The Gunpowder Plot of 1605—earlier often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason—was a failed attempt by a group of English Catholics, led by Robert Catesby, to assassinate King James VI of Scotland and I of England.
The conspirators planned to destroy the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday, 5 November 1605, using a large cache of gunpowder. The explosion was intended to trigger a broader uprising in the Midlands, after which James’s nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, would be seized and proclaimed the new monarch. Historians generally link the plot’s emergence to disillusionment among some Catholics as hopes for greater tolerance under James faded. The conspirators included John and Christopher Wright, Robert and Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy, Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, John Grant, Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby, and Francis Tresham. Fawkes, a soldier with years of experience in the Spanish Netherlands, was put in charge of the explosives.
On 26 October 1605, an anonymous warning letter reached William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, a Catholic member of Parliament. Monteagle immediately showed it to the authorities. On the evening of 4 November, a search of the parliamentary complex uncovered Fawkes in the undercroft beneath the House of Lords, guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder—enough to obliterate the chamber. He was arrested on the spot. As word spread, most conspirators fled London while trying to rally support. Several were cornered at Holbeche House in Staffordshire, where a firefight with the Sheriff of Worcestershire’s men left Catesby and others dead. At trial on 27 January 1606, eight surviving conspirators, including Fawkes, were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Some knowledge of the plot was later alleged to have reached Henry Garnet, the leading Jesuit in England. Garnet was convicted of treason and executed, though historians dispute how much he truly knew. He claimed he learned of the scheme through confession and was therefore bound by the inviolability of the confessional. After the plot’s discovery, the government introduced new anti-Catholic measures, yet many Catholics who were considered loyal remained in positions of influence throughout James’s reign. The plot’s failure was commemorated for generations through sermons, public thanksgiving, and the ringing of church bells—customs that evolved into Britain’s Bonfire Night traditions.
Background
Religion in England
From the 1530s onward, England’s break with Rome created prolonged religious tension. Under Henry VIII, the English monarchy asserted control over the church, and Catholic practice increasingly came under suspicion. Under Elizabeth I (r. 1558–1603), the Elizabethan Religious Settlement required officeholders to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of church and state. Refusal brought harsh penalties: recusancy fines, imprisonment, and in some cases execution. Catholicism became increasingly marginal, often surviving most visibly in regions distant from London, while priests continued their ministry in secrecy despite the risk of torture or death.
Succession
Elizabeth died childless in March 1603 without naming an heir. Many Catholics regarded Mary, Queen of Scots—Elizabeth’s Catholic cousin—as the rightful successor, but Mary had been executed in 1587. Even so, Mary’s son James VI of Scotland was quietly positioned as Elizabeth’s successor through negotiations led by Robert Cecil. Competing Catholic hopes centered on Infanta Isabella of Spain or on Arbella Stuart, a cousin of both Elizabeth and James. Yet when Elizabeth died, the transfer of power was smooth: James’s succession was proclaimed and widely accepted, and prominent Catholics publicly pledged support rather than resist.
Early reign of James I
James initially appeared more moderate toward Catholics than Elizabeth had been, favoring conformity and outward obedience rather than widespread executions. Some Catholics hoped the son of Mary, Queen of Scots might even move toward reconciliation with Rome. James also sought peace with Spain, and diplomatic gestures reinforced the sense—at least briefly—that Catholic pressure might ease.
Those hopes soon faltered. After learning that Queen Anne had received a rosary from Pope Clement VIII, James denounced Catholic influence and ordered Jesuit and Catholic priests to leave the country. The government renewed enforcement of recusancy fines and pushed anti-Catholic legislation in Parliament. Meanwhile, James’s efforts to strengthen an Anglo-Scottish union and his promotion of Scottish courtiers provoked political resentment in England, and the administration’s handling of recusancy penalties became another source of bitterness.
Earlier plots
Even before the Gunpowder Plot, other conspiracies revealed the volatility of the moment. In the Bye Plot, priests planned to kidnap James and force concessions. In the Main Plot, nobles sought to replace James with Arbella Stuart and courted Spanish support. These schemes collapsed; several plotters were executed or reprieved. Catholic leaders, alarmed by the plots, worked to distance their community from such actions, and James briefly moderated enforcement in response—though the wider trajectory remained repressive.
The Plot
Aims
The Gunpowder Plot aimed not only to kill the king but also to eliminate much of England’s political leadership at once: royal relatives, Privy Councillors, senior judges, Protestant nobles, and bishops—many of whom would be present at the State Opening. The conspirators also intended to abduct Princess Elizabeth, who lived at Coombe Abbey near Coventry, and install her as a figurehead ruler under a Catholic regency.
Recruitment and planning
Catesby—well-connected, charismatic, and hardened by earlier rebellion—became the plot’s driving force. In early 1604, he recruited Thomas Wintour and John Wright, and then sent Wintour abroad to seek Spanish backing. In Flanders, Wintour enlisted Guy Fawkes, a committed Catholic soldier. The men returned to England knowing Spanish help was unlikely, but the conspiracy continued.
Thomas Percy, a kinsman and agent of the Earl of Northumberland, soon joined. The core group met in London in May 1604, swore an oath of secrecy, and began positioning themselves close to Parliament. Using the alias “John Johnson”, Fawkes posed as Percy’s servant while overseeing access to a property in Westminster.
When Parliament’s opening was delayed—first by scheduling changes, then by plague—the conspirators gained time. Accounts differ on whether they attempted to dig a tunnel beneath Parliament, but by March 1605 they had secured a lease to an undercroft directly beneath the House of Lords. Over the summer, they transported gunpowder into the chamber and concealed it under firewood and coal. Additional men were recruited to support the planned uprising, provide money, supply horses, and help seize Princess Elizabeth.
The Monteagle letter and exposure
In late October 1605, the anonymous letter warning Lord Monteagle to avoid Parliament set events in motion. Though its authorship remains uncertain, it prompted the authorities to investigate Westminster more closely. James, after reading the letter, focused on its reference to a “terrible blow” and suspected an explosion.
On 4 November, officials inspected the parliamentary buildings and noted a suspicious pile of firewood in the undercroft. They returned later that night for a more thorough search and found Fawkes again—cloaked, booted, and equipped with matches and other materials. He was arrested, and the search uncovered 36 barrels of gunpowder hidden beneath the fuel. Fawkes was taken for questioning in the early hours of 5 November 1605, and the plot was finished.
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