Humphrey Littleton (plotter)
Encyclopedia
Humphrey Littleton died on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill
outside Worcester
. He was executed for his involvement in the Gunpowder plot
. Robert Wintour and Stephen Littleton who had escaped from the fight at Holbeche House
were captured at Hagley Park
on the 9 January 1606 despite Littleton's protests that he was not harbouring anyone. It was Littleton who told the authorities that Edward Oldcorne
was hiding at Hindlip Hall
after he had given him mass. Wintour, Oldcome, and both Littletons were all executed.
.. He was also the brother or cousin of another John Littleton
who had been a member of parliament and had died in gaol for his part in the Essex rebellion
. John had lost his estates at Hagley, Frankley
, Upper Arley
and Halesowen
. Humphrey came from Frankley. This John left a widow called Muriel or Meriel who lived at Hagley Park, her husband's estates having been restored to her by James I
in 1603.
Before the gunpowder plot was revealed Littleton had little knowledge of the true nature of the plot to kill the King and Parliament. He understood that Robert Catesby
(the leader of the plot) was just raising a regiment to fight in Flanders
. Catesby had offered to take one of Littletons illegitimate sons as his page. Humphrey had been summoned to Dunchurch
by Robert Catesby
, but following the plot's failure he did not go to his nephew Stephen's Holbeche House
with Stephen and the rest of the main plotters. (Stephen was the son of his elder brother George). Later, Stephen came to him with Robert Wintour. The two men had escaped arrest at Holbeche house
and were on the run.
Littleton arranged for a tenant farmer to harbour the two fugitives, swearing his own servants to secrecy. The fugitives were captured at Hagley Park
on the 9 January 1606 because the authorities had been informed of their presence by Littleton's cook - John Fynwood. Despite Littleton's protests that he was not harbouring anyone, a search was made and another servant, David Bate, showed where the two plotters were escaping from a courtyard into the countryside. All three of them were to be tried and executed.
Littleton had visited and taken mass with Father Oldcorne
and he let it be known that the priest was at Hindlip Hall
. This information was to lead to four more people being caught there in priest hole
s ; Father Oldcorne, Ralph Ashley
, Henry Garnet
and Nicholas Owen
. Ironically Nicholas Owen had constructed the hideaways. Moreover it was Muriel Littleton's brother who conducted the search of Hindlip Hall.
At Oldcorne's trial Littleton publicly asked for forgiveness and believed that he deserved to die for betraying his friends. Humphrey Littleton died on 7 April 1606; he was hanged, drawn and quartered
together with Father Oldcorne, John Wintour, Ralph Ashley
and the tenant farmer (called Perkes) at Red Hill
, just outside the city of Worcester
. Owen had died under torture. Garnet was hung in London. Stephen Littleton was executed at Stafford.
Red Hill, Worcester
Red Hill is an area of Worcester, Worcestershire, England. It is in the south-east of the city on the A44. It has historically been used as high ground to attack the city and as a place of execution.-History:...
outside Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
. He was executed for his involvement in 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...
. Robert Wintour and Stephen Littleton who had escaped from the fight at 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:...
were captured at Hagley Park
Hagley Hall
Hagley Hall is an 18th century house in Hagley, Worcestershire. It was the creation of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton , secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, poet and man of letters and briefly Chancellor of the Exchequer...
on the 9 January 1606 despite Littleton's protests that he was not harbouring anyone. It was Littleton who told the authorities that Edward Oldcorne
Edward Oldcorne
Blessed Edward Oldcorne or Oldcorn alias Hall was an English Jesuit priest. He was known to people who knew of the Gunpowder Plot to destroy the Parliament of England and kill King James I, and, although his involvement is unclear, he was caught up in the subsequent investigation...
was hiding at Hindlip Hall
Hindlip Hall
Hindlip Hall is in Worcestershire. The first major hall was built before 1575. It played a significant role in both the Babington and the Gunpowder plots . It was Humphrey Littleton who told the authorities that Edward Oldcorne was hiding here after he had been heard saying Mass at Hindlip Hall...
after he had given him mass. Wintour, Oldcome, and both Littletons were all executed.
Biography
Littleton was one of the eight sons of Sir John LytteltonSir John Lyttelton (1520-1590)
Sir John Lyttelton was the son of Sir John Lyttelton of Frankley and his wife Elizabeth daughter and coheir of Sir Gilbert Talbot. He was of age in 1541. He was made constable of Dudley Castle and keeper of the old and new parks there in 1553. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth...
