Robert Thistlethwayte (baptized 16 December 1690 – c. January, 1744) was the third son of Francis Thistlethwayte (b. 1658) of Winterslow, Wiltshire. He was a Warden of Wadham College, Oxford and clergyman in the Church of England. In 1737 Thistlethwaite fled to Boulogne after being accused of making homosexual advances towards a student, William French, whose tutor John Swinton was also accused of homosexual practises. Satirical poetry was written about these events. The following limerick possibly also refers to Thistlethwayte. There once was a Warden of Wadham Who approved of the folkways of Sodom, For a man might, he said, Have a very poor head But be a fine Fellow, at bottom. Allegations of homosexual behaviour, which was considered scandalous at that time, and the College's decision to take out fire insurance combined to prompt the following verse: Well did the am'rous sone of Wadham Insure their house 'gainst future flame; They knew their crime, the crime of Sodom, And judg'd their punishment the same. References 1690 births 1744 deaths English LGBT people Wardens of Wadham College, Oxford