Overview of John Winram

Protestant reformer. The son of James Winram of Ratho, Winram was educated at the University of St. Andrews. He entered the Augustinian order and served as a canon in St. Andrews Cathedral. He was present at the trial of George Wishart in 1546. In 1553 he took charge of St Serf's Priory on an island in Loch Leven. He became a significant figure in the Reformation in Scotland, although he did not rush to abandon the Roman Catholic church and its privileges. John Knox (c.1513-72) had pushed Winram to make clear his position on the new doctrines and whether these were heretical. With Knox, Winram was one of the six who drew up the Confession of Faith in 1560.