The Gunpowder Plot

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The Gunpowder Plot

• Were the Catholics framed?

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Source 1 The Gunpowder Plotters An engraving
made by a Dutch artist who probably never saw them
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Source 2 An extract from Thomas Winters
confession. We do not know if it is genuine.
Cecil never showed the original to the court he
had a new copy written out for the trial.

• We were working under a little entry into the
  parliament house. We bought the gunpowder and hid
  it in Mr Percys house. We worked two weeks
  against the stone wall, which was very hard to
  get through. At that time we called in Kit
  Wright.
• About Easter we rented a cellar. After this Mr
  Fawkes laid into the cellar 1000 sticks.

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Source 3 Guy Fawkes normal signature, alongside
his signature to his confession.
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Source 4 King James orders about Guy Fawkes
interrogation after he was arrested

• If he will not otherwise confess, the gentler
  tortures are to be used first, and then the
  uttermost pain

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Source 5 from Guy Fawkes confession

• He said he did not intend to set fire to the
  fuse until the King came into the Houses of
  Parliament and then he intended to do it so that
  the powder might blow up a quarter of an hour
  later.

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Source 6 An extract from the letter sent to Lord
Mounteagle. The letter was delivered to him by a
disguised messenger at his london house on 26th
October. This was the only night in 1605 that
Lord Mounteagle stayed in his London house.

• My lord, I have a care for your safety.
  Therefore I advise you to devise some excuse to
  miss your attendance at this Parliament. For God
  and man have come together to punish the
  wickedness of this time. Go into the country, for
  they shall receive a terrible blow this
  Parliament and yet they shall not see who hurts
  them

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Source 7 Important points to remember

• At this time, all gunpowder was controlled by the
  government. All supplies were kept in the Tower
  of London
• The barrels of gunpowder were placed in the
  cellar house next to Parliament. The cellar ran
  under the Houses of Parliament. This cellar was
  rented by John Whynniard, a Kings official and
  friend of Cecil.
• The government seemed to know where all the
  plotters were. They surrounded them , and the
  plotters offered no resistance, yet some of them
  were just shot dead.
• All the plotters were killed or captured quickly
  except Francis Tresham. He was left free until
  12th December. Once the trial of the other
  prisoners was over, he was captured and died of a
  mysterious illness in the Tower of London

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Source 8 Written by an Italian catholic visitor,
1605

• Some hold it as certain that there has been foul
  play and that some of the government secretly
  spun a web to entangle these poor gentlemen.