Gunpowder Plot (Powder Treason)

English Catholics were being persecuted.

Robert Catesby formulated a plan to blow up the King and the House of Lords at the next Opening of Parliament.

They would then seize the young Prince Charles and the Princess Elizabeth and raise a general revolt to return Catholicism to the land.

The conspirators had only to wait for the day of the State Opening of Parliament on November 5th 1605.

On the evening of the 26th October Lord Monteagle received an anonymous letter.

"My lord out of the love i beare to some of youere frends i have a caer of youer preseruacion therfor i would advyse yowe as yowe tender youer lyf to devys some excuse to shift of youer attendance at this parleament for god and man hath concurred to punishe the wickednes of this tyme and think not slightlye of this advertisment but retyre youre self into youre contri wheare yowe may expect the event in safti for thowghe theare be no appearance of anni stir yet i saye they shall receyve a terrible blowe this parleament and yet they shall not seie who hurts them this cowncel is not to be contemned because it may do yowe good and can do yowe no harme for the dangere is passed as soon as yowe have burnt the letter and i hope god will give yowe the grace to mak good use of it to whose holy proteccion i comend yowe."

Lord Monteagle immediately showed the letter to Robert Cecil, the Earl Salisbury of and Secretary of State.

The vaults beneath the Lords was searched on the 4th November.

Ambrose Rokewood

Became a member of the Gunpowder Plot shortly after he was convicted of recusancy in February 1605
His task was to take the news of the firing of the gunpowder to Catesby at Dunchurch
He was one of the last of the conspirators to flee London, remaining behind to gather information until approximately 11am on the 5th November
At Holbeache he was slightly injured by the accidental firing of gunpowder
He was executed on January 31, 1606 in Old Palace Yard at Westminster

Christopher Wright

In 1603 he visited Spain in an attempt to get Philip III to support a Catholic uprising in England
Christopher Wright was shot dead at Holbeache House on November 8th 1605
Wright’s link with Monteagle has led to some believing that he was the betrayer of the others and was shot to keep him silent

Daniel Bate

Humphrey Littleton's servant
He led the authorities to the courtyard behind the house where Littleton and Wintour were found attempting to flee into the woods

Edmund Whitelocke

an English soldier, royal courtier and suspected conspirator
He was suspected of taking part in the Earl of Essex's rebellion
He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his involvement in the Plot although he was most probably innocent

Sir Everard Digby

He was knighted by King James on April 23, 1603
His involvement was thought to be purely of a fiscal nature
He was the only plotter to plead guilty
30 January 1606, St. Paul's Churchyard, London

Francis Tresham

Cousin to Catesby and the Wintours
He was the last of the conspirators to be initiated into the Gunpowder Plot
Evidence now points to him being the betrayer of the plot with the famous letter to Lord Monteagle
He died in prison

Guy Fawkes

Assumed the identity of John Johnson, a servant of Percy and was entrusted to the care of the tenement which Percy had rented
His task was the firing the powder
His orders were to embark for Flanders as soon as the powder was fired to spread the news of the explosion
Committed Suicide on 31st January 1606, Old Palace Yard, Westminster

Henry Garnet

The principal Jesuit of England who learned of the plot from Oswald Tesimond
His crime was to be the confessor of several members of the Gunpowder Plot
His opposition to the plot did not save him from being executed on 3 May 1606 at St Paul's

Humphrey Littleton

He gave a great deal of assistance to Stephen Littleton and Robert Wintour during their two months of hiding
He bribed one of his tenants near Rowley Regis to hide Stephen and Robert for a while
He also acted as an intermediary between the fugitives and Father Oldcorne during this time
Eventually the fugitives came to Hagley House and were sheltered by Humphrey directly
He tried to bargain for his life with the authorities by revealing the hiding place of the Jesuits Father Edward Oldcorne and Father Henry Garnet
Executed on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill, Worcester

John Fynwood

Humphrey Littleton's cook
Reported the presence of Littleton and Wintour

John Gerard

His sincere devotion and pleasant modest manner was such that he alone of the Jesuit priests remained completely untarnished by the Gunpowder Plot
Became suspicious of the activities of Digby
Once the Plot was discovered, a proclamation was issued against him
he wrote an open letter protesting his innocence and refuting the charges allegedly made against them by Thomas Bates
Escaped to mainland Europe dressed in livery in the entourage of the Ambassadors of Flanders and Spain
Died on 27th July 1637 in Rome

