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Thomas Percy (plotter)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Percy was a member of the group of provincial English Catholic
s 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. In 1596 a distant relation, Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
, appointed him constable of Alnwick Castle
, responsible for the Percy family's northern estates. He served the earl in the Low Countries
in about 1600–1601, and in the years before 1603 was his intermediary in a series of confidential communications with King James VI of Scotland.
Following James's succession to the English throne in 1603, Percy became disenchanted with the new king, whom he supposed had reneged on his promises of toleration for English Catholics. His meeting in June 1603 with Robert Catesby
, a religious zealot similarly unimpressed with the new royal dynasty, led the following year to his joining Catesby's conspiracy to kill the king and his ministers by blowing up the House of Lords
with gunpowder
. Percy provided the group with funding and secured the leases to certain properties in London, one of which was the undercroft
directly beneath the House of Lords, in which the gunpowder was finally placed. The conspirators also planned to instigate an uprising in the Midlands
, simultaneously kidnapping James's daughter, Princess Elizabeth
. Percy was to remain in London and secure the capture of her brother, Prince Henry
.
When the plot was exposed early on 5 November 1605, Percy immediately fled to the Midlands, catching up with the others en route to Dunchurch
in Warwickshire
. Their flight ended on the border of Staffordshire
, at Holbeche House
, where they were besieged early on 8 November by the pursuing Sheriff of Worcester
and his men. Percy was reportedly killed by the same musketball as Catesby. His body was later exhumed, and his head exhibited outside Parliament.
In his youth Percy was reportedly "very wild more than ordinary, and much given to fighting", although his excesses were tempered somewhat by his conversion to Catholicism. He may have abandoned his first wife for another woman, and was for a time imprisoned for killing a man during a border skirmish. His membership of the plot proved extremely damaging to his patron, the Earl of Northumberland, who although uninvolved was imprisoned in the Tower of London
until 1621.
and his wife Elizabeth Waterton, little is known of Thomas Percy's early life. He was born in 1560 and matriculated
to the constituent college
of Peterhouse
in Cambridge
in 1579. Percy may initially have been a papist
before he was at some point received into the Catholic Church, and he may also have sailed with George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland
, in 1589. In 1591 he married Martha Wright, daughter of Ursula Wright (a convicted recusant) and a sister of Christopher and John Wright
(both later involved in the Gunpowder Plot
). Claims from several authors that Percy may have left Martha "mean and poor" for an unidentified woman in Warwickshire are disputed, but the two were at least estranged. In 1605 Martha and her daughter were living on an annuity funded by the Catholic William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle
. Thomas and Martha's son, Robert, married Emma Mead at Wiveliscombe
in Somerset
on 22 October 1615.
Percy was a tall, physically impressive man, "of serious expression but with an attractive manner", although by his forties he was prematurely greying. He appears to have had some complaint with his clothing; author Alan Haynes describes this as a skin disorder so acute that "he could not endure any shirt but of the finest holland or cambric", although Antonia Fraser
says he had a propensity to sweat so much that he changed his shirt twice a day.
Thomas was the great-grandson of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland
, and the second cousin once removed of the 4th Earl's descendent, Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
. Despite not being a close relative, in 1595 the 9th earl made him responsible for collecting rents from his northern estates, and the following year appointed him constable of Alnwick Castle
. Thomas exercised his authority in a manner which gave some cause for complaint, not least from an officer he replaced, and contemporary reports of his dealings with the earl's tenants include claims of mismanagement and bribery. During a border skirmish he killed James Burne, a Scot, for which he was imprisoned at a London gaol, but his release was secured by the intervention of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
. Thomas subsequently aided Essex in a conspiracy against the Scottish warden of the middle marches, although unlike several others involved in the Gunpowder Plot he was not a member of the earl's failed rebellion of 1601.
