Tucked quietly into the Worcestershire countryside—roughly five miles south of Droitwich and five miles east of Worcester—lies Huddington Court. With its ancient moat and half-timbered walls, near the sleepy village of Himbleton, it appears completely detached from the sweeping events of national history. Yet beneath its peaceful exterior, this secluded manor served as both an operational cradle for the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and a brief sanctuary for the desperate conspirators during their flight from London.
The Rise of the Wintours
In Tudor times, Huddington Court belonged to the Wintours, one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the county. Originally known as Gwentour, descendants of the Castellan of Carnarvon who settled at Droitwich around 1300, they acquired the manor through strategic marriage. The estate had long belonged to the Hodingtons—a family allied with other notable Worcestershire names such as the Cassyes and Cookseys. During the reign of Henry VI, the Hodington estates were divided between two daughters: Agnes married William Russell of Strensham, while Joan married Roger Wintour, bringing Huddington into the Wintour family line.
Through subsequent generations, the family strengthened ties with England’s prominent Catholic gentry:
Robert Wintour married Catherine Throckmorton of Coughton Court, Warwickshire. Her brother, Sir Robert Throckmorton, had two daughters who formed the central family nexus of the plot: Muriel (mother of conspirator Francis Tresham) and Anne (mother of Robert Catesby, the plot's ringleader).
George Wintour, High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1589, expanded the family domain by acquiring the Manor of Oddingley. The local historian Thomas Habington wrote that the Wintour family shone among the brightest in the shire, blessed with vast estates and noble ancestry.
Traces of this heritage once filled the adjoining parish church. While much of the historic stained glass was lost or relocated—such as heraldic glass moved to Grafton Manor and a memorial to George Wintour placed in the Raven Hotel at Droitwich—fragments survived depicting the Wintour falcon atop a tower and the Cooksey sea-borne table crest.
Architecture and a Haunting Inscription
Huddington Court is recognized for its striking, twisted chimney stacks. Over time, the house underwent significant alterations; the grand upstairs banqueting hall was partitioned with lath and plaster into two bedrooms. Despite these changes, a magnificent stone chimneypiece remained, carved with the Royal Arms of Edward III alongside the arms of the Hodington and Cromley families.
On one of the bedroom windowpanes, etched into the glass with a diamond in Elizabethan script, were the words:
“Past care, past cure.”
Tradition suggests these words were scratched by one of the conspirators during their final, desperate hours at the house.
Persecution and the Sparks of Rebellion
The roots of the plot lay in the severe penal laws enforced under Elizabeth I, aimed at eradicating Catholicism in England. Priests faced execution if they remained in the realm, while Catholic subjects who refused to attend the Church of England faced catastrophic fines for recusancy. In Worcestershire, major Catholic families—including the Talbots of Grafton, the Wintours, the Lyttletons of Hagley, the Habingtons of Hindlip, and Lord Windsor of Hewell—were drained financially by persistent fines.
Frustration had previously erupted into violence with the failed Babington Plot of 1586, which sought to put Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne. Edward Habington of Hindlip was executed on the scaffold, while his younger brother, Thomas, endured years of imprisonment in the Tower of London.
When King James I ascended to the throne, hopes for religious tolerance quickly faded. Frustrated by continuing repressions, a circle of gentlemen formed an alliance to overthrow the government by detonating four tons of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords at the State Opening of Parliament on November 5, 1605.
The Conspirators Assemble
The scheme was spearheaded by two cousins:
Robert Catesby of Lapworth and Ashby St. Legers, aged 35, an charismatic figure described as having a fascinating and persuasive character.
Thomas Wintour, aged 33, born at Huddington Court. Thomas was an experienced soldier who had fought in Flanders and France, an accomplished linguist, and an envoy who had travelled to Spain to seek military support for English Catholics.
They quickly drew in close family and friends: Thomas Percy; Thomas’s elder brother, Robert Wintour (the master of Huddington); their brother-in-law John Grant of Norbrook; cousins Francis Tresham, John Wright, and Christopher Wright; alongside Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, Sir Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby, and Catesby’s servant, Thomas Bates.
Betrayal, Midnight Arrests, and Flight
The conspiracy began to unravel on October 26, when an anonymous letter warning Lord Mounteagle was delivered. It was widely suspected that the message originated via Mounteagle’s sister, Mary Habington of Hindlip Hall.
Under the guise of an organized hunting meet, sympathizers arranged to gather on Dunsmore Heath, near Rugby, on November 5 to await news of the explosion. However, just before midnight on the eve of the opening, Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellar beneath Parliament and taken straight to the Tower.
Catesby and John Wright fled London on horseback, followed by Percy and Christopher Wright. Rookwood and Keyes departed the next morning as panic swept the capital. Only Thomas Wintour stayed behind to verify the situation; when warned early that morning that all was lost, he resolved to see matters out before fleeing.
