In 1605 a group of Catholic dissidents attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London, in what would have been the biggest act of treason ever committed in the UK. The plan was to prelude a Catholic revolt to overthrow the Protestant monarchy and install a Catholic Head of State. Fortunately the plot failed after an anonymous letter was sent to a Member of Parliament, and as a result those involved were captured and executed. But the events of November 5th 1605 have left an indelible mark on English culture and traditions, as the events of that fateful night are celebrated today, every year on November 5th, often known as Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night.
Whilst there were several plotters, by far the most famous was York-born Guy Fawkes. He was the person discovered with the gunpowder in the cellars under the Houses of Parliament, and his arrest led to the failure of the plot and rounding up of all of the other conspirators. All of the conspirators were tried for high treason, tortured and executed in the Tower of London.
Guy Fawkes' Birthplace - Petergate
Guy Fawkes was born in High Petergate; there is now a blue plaque on the building, near St. Michal le Belfrey commemorating his life.
St Peters School, Bootham - Guy Fawkes' school
He was educated nearby at St Peters School, now located on Bootham. Interestingly on Bonfire Night each year, the school still hold a bonfire and fireworks display. But they don’t “burn the guy” as is tradition elsewhere, as it is considered inappropriate to burn an ‘old-boy’ of the school. Several of the other conspirators also went to St. Peters School including John and Christopher Wright, Edward Oldcorne, and Robert Middleton.
Incredibly, some of the gunpowder guarded by Fawkes may have survived. In March 2002 workers cataloguing archives of diarist John Evelyn at the British Library found a box containing a number of gunpowder samples, including a compressed bar with a note in Evelyn’s handwriting stating that it had belonged to Guy Fawkes. A further note, written in the 19th century, confirmed this provenance, but in 1952 the document acquired a new comment: “but there was none left”.