Percy has been variously described as a belligerent and eccentric man, with "surges of wild energy subsiding into sloth". The Jesuit priest John Gerard wrote that in his youth Percy had "been very wild more than ordinary, and much given to fighting", while the Jesuit Oswald Tesimond
thought he had been "rather wild and given to the gay life, a man who relied much on his sword and personal courage." According to both men Percy's conversion to Catholicism had a calming influence on him, but biographer Mark Nicholls, who calls Percy "a pugnacious character", says that this was true only up to a point. His excesses did not prevent him from joining Northumberland during his command in the Low Countries
, held from 1600–1601, for which he was rewarded with £200. The earl also appointed Percy his receiver of rents in Cumberland and Northumberland, in 1603. Henry Percy was considered a supporter of the Catholic cause, and on several occasions before 1603, suspecting that Queen Elizabeth I
did not have long to live, he entrusted Thomas with the delivery of secret correspondence to and from her probable successor, King James VI of Scotland. Northumberland's uncle had been executed for his involvement in the Rising of the North
, a plot to replace Elizabeth with James's mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. He planned to make up for his family's disgrace by building a strong relationship with James, but also wished to counter the influence of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
, whose father (it was rumoured) James believed had been responsible for Mary's death.
Exactly what assurances James gave Percy are unknown. Tesimond wrote that he made "very generous promises to favour Catholics actively", and "he would admit them to every kind of honour and office", but the consensus among historians is that what promises James did make were oral, rather than written. Fraser posits that the Scottish king probably intended to allow Catholics to worship privately, which if true was a much more reserved view than that subsequently announced by Percy, who told his fellow Catholics that the king had promised to protect their religion. Considering the "quaintness" of James's spoken English there may have been some misunderstanding on both sides. In his surviving correspondence with Northumberland, the king wrote only that neither would "quiet" Catholics be disturbed, nor would those that deserved recognition "through their good service" be overlooked. This mixing of signals was to have lasting consequences.
Percy became the fifth member of the plot on Sunday 20 May 1604. Almost a year earlier he had called at Robert Catesby
's home at Ashby St Ledgers. He complained bitterly about James, who since succeeding Elizabeth had done little to fulfil his expectations. He threatened to kill the new king with his own hands, but was asked by Catesby to restrain himself, and told "I am thinking of a most sure way and I will soon let thee know what it is." Thus Percy found himself at the Duck and Drake inn near the Strand
in London, along with Robert Catesby and his cousin Thomas Wintour
, John Wright and Guy Fawkes
. His first words at the meeting were "Shall we always, gentlemen, talk and never do anything?" All five later swore an oath of secrecy on a prayer book, and then celebrated Mass in another room with the Jesuit priest John Gerard, who was ignorant of their pact.
While the plotters did not yet have a detailed plan, Percy's appointment on 9 June as a Gentleman Pensioner gave him a reason to establish a London base. Through Northumberland's agents Dudley Carleton
and John Hippesley, he subleased a house in Westminster
from Henry Ferrers, a tenant of John Whynniard, and installed Fawkes there as his servant, "John Johnson". On 25 March 1605 Percy also obtained the lease for the undercroft directly underneath the first-floor House of Lords. It was into this room that the plotters moved 36 barrels of gunpowder from Catesby's lodgings on the opposite side of the River Thames
. The plan was that during the State Opening of Parliament, at which the king and his ministers would be present, the plotters would create a huge explosion, destroying the House of Lords and killing all those within it. James's daughter, Princess Elizabeth
, would be captured during a Midlands
uprising, and installed as a titular queen.
Percy spent Autumn 1605 collecting Northumberland's rents. By October Catesby had enlisted a total of 12 Catholic men, and the last remaining plot details were now being considered. Several conspirators began to express disquiet over the safety of fellow Catholics who would be caught in the planned explosion. Percy's concern was for his patron, Northumberland, who it seems might have been made Lord Protector
if the plot had succeeded. Lord Monteagle
's name was also mentioned, by a worried Francis Tresham
. The fate of Elizabeth's brother, Prince Henry
, was uncertain; although the plotters presumed that he would die with his father, they decided that if he did not attend Parliament that it would be Percy's responsibility to kidnap him.
