Today’s speaker was Eric Jackson on the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Eric gave an excellent talk taking us through the reasons of the build up for the plot and over the 70 years before due of course to religion beliefs of
Catholics/Protestants. Who had the crown was up to dying monarch and Elizabeth set the ball rolling by saying Margaret Tudor. The plot as we know is when James 6th Scotland became James 1st of England and the Catholics wanted the protestant King out along with all the rest of the hierarchy .
The leaders were Robert Gatsby and Thomas Percy and approx. 10 others. Guy Fawkes was brought in as he was an expert with Gunpowder. The gunpowder was stored in various locations and eventually ended up under Parliament which was a wooden type building at this time. Somehow word got out about the plot and Fawkes was found with the powder and equipment to light it, He was questioned by torture and in the end gave all the names. All of the group were either captured or shot as running away .
All were eventually executed by being hung drawn and quartered after watching their intestines etc being burned.
A replica of the building was constructed a few years back to see if the gunpowder was adequate to blow James and his followers back to Scotland. It would have worked but not blown them to Scotland!!!