Ambrose Rokewood
Encyclopedia
Sir Ambrose Rookwood was a member of the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot
, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant
King James I
with a Catholic
monarch. Rookwood was born into a wealthy family of Catholic recusants
, and educated by Jesuit
s at Flanders
. His older brother became a Franciscan
, and his two younger brothers were ordained as Catholic priests. Rookwood, however, became a horse-breeder. He married the Catholic Elizabeth Tyrwhitt, and had at least two sons.
He was enlisted into the plot in September 1605 by Robert Catesby
, a religious zealot whose impatience with James's treatment of English Catholics had grown so severe that he conspired to blow up the House of Lords with gunpowder, killing the king and much of the Protestant hierarchy. With the other conspirators he had recruited, Catesby also planned to incite a rebellion in the Midlands, during which James's nine-year-old daughter Princess Elizabeth
would be captured, and installed as titular queen. Rookwood's stable of fine horses was essential for the uprising to succeed.
The explosion was planned to coincide with the State Opening of Parliament
on 5 November 1605, but the man left in charge of the gunpowder stored beneath the House of Lords, Guy Fawkes
, was discovered there and arrested. Rookwood fled the city, and informed Catesby and the others of the plan's failure. Together the remaining conspirators rode to Holbeche House
in Staffordshire, where on 8 November they were attacked by the pursuing Sheriff of Worcester
and his men. Catesby was killed, but Rookwood survived, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London
.
Rookwood and the survivors were arraigned
on 27 January 1606 in Westminster Hall. Pleading not guilty, he claimed to have loved Catesby "above any worldly man". His subsequent request for mercy was ignored, however, and he was hanged, drawn and quartered
on 31 January, in the Old Palace Yard at Westminster.
The Rookwood family had lived at Stanningfield
in Suffolk
for 300 years. Wealthy, and staunch Catholics, the authorities viewed them as trouble-makers. Ambrose's Papist
cousin Edward had spent ten years in prison for his faith, but in 1578 he entertained Queen Elizabeth I
at his home, Euston Hall
. It was an expensive visit that made a serious dent in the family's finances, and which neutered their influence for years thereafter. Ambrose's parents had been imprisoned for their recusancy
, and he was indicted on the same charge in February 1605. However, he was apparently happy to advertise his faith; in the summer of 1605 he commissioned a London cutler, John Craddock, to place a Spanish blade into a sword hilt engraved with the story of the Passion of Christ. As such weapons were generally worn in public, it was "a potentially dangerous statement of faith".
Ambrose and two of his brothers, Robert and Christopher, were educated by Jesuits at Saint-Omer
, then in Flanders. Both brothers became priests (Ambrose's elder brother, Henry, became a Franciscan
), and his half-sisters Dorothea and Susanna became nuns. Ambrose married into the Tyrwhitts, a prominent family of Catholics from Kettleby in Lincolnshire
, and with his wife Elizabeth (cousin to Robert Keyes
) had at least two sons, Robert and Henry. According to the Jesuit Oswald Tesimond
, Rookwood was "well-built and handsome, if somewhat short", which he compensated for by his taste in extravagant clothing. In author Antonia Fraser
's opinion, this affectation was somewhat inappropriate at a time when "clothes were supposed to denote rank rather than money". On his father's death in 1600, Rookwood inherited Coldham Hall
, which subsequently became a refuge for priests. The following year he joined the Earl of Essex
's abortive rebellion against the government, for which he was captured and held at Newgate Prison
.
and John Gerard on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Winefride's Well
in Holywell
. Late in September, he was approached by Robert Catesby
, Thomas Wintour
and John Wright
, and invited to join what became known as the Gunpowder Plot
. English Catholics had hoped that the persecution of their faith would end when James I
came to the throne, as his attitude appeared to be moderate, even tolerant towards Catholics. In Catesby's view however, James had reneged on his promises. He therefore planned to kill the king by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder, and then inciting a popular revolt to install James's daughter, Princess Elizabeth
, as titular Queen. To this end he had already helped enlist nine Catholics into the conspiracy, but was running out of money and needed to recruit more men. Rookwood was a horse-breeder, and his stable of fine mounts at Coldham Hall
was needed for the Midlands uprising. He had been asked to supply them with gunpowder
about a year earlier, under the pretence that it was for William Stanley
's regiment
in Flanders—no longer an illegal operation due to the recent Treaty of London—but otherwise provided no funds for the conspiracy.
