James I / The Gunpowder Plot
3 Alnwick Castle
Northumberland
http://www.alnwickcastle.comJames I’s reign had begun well for
Catholics. One of his earliest acts had
been to halt the collection of fines from
those who refused to attend the
established church. That, though, was as
far as the new king was prepared to go.
James had no intention of granting
Catholics religious freedom and when
prompted by Protestant critics, he
relented and restored the financial
penalties. Once again, Catholic liberation
seemed a very distant dream. To
compound matters, James began
negotiating a peace deal with Catholic
Spain, putting pay to the possibility of a
military overthrow of Protestant rule.
Their hopes dashed, some of
England’s most committed Catholics
turned their thoughts to violence. In May
1604, the Warwickshire gentleman
Robert Catesby met with four friends in
London where they began to develop amurderous scheme to be rid of King
James and his ministers. One of
Catesby’s co-conspirators was Thomas
Percy, a relative of the ninth Earl of
Northumberland, who was then in the
earl’s employ as constable of Alnwick
Castle. Percy had good reason to be
angry with King James. It was he who
had met with James prior to Elizabeth’s
death and received assurances of bettertreatment for Catholics. Already a wild
character who had once been jailed for
killing a man, Percy was keen to mete out
the ultimate punishment to the king.
The Gunpowder Plot took Thomas
away from Northumberland, but the
Percy family remained at the castle and
still does so today. It was built in stages
from the 14th century and is undoubtedly
one of the finest fortresses in the land.1 Baddesley Clinton Warwickshire
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/baddesley-clintonEngland’s Catholics were under a great
deal of pressure towards the end of
Elizabeth I’s reign. Measures, including
fines for non-attendance at Protestant
services, made life very difficult indeed.
Catholic priests who had trained on the
continent were smuggled into England
where they could facilitate worship. They
were sheltered in Catholic safehouses,
which were often equipped with priest’s
holes that could be used as hiding places
when inspectors arrived.Built in the 15th century, Baddesley
Clinton became an important place of
refuge for Catholics. Though it belonged
to the Ferrers family, it was rented by the
Vaux sisters who were committed to
shielding priests. Members of the Jesuit
order (a controversial Catholic missionary
group) are believed to have met at here in
1592 and escaped detection by hiding in
a tunnel when government officers turned
up. The English Jesuit leader Henry
Garnett was among their number.2 Banqueting House London
http://www.hrp.org.uk/BanquetingHouseDisillusioned by Elizabeth I, England’s
Catholics expected better things under
her successor, James VI of Scotland.
Born in 1566, James had acceded to
the Scottish throne at barely a year old
and managed to hang on to his crown,
despite several intrigues against him.
As Henry VII’s great-great grandson,
James was the leading contender to
replace Elizabeth I when the queen died
childless in 1603.
James VI did indeed become James
I of England and, on the surface, this
was a promising development for
Catholics. James was the son of a
Catholic martyr (Mary Queen of Scots),ALAMY, DREAMSTIMEBaddesley Clinton
was a favourite
bolthole for
Catholic priestsTHE GUNPOWDER PLOT:
9 PLACES TO EXPLORE
The Percy family of Alnwick
Castle were embroiled in the
plot against King James