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Gunpowder Plot
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===Discovery=== The letter was shown to the King on the first of November following his arrival back in London. Upon reading it, James immediately seized upon the word "blow" and felt that it hinted at "some strategem of fire and powder",<ref>{{Harvnb|Northcote Parkinson|1976|p=70}}</ref> perhaps an explosion exceeding in violence the one that killed his father, [[Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley|Lord Darnley]], at [[Kirk o' Field]] in 1567.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haynes|2005|p=90}}</ref> Keen not to seem too intriguing, and wanting to allow the King to take the credit for unveiling the conspiracy, Salisbury feigned ignorance.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|pp=193–194}}</ref> The following day members of the Privy Council visited the King at the [[Palace of Whitehall]] and informed him that, based on the information that Salisbury had given them a week earlier, on Monday the [[Lord Chamberlain]] [[Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk]] would undertake a search of the Houses of Parliament, "both above and below". On Sunday 3 November, Percy, Catesby and Wintour had a final meeting, where Percy told his colleagues that they should "abide the uttermost triall", and reminded them of their ship waiting at anchor on the Thames.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haynes|2005|p=92}}</ref> By 4 November, Digby was ensconced with a "hunting party" at [[Dunchurch]], ready to abduct Elizabeth.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|pp=196–197}}</ref> The same day, Percy visited the [[Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland|Earl of Northumberland]]—who was uninvolved in the conspiracy—to see if he could discern what rumours surrounded the letter to Monteagle. Percy returned to London and assured Wintour, John Wright, and Robert Keyes that they had nothing to be concerned about, and returned to his lodgings on Gray's Inn Road. That same evening Catesby, likely accompanied by John Wright and Bates, set off for the Midlands. Fawkes visited Keyes, and was given a [[pocket watch]] left by Percy, to time the fuse, and an hour later Rookwood received several engraved swords from a local [[Cutlery|cutler]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|pp=199–201}}</ref> [[File:Guy fawkes henry perronet briggs.jpg|thumb|right|alt=In a stone-walled room, several armed men physically restrain another man, who is drawing his sword.|''The Discovery of the Gunpowder Plot and the Taking of Guy Fawkes'' (c. 1823) by [[Henry Perronet Briggs]].]] [[File:Guyfawkeslantern.jpg|thumb|right|The lantern which Guy Fawkes used during the plot.]] Although two accounts of the number of searches and their timing exist, according to the King's version, the first search of the buildings in and around Parliament was made on Monday 4 November—as the plotters were busy making their final preparations—by Suffolk, Monteagle, and John Whynniard. They found a large pile of firewood in the undercroft beneath the House of Lords, accompanied by what they presumed to be a serving man (Fawkes), who told them that the firewood belonged to his master, Thomas Percy. They left to report their findings, at which time Fawkes also left the building. The mention of Percy's name aroused further suspicion as he was already known to the authorities as a Catholic agitator. The King insisted that a more thorough search be undertaken. Late that night, the search party, headed by [[Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet|Thomas Knyvet]], returned to the undercroft. They again found Fawkes, dressed in a cloak and hat, and wearing boots and spurs. He was arrested, whereupon he gave his name as John Johnson. He was carrying a lantern now held in the [[Ashmolean Museum]], [[Oxford]],<ref>{{citation |url=http://britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/highlights/guy-fawkes-lantern.html |last=MacGregor |first=Arthur |date=January 2012 |title=Guy Fawkes's Lantern |work=British Archaeology at the Ashmolean Museum |publisher=britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk |at=Tradescant Gallery, Gallery 27, First Floor, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England |accessdate=19 October 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107194310/http://britisharchaeology.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/highlights/guy-fawkes-lantern.html |archivedate=7 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and a search of his person revealed a pocket watch, several [[slow match]]es and touchwood.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|pp=201–203}}</ref> Thirty-six barrels of gunpowder were discovered hidden under piles of [[Faggot (unit)|faggots]] and coal.<ref>{{Harvnb|Northcote Parkinson|1976|p=73}}</ref> Fawkes was taken to the King early on the morning of 5 November.<ref>{{Harvnb|Haynes|2005|pp=94–95}}</ref>
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