On the way down to breakfast, I noticed an empty bottle of alcohol that I had seen a couple of days ago on top of a table, and that had been tucked under the table the following day, was still there.

Once again, it was a self-service breakfast. The bacon had been under the heat lamp for too long and it had dried out and become inedible.

After our failed attempt at visiting Arundells the previous day we considered visiting on our way home. But that was not to be, because it is closed on Wednesdays. Instead, we decided to visit Coughton Court where we knew that the family had recently taken over day to day management of the property the National Trust after several years of the Trust managing it. The Throckmorton family lease Coughton Court from the National Trust who currently own it.

There had been a bad crash on the motorway causing a long delay which meant that we arrived at Coughton just in time for lunch. We found that Magnus Birch Throckmorton, the latest Throckmorton descendent was helping in the café. He got chatting to us about various things including the National Trust and how the National Trust had looked after the family and the property.

After lunch we visited the house first, where I forgot that the priest hole was part way up the spiral staircase which I had elected not to climb. I am fascinated by priest holes so we will have to go back.

We walked around the gardens, including taking a pathway on the nearside of the river bank, although it was a little early in the year to see them at their best. We were told that the best time to visit the gardens is in June.

On the way home, Mr C spotted a sign to a farm shop. We got there just before it closed and he was able to pick up the ingredients for Spaghetti Bolognese della Casa.

I ordered egg and bacon for breakfast which I was expecting to be a small portion without all the added extras of a full cooked breakfast. I was wrong, I was served double quantities of egg and bacon! After breakfast we packed our cases into the car and set off towards Coughton Court which was our chosen stop off point on our journey home. On arrival at Coughton Court we had a cup of tea before taking a tour of the house.

Unfortunately it was raining heavily during our visit which meant we weren’t able to visit the garden and that photo opportunities were limited. However we did drop lucky when we visited the Anglican Church just as a historian started to give a very interesting and informative talk on the history of Coughton Court and the Throckmortons. After the talk it was time for lunch before continuing on our journey home. After such a large breakfast all I needed was a small cake to tide me over until our evening meal.

On the way home from my recent weekend in Oxford, we stopped off at Coughton Court. The beginning of November seems an appropriate time to visit Coughton Court because it and the Throckmorton family who owned it played a pivotal role in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

The plot was the climax of a series of Roman Catholic conspiracies against the Anglican Church and monarchy due to their persecution of Catholics and also the measures taken against them to stop them practicing their faith.

Catholic persecution started during the reign of King Henry VIII, who at the start of his reign was Catholic as was every Christian in England at that time. This changed when the Pope in Rome refused to annul Henry’s marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in 1533. The request for annulment was made because Catherine had not produced an heir to the throne. The refusal from the Pope led to Henry declaring that his marriage to Catherine was over and him proclaiming himself as head of the English Church therefore breaking away from the Catholic Church.

During subsequent successions of monarchs the two competing denominations each learned to fear the other’s rise to power. The reigning monarchs of the day’s religious allegiance always led to suppression of the ‘other’ denomination. Heightened persecutions of Catholics were put in place when Elizabeth I re-established the Church of England after she came to power in 1558.  Catholic Mass became illegal and attendance at Anglican Church services was mandatory with non-attendance leading to heavy fines. All recusants were listed and their names known by the Government. The heads of Catholic families were frequently imprisoned and in 1593 an act was passed that restricted the recusants’ mobility to a 5 mile radius from their homes.

Catholics who did not wish to renounce their faith continued to worship in secret. The sacrament was given by Jesuits who had trained in Europe and came illegally to England. These services took place in secret chapels within homes of prominent Catholics. These precautions were necessary as the houses were regularly searched and if the priests were discovered they would be sentenced to death.

Gunpowder Plot Parliament Cellar - Image source Wiki

Against this backdrop ‘The Gunpowder Plot’, a scheme to blow up the Houses of Parliament killing the King and his Government, was conceived and led by Robert Catesby. There were 13 major players in The Gunpowder Plot; all were ‘recusants’, devout Catholics who rejected the Church of England and wished to practice their faith without persecution. Many were kinsmen of the Throckmortons and other Old Catholic families. They believed that if the Protestant King James and his government were removed from power they could start a rebellion and restore England to a Catholic country. One of the plotters, Sir Everard Digby, moved into Coughton Court which was to be the base for the conspirators.

Guy Fawkes Confession - Image source Wiki

The plot, however, was foiled, at the turn of midnight on November 5^th 1605 just hours before King James I was due to open Parliament. A bearded man dressed in a dark cloak was discovered acting suspiciously in the cellar beneath the House of Lords. When searched he was found to be carrying a watch and some matches. Closer inspection revealed 36 barrels of gunpowder hidden in bundles of firewood. The man, Guy Fawkes, was arrested and brought before the King for questioning where he admitted his intentions. Initially he refused to give his real name and denied the involvement of others. This led to him being tortured to reveal these facts leaving him a broken man hardly able to sign his confession.

Instead of the remaining conspirators using their planned route to join a Midlands uprising, the plotters now had to use the route as a means of escape. The conspirators were hunted down and captured. All were found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death. The Throckmortons were not directly implicated because Thomas’ permanent residence at the time was his house in Weston Underwood having rented Coughton Court to his cousin Digby in 1604. The heads of the so called traitors including those who had died trying to flee were placed on spikes as a chilling deterrent for any other would-be plotters to king and Government.

Each year before the annual state opening of Parliament the cellars of the Palace of Westminster are searched by the Yeoman of the guard. The legacy of a custom that was established after Guy Fawkes was discovered on the 5^th November 1605.

• Sources: The 2009 and 2012 editions of the National Trust guidebook to Coughton Court and The Gunpowder Plot and the connections with the Throckmortons of Coughton Court (Jarrold publishing and Coughton Court 2013)

Coughton Court stands in 25 acres of grounds containing some of the most beautiful gardens in the country:

The name Coughton (pronounced “Coat-un”) suggests a settlement or farm known for the hunting of woodcock or game birds. It is believed that there was a medieval house on the site when John de Throckmorton arrived in 1409 to marry into the de Spiney family. Since that time, Coughton Court has been home to the Throckmortons, one of the UK’s oldest Catholic families.

Through its rich and varied history, the house has witnessed some of the most defining moments in British history – from the court of Henry VIII to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

Coughton Court still has many of its original features including its flamboyant sixteenth-century gate tower. It is one of the last remaining Roman Catholic houses in the country to retain its historic treasures: it houses one of the very best collections of portraits and memorabilia of one family from the early Tudor times. Alongside family items on display, there are pieces such as the chemise reputedly worn by Mary Queen of Scots when she was executed and a bishop’s Cope, with intricate needlework, believed to have been worked upon by Catherine of Aragon.