02/11/2026
"Remember Remember the Fifth of November"
As it's Bonfire Night on the 5th, this week's Archive People focuses on Robert Catesby.
Though it is Guy Fawkes who has become synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, it was actually Catesby who masterminded the infamous plot, and he features in a document at the Record Office!
In Easter 1596 the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster issued this final concord to confirm the sale of property and lands in Ladbroke, Southam and Napton by Robert Catesby. Catesby is believed to have been born in Lapworth in 1572 or 1573. Though the Catesbys principal seat was Ashby St. Ledgers in Northamptonshire, their connection with Warwickshire stretched back centuries.
Catesby’s maternal family were the Thockmortons, lords of the manor of Coughton since the fifteenth century. He was closely associated with the county throughout his life, in 1593 marrying Catherine (d. 1598), the daughter of Sir Thomas Leigh of Stoneleigh Abbey. Catesby was also a devout Catholic, which at this time, was not looked upon favourably.
Catesby died in the skirmish at Holbeche House, thus avoiding the fate of his co-conspirators who were hung, drawn and quartered.
Stay tuned for more Archive People!
📸 WCRO, DR85A/2/Bundle 2/2
