"Gunpowder, Treason & Sub-plot" Heritage Open Day Talk

Philomena Liggins returns to the Mill for her second HOD talk. She will look at the story of Sir Francis Tresham, his link to the Gunpowder Plot and to the unfinished Tudor mansion, Lyveden New Bield. Be part of the 'Jury in the Brewery'!

Lyveden New Bield is an unfinished Tudor mansion in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside. It stands as a testament to its creator Sir Thomas Tresham, but work stopped in 1605 due to the family’s staggering debts. This is where our story begins!

In 1605 a group of plotters planned to kill King James I and blow up the Houses of Parliament. However, Sir Robert Cecil, who was the King’s head of intelligence, had other ideas and he and his collaborators foiled what would become known as the ‘The Gunpowder Plot’. The plotters were either killed or captured and tried and executed, apart from one, Sir Francis Tresham. Francis avoided his trial and execution having died of ‘natural causes’ whilst incarcerated in the Tower of London. Or did he?

This is Francis’s story, and that of his widowed mother Muriel. Did Francis escape from the Tower? And what part – if any – did Muriel play in organising her son’s escape? And to whom was Muriel paying off family debts until the day she died in 1615? It's up to you – the jury in the Brewery – to decide if Francis escaped from the Tower, where he went, and what was the business relationship between Muriel and Robert Cecil?

This will be Philomena's second Heritage Open Day talk and her fourth talk at the Mill. She lives in Towcester and is a social historian and author.

Booking essential. Visit www.towcestermillbrewery.co.uk to reserve your seat.