, warning him to stay away from Parliament. Uncertain of its meaning he delivered it to Salisbury, who before he received the letter was already aware of certain stirrings, although he did not then know the exact nature of the plot or who exactly was involved. Rather than inform the king he decided to wait, to see how events unfolded. Catesby's reaction was somewhat different; he and Wintour suspected Tresham was the letter's author and went to confront him. Tresham managed to convince the pair of his innocence, all the while urging them to abandon the plot. Percy reacted to the news by declaring that he was ready to "abide the uttermost trial". He may have visited the infant Prince Charles
on 1 November, indicating perhaps that some rearrangement of the plan was being considered. The deposition of a servant claimed that he visited the prince's lodgings, and "made many enquiries as to the way into his chamber", although the statement came too late for Percy to comment on it.
Percy visited Northumberland on 4 November, at Syon House
, west of London. Fraser suggests that his visit was a "fishing expedition", to find out what, if anything, Northumberland had heard about the letter. It would later prove disastrous for the earl, who claimed that there was nothing treasonable about their conversation, and that Percy had merely asked him "whether he would command any service" before leaving. Percy then went to another of Northumberland's properties, Essex House
in London, and spoke with his nephew, Josceline. Later that evening he met with Wintour, John Wright and Robert Keyes
, and assured them that all was well, before heading to his lodgings along Gray's Inn Road
, where he left orders for his horses to be made ready for an early departure the next morning.
, in 1567. The following day the Privy Council told him that they had decided to undertake a search of Parliament, "both above and below". The first, headed by Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
, was made on 4 November. He noticed in the undercroft beneath the House of Lords a large pile of faggots, and a tall man who appeared to be a servant. The party were told by the owner of the house, John Whynniard, that its tenancy was then held by Thomas Percy, relation to the Earl of Northumberland. Monteagle, present during the search, immediately told Suffolk that he suspected Percy was the letter's author. The king ordered a second, more thorough search to be made, and at about midnight Fawkes was discovered guarding the gunpowder, and arrested.
As Fawkes identified himself as John Johnson, servant to Thomas Percy, it was Percy's name which appeared on the government's first arrest warrant. It described him as a "tall, florid man, with a broad beard—'the head more white then the beard'—and stooping shoulders, being also 'long footed, small legged'". The celebrated astrologer Simon Foreman was employed to divine his whereabouts, a rider was sent to look for him in northern England, and a search was made of Essex House. All of this was in vain, however, as Percy had been forewarned of Fawkes's capture and had already left London with Christopher Wright, telling a servant as he went, "I am undone." Fleeing for the Midlands, the two men met Catesby and the others (who had left for the Midlands uprising) and continued on to Dunchurch
, at one point throwing their cloaks off to increase their speed. A relative of Lieutenant of the Tower of London William Waad encountered Percy leaving London, which led to Waad writing the following letter to Salisbury on 5 November:
Percy's flight ended with some of his fellow conspirators at about 10:00 pm on 7 November, at Holbeche House
on the border of Staffordshire
. He was unharmed by a gunpowder accident that injured Catesby and a few of the others, but those remaining resolved to stay and wait for the arrival of government forces, who were only hours behind. Thus at 11:00 am the following morning Richard Walsh, Sheriff of Worcester
, and his company of 200 men besieged the house. In the ensuing firefight Percy was reportedly killed by the same musketball as Catesby, fired by a John Streete of Worcester. News of the battle soon reached London, rendering superfluous a government proclamation made on the same day, offering a rich reward for his capture. The survivors were taken into custody and the dead buried near Holbeche, but on the orders of the Earl of Northampton
, the bodies of Percy and Catesby were exhumed, and their heads displayed on spikes at "the side of the Parliament House".
