Thomas
Percy was born in about 1558. He studied at Cambridge
University and graduated in 1580. As a young man he gained a reputation
as a swordsman and fought many duels.
In
1591 Percy married Martha Wright, the sister of Christopher
Wright
and John
Wright.
Four years later, a relative, the Earl of Northumberland, appointed
him as his agent. This involved him managing the Earl's estates. Later
he was employed as Constable of Alnwick Castle.
Northumberland
was a Roman
Catholic
and in 1602 sent Percy to Scotland with letters to James
where
he argued that Catholics would accept him as king if he brought an
end to the persecution of religious dissents. Later Percy told his
friends that James had promised to treat Catholics as equals with
Protestants.
When
Elizabeth
I died
in 1603 without children, James became king. Roman
Catholics became
very angry when James passed a law that imposed heavy fines on people
who did not attend Protestant church services.
In
1605 Catesby devised the Gunpowder
Plot,
a scheme to kill James
and
as many Members of Parliament as possible. Catesby planned to make
the king's young daughter, Elizabeth, queen. In time, Catesby hoped
to arrange Elizabeth's marriage to a Catholic nobleman. Over the next
few months Catesby recruited Thomas
Percy to
join the conspiracy.
Catesby's
plan involved blowing up the Houses of Parliament on 5 November. This
date was chosen because the king was due to open Parliament on that
day. At first the group tried to tunnel under Parliament. This plan
changed when a member of the group was able to hire a cellar under
the House of Lords. The plotters then filled
the cellar with barrels of gunpowder. Guy
Fawkes was
given the task of creating the explosion.
One of the people involved
in the plot was Francis
Tresham. He
was worried that the explosion would kill his friend and brother-in-law,
Lord Monteagle. Tresham therefore sent
Lord Monteagle a letter warning him not to attend Parliament on 5
November.
Lord Monteagle became
suspicious and passed the letter to Robert
Cecil, the king's chief minister. Cecil quickly organised a thorough
search of the Houses of Parliament. While searching
the cellars below the House of Lords they found the gunpowder and
Guy Fawkes. He was tortured and he eventually
gave the names of his fellow conspirators.
The conspirators left London
and agreed to meet at Holbeche House in Staffordshire. News of their
hiding place reached the Sheriff of Worcester and on 8th November
the house was surrounded by troops. The men refused to surrender and
gunfire broke out. Over the next few minutes Thomas Percy, Robert
Catesby, Christopher
Wright
and John
Wright were killed.
Crispen van de Passe, The
Gunpowder Plot Conspirators (c.1606)
Available
from Amazon Books (order below)
