Gunpowder Plot

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a desperate but failed attempt by a group of provincial English Catholic extremists to kill King James I of England, his family, and most of the Protestant aristocracy in one fell swoop by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening. The conspirators had then planned to abduct the royal children, not present in parliament, and then incite a revolt in the Midlands.

Planning and preparation

The conspirators were able to rent a cellar in the house adjacent to the old House of Lords where the State Opening of Parliament would take place. There are suggestions that the initial plan was to tunnel from the cellar of the adjacent building by mining and then plant the explosives under the meeting chamber in the House of Lords. This plan was abandoned, however, when Thomas Percy, one of the conspirators, was able to arrange the rent of a cellar directly below the House of Lords.

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Fawkes assisted in filling the room with gunpowder which was concealed beneath bric-a-brac in the cellars of the House of Lords building. By March 1605 they had filled the cellar underneath the House of Lords with 36 barrels belonging to John Whynniard, concealed under a store of winter fuel. The barrels contained an estimated 2.5 tonnes of gunpowder. Had they been successfully ignited, the explosion could have reduced many of the buildings in the Old Palace of Westminster complex, including the Abbey, to rubble and would have blown out windows in the surrounding area of about a 1 kilometre radius.

Related Topics:
1605 - Gunpowder - Abbey

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According to the confession later made by Fawkes on 5 November 1605, he left Dover at about Easter 1605 for Calais. He then traveled to St Omer and on to Brussels, where he met with Hugh Owen, and Sir William Stanley. Next, he made a pilgrimage in Brabant. He returned to England at the end of August or early September, again by way of Calais.

Related Topics:
Dover - 1605 - Calais - St Omer - Brussels

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Guy Fawkes was left in charge of executing the plot, while the other conspirators fled to Dunchurch in Warwickshire to await news. Once the parliament had been destroyed, the other conspirators had planned to incite a revolt in the Midlands.

Related Topics:
Guy Fawkes - Dunchurch - Warwickshire

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