With Thomas dead, there was nobody who could either implicate or clear Henry Percy of any involvement in the plot. His failure to ensure that Thomas took the Oath of Supremacy
upon his appointment as a Gentleman Pensioner, and his meeting on 4 November, was damning evidence against him, and the Privy Council also suspected that had the plot succeeded, he would have been Princess Elizabeth's protector. With insufficient evidence to convict him he was charged with contempt, fined £30,000 and stripped of all public offices. He remained in the Tower until 1621.
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"...
s who planned the failed 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...
of 1605. A tall, physically impressive man, little is known of his early life beyond his matriculation
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
in 1579 to Peterhouse
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
College in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, and his marriage in 1591 to Martha Wright. In 1596 a distant relation, Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland KG was an English aristocrat. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Henry was a long-term prisoner in the Tower of London. He is known for the circles he moved in as well as for his own achievements...
, appointed him constable of Alnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle is a castle and stately home in the town of the same name in the English county of Northumberland. It is the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest, and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:Alnwick...
, responsible for the Percy family's northern estates. He served the earl in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
in about 1600–1601, and in the years before 1603 was his intermediary in a series of confidential communications with King James VI of Scotland.
Following James's succession to the English throne in 1603, Percy became disenchanted with the new king, whom he supposed had reneged on his promises of toleration for English Catholics. His meeting in June 1603 with 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 similarly unimpressed with the new royal dynasty, led the following year to his joining Catesby's conspiracy to kill the king and his ministers by blowing up the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
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...
. Percy provided the group with funding and secured the leases to certain properties in London, one of which was the undercroft
Undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground area which is relatively open to the sides, but covered by the building above.- History :While some...
directly beneath the House of Lords, in which the gunpowder was finally placed. The conspirators also planned to instigate an uprising in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, simultaneously kidnapping 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...
. Percy was to remain in London and secure the capture of her brother, Prince Henry
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
.
When the plot was exposed early on 5 November 1605, Percy immediately fled to the Midlands, catching up with the others en route 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 :...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. Their flight ended on the border of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, 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:...
, where they were besieged early on 8 November 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. Percy was reportedly killed by the same musketball as Catesby. His body was later exhumed, and his head exhibited outside Parliament.
In his youth Percy was reportedly "very wild more than ordinary, and much given to fighting", although his excesses were tempered somewhat by his conversion to Catholicism. He may have abandoned his first wife for another woman, and was for a time imprisoned for killing a man during a border skirmish. His membership of the plot proved extremely damaging to his patron, the Earl of Northumberland, who although uninvolved 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...
until 1621.
Life before 1603
The younger of two sons born to Edward Percy of BeverleyBeverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
and his wife Elizabeth Waterton, little is known of Thomas Percy's early life. He was born in 1560 and matriculated
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
to the constituent college
Colleges of the University of Cambridge
This is a list of the colleges within the University of Cambridge. These colleges are the primary source of accommodation for undergraduates and graduates at the University and at the undergraduate level have responsibility for admitting students and organising their tuition. They also provide...
of Peterhouse
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1579. Percy may initially have been a 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...
before he was at some point received into the Catholic Church, and he may also have sailed with George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland
George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland
Sir George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, KG was an English peer, as well as a naval commander and courtier in the court of Queen Elizabeth I.-Background:...
, in 1589. In 1591 he married Martha Wright, daughter of Ursula Wright (a convicted recusant) and a sister of Christopher 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...
(both later involved 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...
). Claims from several authors that Percy may have left Martha "mean and poor" for an unidentified woman in Warwickshire are disputed, but the two were at least estranged. In 1605 Martha and her daughter were living on an annuity funded by the Catholic William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle
William 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...
. Thomas and Martha's son, Robert, married Emma Mead at Wiveliscombe
Wiveliscombe
Wiveliscombe is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The town has a population of 2,670. The parish includes the nearby hamlet of Maundown.-History:...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
on 22 October 1615.
