aBurntShip

                                                       A Jacobean test of Loyalty ?      Sir William Parker (1578-1622),13th Baron Morley, inherited the title the 4th  Lord Monteagle: For the purposes of this post, the modern spelling of the title Lord Monteagle will be used..Other variants included Lord 'Mounteagle' or 'Mownteagle'.                                   The Monteagle Letter, is the most famous anonymous communication in British History. And perhaps the first British bomb scare. A deadly warning to Lord Monteagle -a Roman Catholic- who was due to take his seat in the House of Lords at the state opening of Parliament- on 5th November 1605. Who wrote or perhaps dictated, and delivered  the letter, is still disputed today. In ...

                                           Volpone ( first performed  1606 )  Have been reading'Ben Jonson, Volpone  and the Gunpowder Plot' by Richard Dutton (Cambridge University Press, 2008). In some respects, such a study is a paradox :Volpone's greatest strength is that it is basically a fable that exposes greed and folly, therefore has a timeless appeal . I am not necessarily convinced that 'Volpone' is directly connected to the Gunpowder Treason. But a valuable work nevertheless.                                  ' Volpone'  Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley,1898. Courtesy Wikipedia Netherlands,   Ben Jonson was quite a personality.  A scholar, a builder's apprentice, a soldier, actor, playwright, poet. An Anglican who became a Catholic for a number of years, ...

                      What was the real conspiracy ?                                                   Photo  of Westminster Hall kindly donated by  Gareth Nolan. Recently read  'Guy: The Truth About Guy Fawkes' by Michael Fitzalan  A long quite involved novel, with huge chunks of history thrown in. Based on the notion that the Gunpowder Plot did not occur as a hideous treasonous conspiracy with the intention of devastating Westminster.  In this novel, a group of Catholics facing huge fines for refusing to attend Anglican services, some of them already punished for taking part in the Essex Rebellion of 1601, launch a money making enterprise, partly centred at Westminster. A feasible notion as cellars and undercrofts by the Houses of Parliament were rented out for commercial purpo...

                                  The missing trial of John Wintour  By Unknown (printed for P. Brooksby, I. Deacon, I. Blare, I. Back.) - http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20990/citation, Public Domain, In a previous post published on 1st October 2021,   The Third Wintour Brother I looked at  the participation of John Wintour,  younger half brother to the leading conspirators Thomas Wintour and Robert Wintour. in the Gunpowder Treason,  All three brothers were executed for treason in 1606, facing the full penalty. Surprisingly little has been written about John Wintour.  In fact a mystery surrounds where his trial took place. To recap, John Wintour born either 1586 or 1587, was not connected to the planned attack on Westminster, but was convicted for treason due to taking part in the doomed West Midlands  rebellion organised by some of the key Gunpowder Treaso...

                                  First broadcast by the BBC on 1st November 1980  The Discovery of the Gunpowder Plot and the Taking of Guy Fawkes  (c. 1823) by  Henry Perronet Briggs . In the Public Domain, courtesy of 'Wikipedia'  At time of writing the Play is  available to  Listen Here   Michael Bully, 27th October 2025 . 'Gunpowder, Treason & Plot; Radio Drama, was part of the 'Saturday Night Theatre' series, written by A.J.Walton, with Michael Spice, Christopher Scott and John Moffat. Produced by Margaret Etall. Said to be influenced by Francis Edwards 'The True Story of the Gunpowder Plot' ( 1969). A description of the play read .... But what if the legend is based on a deliberate plan to deceive the country and discredit the Catholics? Why Guy himself was a voluntary participant, only on condition that he would reprieved.  The play starts with G...

                      John Wintour , executed Redhill, April 1606 As we are now entering the Gunpowder Treason Season, thought that would share some of my (inconclusive) research of the life of John Wintour, the younger half brother of Thomas Wintour and Robert Wintour, who were both executed for their involvement in the Gunpowder Plot .I have used the spelling 'Wintour ',  though 'Winter' or 'Wynter' are sometimes used for the family name. For this piece, have broadly taken the official 'King's Book' version of what happened at face value, though quite understand why others choose not to.        The Scene at the Execution of the Gunpowder Plotters. Date: 1606   Nikolaus Visscher  (1597–1651) Following the 400th anniversary of the Plot in 2005,  a new wave of books documentaries, TV dramas have emerged, The downfall of the two elder Wintour brothers was well portrayed and sometimes embel...