The Race Across the Midlands
In Worcestershire and Warwickshire, preparations were already in motion:
Sunday, November 3: Robert Wintour departed Huddington Court, stopping at Grafton Manor, home of his father-in-law John Talbot.
Monday–Tuesday, November 4–5: Robert joined Stephen Lyttleton of Holbeach and Humphrey Lyttleton of Hagley near Coventry, riding on to meet the hunting party at Dunsmore Heath.
Tuesday Evening, November 5: Robert Wintour rode to Ashby St. Legers (the seat of Lady Catesby). Around 6:00 PM, just as supper was served, the exhausted fugitives arrived from London—having covered 80 miles in just seven hours, with Rookwood riding a single horse 30 miles in two hours.
With their heads marked for arrest and Midland sheriffs mobilized, the gathering at Dunchurch dissolved in panic. Around forty men pressed on into the night toward John Grant’s home at Norbrook. Passing through Warwick at midnight, they raided the stables of a local dealer named Benock, stealing fresh horses. Robert Wintour strongly opposed the theft, knowing it would alert the town and mobilize pursuers—a fear realized when townspeople identified Grant and immediately alerted authorities.
Doors Close on the Fugitives
Arriving at Norbrook around 1:00 AM on Wednesday, November 6, the plotters paused briefly before sending Thomas Bates to Coughton Court with a letter for Lady Digby, Jesuit Superior Father Henry Garnet (alias Walley/Farmer), and Father Oswald Tesimond (alias Greenway). When told the plot had failed, Tesimond resolved to join the fugitives and ride for Huddington.
Arming themselves from Grant’s stockpiles, the group rode through Snitterfield and Alcester, arriving at Huddington Court around 2:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon, battered by foul weather and exhausted by deep, muddy tracks. At 5:00 PM, Thomas Wintour rode in after crossing country alone from London. Shortly afterward, Father Tesimond and Bates arrived from Coughton Court.
Desperate for local allies, Father Tesimond galloped to Hindlip Hall to plead for assistance from Thomas Habington. According to Father Oldcorne, Habington was horrified to learn of the treason and flatly refused to take part, commanding his household not to assist them. Thomas Wintour and Stephen Lyttleton met an equally hostile reception at Grafton Manor, where John Talbot drove them from his doors in a fury.
Not a single Catholic householder came forward to assist the conspirators, leaving them entirely isolated within the walls of Huddington Court.
The Final Hours at Huddington
Returning to his ancestral home on Wednesday afternoon, Robert Wintour presented a tragic figure. He had ridden away just three days earlier full of high spirits and hoping to secure relief for fellow Catholics; now he returned a wanted fugitive, faced with execution and the ruin of his family name. His younger brother Thomas, by contrast, remained resolutely undaunted.
The court was pushed to its limits accommodating the forty gentlemen and their armed retainers. With royal forces closing in, the plotters resolved to push west toward Wales the following day, hoping sympathetic allies along the borders would rally to their cause.
Their respite proved brief:
3:00 AM, Thursday, November 7: Father Nicholas Hart celebrated Mass in the manor. The conspirators confessed their sins and received conditional absolution.
Pre-Dawn Departure: Down in the hall, the men equipped themselves from caches of armor, swords, pistols, powder, and shot. Loading these into a cart provided by Robert Wintour, they rode away from Huddington Court beneath the cover of darkness.
The Retreat to Holbeach House
Heading north through Hanbury, the cavalcade raided Hewell Grange for additional arms, securing a second cartload of ammunition. Yet their numbers were rapidly thinning. Exhaustion and knee-deep mud broke morale, leading to widespread desertions. Guards had to be posted at both the front and rear of the column just to keep the remaining men together.
Crossing along the foot of the Lickey Hills through Clent and Hagley, they were further thwarted at the flooded ford of the River Stour near Stourbridge. Water breached the carts, soaking their reserve gunpowder. It took until 10:00 PM for the exhausted party to complete the 25-mile trek, finally arriving across the county line at Holbeach House, the home of Stephen Lyttleton.
The Last Stand at Holbeach
Recognizing that local levies would soon surround them, the fugitives spent the dawn of Friday, November 8, fortifying Holbeach House.
In a fateful attempt to dry their waterlogged gunpowder, they spread platters of powder before an open hearth. A stray ember ignited the powder, triggering a violent blast that blew off part of the roof and severely burned Catesby and Ambrose Rookwood. The explosion shattered what little resolve remained; the men interpreted the fiery accident as an omen of divine retribution.
Under cover of the ensuing confusion:
Robert Wintour and Stephen Lyttleton slipped into the surrounding woods.
Sir Everard Digby deserted during the night, only to be captured shortly after in Staffordshire.
John Wintour rode back to Huddington Court to surrender directly to authorities.
Around 11:00 AM, the High Sheriff of Worcestershire, Sir Richard Walsh, arrived with a large armed posse and surrounded the house. When Thomas Wintour rallied the few defenders, they declared their intention to die fighting. As Wintour stepped into the courtyard, a crossbow bolt struck his shoulder, disabling his right arm.