Percy was a tall, physically impressive man, "of serious expression but with an attractive manner", although by his forties he was prematurely greying. He appears to have had some complaint with his clothing; author Alan Haynes describes this as a skin disorder so acute that "he could not endure any shirt but of the finest holland or cambric", although 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...
says he had a propensity to sweat so much that he changed his shirt twice a day.
Thomas was the great-grandson of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, KG son of Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland and his wife Eleanor Poynings, daughter of Richard Poynings, Lord Poynings....
, and the second cousin once removed of the 4th Earl's descendent, Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland KG was an English aristocrat. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Henry was a long-term prisoner in the Tower of London. He is known for the circles he moved in as well as for his own achievements...
. Despite not being a close relative, in 1595 the 9th earl made him responsible for collecting rents from his northern estates, and the following year appointed him constable of Alnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle is a castle and stately home in the town of the same name in the English county of Northumberland. It is the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest, and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:Alnwick...
. Thomas exercised his authority in a manner which gave some cause for complaint, not least from an officer he replaced, and contemporary reports of his dealings with the earl's tenants include claims of mismanagement and bribery. During a border skirmish he killed James Burne, a Scot, for which he was imprisoned at a London gaol, but his release was secured by the intervention of Robert Devereux, 2nd 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...
. Thomas subsequently aided Essex in a conspiracy against the Scottish warden of the middle marches, although unlike several others involved in the Gunpowder Plot he was not a member of the earl's failed rebellion of 1601.
Percy has been variously described as a belligerent and eccentric man, with "surges of wild energy subsiding into sloth". The Jesuit priest John Gerard wrote that in his youth Percy had "been very wild more than ordinary, and much given to fighting", while 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....
thought he had been "rather wild and given to the gay life, a man who relied much on his sword and personal courage." According to both men Percy's conversion to Catholicism had a calming influence on him, but biographer Mark Nicholls, who calls Percy "a pugnacious character", says that this was true only up to a point. His excesses did not prevent him from joining Northumberland during his command in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, held from 1600–1601, for which he was rewarded with £200. The earl also appointed Percy his receiver of rents in Cumberland and Northumberland, in 1603. Henry Percy was considered a supporter of the Catholic cause, and on several occasions before 1603, suspecting that 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...
did not have long to live, he entrusted Thomas with the delivery of secret correspondence to and from her probable successor, King James VI of Scotland. Northumberland's uncle had been executed for his involvement in the Rising of the North
Rising of the North
The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.-Background:When Elizabeth I succeeded her...
, a plot to replace Elizabeth with James's mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. He planned to make up for his family's disgrace by building a strong relationship with James, but also wished to counter the influence of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC was an English administrator and politician.-Life:He was the son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Mildred Cooke...
, whose father (it was rumoured) James believed had been responsible for Mary's death.
Exactly what assurances James gave Percy are unknown. Tesimond wrote that he made "very generous promises to favour Catholics actively", and "he would admit them to every kind of honour and office", but the consensus among historians is that what promises James did make were oral, rather than written. Fraser posits that the Scottish king probably intended to allow Catholics to worship privately, which if true was a much more reserved view than that subsequently announced by Percy, who told his fellow Catholics that the king had promised to protect their religion. Considering the "quaintness" of James's spoken English there may have been some misunderstanding on both sides. In his surviving correspondence with Northumberland, the king wrote only that neither would "quiet" Catholics be disturbed, nor would those that deserved recognition "through their good service" be overlooked. This mixing of signals was to have lasting consequences.
Plot
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby , was the leader of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605....
's home at Ashby St Ledgers. He complained bitterly about James, who since succeeding Elizabeth had done little to fulfil his expectations. He threatened to kill the new king with his own hands, but was asked by Catesby to restrain himself, and told "I am thinking of a most sure way and I will soon let thee know what it is." Thus Percy found himself at the Duck and Drake inn near the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
in London, along with Robert Catesby and his cousin 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...
