The Gundpowder Plot - Guy Fawkes Night The Origins & Why It's Still Celebrated Today

Who remembers Guy Fawkes Night?  Back in the 1950's and 60's it became commonplace with the development of the quarter acre blocks of homes being developed. Every 5th of November families would gather around for the spectacular effects of the fireworks.

We used to have pinwheels shooting from the fence, roman wheels, penny bangers making lots of noise and smoke...it was fun. Regulations regarding fireworks is a state issue. It got banned by most states in Australia in the 1980's by the governments of the country because too many people were getting injured by the fireworks. Currently, the only states to allow fireworks are the Northern Territory and Tasmania.



Fireworks in London 1952

But where did this all originate from and why did it remain such a tradition for families?

It became known as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.  But in earlier centuries it was often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or even the Jesuit Treason.  It came about as a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland. The group responsible for this failed attack were provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.

The group of plotters first met on the 20th May 1604. Robert Catesby was joined by some friends, Thomas Wintour, Jack Wright and Thomas Percy.  They met at the Duck and Drake, located in the Strand. A fifth person was Guy Fawkes. Fawkes was from York but he had been recruited by the group from Flanders, He had relevant experience, having already served in the Spanish army.

A plan was hatched to blow up Parliament House in Westminster and to this end they leased a small house located in the centre of Westminster, where Fawkes was placed as a caretaker, using the alias of John Johnson.

Parliament had been postponed to not sit again until the 5th November 1605.  In the meantime, the group had increased to a total of ten.  Robert Keyes, Robert Wintour, John Grant and Kit Wright were all related to the original members and one other was a servant of Catesby, Thomas Bates who was a very loyal servant and equally passionate to be involved.

In the March of 1605, the group proceeded to take out a lease of a ground floor cellar, which was located near the house they had rented earlier.  The cellar was positioned directly underneath the House of Lord.  They gradually moved in 36 barrels of gunpowder, which was enough to blow up everything in its vicinity, should it be ignited.

Guy Fawkes was rallying for support and went back to Flanders, where he was spotted by English spies, who reported his dealings.  A link was eventually made between Fawkes and Catesby. Still, more plotters were recruited, Ambrose Rookwood, Francis Tresham and Sir Everard Digby. The last two were of means and owned a large number of horses, which the plotters required to acquire for the plot to succeed.

The whole point of the uprising was to bring Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England and VI of Scotland in as a puppet queen, to give the Catholics in England more empathy and religious tolerance. Which they felt had vanished during the reign of King James.

The plot was 'leaked' to the government via an anonymous letter on October 26th 1605. During a thorough search of the House of Lords, around midnight on the 4th November 1605, Guy Fawkes was caught 'red-handed' guarding the 36 barrels of gunpowder and he was arrested. Others tried to flee from London as they became aware of the arrest of Fawkes.  They were captured, Catesby was shot and killed along with another, during an altercation with the Sheriff of Worcester. Eight of the surviving plotters were tried on the 27th January 1606.  All were convicted to be hanged, drawn and quartered.



By Unknown (printed for P. Brooksby, I. Deacon, I. Blare, I. Back.) - http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20990/citation, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8524375

Following the thwarting of the plot, Londoners were encouraged to celebrate the King's escape from assassination, by lighting bonfires and this tradition continues today.

To read more about this fascinating story go here.  I hope you have enjoyed reading the story behind the tradition.

Cheers,

Fiona Tellesson
Sharing the passion of family history
Chief Genealogist
Experts In Genealogy

Comments

  1. GeniAusNovember 9, 2016 at 6:19 PM

    I remember Guy Fawkes Day - loved the fireworks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fiona TellessonJanuary 8, 2017 at 8:41 PM

      Thanks for your comment Jill! I have wonderful memories too...especially the Catherine Wheels Dad would light up on the old wooden fence...

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GALLIPOLI HERO CAPTAIN SAMUEL WILLIAM HARRY 100 YEARS ON

Image
GALLIPOLI HERO  CAPTAIN SAMUEL WILLIAM HARRY  100 YEARS ON Samuel William HARRY Every ANZAC Day there would be a ceremony held at the State School I attended. I would hear about Simpson and his Donkey and his gallant efforts to rescue the wounded soldiers fighting on the narrow peninsula, then known as the Dardanelles . (From, Wikipedia…The Dardanelles, formerly known as Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart, the Bosporus.) I always felt I had a connection…but to my knowledge, as a 7/8 yr old, I didn’t know of any family member, nor extended family member who had fought at Gallipoli. Then in my early 20’s a cousin printed up a family history of the HARRY family. In that, there was mention of a Samuel William Harry who had died in Gallipoli…I was hooked. I had to find out EVERYTHING about Samuel William HARRY, who was my first cousin 4Xremove
Read more

Major Hugh Quinn - The Man Behind Quinn's Post Gallipoli Turkey WW1

Image
Major Hugh Quinn - The Man Behind Quinn's Post Gallipoli Turkey WW1 I first became aware of Quinn's Post whilst doing research on Samuel William HARRY whose life was detailed last year. You may read Samuel's story here . Samuel William Harry and Hugh Quinn were boyhood friends...pals in Charters Towers, Queensland. They had many common interests too. This is the story of Major Hugh Quinn - the man behind Quinn's Post Gallipoli . Major Hugh Quinn, eldest son of John Quinn and Mary Jane Irwin Early Life of Hugh Quinn He started out in his working life by taking up a position in Messrs. Cummins and Campbell's office and  worked  himself up to head clerk. He became a prominent athlete and proved himself one of  the best amateur  boxers in North Queensland. He was full of energy, perseverance and initiative, a manly man, and had a host of admirers among the Charters Towers youth.  He  followed up his profession of accountancy by qualifying
Read more

How A Young Man From War-Torn Germany Found His Utopia On The Other Side Of The World Part One

Image
How a young man from war-torn Germany found his utopia on the other side of the world. It's nine years today since my father passed away. This is his story. Arno Josef Zapf was born on the 3rd July 1932 in Staffelstein , Bavaria, Germany. Town Hall, Staffelstein The fourth of seven children born to Lucia Hagenbarth and Hans Josef Zapf. He was a bright child, but world war two was about to change all of their lives. The family lived in the beautiful medieval town of Bamberg, with its gorgeous cobblestoned roads. Right in the middle of Bamberg, above the Bakery in Gruner Markt. ( Bamberg is a World Heritage Site, nominated by UNESCO in 1993. The city follows the early Medieval street plans, being laid out in the form of a cross with a church at each of the four points.) From L-R Gisela, Heinrich, Arno, Brigitte and Helmuth Zapf at the front c1936 It must have been extremely cramped. But, Arno never complained about that aspect of his childhood, except when the
Read more