The assault quickly turned into a massacre:
John Wright was shot dead, while his brother Christopher Wright suffered mortal wounds.
Ambrose Rookwood was pierced five times, and John Grant was severely crippled.
Rushing to the doorway, Robert Catesby called out: "Stand by me, Tom, and we will die together!" Thomas replied that his shattered arm made capture inevitable. Seconds later, a single shot struck down both Catesby and Thomas Percy, killing them together.
Thomas Wintour was run through with a pike and taken alive alongside the survivors, who were transported under heavy guard to the Tower of London.
The Manhunt for Robert Wintour
While London celebrated the thwarted plot, Robert Wintour and Stephen Lyttleton remained at large for over two months. The Crown posted descriptions of the pair across the West Midlands, placing guards along the River Severn to block escape routes into Wales.
Wintour was described as a stocky, square-set man of medium height with short brown hair and a light beard, aged around forty; Lyttleton was described as tall, swarthy, clean-shaven, and around thirty.
After enduring brutal winter cold and hunger while hiding across farmsteads along the Staffordshire-Worcestershire border, the two reached the farm of Perkes, a tenant of the Lyttletons at Hagley, on New Year’s Day. Ten days later, an intoxicated poacher exposed their hideout, forcing Humphrey Lyttleton to smuggle them into an upper chamber at Hagley Hall. There they enjoyed the comfort of a proper bed for the first time in two months—only to be betrayed shortly after by a cook who tipped off the sheriff's men. Both were captured and delivered to the Tower.
The Siege of Hindlip Hall
Interrogations in London quickly turned toward the Catholic clergy. Disclosures by Thomas Bates implicated Father Henry Garnet (Superior of the English Jesuits) and Father Oswald Tesimond. Tesimond escaped across the English Channel to the Continent, while Garnet sought refuge at Hindlip Hall on the invitation of Thomas Habington.
Hindlip Hall was engineered specifically to protect clandestine priests, filled with concealed corridors, false ceilings, chimney hides, and trapdoors. On Sunday, January 19, 1606, Sir Henry Bromley surrounded the house with troops. For eleven days, soldiers dismantled the building—ripping out wainscoting, pulling down tapestries, and breaking into floor cavities.
Throughout the search, Mary Habington secretly sustained Father Garnet and Father Edward Oldcorne with warm broth and supplies slipped through concealed conduits. The servants resisted all threats and bribes. Finally, on January 30, nearly suffocated by the foul air inside their cramped priest hole, Father Garnet and Father Oldcorne surrendered.
Retribution and Executions
The State exacted a swift and public vengeance:
January 30, 1606: Sir Everard Digby, Robert Wintour, John Grant, and Thomas Bates were executed on a scaffold raised outside the west end of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
January 31, 1606: Thomas Wintour, Ambrose Rookwood, Robert Keyes, and Guy Fawkes were executed opposite the Parliament building they had attempted to destroy.
March 28 – May 3, 1606: Father Garnet was tried at London's Guildhall. He maintained that his knowledge of the treason was obtained exclusively under the seal of confession from Father Tesimond. Condemned for high treason, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered in St. Paul’s Churchyard on May 3
April 7, 1606: At the Worcester Lenten Assizes, Father Oldcorne, Stephen Lyttleton, and the youngest Wintour brother, John, were condemned and put to death on Red Hill outside Worcester. John Wintour’s body was later recovered and buried in the chancel of Huddington Church.
The Legacy of Thomas Habington
Thomas Habington was also sentenced to death at Worcester, but his life was spared through the direct appeal of his brother-in-law, Lord Mounteagle. The Crown commuted his sentence on the strict condition that he never set foot outside the boundaries of Worcestershire again.
Confined to his home county for the remaining forty years of his life, Habington transformed his enforced isolation into a lasting scholarly achievement. He systematically surveyed every parish, village, and hamlet in Worcestershire, transcribing monuments, genealogies, and armorial records. His massive manuscript collection—later preserved in the British Museum, the Society of Antiquaries, and Hagley Hall—was ultimately edited by John Amphlett and published by the Worcestershire Historical Society, forming the bedrock of Worcestershire’s county history.
A Personal Reflection
Whilst researching a family connected to the life and times of William Shakespeare, the deeper reality of these figures became undeniably clear. To many today, they remain notorious conspirators, but to those living under unrelenting persecution, they were the freedom fighters of their era—men driven to desperation by the simple, enduring belief that everyone has a fundamental right to choose and practice their religion.
Every year on the 6th of November at 2:00 PM, marking the hour the fugitives rode into the gates of Huddington Court and the Sheriff of Worcestershire set out to hunt them down, I pause to remember the extraordinary human sacrifice made on these quiet Worcestershire grounds.
St James Church, Huddington