, John Wright and 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...
. His first words at the meeting were "Shall we always, gentlemen, talk and never do anything?" All five later swore an oath of secrecy on a prayer book, and then celebrated Mass in another room with the Jesuit priest John Gerard, who was ignorant of their pact.
While the plotters did not yet have a detailed plan, Percy's appointment on 9 June as a Gentleman Pensioner gave him a reason to establish a London base. Through Northumberland's agents Dudley Carleton
Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester
Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester was an English art collector, diplomat and Secretary of State.-Early life:He was the second son of Antony Carleton of Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, and of Jocosa, daughter of John Goodwin of Winchendon, Buckinghamshire...
and John Hippesley, he subleased a house in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
from Henry Ferrers, a tenant of John Whynniard, and installed Fawkes there as his servant, "John Johnson". On 25 March 1605 Percy also obtained the lease for the undercroft directly underneath the first-floor House of Lords. It was into this room that the plotters moved 36 barrels of gunpowder from Catesby's lodgings on the opposite side of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. The plan was that during the State Opening of Parliament, at which the king and his ministers would be present, the plotters would create a huge explosion, destroying the House of Lords and killing all those within it. 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...
, would be captured during a Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
uprising, and installed as a titular queen.
Percy spent Autumn 1605 collecting Northumberland's rents. By October Catesby had enlisted a total of 12 Catholic men, and the last remaining plot details were now being considered. Several conspirators began to express disquiet over the safety of fellow Catholics who would be caught in the planned explosion. Percy's concern was for his patron, Northumberland, who it seems might have been made Lord Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
if the plot had succeeded. Lord Monteagle
William 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...
's name was also mentioned, by a worried Francis Tresham
Francis Tresham
Francis Tresham , eldest son of Sir Thomas Tresham and Merial Throckmorton, was a member of the group of English provincial catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I of England...
. The fate of Elizabeth's brother, Prince Henry
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
, was uncertain; although the plotters presumed that he would die with his father, they decided that if he did not attend Parliament that it would be Percy's responsibility to kidnap him.
Monteagle letter
On Saturday 26 October Monteagle received an anonymous letter while at his house in HoxtonHoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
, warning him to stay away from Parliament. Uncertain of its meaning he delivered it to Salisbury, who before he received the letter was already aware of certain stirrings, although he did not then know the exact nature of the plot or who exactly was involved. Rather than inform the king he decided to wait, to see how events unfolded. Catesby's reaction was somewhat different; he and Wintour suspected Tresham was the letter's author and went to confront him. Tresham managed to convince the pair of his innocence, all the while urging them to abandon the plot. Percy reacted to the news by declaring that he was ready to "abide the uttermost trial". He may have visited the infant Prince Charles
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
on 1 November, indicating perhaps that some rearrangement of the plan was being considered. The deposition of a servant claimed that he visited the prince's lodgings, and "made many enquiries as to the way into his chamber", although the statement came too late for Percy to comment on it.
Percy visited Northumberland on 4 November, at Syon House
Syon House
Syon House, with its 200-acre park, is situated in west London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence...
, west of London. Fraser suggests that his visit was a "fishing expedition", to find out what, if anything, Northumberland had heard about the letter. It would later prove disastrous for the earl, who claimed that there was nothing treasonable about their conversation, and that Percy had merely asked him "whether he would command any service" before leaving. Percy then went to another of Northumberland's properties, Essex House
Essex House (London)
Essex House was a house in London, built around 1575 for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and originally called Leicester House.The property occupied the site where the Outer Temple, part of the London headquarters of the Knights Templar, had previously stood , and was immediately adjacent to the...
in London, and spoke with his nephew, Josceline. Later that evening he met with Wintour, John Wright and 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...