Although unverifiable, his wife's relationship to Robert Keyes
may mean that Rookwood already suspected that something was being planned. He was at first concerned for the welfare of the Catholic lords who would be present at the explosion, but his compunction was alleviated when Catesby promised him that they would be tricked out of attending Parliament that day. Any lingering doubts Rookwood had were removed by Catesby's lie that the Jesuits had given the scheme their approval. Rookwood had stayed with the Wintours at Huddington Court
, and that month with the Catholic Lacons at Kinlet Hall
, but at Cateby's behest he rented Clopton House
near Stratford, and moved there after Michaelmas
. He took with him several Catholic religious symbols, such as chalices, crucifix
es, vestment
s, Latin books and praying beads. These were concealed in a cellar built by the Jesuit Nicholas Owen.
Toward the end of October he joined Keyes at his lodgings in London. A few days before the planned explosion he changed his mind about the sword he had ordered John Craddock to make, and had the cutler replace the grip with a gold one. The modified sword, which in total probably cost Rookwood more than £20, was delivered on 4 November.
, warning him to keep away from Parliament. On the evening of 4 November the authorities made a search of the House of Lords, where they discovered one of the plotters, Guy Fawkes
, guarding a hoard of explosives. He was immediately arrested.
Fawkes had posed as a servant of fellow plotter Thomas Percy
, and it was therefore Percy's name that appeared on the first arrest warrant issued by the government. News of Fawkes's capture soon spread through London, prompting Christopher Wright (brother of John) to rush to Thomas Wintour
, and tell what had happened. Wintour guessed that the government was looking for Percy, and told Wright to travel to Percy's lodgings and "bid him begone". While Wintour lingered, Christopher Wright and Percy left the city, followed by Keyes, and then Rookwood. A renowned horseman, Rookwood covered 30 miles in two hours on a single horse. Using various steeds he had left along the route, he passed Keyes at Highgate, and then Wright and Percy at Little Brickhill
near Dunstable
. He caught up with Catesby, who had left the previous day to prepare the uprising, and told him what had happened in London. The group, which now included Catesby, his servant Thomas Bates
, both Wright brothers, Percy and Rookwood, rode on to Dunchurch
.
While Fawkes was being tortured, on 6 November the government began to round up anyone they thought might be involved. Rookwood's servants, still in the house their master had so hastily departed, were questioned on the same day. His belongings at Clopton—including several incriminating Catholic symbols—were also taken, and by the time the plotters had reached Catesby's family home at Ashby St Ledgers, Rookwood's name was among the list of suspects drawn up by the Lord Chief Justice
. The fugitives continued on to Dunchurch, where they met the recently-recruited conspirator Everard Digby
, with his hunting party. The next day the group stole horses from Warwick Castle
, although with his fine cortège, Rookwood avoided the town. They then collected stored weapons from Norbrook, and continued on to Huddington
. The party tried in vain to expand their number, but were shunned; no one was prepared to risk being labelled a traitor. Father Garnet, contacted at Coughton Court
by Bates, wrote Catesby a letter in which he implored the group to stop their "wicked actions", before himself fleeing.
, helping themselves to further arms, ammunition and money, and finally reached Holbeche House
, on the border of Staffordshire, at about 10:00 pm that night. Tired from three days of riding, they spread in front of the fire some of the now-soaked gunpowder taken from Hewell Grange, to dry out. A stray spark landed on the powder, and Rookwood, Catesby, John Grant
and another man were caught up in the resultant conflagration. Rookwood and Catesby were described as "reasonably well", but Grant was blinded.
