John (Jack) Wright (January 1568 – 8 November 1605), and Christopher (Kit) Wright (1570? – 8 November 1605), were members of the group of provincial English
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
s who planned the failed
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 ...
of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate
King James I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
by blowing 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 ...
. Their sister married another plotter,
Thomas Percy. Educated at the same school in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, the Wrights had early links with
Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated ...
, the man left in charge of the explosives stored in the
undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...
beneath the House of Lords. As known
recusants
Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation.
The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...
the brothers were on several occasions arrested for reasons of national security. Both were also members of the
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
's rebellion of 1601.
John was one of the first men to join the conspiracy, which was led by
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby (c. 1572 – 8 November 1605) was the leader of a group of English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Born in Warwickshire, Catesby was educated in Oxford. His family were prominent recusant Catholics, and ...
. Christopher joined in March 1605. At about midnight on 4 November Fawkes was discovered and arrested, following which John, Christopher and the rest of the conspirators travelled across the Midlands, attempting to gain support for a popular uprising. Eventually the group opted to wait for the authorities at
Holbeche House
Holbeche House (also, in some texts, Holbeach or Holbeache) is a mansion located approximately north of Kingswinford, now in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley but historically in Staffordshire.Aikin, L. p.244 Some members of the Gunpowder P ...
, on the border of
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 ...
. On 8 November the
Sheriff of Worcester
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 ...
arrived with a large group of armed men, and both brothers were killed in the ensuing firefight.
Family and life before 1604
John and Christopher Wright were born to Robert Wright and his second wife, Ursula Rudston, daughter of Nicholas and Jane Rudston of
Hayton. John was baptised at
Welwick
Welwick is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately south of the town of Withernsea and south-east of the village of Patrington on the B1445 road from P ...
in Yorkshire, on 16 January 1568, and Christopher was born in 1570. Their sister Ursula married Marmaduke Ward of Givendale, Mulwith and Newby in 1584, and their first born child (John and Christopher's niece) would become the
Venerable
The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism.
Christianity
Cathol ...
Mary Ward Mary Ward may refer to:
Scientists and academics
* Mary Ward (nurse) (1884–1972) English nurse to the boat people on the waterways
* Mary Ward (scientist) (née King, 1827–1869) Irish amateur scientist, was killed by an experimental steam car ...
founder of the
Sisters of Loreto
The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The congr ...
(also known as the
Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The cong ...
). Their sister, Martha, married the gunpowder plotter
Thomas Percy in 1591.
[ ]
The brothers were pupils at
St Peter's School in York, along with
Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated ...
, whose name has become synonymous with 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 ...
. Although outwardly conformist, the school's headmaster John Pulleine came from a notable family of Yorkshire
recusants
Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation.
The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...
, and his predecessor at St Peter's had spent 20 years in prison for his recusancy. Three Catholic priests,
Oswald Tesimond,
Edward Oldcorn and
Robert Middleton
Robert Middleton (born Samuel G. Messer, May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977) was an American film and television actor known for his large size, beetle-like brows, and a deep, booming voice (for which he was known as "Big Bob Middleton"), usually ...
, were also educated at St Peter's. John and Christopher were both married, to Dorothy and Margaret respectively. John had a daughter, born some time in the late 1590s.
As a precautionary measure, in 1596 they were each arrested during
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
's illness. They were incarcerated at the
White Lyon prison in 1601 for their involvement in the Earl of Essex's rebellion.
Both were skilled swordsmen, and John was renowned for his courage. The Jesuit priest
Oswald Tesimond wrote that he possessed a "good physique and sound constitution. Rather on the tall side, his features were pleasing. He was somewhat taciturn in manner, but very loyal to his friends, even if his friends were few".
Christopher's appearance was slightly different from that of his brother, "not like him in face, as being fatter and a lighter coloured hair and taller of person". According to
Father John Gerard, John's involvement with Essex coincided with his conversion to Catholicism. Gerard also noted that John's household,
Twigmoor Hall in Lincolnshire, was a place where "he had Priests come often, both for his spiritual comfort and their own in corporal helps", although the government's description, "a Popish college for traitors", was somewhat less favourable. Following his conversion John became "a man of exemplary life". Two years later, as the queen's health waned, a nervous government ensured that John and Christopher were again imprisoned, the English
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
William Camden
William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...
describing them as men "hunger-starved for innovation". Christopher may have travelled to Spain in 1603 using the alias Anthony Dutton, seeking Spanish support for English Catholics, although biographer Mark Nicholls mentions that Dutton's role may have been attributed to Christopher by Fawkes and
Thomas Wintour
Robert Wintour (1568 – 30 January 1606) and Thomas Wintour (1571 or 1572 – 31 January 1606), also spelt Winter, were members of the Gunpowder Plot, a failed conspiracy to assassinate King James I. Brothers, they were related to other consp ...
, held in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
after the failure of the plot.
Gunpowder Plot
Early in 1604 Robert Catesby, a Catholic convert who had lost patience with
King James I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
's lack of toleration of Catholics, invited his cousin Thomas Wintour to a meeting at which John was also present. Catesby proposed to blow up "the Parliament House with gunpowder", killing the king and his government, as in "that place, have they done us all the mischief". Catesby had not then given up hope on foreign help, and so he sent Wintour to the continent to meet with the Constable of Castille. Wintour also met with Welsh spy Hugh Owen, who introduced him to Guy Fawkes, a man with whose name Catesby was familiar. A fifth conspirator,
Thomas Percy, joined them several weeks later. Percy was related to the Wright family by marriage, having wed John's sister, Martha. The group met on 20 May 1604 at the Duck and Drake inn, in the fashionable
Strand
Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
* Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
* Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* Strand Street ...
district of London. After the meeting they swore an oath of secrecy on a prayer book and celebrated Mass in another room with Father John Gerard, who was ignorant of their purpose.