, and assured them that all was well, before heading to his lodgings along Gray's Inn Road
Gray's Inn Road
Gray's Inn Road, formerly Gray's Inn Lane, is a major road in central London, in the London Borough of Camden. It is named after Gray's Inn, one of the main Inns of Court. The road starts in Holborn, near Chancery Lane tube station and the boundaries of the City of London and the London Borough...
, where he left orders for his horses to be made ready for an early departure the next morning.
Failure and death
The letter had been shown to the king several days previously, on Friday 1 November. James felt that it hinted at "some strategem of fire and powder", perhaps an explosion exceeding in violence the one that killed his father, Lord DarnleyHenry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field...
, in 1567. The following day the Privy Council told him that they had decided to undertake a search of Parliament, "both above and below". The first, headed by Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG, PC was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, the daughter and heiress of the 1st Baron Audley of Walden....
, was made on 4 November. He noticed in the undercroft beneath the House of Lords a large pile of faggots, and a tall man who appeared to be a servant. The party were told by the owner of the house, John Whynniard, that its tenancy was then held by Thomas Percy, relation to the Earl of Northumberland. Monteagle, present during the search, immediately told Suffolk that he suspected Percy was the letter's author. The king ordered a second, more thorough search to be made, and at about midnight Fawkes was discovered guarding the gunpowder, and arrested.
As Fawkes identified himself as John Johnson, servant to Thomas Percy, it was Percy's name which appeared on the government's first arrest warrant. It described him as a "tall, florid man, with a broad beard—'the head more white then the beard'—and stooping shoulders, being also 'long footed, small legged'". The celebrated astrologer Simon Foreman was employed to divine his whereabouts, a rider was sent to look for him in northern England, and a search was made of Essex House. All of this was in vain, however, as Percy had been forewarned of Fawkes's capture and had already left London with Christopher Wright, telling a servant as he went, "I am undone." Fleeing for the Midlands, the two men met Catesby and the others (who had left for the Midlands uprising) and continued 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 :...
, at one point throwing their cloaks off to increase their speed. A relative of Lieutenant of the Tower of London William Waad encountered Percy leaving London, which led to Waad writing the following letter to Salisbury on 5 November:
Percy's flight ended with some of his fellow conspirators at about 10:00 pm on 7 November, 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:...
on the border of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. He was unharmed by a gunpowder accident that injured Catesby and a few of the others, but those remaining resolved to stay and wait for the arrival of government forces, who were only hours behind. Thus at 11:00 am the following morning Richard Walsh, 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 company of 200 men besieged the house. In the ensuing firefight Percy was reportedly killed by the same musketball as Catesby, fired by a John Streete of Worcester. News of the battle soon reached London, rendering superfluous a government proclamation made on the same day, offering a rich reward for his capture. The survivors were taken into custody and the dead buried near Holbeche, but on the orders of the Earl of Northampton
Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton
Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton was a significant English aristocrat and courtier. He was suspect as a crypto-Catholic throughout his life, and went through periods of royal disfavour, in which his reputation suffered greatly. He was distinguished for learning, artistic culture and his...
, the bodies of Percy and Catesby were exhumed, and their heads displayed on spikes at "the side of the Parliament House".
With Thomas dead, there was nobody who could either implicate or clear Henry Percy of any involvement in the plot. His failure to ensure that Thomas took the Oath of Supremacy
Oath of Supremacy
The Oath of Supremacy, originally imposed by King Henry VIII of England through the Act of Supremacy 1534, but repealed by his daughter, Queen Mary I of England and reinstated under Mary's sister, Queen Elizabeth I of England under the Act of Supremacy 1559, provided for any person taking public or...
upon his appointment as a Gentleman Pensioner, and his meeting on 4 November, was damning evidence against him, and the Privy Council also suspected that had the plot succeeded, he would have been Princess Elizabeth's protector. With insufficient evidence to convict him he was charged with contempt, fined £30,000 and stripped of all public offices. He remained in the Tower until 1621.