Thomas Wintour

Thomas Wintour, the son of George Wintour, was born in 1572. His father had hop yards and 25 salt-evaporating pans at Droitwich. His brother, Robert Wintour, inherited these estates when his father died in 1594.

In 1603 Wintour travelled to Spain with Christopher Wright in an attempt to persuade Phillip III to provide aid to support a Catholic uprising.

In 1605 Robert 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 and his brother Robert Wintour, 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.

Crispen van de Passe, The Gunpowder Plot Conspirators (c.1606) — Crispen van de Passe, *The Gunpowder Plot Conspirators* (c.1606)

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. Robert Catesby and his men refused to surrender and gunfire broke out. Over the next few minutes Catesby, Christopher Wright and John Wright were killed. Thomas Wintour was captured and was later executed.