On the 26th March 1603, a royal courtier (Sir Robert Carey) arrived at Holyrood Palace
in Edinburgh, bloodstained and exhausted from his long journey from London
He brought news of Queen Elizabeth I's death
As Elizabeth Tudor's closest living relative, King James VI of Scotland was to rule
England as her successor
On 5th April 1603, James began his long journey south, with England and Scotland united
under the same King
The first proclamation of James I as the new sovereign of England had already been made
in London, on 24th March at 10.00am, around seven or eight hours after the Queen's death
That same night, bonfires had been lit; music played and vast quantities of alcohol
drunk in celebration of the Queen's demise and in reverence of the new King
At first, James' new subjects welcomed this man 'of noble presence'
James had no rivals for the throne and he seemed to be a strong and intelligent ruler
with a growing family
The English Catholics were ready to support the new monarch; they carried high hopes of
converting him to their faith and granting themselves liberty from oppression
At the time, England was a Protestant country in which Roman Catholics and Puritans
suffered persecution. Catholics who refused to attend Protestant churches were
heavily-fined or imprisoned and banned from holding their own religious services
In his desire for the succession, whilst Elizabeth lay on her deathbed, James is said to
have made a promise to tolerate the Catholic faith, and on reaching England he began
withholding the heavy fines imposed in Elizabeth's reign
However, much to the dismay of the Catholics, the King was driven back to persecuting
Catholics by pressure from the Protestant Parliament
The King continued to govern England much as Elizabeth had done, with Britain divided by
Protestant and Catholic troubles
The King's Chief Minister, Sir Robert Cecil, increased religious fines and banished all
Jesuits and Catholic priests
James became very unpopular as a result of his persecutions, and because of his belief
in "the divine right of kings" - an idea of divine power which put him in direct
conflict with Parliament
The King's actions prompted the formation of a group of thirteen Catholic conspirators
in 1604, led by Robert 'Robin' Catesby. It was time to take action, in the name of God and
their beleaguered Catholic kinsmen
Catholic Spain and Protestant England had long been at war, and Catesby, Tom Wintour and
Jack Wright - all of whom had been involved in the anti-government conspiracy of 1601 led
by Robert Essex - kept in touch with the English Catholic 'crusaders' serving in the
Spanish Flanders army
By championing the opposition, these English soldiers were in a position to encourage a
Spanish military invasion of England which, they believed, would solve Catholic problems
The group hired the services of one such soldier, a thirty-three year old man from the
county of Yorkshire, known as Guy Fawkes
This man, who was later known by his assumed name, Guido, was a fanatical Catholic and
an explosives expert
On Sunday 20th May 1604, the Powder Treason was initiated with a meeting between Robin
Catesby, Tom Wintour, Jack Wright, Thomas Percy, and Guido Fawkes at the Duck and Drake
Inn in the Strand district of London
The plan was a simple one: they would blow up the House of Lords when the King and Royal
Family paid their next visit to the Palace of Westminster for the Opening of Parliament in
February of the following year. The King would be killed and the building where
anti-Papist legislation was passed would be demolished
After the meeting, the Plotters left London for the country, content in the knowledge
that they had until February, when Parliament reconvened, to perfect their plan
On 19th August, a herald in Cheapside proclaimed peace between England and Spain, though
no reference to Catholic toleration was made in the Anglo-Spanish Treaty
After returning to London in early October, the Plotters learned that renewed fears of
the plague had postponed the Opening of Parliament for eight months. The new date would be
3rd October 1605. Undaunted, the Plotters went on to recruit eight more conspirators
On 25th March 1605, the Whynniard House, which lay at right angles to and provided
access to the House of Lords, was leased to Thomas Percy
Guido Fawkes, under the alias of John Johnson, hid in the house
The house also had a vaulted room which, conveniently, lay directly underneath the House
of Lords
Thirty six barrels of gunpowder were laid in the vaulted room underneath piles of
firewood
On 28th July, Parliament was delayed once more to the new date of Tuesday 5th November
In October, the final details of the Plot were decided
Firstly, Fawkes was to light the gunpowder fuse in the cellar, and make his escape by
boat across the River Thames
Secondly, members of the group would start a Catholic 'stir' in the Midlands where
Princess Elizabeth would be abducted and used as a puppet queen
Everything was running according to plan when, on 26th October, a coded letter of
warning was sent to Tresham's brother-in-law, Lord Monteagle, who was due to be in
Parliament when the barrels were to be exploded
The letter was read by the King six days later
Although the group learned of the leak and realised that one of them must be a traitor,
they did not know to what extent word had spread and so continued with the Plot
This written betrayal led to the discovery and subsequent arrest of 'John Johnson' when
the cellar was searched just a few hours before Parliament was to meet
'Johnson' was taken to the Tower of London where he was tortured - hung by his wrists in
manacles and stretched on the rack
Forty-eight hours later, his body broken, he revealed his true identity as Guido Fawkes
and admitted that five people were involved in the Plot
He refused to give away the names of his friends until he learned that they had already
been hunted down and killed
Following his (barely-legible) signed confession, Fawkes was condemned to die by
execution (hung, drawn and quartered) on Friday 31st January 1606, in the Old Palace Yard
at Westminster
Other members of the group were variously hunted down and shot by Cecil's men; captured,
tortured and executed in the same manner
Members of Parliament went on to ordain the 5th of November as a day of thanksgiving for
their narrow escape
Undoubtedly, the Powder Treason is one of the most memorable events in English history,
and one which is commemorated each year on this date with fireworks displays and effigies
of Guy Fawkes burned on bonfires all over the country
"Please to remember the 5th November:
Gunpowder Treason and Plot.
We know no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot."
