Huddington Court, Worcestershire: 15th century moated manor house
Huddington Court is a 15th century moated manor house, described as 'the most picturesque house in Worcestershire.'
The picturesque timber-framed building is Grade I listed.
It was previously the home of the Wintour family, but today, it’s now a private residence and not open to the public.
Huddington Court is where the infamous Gunpowder Plot was partially planned - and following the arrest of Guy Fawkes, the plotters escaped here.
The Gunpowder Plot was a failed attempt to assassinate King James I of England during the Opening of The Houses of Parliament in November 1605.
The plan was organised by Robert Catesby, a devout English Catholic who hoped to kill the Protestant King James and establish Catholic rule in England.
Following the arrest of Guy Fawkes (pictured further below), who was arrested in the cellars underneath the Houses of Parliament, the plotters fled to Huddington Court and arrived on Wednesday 6 November.
They left early the following morning in the pouring rain and made it as far as Holbeach House in Staffs where following a shoot out they were killed or arrested.
Some had fled and were picked up later, including Robert Wintour who evaded capture for two months.
Thomas had been wounded and their half brother, John, surrendered his sword at Dudley Castle.
They were all executed.
Huddington Court was confiscated along with all their estates.
However, it was back in family ownership by 1607, most probably via the payment of large fines by the Talbot estates. Robert's wife, Gertrude, being the daughter of Sir John Talbot of Grafton Manor.
Two priest holes, believed to have been built by Nicholas Owen, are in the Huddington Court.
One is behind an oak panel in what was the chapel, where mass was said by the resident priest.
The main section of the hole has another door which leads to a small room where the priest would not have wanted to suffer from claustrophobia!
The other hiding hole is in the room opposite and is a door made to look like a part of the wall.
This enters into a quite sizeable room that was only discovered in the 1920s.
Today, this beautiful building is privately owned, and not open to the public.
About Thomas Wintour (member of the Gunpowder Plot).
Thomas Wintour was born around 1571 into a Worcestershire Catholic family.
An uncle of his - a Catholic priest - was executed in 1586. Winter fought as a soldier in Flanders and France during the 1590s, and visited Rome in 1600.
By 1602 he was involved with his cousins Robert Catesby and Francis Tresham, and with Lord Monteagle, in discussions with the Spanish government about providing military help for English Catholics.
In early 1604, Wintour was among the first to be drawn into the Gunpowder Plot by Catesby.
He was doubtful about its chances of success, but went to Flanders to find out if the Spanish would help.
Thomas Wintour
Whilst there he recruited Fawkes. Wintour was closely involved in all the subsequent preparations.
Wintour found out about the betrayal of the plot, from one of Monteagle's servants, and tried unsuccessfully to persuade the other conspirators to abandon it.
After Fawkes' arrest, he fled London, and met up with the others at the Wintour family house at Huddington.
After a vain attempt to drum up support from local Catholics, Winter joined the other conspirators at Holbeach in Staffordshire.
In the brief fight with the authorities on 8 November, he was wounded several times and captured.
Taken to London, he eventually provided the fullest account of the plot. He was tried on 27 January 1606, and executed in Old Palace Yard on the 31 January.
Robert Wintour – Thomas's elder brother - was born around 1566.
A devout Catholic with close connections to many other Catholic families, he inherited the family home of Huddington Court, Worcestershire, which was used to shelter a number of Catholic priests.
Sometime around January 1605 Robert was drawn into the plot, possibly because the conspirators needed more men to dig the tunnel under the House of Lords.
Robert did not stay with the other plotters at Holbeach in Staffordshire, for their final stand and was only captured in January 1606 at Hagley, Worcestershire.
He was trailed on 27 January, and executed in St Paul's Churchyard on the 30 January.
Huddington Court stands on an ancient fortified site that was situated within Feckenham Forest; the inner moat of the former double-moated arrangement is retained.
A survey of 1650 suggests that the house was once much larger.
The house retains much of its original furnishings and fittings.
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