| AdminHistory | Nathaniel John Winch (1768 - 1838) was a botanist with a particular interest in mosses as well as a geologist and merchant.
Winch was born in Hampton, Middlesex, on 20 December 1768. He was bound as an apprentice to Robert Lisle, Hostman, in Newcastle upon Tyne, on 24 December 1780. In 1805 he was elected sheriff and member of the common council of that city. He studied the plants of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Durham throughout his life, and in his publications he placed much emphasis on geographical distribution. His business as an iron merchant and anchor smith failed in 1808, and he became bankrupt.
Winch studied cryptogams, especially mosses, as well as flowering plants, and accumulated a herbarium of some twelve thousand species. He became a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1803. His main publications included "The Botanist's Guide through Northumberland and Durham" (1805-1807), written in conjunction with John Thornhill and Richard Waugh; "Essay on the geographical distribution of plants through...Northumberland, Cumberland and Durham" (1819); and "Observations on the Geology of Northumberland and Durham" (1814). The genus 'Winchia' was named after him. He acted as secretary to the Newcastle Infirmary for more than 20 years.
Winch died in Newcastle upon Tyne on 5 May 1838. His manuscripts, library, and herbarium were bequeathed to the Linnean Society, but the greater part of them was subsequently handed over to the Natural History Society of Northumberland and Durham. His mineralogical collection was left to the Geological Society. |
| Description | Bound printed papers from the Transactions of the Geological Society and the Natural History Society written by Nathaniel John Winch. Includes the author's interleaved and extensively annotated copy of 'Observations on the Geology of Northumberland and Durham' (Trans. Geol. Soc., 4, 1816), 'Observations on the eastern part of Yorkshire' (Trans. Geol. Soc., 5, 1821), 'Remarks on the distribution of indigenous plants of Northumberland & Durham connected with the geological structure of those counties' (Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc., 1, 1829-1831) and 'Remarks on the Geology of the banks of the Tweed, from Carham, in Northumberland, to the Sea-coast at Berwick' (Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc., 1, 1829-1831). |