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Fawkes, Guy (1570-1606)

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Surname: Fawkes
Forenames: Guy
Gender: Male
Date: 1570-1606
History: Guy Fawkes is the most famous of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators but did not originate the Plot. The mastermind was Robert Catesby, who confided his scheme to Thomas Winter and John Wright early in 1604; then in about May 1604 Thomas Percy and Guy Fawkes were recruited, followed by others. Fawkes was a soldier by profession, a Catholic, and known to be reliable. His absences abroad meant that his face was not well-known. The well-connected Percy leased a ground-floor vault under the House of Lords and Fawkes posed as his servant, guarding the gunpowder which was covered with wood. The betrayal of the plot by the Monteagle letter led to Fawkes being discovered red-handed in the cellar after midnight on 5 November. Fawkes stoically said nothing, until he was subjected to torture. After the skirmish at Holbeach House on 8 November he and Thomas Winter were the only surviving chief conspirators. Guy Fawkes was hanged, drawn and quartered in Old Palace Yard, Westminster, on 31 January 1606.
References: DNB; NCA Rules
Collections
  Description Held by Reference Further information
1
1604-1606: The Gunpowder Plot: a collection of correspondence, depositions and papers, in two...
The National Archives, Kew
SP 14/216
2
1605 Nov: Letters and papers
The National Archives, Kew
SP 14/16
3
1606 Jan-Feb: Letters and papers
The National Archives, Kew
SP 14/18
4
1605 Mar 24-1606 Mar 23: Special oyer and terminer roll file. Principal defendants and charges: Guy Fawkes and...
The National Archives, Kew
KB 8/59

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