John Grant

Brother-in-law to Robert Wintour
He knew a number of the other plotters from their involvement in the Essex Rebellion
His manor of Norbrook was ideal for storing the weapons required for a rebellion
He was blinded and received severe facial burns during an accident at Holbeach House
Hung, drawn and quartered on 30 January 1606, St. Paul's Churchyard
His estates were forfeited after his execution, but they were reclaimed in 1623 by his son

John Wintour

Half brother of Robert and Thomas and brother in law of Grant
He joined up with the group and accompanied them on the journey which led to Holbeache House
He left Holbeache with his manservant Thomas Edgin, as he no longer trusted Catesby and the other leaders of the Plot
Hung, drawn and quartered on 7th April 1606 at Redhill, Worcester
His body was not put up for public display but allowed to be buried in the chancel of the church at Huddington Court

John Wright

Brother of Christopher
Took part in the failed rebellion by the Earl of Essex
He was given the task of officially telling Guy Fawkes of the conspirators' intentions to blow up the Houses of Parliament
His official position in the conspiracy is somewhat unclear
Mortally wounded at Holbeache House on November 8th 1605

Oswald Tesimond

He knew of the plot from the confessional
It is a near-certainty that the actual plot was divulged by Catesby
informed his Jesuit superior Henry Garnet during confession
His arrest warrant was sworn out on 15 January 1606
He then sailed to Calais among a cargo of dead pigs by passing as the owner of the load
He died in Naples on 23rd August 1636

Robert Catesby

Leader of the plot
Shot dead at Holbeache House on November 8th 1605

Robert Keyes

Related to co-conspirators Ambrose Rokewood, the Wrights and the Wintours
He was in favour of warning the Catholic lords, particularly his employer Lord Mordaunt
He was entrusted with guarding the explosives at Catesby's house in Lambeth
Hung, drawn and quartered on 31 January 1606 in the Old Palace Yard in Westminster

Robert Wintour

Brother of Thomas, brother in law of John Grant
His main contribution was a fiscal one
Also responsible for collecting weapons and prepare horses for use in the uprising which was expected to occur
Escaped from Holbeache House and hid out at Hagley Park, which was occupied at the time by Humphrey Littleton
Hung, drawn and quartered on 30th January 1606, St. Paul's Churchyard, London

Stephen Littleton

Owner of Holbeach House in Staffordshire
Was not considered to be suitable for the principal engineering of the plot
He was among those who received communion at the hands of Father Hammond alias Hart at Huddington Court
Executed in 1606 at Stafford for giving assistance to the conspirators and joining them in open rebellion

Thomas Bates

Bates proved very useful to the conspirators, completely loyal and reliable
He could perform many activities, such as driving around wagons, without attracting suspicion
Hung, drawn and quartered on 30th January1606

Thomas Habington

Brother-in-law of Lord Monteagle
Although Habington had no part in the Plot, he was arrested for concealing traitors
Garnet, Oldcorne and two lay brothers, including Owen were found at Hindlip
Later released owing to the intercession of William Parker (Lord Monteagle)
After his release he was forbidden to leave Worcestershire
Died on 8th October 1647 at Hindlip House, Worcestershire

Thomas Percy

He leased the cellar in which the gunpowder was placed
He was killed instantly by a single shot from the musket of John Streete at Holbeache House on November 8th 1605

Thomas Wintour

Bother of Robert and brother in law of Robert Catesby
He had asked King Philip III of Spain to support a Catholic uprising in England in 1603
He was the inside man, as his brother was in Parliament
Hung, drawn and quartered on 31st January 1606, Old Palace Yard, Westminster

William Parker

11th Baron Morley, 4th Baron Monteagle
Catholic MP
Recipient of the warning letter
Brother-in-law of Francis Tresham
Believed by some to have been a government spy

Sir William Stanley

He was placed under house arrest in Brussels on suspicion after being denounced by Fawkes
There is no direct evidence to connect him with complicity in the Gunpowder Plot
On 30th January 1606, Sir Robert Cecil, the Secretary of State, exonerated him from the charge
It has been theorised that he was prepared to offer information in order to secure his own pardon from the Crown
He spent much of his latter years with the English Carthusians in Ostend, having several times sought in vain to return to England
Died on 3rd March 1630 in Ghent

Father Edward Oldcorne

Executed on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill, Worcester

Mr Thomas Habington

Executed on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill, Worcester

Perkes

A tenant farmer of Ralph Astley called Perkes
Executed on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill, Worcester

Ralph Astley

Executed on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill, Worcester

It has been suggested that Cecil was aware of the plot and even working with Lord Monteagle.

This would enable him to instigate a new purge against British Catholics and sway King James I to become a Protestant monarch.


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