Several of the conspirators disappeared into the night, but Rookwood, Catesby, the Wright brothers, Percy and Grant stayed on. They didn't have long to wait; by 11:00 am the next day the house was surrounded by 200 of the Sheriff of Worcester
's men. In the ensuing battle, Wintour was shot in the shoulder. John and Christopher Wright were each killed. Catesby and Percy were reportedly both killed by a single musket ball. Rookwood was also shot, but survived and was quickly captured. His belongings should by right have been seized by the government, but his elaborate sword apparently proved to be too great a temptation for the Sheriff's men, and disappeared without trace. Rookwood and the others were taken first to Worcester, and then to the Tower of London
. Those conspirators still at large were rounded up shortly after.
in Westminster Hall on 27 January 1606. Some of the prisoners hung their heads "as if their hearts were full of doggedness", while others were nonchalant. All except Digby pleaded "Not Guilty". Defending himself, Rookwood claimed that he had been enlisted into the plot through his friendship with Catesby, "whom he loved above any worldly man". He admitted that he could not expect mercy, but asked for it anyway, so as not to leave a "blemish and blot unto all ages".
His pleas were in vain. Three days later, Digby, Robert Wintour, John Grant and Thomas Bates were hanged, drawn and quartered
at the western end of St Paul's churchyard. The following day, Rookwood, Thomas Wintour, Robert Keyes and Guy Fawkes were tied to wattled
hurdle
s and dragged by horse from the Tower, to the Old Palace Yard at Westminster—a longer route than had been suffered by their fellow conspirators. Rookwood had asked to be informed when he passed by his lodgings in the Strand, so that he could open his eyes and see his wife, waiting at the window. He shouted "Pray for me, pray for me!" According to Father Gerard (who was not then present), Elizabeth answered, "I will, and be of good courage. Offer theyself wholly to God. I, for my part, do as freely restore thee to God as He gave thee unto me." For the rest of the journey he kept his eyes closed, in prayer. Thomas Wintour was the first that day to be hanged and then killed. Rookwood was next, and made a short speech to the assembled audience. He was repentant, asking God to bless the king, queen, and their "royal progeny", but "spoil[ed] all the pottage with one filthy weed" by beseeching God to make the king a Catholic. Nevertheless he seems to have been left to hang for longer than the others, before suffering the remainder of his grim sentence.
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
with a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
monarch. Rookwood was born into a wealthy family of Catholic recusants
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
, and educated by Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
s at Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. His older brother became a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
, and his two younger brothers were ordained as Catholic priests. Rookwood, however, became a horse-breeder. He married the Catholic Elizabeth Tyrwhitt, and had at least two sons.
He was enlisted into the plot in September 1605 by Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby , was the leader of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605....
, a religious zealot whose impatience with James's treatment of English Catholics had grown so severe that he conspired to blow up the House of Lords with gunpowder, killing the king and much of the Protestant hierarchy. With the other conspirators he had recruited, Catesby also planned to incite a rebellion in the Midlands, during which James's nine-year-old daughter Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
would be captured, and installed as titular queen. Rookwood's stable of fine horses was essential for the uprising to succeed.
The explosion was planned to coincide with the State Opening of Parliament
State Opening of Parliament
In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
on 5 November 1605, but the man left in charge of the gunpowder stored beneath the House of Lords, Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
, was discovered there and arrested. Rookwood fled the city, and informed Catesby and the others of the plan's failure. Together the remaining conspirators rode to Holbeche House
Holbeche House
Holbeche House is a mansion located near Kingswinford, on the borders of Staffordshire. It is the building in which some of the central Gunpowder plotters were captured, and the rest killed.-Gunpowder Plot:...
in Staffordshire, where on 8 November they were attacked by the pursuing Sheriff of Worcester
High Sheriff of Worcestershire
This is a list of Sheriff and since 1998 High Sheriffs of Worcestershire.The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
and his men. Catesby was killed, but Rookwood survived, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
.
