I whānau a Winterson ki Manchester, ā, i whāngaiina e Constance rāua ko John William Winterson i te 21 o Hānuere 1960. I tipu ake ia ki Accrington, Lancashire, i whakatupuria ki te Elim Pentecostal Church. I whakatupuria ia hei misionare Karaitiana Pentecostal, a ka tīmata ia ki te whakapuaki i te rongopai me te tuhi i nga kauhau i te ono o ona tau. I te tau 16, ka puta mai a Winterson hei wahine, ka wehe atu i te kāinga. I muri tata ia i te kura o Accrington me Rossendale College, ka tautoko ia ia i nga momo mahi rereke i a ia e ako ana i te reo Ingarihi i St Catherine's College, Oxford. Pātai: I hea a Lancashire i whakatau ai ki te ako i te reo Ingarihi?
Ko te Whare Wānanga o St Catherine, Oxford