Here are some interesting facts about Bonfire night, for you to read throughout the week:-
- Guy Fawkes was not the ring leader of the gunpowder plot. The real leader was Robert Catesby who planned the whole thing. He recruited 12 other men, including Guy Fawkes to help
- The aim of the Gunpowder Plot was to blow up the houses of Parliament with King James I inside. James I was a protestant King and Robert Catesby and his men where Catholics. They wanted England to become a Catholic country once more and believed that killing James I would achieve this
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To get to the Houses of Parliament the plotters had to dig underneath it. This meant renting a house close to Parliament and digging a tunnel underneath the streets of London to reach it. For almost a year the plotters dug their tunnel, until March 1605 when a cellar underneath the House of Lords became available to rent
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The plotters moved 36 barrels of gun powder underneath Parliament and hid it under straw in case any one looked into their Cellar
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Ten days before the plot was due to be put into action one if the Kings friends received a letter warning him to stay away from Parliament. After considering if it was a real threat or a hoax, it was decided that Parliament would be searched
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On the 5th November 1605 guards searched the Houses of Parliament and the cellars underneath. They found Guy Fawkes and interviewed him. However they did not find the gun powder and left, leaving Guy Fawkes to think the plan would still go ahead. Later in the evening the guards returned to the cellar and found Guy Fawkes and the Gun Powder. He was arrested immediately
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Guy Fawkes refused to reveal who was also involved in the plot, however after being tortured he did give up the names of the other men. Catesby and some of the plotters decide to flee and ended up in Worcestershire, after stealing horses from Warwick Castle. They were closely followed by the authorities and a gun fight ensued. Catesby died while others were arrested or escaped
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Guy Fawkes and the remaining plotters were tried and sentenced to death by being hung, drawn and quartered! Their heads were then placed on spikes as an example to others
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If the plan had succeeded it would of not only blown up the Houses of Parliament but also Westminster Hall, Westminster Abbey and many streets near by
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Even to this day the Yeoman of the Guard checks Parliament and the cellars below before the official State Opening. This began the year after the Gunpowder Plot to ensure the visiting Monarch is safe
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