During the evening he shook hands with me several times, not remembering, I believe, that he had done so before. He wore a military uniform. According to my judgment, he was in an extremely feeble con- dition of intellect, in a state constituting unsoundness of mind, unfit to manage himself or his property. Cross-examined by Sir Hugh Cairns.—My attention was first directed to the con- dition of Mr. Windham in 1843 or 1844. He was then about four years of age, and was scarcely able to articulate. I have no note in my diary relating to my examina- tion of him. I speak entirely from memory. At that time I did not keep any memorandum of my cases. I was not consulted about anything relating to his physical health, nor did I prescribe for a weak knee. One of the grounds of my conclusion as to his defective mental organization was, that he was unable to articu- late perfectly. Another was slavering at the mouth. There were other indications of a congenital malformation. One was inattention to anything said to him. I could not draw his attention to his playthings; in fact, he took no notice of any object. I have no doubt I endeavoured to direct his attention to my watch, and I have as little doubt that I did not succeed. I notioed a defect in his upper lip, which was drawn up, leaving the gum exposed. I observed no defect in the upper jaw. I recollect making an affidavit in this case to be used in the Court of Chancery. If I stated in that affidavit that William Frederick Windham was between five and six years of age when I exanuned him, I must have made a mistake ; for he could not have been more than four years of age at furthest. The ball in Norwich at which I met Mr. Windham took place in the autumn of 1858. It was an assembly ball. His laugh was very unlike that of a person of sound mind, and was calculated to attract the attention of the bystanders. He wore a military uniform. At that time he had a ■» commission in a militia regiment. Later in the evening he shook hands with me a secona. time, and talked, as I thought, incoherently. Be-examined by Mr. Chambers.—When I saw Mr. Windham as a child the opinion I formed as to his mental incapacity was founded not only upon the symptoms I have mentioned, but also upon the formation of his head. The slavering at the mouth did not arise from the defect in his upper lip, but, as I believed, from his defective mental organization. His laugh at the ball in Norwich attracted the attention of the bystanders. It was an idiotic laugh—loud, shrieking, unmeaning. He did not conduct himself like the other young men in the room. Hi a manner was generally observed and commented upon. It was that of an imbecile. By the Master. What I saw at the ball could not be accounted for by more eccen- tricity. THE REV. It. J. CHEALES, LATE TUTOR TO W. F. WINDHAM. lho Bev. H. J. Cheales examined, said;—I recollect being engaged at Eton as »