Rookwood and the survivors were arraigned
Arraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
on 27 January 1606 in Westminster Hall. Pleading not guilty, he claimed to have loved Catesby "above any worldly man". His subsequent request for mercy was ignored, however, and he was hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
on 31 January, in the Old Palace Yard at Westminster.
Early life
Born sometime about 1578, Ambrose Rookwood was the second of four sons born to Robert Rookwood and his second wife, Dorothea. During his first marriage to Bridget Kemp, Robert had sired four sons, but all predeceased their father.The Rookwood family had lived at Stanningfield
Stanningfield
Stanningfield is a village in the parish of Bradfield Combust with Stanningfield, in the St Edmundsbury District, in the English county of Suffolk. The village also consists of the area Hoggard's Green...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
for 300 years. Wealthy, and staunch Catholics, the authorities viewed them as trouble-makers. Ambrose's Papist
Papist
Papist is a term or an anti-Catholic slur, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings, practices, or adherents. The term was coined during the English Reformation to denote a person whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
cousin Edward had spent ten years in prison for his faith, but in 1578 he entertained Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
at his home, Euston Hall
Euston Hall
Euston Hall is a country house, with park by William Kent and Capability Brown located in Euston, small village located just south of Thetford in Suffolk, England. It is the family home of the Dukes of Grafton....
. It was an expensive visit that made a serious dent in the family's finances, and which neutered their influence for years thereafter. Ambrose's parents had been imprisoned for their recusancy
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
, and he was indicted on the same charge in February 1605. However, he was apparently happy to advertise his faith; in the summer of 1605 he commissioned a London cutler, John Craddock, to place a Spanish blade into a sword hilt engraved with the story of the Passion of Christ. As such weapons were generally worn in public, it was "a potentially dangerous statement of faith".
Ambrose and two of his brothers, Robert and Christopher, were educated by Jesuits at Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
, then in Flanders. Both brothers became priests (Ambrose's elder brother, Henry, became a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
), and his half-sisters Dorothea and Susanna became nuns. Ambrose married into the Tyrwhitts, a prominent family of Catholics from Kettleby in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, and with his wife Elizabeth (cousin to Robert Keyes
Robert Keyes
Robert Keyes was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605. He was the sixth man to join the...
) had at least two sons, Robert and Henry. According to the Jesuit Oswald Tesimond
Oswald Tesimond
Oswald Tesimond was a Jesuit born in either Northumberland or York who, while not a direct conspirator, had some involvement in the Gunpowder Plot....
, Rookwood was "well-built and handsome, if somewhat short", which he compensated for by his taste in extravagant clothing. In author Antonia Fraser
Antonia Fraser
Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, DBE , née Pakenham, is an Anglo-Irish author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction, best known as Antonia Fraser...
's opinion, this affectation was somewhat inappropriate at a time when "clothes were supposed to denote rank rather than money". On his father's death in 1600, Rookwood inherited Coldham Hall
Coldham Hall
Coldham Hall is a Grade I listed building, built in 1574, that is located in the parish of Stanningfield in Suffolk. The Hall is very close to the village of Lawshall, and part of the Coldham estate is located within this parish.-Description:...
, which subsequently became a refuge for priests. The following year he joined the Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
's abortive rebellion against the government, for which he was captured and held at Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
.
Enlisted
In August 1605 Rookwood joined the Jesuits Henry GarnetHenry Garnet
Henry Garnet , sometimes Henry Garnett, was a Jesuit priest executed for his complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Derbyshire, he was educated in Nottingham and later at Winchester College, before moving to London in 1571 to work for a publisher...
and John Gerard on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Winefride's Well
St Winefride's Well
St Winefride's Well is a holy well located in Holywell, in Flintshire in North Wales. It is the oldest continually visited pilgrimage site in Great Britain....
in Holywell
Holywell
Holywell is the fifth largest town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying to the west of the estuary of the River Dee.-History:The market town of Holywell takes its name from the St Winefride's Well, a holy well surrounded by a chapel...
