The constable of Alnwick Castle and the Earl of Northumberland: the brains behind the gunpowder plot

Henry Percy, nicknamed Harry Hotspur, was the Earl of Northumberland, and cousin to Thomas Percy, the constable of Alnwick Castle in 1596.

The cousins are thought to have had major involvement in the historic gunpowder plot and the origin of what we now celebrate as Guy Fawkes, or bonfire night.

It was rumoured that Thomas despised King James for his continued persecution of the Catholics, and Henry, despite being a protestant himself, was a Catholic sympathiser.

The Earl of Northumberland would send his cousin on missions to find out any information about the king becoming more tolerant towards Catholics – and in 1604 after becoming frustrated with the king’s intolerance, Thomas became the fifth member to join the gunpowder plot.

When the gunpowder and Guy Fawkes were discovered, Fawkes declared that he was Thomas Percy’s servant and so his name was given on the first arrest warrant.

Percy did not manage to escape with the other conspirators and was killed at Holbeche House, in Staffordshire, before his head was displayed outside parliament as a warning to others.

Henry Percy was also arrested when the plot failed as it was thought he was involved following a meeting with Thomas on 4th November and so, charged with lesser offences, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and fined £30,000 where he remained for 16 years.