BBC History - The Life & Times Of The Stuarts 2016_

1 Baddesley Clinton,

Warwickshire

2 Banqueting House,

London

3 Alnwick Castle,

Northumberland

4 Guy Fawkes Inn, Yo r k

5 The Palace of Westminster,

London

6 The Tower of London, London

7 Coughton Court,

Warwickshire

8 Warwick Castle,

Warwickshire

9 Hagley Hall,

Worcestershire

while his wife (Anne of Denmark) was

also Catholic. During his time in

Scotland, James had been relatively

accepting of Catholics and made

noises to the effect that this lenience

would follow him south. “Great hope

[there] is of toleration,” wrote Henry

Garnett when James took the throne.

After arriving in London, James was

installed in the Palace of Whitehall, then

the principal residence of English

monarchs. Later in his reign, James

had Inigo Jones design him a new

palace, but this burnt down in 1698,

leaving only the magnificent

Banqueting House. Today in the care of

Historic Royal Palaces, the building

testifies to Jones’s architectural genius

and also contains a marvellous ceiling

by the artist Peter Paul Rubens.

4 Guy Fawkes Inn Yo r k

 http://www.gfyork.com

This charming old inn is the reputed birthplace of a man who is

still burned on bonfires more than 400 years after his death. Guy

Fawkes arrived in the world in 1570 and was baptised at St

Michael le Belfrey church in York. He was born a Protestant, but

his mother’s second marriage was to a Catholic and it is likely

that this event prompted her son’s conversion as well.

The young Fawkes became a soldier. Like many other

Catholics seeking military experience, he went to fight in the

Low Countries for Spain against Dutch Protestants. There he

gained valuable experience in munitions and it was partly

because of these skills that he was recruited by the plotters.

Having been out of the country for several years, Fawkes was

also relatively unknown in London, meaning he could move

freely in the city without arousing too much suspicion.

Thomas Percy rented a small property close to the Houses

of Parliament in May 1604. Here Fawkes was installed under the

assumed name of John Johnson to oversee the project. The

plotters’ initial idea was to dig a mine from their property’s cellar

underneath the Palace of Westminster. This, however, proved to

be laborious work, so the conspirators were delighted when

they discovered that a vault right underneath the Lords

Chamber was available to rent. Percy managed to lease the

vault and it was here that the gunpowder would be stored in

advance of the opening of parliament.

7 8

1

4

3

2

56

ALAMY

9

All that remains of

King James’ palace is the

fabulous Banqueting House

This historic inn

claims to be the

birthplace of

Guy Fawkes