Who is ‘Splendid Fred’?

‘Splendid Fred’ was a dalmation owned by the Wilmington family, who came to Winchester from America in 1802.

Both Fred’s owners died in mysterious circumstances on August 2nd 1861, one day before the final instalment of Great Expectations was printed. Having no children, their beloved dog was left to inherit their vast wealth.

Being of noble breed, and a lover of the dramatic arts, Frederick donated the majority of the Wilmington estate to the King Alfred College, so that they would be able to produce their own productions and publish entertaining pamphlets on theatre. It was this staggering generosity that led to Fred becoming known as ‘Splendid Fred.’

Why is the magazine named after a fancy dog?

The original Splendid Fred ran from 1863-1941. The editors thought it would be a fitting tribute to their canine benefactor to name the magazine after him— in fact Splendid Fred was made ‘honorary editor/canine affairs correspondent. It was around this time that the now famous portrait of Fred was painted.

The magazine closed production eighteen months into WWII. The publication wasn’t resurrected until 2009, by which time King Alfred’s College was now The University of Winchester, and the Wilmington Campus had long since been knocked down. For several issues this publication was titled Only in Winchester. But by popular demand, and a fairly intense social network campaign, the original Winchester student publication title was restored, and with it Frederick Wilmington III’s incredible legacy.

In 2013 Glenn Fosbraey resurrected the original Splendid Fred Theatre Company, and the magazine reverted to Fred’s original intention of covering the world of theatre.

Is any of that actually true?

Most of it. Naturally with stories such as Fred’s there is bound to be exaggeration and deviation from the truth over numerous retellings over so many years.

Who’s in charge here?

The editor-in-chief is Glenn Fosbraey, who is also director of the Splendid Fred Theatre Company.

The current editor is James D. Irwin.

Who writes for Splendid Fred?

Anyone. We have an open submissions policy.

We have regular contributors from current students, recent graduates, and even university staff.

How can I write for Splendid Fred?

It’s easy. Simply write a brief e-mail and an example of your work to splendidfredmagazine@gmail.com

What can I write for Splendid Fred?

Current reviews and essays are preferred, but we also welcome short scripts, excerpts, and pretty much anything that relates to theatre.

Please make sure your submissions are attached as Word documents, and are formatted in plain text. If you wish to include photographs, please attach those to the e-mail.

There is no ‘house style.’ We read everything that comes in, and we try to publish as much as we can.

Should I write for Splendid Fred?

Yes, definitely.

Are you on Facebook or anything?

You can befriend us on Facebook

But we will only deal with submissions that come to us at:

splendidfredmagazine@gmail.com