. Late in September, he was approached by Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby , was the leader of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605....
, Thomas Wintour
Thomas Wintour
Robert Wintour and Thomas Wintour , also spelt Winter, were members of the Gunpowder Plot, a failed conspiracy to assassinate King James I. Both were related to other conspirators, such as their cousin, Robert Catesby, and a half-brother, John Wintour, also joined them following the plot's failure...
and John Wright
John Wright (Gunpowder Plot)
John Wright , and Christopher Wright , were members of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords. Their sister married another plotter, Thomas Percy...
, and invited to join what became known as the Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
. English Catholics had hoped that the persecution of their faith would end when James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
came to the throne, as his attitude appeared to be moderate, even tolerant towards Catholics. In Catesby's view however, James had reneged on his promises. He therefore planned to kill the king by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder, and then inciting a popular revolt to install James's daughter, Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
, as titular Queen. To this end he had already helped enlist nine Catholics into the conspiracy, but was running out of money and needed to recruit more men. Rookwood was a horse-breeder, and his stable of fine mounts at Coldham Hall
Coldham Hall
Coldham Hall is a Grade I listed building, built in 1574, that is located in the parish of Stanningfield in Suffolk. The Hall is very close to the village of Lawshall, and part of the Coldham estate is located within this parish.-Description:...
was needed for the Midlands uprising. He had been asked to supply them with gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
about a year earlier, under the pretence that it was for William Stanley
William Stanley (Elizabethan)
Sir William Stanley , son of Sir Rowland Stanley of Hooton , was a member of the Stanley family. He was an officer and a recusant, who served under Elizabeth I of England and is most noted for his surrender of Deventer to the Spanish in 1587.-Early career:Stanley was educated with Dr. Standish at...
's regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
in Flanders—no longer an illegal operation due to the recent Treaty of London—but otherwise provided no funds for the conspiracy.
Although unverifiable, his wife's relationship to Robert Keyes
Robert Keyes
Robert Keyes was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605. He was the sixth man to join the...
may mean that Rookwood already suspected that something was being planned. He was at first concerned for the welfare of the Catholic lords who would be present at the explosion, but his compunction was alleviated when Catesby promised him that they would be tricked out of attending Parliament that day. Any lingering doubts Rookwood had were removed by Catesby's lie that the Jesuits had given the scheme their approval. Rookwood had stayed with the Wintours at Huddington Court
Huddington Court
Huddington Court is a 15th century manor house in Worcestershire, England, six miles east of Worcester. It is surrounded by a moat with a bridge and is painted white on the outside with prominent black beams on all walls. It has been described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as 'the most picturesque house...
, and that month with the Catholic Lacons at Kinlet Hall
Kinlet Hall
Kinlet Hall is an 18th century English country house at Kinlet, Shropshire, England, now occupied by an independent day and residential school. It is a Grade I listed building....
, but at Cateby's behest he rented Clopton House
Clopton House
Clopton House is a 17th-century country mansion near Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, now converted into residential apartments. It is a Grade II* listed building....
near Stratford, and moved there after Michaelmas
Michaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
. He took with him several Catholic religious symbols, such as chalices, crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
es, vestment
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
s, Latin books and praying beads. These were concealed in a cellar built by the Jesuit Nicholas Owen.
Toward the end of October he joined Keyes at his lodgings in London. A few days before the planned explosion he changed his mind about the sword he had ordered John Craddock to make, and had the cutler replace the grip with a gold one. The modified sword, which in total probably cost Rookwood more than £20, was delivered on 4 November.
Discovery
The existence of the plot had been revealed in an anonymous letter delivered ten days earlier to William Parker, 4th Baron MonteagleWilliam Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle
William Parker, 13th Baron Morley, 4th Baron Monteagle was an English peer, Lord of Morley, Hingham, Hockering, &c., in Norfolk, the eldest son of Edward Parker, 12th Baron Morley , and of Elizabeth Stanley, daughter and heiress of William Stanley, 3rd Baron Monteagle .When quite a youth he...
