Jesuit hanged for Gunpowder Plot

Father Garnet was executed for not revealing the Gunpowder Plot

Father Henry Garnet, a Jesuit leader who grew up in Nottingham, was hanged, drawn and quartered in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot.

On 5 November 1605, conspirators attempted to assassinate King James I by blowing up the Houses of Parliament.

The plot was foiled and the conspirators, including explosives expert Guy Fawkes, were executed.

Father Garnet paid the price for knowing about the plot but refusing to inform the authorities.

Father Garnet

Around the time of the Gunpowder Plot, Father Garnet was the head of the Jesuit mission in England.

He was born in 1555 in Heanor, Derbyshire.

His early childhood was spent in Nottingham, where his father, Brian Garnet, was the head master of Nottingham High School.

He learnt of the Gunpowder Plot through Father Oswald Tesimond during confession.

Tesimond had been told of the plans by Robert Catesby, the leader of the plot, also during confession.

Father Garnet tried to dissuade Catesby from proceeding with the November 5 plans.

However, despite knowing of the plot, he decided not to disclose the information on religious grounds.

He was horrified when he learned that the conspirators had gone ahead and as a consequence he feared the Jesuits would suffer.

No applause

A book bound in the skin of Father Henry Garnet

Father Garnet went into hiding in Worcester.

In December 1605, he wrote a letter to the Lords of the King's Privy Council in which he expressed his abhorrence at the plot.

He asked the King's Council to give him a hearing.

Father Garnet conceded that he had spoken to the conspirators but he had no part in, or sympathy with, the conspiracy.

On 15 January 1606, a proclamation for the arrest of Garnet was issued by the government.

Father Garnet was found guilty of treason for not revealing the Gunpowder Plot. He was to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

The date for his execution was set for 3 May 1606 in the churchyard of St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

At the scaffold, where he was to be hanged, Father Garnet crossed his arms over his breast and was cast off the ladder.

He was eventually cut up and his bowels cast into the fire. There was no applause - which was unusual for convicted traitors.

Father Garnet had the people's sympathy and one witness was said to have remarked that he died like a saint.

Life after death

A series of odd things happened after the execution.

A husk of straw found near the scaffold was said to bear the image of Father Garnet.

Also, his head, which was placed on top of a pole near London Bridge, looked to spectators like the head of a man still alive.

In December 2007, a book allegedly bound in the skin of Henry Garnet was bought by a private buyer for £5,400.

This article was produced with the help of The Gunpowder Society.