From these early meetings, according to biographer Mark Nicholls, John exhibited "little sign of doubt or scruple thereafter". He remained close to the heart of the conspiracy, moving his family to
Lapworth
Lapworth is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England, which had a population of 2,100 according to the 2001 census; this had fallen to 1,828 at the 2011 Census. It lies six miles (10 km) south of Solihull and ten miles (16&nbs ...
in Warwickshire, and stabling horses there.
By March 1605 Christopher had joined the conspiracy as well, but in October that year, as the plan was nearing its culmination, its existence was revealed to the authorities by an anonymous letter delivered to
William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle
William Parker, 13th Baron Morley, 4th Baron Monteagle (15751 July 1622), was an English peer, best known for his role in the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605 Parker was due to attend the opening of Parliament. He was a member of the Hou ...
, warning him to stay away from Parliament. Uncertain of its meaning Monteagle delivered the letter to the
English Secretary of State,
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury s ...
. Monteagle's servant was closely related to Christopher's wife, Margaret, and thus the plotters soon became aware of its existence.
Catesby, by then at White Webbs near
Enfield Chase
Enfield Chase is an area of Enfield that is named for a former royal hunting ground. Much of the former area of the Chase has been developed, but a large part survives between Cockfosters in the west and Enfield in the east as Trent Country ...
with the Wright brothers, decided that the letter did not constitute a sufficiently serious threat to the scheme, and he decided to forge ahead. On 4 November Percy visited his patron,
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, KG (27 April 1564 – 5 November 1632) was an English nobleman. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Northumberland was a long-term prisoner i ...
, to see if he could discern what rumours surrounded the letter. He returned to London and assured John, Thomas Wintour and
Robert Keyes
Robert Keyes (1565 -1606) was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament ...
that they had nothing to be concerned about. That same evening John probably set off for the Midlands with Catesby and his servant
Thomas Bates
Thomas Bates (1567 – 30 January 1606) was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Bates was born at Lapworth in Warwickshire, and became a retainer to Robert Catesby, who from 160 ...
, while the others moved into their positions, ready for the planned explosion the following day. At about midnight the authorities made a search of the House of Lords, and in the chamber's undercroft they discovered and arrested Fawkes, who was guarding the gunpowder the conspirators had placed there.
As news of Fawkes's capture spread, particularly through the great houses of the Strand, Christopher deduced what had occurred and went to Thomas Wintour at the Duck and Drake inn, exclaiming "the matter is discovered". Wintour ordered him to verify the news, and on confirming that the government were seeking
Thomas Percy (for whom Fawkes, using the alias "John Johnson", claimed to be working), ordered him to alert Percy. Christopher and Percy left London together, heading for
Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
.
With the group mostly reintegrated, they spent the next two days moving across Warwickshire and
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, attempting to drum up support for a rebellion that as time passed became ever more unlikely. On 6 November, the same day they were helping to raid
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 ...
for supplies, the brothers were identified by the
Lord Chief Justice
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
Sir John Popham as suspects. This prompted the authorities to issue a public proclamation on 7 November naming them and several of their fellow conspirators as wanted men. The group tried unsuccessfully to recruit more rebels at
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 ...
, but on 7 November, tired and desperate, they decided to make their stand at
Holbeche House
Holbeche House (also, in some texts, Holbeach or Holbeache) is a mansion located approximately north of Kingswinford, now in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley but historically in Staffordshire.Aikin, L. p.244 Some members of the Gunpowder P ...
, on the border of
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 ...
. On the arrival the following morning of the
Sheriff of Worcester
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 ...
and his company of men, a gun battle broke out and Catesby, Percy, and both Wright brothers were shot. With medical attention they might have survived, but "the baser sort" among the sheriff's men hurriedly stripped them of their clothes (Christopher's boots were pulled off to reach his silk stockings), and left them to die.
Their younger sister, Alice Wright, the wife of William Redshaw, had sought to be a nurse to
Princess Mary, and was lodged in the
Strand
Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
* Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
* Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* Strand Street ...
. She was suspected of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot by Sir
Edward Hoby
Sir Edward Hoby (1560 – 1 March 1617) was an English diplomat, Member of Parliament, scholar, and soldier during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. He was the son of Thomas Hoby and Elizabeth Cooke, the nephew of William Cecil, Lord Burghl ...
and
Thomas Posthumous Hoby
Sir Thomas Posthumus Hoby (1566 – 30 December 1640), also spelt Hobie, Hobbie and Hobby, Posthumous and Postumus, was an English gentleman and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629. A Puritan, he has ...
who wrote to Cecil about her on 26 November 1605, noting she was a friend of Thomas Percy.
[''HMC Salisbury Hatfield'', vol. 17 (London, 1938), pp. 514-5.]
References
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;Notes
;Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, John and Christopher
1568 births
1570 births
1605 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
English Roman Catholics
People associated with the Gunpowder Plot
People from Holderness
People educated at St Peter's School, York
Sibling duos
16th-century English people
17th-century English people
16th-century Roman Catholics
17th-century Roman Catholics