, warning him to keep away from Parliament. On the evening of 4 November the authorities made a search of the House of Lords, where they discovered one of the plotters, Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
, guarding a hoard of explosives. He was immediately arrested.
Fawkes had posed as a servant of fellow plotter Thomas Percy
Thomas Percy (plotter)
Thomas Percy was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. A tall, physically impressive man, little is known of his early life beyond his matriculation in 1579 to Peterhouse College in Cambridge, and his marriage in 1591 to Martha Wright...
, and it was therefore Percy's name that appeared on the first arrest warrant issued by the government. News of Fawkes's capture soon spread through London, prompting Christopher Wright (brother of John) to rush to Thomas Wintour
Thomas Wintour
Robert Wintour and Thomas Wintour , also spelt Winter, were members of the Gunpowder Plot, a failed conspiracy to assassinate King James I. Both were related to other conspirators, such as their cousin, Robert Catesby, and a half-brother, John Wintour, also joined them following the plot's failure...
, and tell what had happened. Wintour guessed that the government was looking for Percy, and told Wright to travel to Percy's lodgings and "bid him begone". While Wintour lingered, Christopher Wright and Percy left the city, followed by Keyes, and then Rookwood. A renowned horseman, Rookwood covered 30 miles in two hours on a single horse. Using various steeds he had left along the route, he passed Keyes at Highgate, and then Wright and Percy at Little Brickhill
Little Brickhill
Little Brickhill is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Milton Keynes and ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. It is just outside and overlooking Milton Keynes itself, two and a half miles west of Woburn in Bedfordshire....
near Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
. He caught up with Catesby, who had left the previous day to prepare the uprising, and told him what had happened in London. The group, which now included Catesby, his servant Thomas Bates
Thomas Bates
Thomas Bates was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Bates was born at Lapworth in Warwickshire, and became a retainer to Robert Catesby, who from 1604 planned to kill King James I by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder, and...
, both Wright brothers, Percy and Rookwood, rode on to Dunchurch
Dunchurch
Dunchurch is a civil parish and village on the south-western outskirts of Rugby in Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 2,842 in the village.- History :...
.
While Fawkes was being tortured, on 6 November the government began to round up anyone they thought might be involved. Rookwood's servants, still in the house their master had so hastily departed, were questioned on the same day. His belongings at Clopton—including several incriminating Catholic symbols—were also taken, and by the time the plotters had reached Catesby's family home at Ashby St Ledgers, Rookwood's name was among the list of suspects drawn up by the Lord Chief Justice
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
. The fugitives continued on to Dunchurch, where they met the recently-recruited conspirator Everard Digby
Everard Digby
Sir Everard Digby was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Although he was raised in a Protestant household, and married a Protestant, Digby and his wife were converted to Catholicism by the Jesuit priest John Gerard...
, with his hunting party. The next day the group stole horses from Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle in Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire, England. It sits on a bend on the River Avon. The castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 within or adjacent to the Anglo-Saxon burh of Warwick. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century,...
, although with his fine cortège, Rookwood avoided the town. They then collected stored weapons from Norbrook, and continued on to Huddington
Huddington
Huddington is a village in Worcestershire, England.- Location :Huddington is located five miles east of Worcester and five miles south east of Droitwich Spa.- History & Amenities :...
. The party tried in vain to expand their number, but were shunned; no one was prepared to risk being labelled a traitor. Father Garnet, contacted at Coughton Court
Coughton Court
Coughton Court is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building....
by Bates, wrote Catesby a letter in which he implored the group to stop their "wicked actions", before himself fleeing.