.. He was also the brother or cousin of another John Littleton
John Lyttelton (MP)
Sir John Lyttelton was a Member of Parliament for Worcestershire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.He was the eldest son of Gilbert Lyttelton and married Meriel, daughter of Sir Thomas Bromley, Lord Chancellor of England...
who had been a member of parliament and had died in gaol for his part in the Essex rebellion
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...
. John had lost his estates at Hagley, Frankley
Frankley
Frankley is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove district of Worcestershire, near the border with Birmingham. The modern Frankley estate is part of the New Frankley civil parish in Birmingham, and has been part of the city since 1995. The parish has a population of 122.-St Leonards...
, Upper Arley
Upper Arley
Upper Arley is a village is a village and civil parish near Kidderminster in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 645.- Amenities :...
and Halesowen
Halesowen
Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...
. Humphrey came from Frankley. This John left a widow called Muriel or Meriel who lived at Hagley Park, her husband's estates having been restored to her by 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...
in 1603.
Before the gunpowder plot was revealed Littleton had little knowledge of the true nature of the plot to kill the King and Parliament. He understood that Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby , was the leader of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605....
(the leader of the plot) was just raising a regiment to fight in 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...
. Catesby had offered to take one of Littletons illegitimate sons as his page. Humphrey had been summoned 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 :...
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....
, but following the plot's failure he did not go to his nephew Stephen's 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:...
with Stephen and the rest of the main plotters. (Stephen was the son of his elder brother George). Later, Stephen came to him with Robert Wintour. The two men had escaped arrest at 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:...
and were on the run.
Littleton arranged for a tenant farmer to harbour the two fugitives, swearing his own servants to secrecy. The fugitives were captured at Hagley Park
Hagley Hall
Hagley Hall is an 18th century house in Hagley, Worcestershire. It was the creation of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton , secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, poet and man of letters and briefly Chancellor of the Exchequer...
on the 9 January 1606 because the authorities had been informed of their presence by Littleton's cook - John Fynwood. Despite Littleton's protests that he was not harbouring anyone, a search was made and another servant, David Bate, showed where the two plotters were escaping from a courtyard into the countryside. All three of them were to be tried and executed.
Littleton had visited and taken mass with Father Oldcorne
Edward Oldcorne
Blessed Edward Oldcorne or Oldcorn alias Hall was an English Jesuit priest. He was known to people who knew of the Gunpowder Plot to destroy the Parliament of England and kill King James I, and, although his involvement is unclear, he was caught up in the subsequent investigation...
and he let it be known that the priest was at Hindlip Hall
Hindlip Hall
Hindlip Hall is in Worcestershire. The first major hall was built before 1575. It played a significant role in both the Babington and the Gunpowder plots . It was Humphrey Littleton who told the authorities that Edward Oldcorne was hiding here after he had been heard saying Mass at Hindlip Hall...
. This information was to lead to four more people being caught there in priest hole
Priest hole
"Priest hole" is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558....
s ; Father Oldcorne, Ralph Ashley
Ralph Ashley
Blessed Ralph Ashley was an English Jesuit lay-brother who became involved with the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929.-Life:...
, Henry Garnet
Henry 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 Nicholas Owen
Nicholas Owen
Nicholas David Arundel Owen is a British journalist and television presenter. He now works for the BBC, presenting on the BBC News channel and BBC One.-Biography:...
. Ironically Nicholas Owen had constructed the hideaways. Moreover it was Muriel Littleton's brother who conducted the search of Hindlip Hall.
At Oldcorne's trial Littleton publicly asked for forgiveness and believed that he deserved to die for betraying his friends. Humphrey Littleton died on 7 April 1606; 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...
together with Father Oldcorne, John Wintour, Ralph Ashley
Ralph Ashley
Blessed Ralph Ashley was an English Jesuit lay-brother who became involved with the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929.-Life:...
and the tenant farmer (called Perkes) at Red Hill
Red Hill, Worcester
Red Hill is an area of Worcester, Worcestershire, England. It is in the south-east of the city on the A44. It has historically been used as high ground to attack the city and as a place of execution.-History:...
, just outside the city of Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
. Owen had died under torture. Garnet was hung in London. Stephen Littleton was executed at Stafford.