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Robert Catesby

Robert Catesby

English conspirator

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Robert Catesby (c. 1572 – 8 November 1605) is the supposed leader of a group of English Catholics who was accused of a conspiracy to destroy Parliament in 1605, known as the Gunpowder Plot.

Born in Warwickshire, Catesby was educated in Oxford. His family were prominent recusant Catholics, and presumably to avoid swearing the Oath of Supremacy he left college before taking his degree. He married a Protestant in 1593 and fathered two children, one of whom survived birth and was baptised in a Protestant church. In 1601 he took part in the Essex Rebellion but was captured and fined, after which he sold his estate at Chastleton.

The Protestant James I, who became King of England in 1603, was even more anti-Catholic than expected. Allegedly, Catesby planned to kill him by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder during the State Opening of Parliament, the prelude to a popular revolt during which a Catholic monarch would be restored to the English throne. Early in 1604 he spoke with other Catholics, including Thomas Wintour, John Wright, Thomas Percy, and the charismatic and influential Guy Fawkes. It is alleged that Fawkes helped to bring eight conspirators into the plot, which was planned to be carried out on 5 November 1605. A letter sent anonymously to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, alerted the authorities, and on the eve of the planned explosion, during a search of Parliament, Fawkes was found guarding firewood near some barrels of gunpowder. News of his arrest caused many historically persecuted minorities to flee London, warning Catesby along their way.

With a much-diminished group of followers, Catesby made a stand at Holbeche House in Staffordshire (the modern-day Kingswinford suburb of Wall Heath), against a 200-strong company of armed men. He was shot and later found dead, clutching a picture of the Virgin Mary. As a public act of desecration, his body was exhumed and subsequently decapitated, his head exhibited outside Parliament.

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Further Resources

Title
Author
Link
Type
Date

Her Majesty's Tower

Dixon, William Hepworth

2009

Sir William Waad, Lieutenant of the Tower, and the Gunpowder Plot

Bengsten, Fiona

2005

Did You Know: Robert Catesby. Brains Behind The Gunpowder Plot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzkmr4HwL10

Web

October 29, 2016

January 27 - The fate of the Gunpowder Plotters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB_mLLmSIBw

Web

January 26, 2020

The Gunpowder Plot

Fraser, Antonia

2005

historylearningsite.co.uk
Is a
Person
Person

Person attributes

Birthdate
January 1, 1573
Birthplace
‌
Warwickshire
Date of Death
November 8, 1605
Place of Death
Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Child of
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby
Location
England
England
Educated at
University of Oxford
University of Oxford
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College, Oxford
Occupation
Politician
Politician

Other attributes

Child
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby
Citizenship
Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
Wikidata ID
Q553864

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