Gunpowder, treason & plot

Stop 1: Coughton Court

Alcester, B49 5JA

When Henry VIII broke from Rome in the 1530s, Catholicism shifted from the established faith of England to a dangerous act of defiance - by Elizabeth I's reign, attending Mass was illegal, harbouring a priest was punishable by death, and refusing to attend Church of England services brought heavy fines. The Catholic Throckmortons were Catesby's maternal family and at the time suffered penalties as recusants. It was here that Catesby placed Sir Everard Digby - one of the chief conspirators - along with his family and a group of Jesuit priests. Prudently, Thomas Throckmorton moved abroad in the run-up to the plot, leaving the house to be rented to Digby.

In the cold early hours of 6 November, those waiting to hear news of the plot at Coughton Court heard that the plot had failed. Fawkes had been caught. 

The Throckmortons - remarkably - escaped with both their lives and their property intact. The family have lived at Coughton since 1409 and resumed day-to-day management of the house from the National Trust in 2026.

Travel

• 60 miles, approx. 1 hour

Stop 2: Ashby St Ledgers Manor House

Main Street, Ashby St Ledgers, CV23 8UN Private estate - gatehouse and village viewable from the lane 

The Manor House at Ashby St Ledgers was the principal seat of the Catesby family, and it was in the room above the half-timbered gatehouse - still standing, still recognisable - that Robert Catesby and his fellow conspirators gathered to plan what would become the most audacious assassination attempt in English history.

When the plot failed on the morning of 5 November 1605, it was here that Catesby first received the news. He rode immediately to Dunchurch to rally the conspirators waiting there, but most fled when they understood what had happened. 

The manor is now a private holiday and events venue, but the medieval gatehouse arch and the village itself are viewable from the lane. Walk around the village, read the church memorial boards and reflect on how close it all came to succeeding.

Travel

• 6 miles, 12 minutes via A361 and A45

Stop 3: Lunch

Dunchurch is a designated conservation area and a regular winner of the Best Kept Warwickshire Village award - it rewards a slow walk around. The Dun Cow on the village green is the obvious stop for lunch or a drink, a traditional pub and restaurant whose name carries its own Warwickshire legend - the monstrous beast slain by Guy of Warwick. The Green Man, one of the original coaching inns on the old London to Holyhead road, is the quieter alternative a short walk away.

Stop 4: Guy Fawkes House (former Red Lion Inn), Dunchurch

Private residence - viewable from the village green, Dunchurch, Rugby

After lunch, stand on the green where the conspirators' horses were tethered and imagine the frantic scene when news arrived that Fawkes had been caught. Catesby, who had been at Ashby St Ledgers nearby, rode to the Lion Inn, the 16th century timber-framed building on Daventry Road in Dunchurch. 

On the morning of 4 November, Sir Everard Digby and several others installed themselves here. The plan was that once word arrived from London that Parliament had been blown up and the King was dead, that they would ride the eight miles to Coombe Abbey, seize Princess Elizabeth and proclaim her monarch. They spent the day waiting. When news that the plot failed, he and the remaining conspirators, rode across Warwickshire and Worcestershire trying and failing to incite a Catholic uprising. 

The building is now a private home, renamed Guy Fawkes House by Dunchurch Parish Council in 1951 - though Guy Fawkes himself never lived here or owned it. The plaque on the wall reads: "This was the old Lion Inn where the Gunpowder Plot conspirators met on 5th November 1605 to await news of the destruction of Westminster. Upon the arrest of Guy Fawkes their plan to seize Princess Elizabeth from nearby Coombe Abbey was abandoned and the rebellion which led to their defeat three days after the fifth was planned by the conspirators here at the Lion."

While you're in Dunchurch, look up. The statue in the village square depicts Lord John Montague Douglas Scott (1809–1860) - local landowner, MP known for being fair, approachable and involved in village life. When he died in 1860, it was his tenants who paid for the memorial, erecting it in 1867 "in affectionate remembrance." Today that affection continues with villagers sometimes dressing the statue for events.

Travel

• 8 miles, 20 minutes via A45

Stop 5: Coombe Abbey Hotel & Country Park

Brinklow Road, Binley, Coventry, CV3 2AB

Princess Elizabeth, James I's daughter, arrived at Coombe Abbey in 1603, where she was raised and educated for five years in a range of subjects. She kept several pets, had an aviary built. The plotters had designed to leave the Princess unguarded for the planned kidnap, which in the end never happened.

The house interior is accessible to hotel guests only, but the rest of the estate is open to all. Coombe Abbey Country Park makes a perfect addition to a visit to nearby Coombe Abbey, famed for its indulgent afternoon tea. Set within 500 acres of historic parkland, the grounds offer lakeside walks, woodland trails and sweeping views shaped by centuries of estate history, alongside the thrill of the Go Ape treetop adventure course hidden among the trees. Whether you’re gliding through the canopy or enjoying a gentle stroll, pairing outdoor adventure or relaxation with afternoon tea creates a memorable Warwickshire day out.

Finish your day with dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Optional extra: Baddesley Clinton

Rising Lane, Baddesley Clinton, B93 0DQ

Baddesley Clinton. wasn't a meeting place for conspirators - but it was at the heart of the recusant Catholic network that produced them, and nowhere in Warwickshire brings that world to life more vividly.

In the 1590s the house was rented by Anne Vaux, an ardent Catholic who used its remoteness, solid walls and moat to shelter priests at a time when harbouring them was a capital offence. She commissioned concealed spaces for up to twelve priests. The priest holes are still there, cut into the former sewer beneath the kitchen floor. On one occasion five priests hid for four hours in the dark, ankle-deep in cold water, while priest-hunters ransacked the house above them. The fear in those walls is not imagined.

The family connections to the plot are real but should not be overstated. Anne Vaux was a cousin of Francis Tresham, one of the conspirators and Father Henry Garnet, the Jesuit priest she sheltered here, was later executed in the aftermath of the plot, not for foreknowledge of it but for hearing confession from someone involved. Baddesley Clinton helps tell that story of life as a Catholic that nearby Warwickshire men conspired to do something about.