Fugitive
Rookwood was proclaimed a wanted man on 7 November. He went to confession and with the rest of the group took the sacrament—in Fraser's opinion, a sign that none of them thought they had long to live. Through pouring rain they rode to Hewell GrangeHewell Grange
This article is about the Hewell Grange country house and estate. For Hewell Prison, see Hewell Hewell Grange is a country house in Tardebigge, Worcestershire, England....
, helping themselves to further arms, ammunition and money, and finally reached Holbeche House
Holbeche House
Holbeche House is a mansion located near Kingswinford, on the borders of Staffordshire. It is the building in which some of the central Gunpowder plotters were captured, and the rest killed.-Gunpowder Plot:...
, on the border of Staffordshire, at about 10:00 pm that night. Tired from three days of riding, they spread in front of the fire some of the now-soaked gunpowder taken from Hewell Grange, to dry out. A stray spark landed on the powder, and Rookwood, Catesby, John Grant
John Grant (Gunpowder plotter)
John Grant was a member of the failed Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant King James I of England with a Catholic monarch. Grant was born around 1570, and lived at Norbrook in Warwickshire. He married the sister of another plotter, Thomas Wintour...
and another man were caught up in the resultant conflagration. Rookwood and Catesby were described as "reasonably well", but Grant was blinded.
Several of the conspirators disappeared into the night, but Rookwood, Catesby, the Wright brothers, Percy and Grant stayed on. They didn't have long to wait; by 11:00 am the next day the house was surrounded by 200 of the Sheriff of Worcester
High Sheriff of Worcestershire
This is a list of Sheriff and since 1998 High Sheriffs of Worcestershire.The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
's men. In the ensuing battle, Wintour was shot in the shoulder. John and Christopher Wright were each killed. Catesby and Percy were reportedly both killed by a single musket ball. Rookwood was also shot, but survived and was quickly captured. His belongings should by right have been seized by the government, but his elaborate sword apparently proved to be too great a temptation for the Sheriff's men, and disappeared without trace. Rookwood and the others were taken first to Worcester, and then to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. Those conspirators still at large were rounded up shortly after.
Trial and execution
Watched in secret by the king and his family, the surviving conspirators were arraignedArraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
in Westminster Hall on 27 January 1606. Some of the prisoners hung their heads "as if their hearts were full of doggedness", while others were nonchalant. All except Digby pleaded "Not Guilty". Defending himself, Rookwood claimed that he had been enlisted into the plot through his friendship with Catesby, "whom he loved above any worldly man". He admitted that he could not expect mercy, but asked for it anyway, so as not to leave a "blemish and blot unto all ages".
His pleas were in vain. Three days later, Digby, Robert Wintour, John Grant and Thomas Bates were hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
at the western end of St Paul's churchyard. The following day, Rookwood, Thomas Wintour, Robert Keyes and Guy Fawkes were tied to wattled
Wattle and daub
Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw...
hurdle
Hurdle
A hurdle is a moveable section of light fence. Traditionally they were made from wattle , but modern hurdles are often made of metal. Hurdles are used for handling livestock, as decorative fencing, for horse racing and in the track and field event of hurdling.-Types:*Traditional hurdles are made...
s and dragged by horse from the Tower, to the Old Palace Yard at Westminster—a longer route than had been suffered by their fellow conspirators. Rookwood had asked to be informed when he passed by his lodgings in the Strand, so that he could open his eyes and see his wife, waiting at the window. He shouted "Pray for me, pray for me!" According to Father Gerard (who was not then present), Elizabeth answered, "I will, and be of good courage. Offer theyself wholly to God. I, for my part, do as freely restore thee to God as He gave thee unto me." For the rest of the journey he kept his eyes closed, in prayer. Thomas Wintour was the first that day to be hanged and then killed. Rookwood was next, and made a short speech to the assembled audience. He was repentant, asking God to bless the king, queen, and their "royal progeny", but "spoil[ed] all the pottage with one filthy weed" by beseeching God to make the king a Catholic. Nevertheless he seems to have been left to hang for longer than the others, before suffering the remainder of his grim sentence.