Holbeche House (also, in some texts, Holbeach or Holbeache) is a mansion located approximately north of

Kingswinford Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census. The current economic focus ...

, now in the

Metropolitan Borough of Dudley The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stour ...

but historically in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

.Aikin, L. p.244 Some members of the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...

were either killed or captured at Holbeche House in 1605.

Gunpowder Plot

The Gunpowder Plot was an attempt by a small party of provincial English Catholics to blow up the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

during the

State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the King's (or Queen's) Speech. The event takes place ...

, thereby killing

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

and his court, as the prelude to a revolt during which a Catholic monarchy would be restored to the English throne. It was after the failure of the plot that the fugitives took shelter in Holbeche House, owned by

Stephen Lyttelton Stephen Littleton (or Lyttelton) (circa 1575-1606), was an Englishman executed for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot. He was born as the eldest son of George Littleton and Margaret Smith, daughter and heir to Richard Smith of Shirford, War ...

. They had taken supplies from

Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...

on 6 November and weapons and

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

from

Hewell Grange Hewell Grange is a former country house in Tardebigge, Worcestershire, England. "One of the most important late 19th century country houses in England", the mansion was built between 1884 and 1891 by George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner fo ...

on 7 November, but the powder became damp in the rain. After arriving at Holbeche House at about 10 pm, several were maimed when gunpowder left to dry in front of the fire was ignited by a stray spark. At about noon the next day, 8 November 1605, the house was surrounded by a posse led by Richard Walsh (the

Sheriff of Worcestershire This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the ...

), originally seeking those responsible for the raid at Warwick Castle. Most of the plotters were either killed or wounded in the ensuing fight. Some walls have holes from muskets used in the storming of the house in 1605. Those still alive were taken to London and later tried and executed.

House

The building was constructed in around 1600. The original house has a central block of three bays, with two stories and an attic with

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...

windows, and projecting side wings with

Dutch gable A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a ...

s at each end. Some original wood panelling remains inside. New façades were added in the early 19th century, and the house was later expanded. In 1951, it became a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, as Holbeache House. It is now a private nursing home operated by

Four Seasons Health Care Four Seasons Health Care is a British provider of health and social care services. It also owns The Huntercombe Group, a provider of inpatient mental healthcare and brain injury rehabilitation as well as care home operator, brighterkind. Four Se ...

Notes

References

*Lucy Aikin, ''Memoirs of the Court of King James the First ''. 1822 * Katherine Thomson, ''Recollections of Literary Characters and Celebrated Places''. 1854 *John Bond, ''The Hazards of Life and All That: A Look at Some Accidents and Safety Curiosities, Past and Present ''. CRC Press, 1996.
Gunpowder Plot Society

Holbeche House Care Home
Four Seasons Health Care
Holbeache House
British Listed Buildings {{coord, 52, 30, 44, N, 2, 10, 17, W, display=title, region:GB_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Gunpowder Plot Country houses in Staffordshire Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire 1600 establishments in England