William Webber (1800–1875) was a surgeon who founded the Norwich Royal Free Hospital for Incurables. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...

but, on a matter of principle, refused to sign the acceptance declaration. He was said to be always a ‘man with a grievance’, and in later life ended up in debtors’ prison for failing to pay the damages from a libel case that he had lost.

Norwich Royal Free Hospital for Incurables

Webber was born in

Friston Friston is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is southeast of Saxmundham, its post town, and northwest of Aldeburgh. The River Alde bounds the village on the south. The surrounding ...

, Suffolk and studied medicine at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

, later working in St Giles, Norwich. In the 1850 he was the driving force in founding (and initially funding) the Norwich Royal Free Hospital for Incurables. Despite support from the 2nd Duke of Wellington the hospital eventually failed.

Moulton Paddocks

From about 1843, Webber owned a farm near Newmarket in Suffolk called

Moulton Paddocks Moulton Paddocks is a racing stable in Newmarket, Suffolk, UK operated by Godolphin Racing. It is said to have the capacity for around 200 horses, many of which are of extremely high quality. The stable is currently run by Charlie Appleby. His ...

where he bred racehorses. He developed and improved the property over several years and two of his children were born there. Sir Robert Pigot leased Moulton Paddocks from him in 1849 for his racehorses. Webber sold the farm in 1857, and about this period he made many attempts to get his design of anti-ligature forceps introduced into the London Hospitals.

Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons

Webber became a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries in 1821. He became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1822 and in 1859 was elected a Fellow, but refused to sign the bye-laws and the declaration. He argued that he had not been elected on a previous occasion, therefore, why was he now so worthy; he also wanted to know who had blocked his first election. The council of the RCS took legal advice on the matter and were told to let the matter blow over. Because Webber had failed to pay the Fellowship fee, he remained on the register as a Member.

Royal Tunbridge Wells

By 1861 Webber had moved his family to

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

. One of many libel cases he became involved with concerned sewage disposal in the town. He and his family faced violent hostility from many in the town when a letter he had sent to the authorities about the issue was published. Public feeling became so intense that an affray occurred that came to be known as the ''Webber Riots'' when the

Riot Act The Riot Act (1 Geo.1 St.2 c.5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled and o ...

had to be read in the Pantiles. He won a libel case against the person responsible for publishing a defamatory notice that may have incited the hostility, but a further libel action, brought by Mr C Trustram, a fellow medical practitioner in the town, went against him. Webber failed to pay the award and in 1866 was declared bankrupt, spending 5 months in a debtors’ prison. Webber had also been declared a bankrupt in 1862 following a lost libel case. Webber was undoubtedly a fine surgeon and a public spirited man, the recipient of several civic awards for his contributions to society. However, he could be his own worst enemy. In a libel case (brought by

Spencer Wells Spencer Wells (born April 6, 1969) is an American geneticist, anthropologist, author and entrepreneur. He co-hosts The Insight podcast with Razib Khan. Wells led The Genographic Project from 2005 to 2015, as an Explorer-in-Residence at the Na ...

in 1862), Webber harangued a judge, saying that his counsel had not followed his instructions to call him to the witness stand. After listening to this diatribe, the judge said that his council had been wise not to allow him in the box, as his conduct would only have gone to swell and aggravate the damages awarded against him.

Final years

In 1871 Webber and his family were living in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

. He died on 12 May 1875 in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

Kent. His wife Eliza, daughter of Sir Thomas Hulton Preston 1st Baronet, died in 1884. One of their sons -

William Thomas Thornhill Webber William Thomas Thornhill Webber (30 January 1837 – 3 August 1903) was the third Anglican Bishop of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. Early life Webber was born in London, the son of a surgeon, William Webber and his wife Eliza (née Prest ...

- became the Bishop of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia. Another son, Lieutenant Henry Webber of the 7th Bn.

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

, was killed in action on 21 July 1916 during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

aged 67. His is the oldest known battle death recorded for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. For over forty years he was a member of the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

. A daughter Eliza Jane Webber (1835–1902) was the wife of

William Garden Cowie William Garden Cowie (8 January 1831 – 26 June 1902) was bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Auckland, New Zealand, from 1870 to 1902. Although he succeeded George Selwyn in having jurisdiction in this portion of New Zealand, he was the first bi ...

, Primate of New Zealand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, William British surgeons 1800 births 1875 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors