Local history

On 5 November 1605, a group of English Catholics attempted to assassinate King James I by blowing up the Houses of Parliament.

Of course the plot was foiled and the leader Robert Catesby, explosives expert Guy Fawkes, and the rest of the conspirators, were convicted of treason and executed.

However, such was the turmoil and suspicion at the time, it wasn't only the conspirators who were found guilty.

Father Henry Garnet

Around the time of the gunpowder plot Father Henry Garnet was the head of the Jesuit mission in England.

He was born in 1555 in nearby Heanor.

His early childhood was spent in Nottingham, where his father, Brian Garnet was the head master of Nottingham High School.

The plot

Father Henry learnt of the gunpowder plot through Father Oswald Tesimond during confession. Tesimond had been told of the plans by Robert Catesby, also during confession.

Garnet tried to dissuade Catesby from proceeding with the November 5 plans.

However, despite knowing of the plot, Father Garnet decided not to disclose the information on religious grounds.

To Garnet's horror the conspirators went ahead; as a consequence he feared the Jesuits would suffer and he was correct.

Book bound in Henry Garnet's skin

Garnet went in to hiding in Worcester.

In December he wrote a letter to the Lords of the King's Privy Council in which he expressed his abhorrence at the plot.

He asked the King's Council to give him a hearing. He conceded that he'd spoken to the conspirators but he'd had no part in, or sympathy with, the conspiracy.

On 15 January 1606 a proclamation for the arrest of Garnet was issued by the government.

Guilty

Father Garnet  was found guilty of treason for not revealing the gunpowder plot. He was to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

The date for execution was 3 May 1606 in the churchyard of St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

At the scaffold, where he was to be hanged, Garnet crossed his arms over his breast and was cast off the ladder.

The spectators surged towards Garnet, they wanted to spare him the pain of being cut to pieces. By pulling at his body, the rope would tighten and he would die of asphyxiation. 

When Garnet was eventually cut up, and his bowels cast into the fire, it was met without applause - this was unusual for convicted traitors.

Father Garnet had the people's sympathy, one person said 'he died like a saint'.

Life after death

A series of odd things happened after the execution.

A husk of straw found near the scaffold was later discovered to bear the image of Father Garnet.

Also, Garnet's head, which was placed on top of a pole near London Bridge, looked to spectators like the head of a man still alive. The government ordered the face to be turned upwards.

In December 2007, a book allegedly bound in the skin of Henry Garnet was bought by a private buyer for £5,400.

The book titled 'A True and Perfect Relation of The Whole Proceedings against the Late most barbarous Traitors, Garnet a Jesuit and his Confederats', has the image of a face on the cover, said to be that of Father Henry Garnet.

A more detailed account of Father Henry Garnet's life and death can be found on The Gunpowder Plot Society's website: