During the Tudor period, there were many executions carried out across England.
Kings and Queens such as Henry VIII and Mary I executed dozens of thousands of people,
many in the name of religious crimes and heresy.
To be declared a heretic was one of the most serious accusations during this time, and
many were burned at the stake because of this.
But the subject of religion and the problems caused by Henry VIII’s break from Rome remained
for decades and centuries after the Tudor period had ended.
Following Elizabeth I’d death, James I came onto the throne uniting the crown of Scotland
and England, but one of the most serious problems James faced was the Gunpowder Plot.
Conspirators such as Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes planned to blow up the Royal family
including the King and his Queen, and also half of London in the name of their religious
convictions.
But even when the main conspirators had been killed, further roundups of religious figures
and suspected members of the plot occurred.
Today we look at one man who was linked to the plot who encountered the horrific execution
of being hanged, drawn and quartered.
Join us today as we look at the BRUTAL execution of Henry Garnet.
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Henry Garnet was born around 1555 in Derbyshire and he studied at a grammar school in Nottingham.
He then became a scholar and attended Winchester College and was know for being a very talented
musician and the best student in the school.
He left Winchester for London in 1571, and then worked as a proof reader, but here he
rubbed shoulders with high ranking members of society, including the judge who later
presided over the Gunpowder Plotter’s trial.
Along with Giles Gallop in 1575, he set sail for Portugal and the two went then to Rome
and they were part of the Society of Jesus, and became prominent jesuits.
Whilst in Europe Garnet studied under prominent Jesuit priests and scholars, and he was later
ordained around 1582 and he then became a confessor, and he rose quickly inside of the
order.
Many believed Garnet would be the leader of the Jesuit cause in England, and he was then
sent back to England in July 1586.
At the time, being a jesuit was a very dangerous thing as Elizabeth I was persecuting those
who belonged to the order, and also prominent Catholics.
He was liable for execution If he had been captured.
But he started to try and spread to Jesuit cause.
He did gather support, and he later witnessed a thanksgiving ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral
celebrating the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and Garnet later claimed that many of his
supporters back the Queen and were fond of Elizabeth I, despite her persecution.
Her government required that all Catholics should reject the authority of the Pope and
accept Elizabeth as the Supreme Head of the Church of England, and the Pope later tried
to encourage catholics to cause problems and rebel against Elizabeth I, and many began
to plot her assassination.
Inside of England, Garnet met with a number of new priests, and for a few years Jesuits
had technically been banished and if they were caught they were likely to be charged
with high treason.
Because of this, Garnet was regularly sought after and was often forced to move houses
and hide in priest holes.
He was almost captured in Baddesley Clinton in 1591, and he would have been executed if
caught, and further movement around England happened.
He would attend the executions of other priests though, and he was present at one execution
in Tyburn where he would secretly in disguise administer the last rites in the crowd.
But many of his friends were being caught and executed.
He remained on the move for a number of years, but in 1605 he was staying in a room on Thames
Street in London and here he met with Robert Catesby.
The pair spoke, and Catesby asked Garnet about the morality of killing innocents for a bigger
cause, as in the gunpowder plot.
Garnet believed he was trying to raise a rebellion in France to invade England, and Garnet was
not really like Catesby.
He was referred to as a ‘crusader who does not hesitate to employ the sword in the cause
of virtues which he considered spiritual,’ and Garnet believed things would be best settled
by God and what he wanted.
Garnet and Catesby met again, and it’s clear that Catesby was planning the gunpowder plot,
and may have been trying to get Garnet involved in the plot.
He later claimed that he was ignorant of what Catesby was planning, and other priests approached
him as they’d been told of the Gunpowder Plot.
It’s likely he felt uncomfortable with this, and he claimed to have prevented a number
of outbreaks of violence and he wrote to Europe saying that, there was ‘a risk that some
private endeavour may commit treason or use force against the King.’
He asked the Pope to warn against violence, and he did rub shoulders with a number of
the plotters.
When the gunpowder plot failed, Henry Garnet was at Houghton Court when he heard it had
failed, and Garnet was shocked.
He told others to abandon their plan and to flee, and he then spent a number of weeks
on the run before he was arrested on the 27th January 1606 at Hindlip Hall.
He had been holed up in a priest hole for 8 days whilst investigations took place, and
the priests he hid with had to remain patient.
However they were later captured, and Garnet then was brought in front to the Privy Council.
The advisors treated him with respect, and they removed their hats when they spoke to
him.
He was questioned about his links to the gunpowder plot, and the letters he had received from
Catesby.
Garnet was then transferred to the Tower of London and was held in a ‘very fine chamber,’
and he was allowed wine with his meals and a fireplace.
The Leftenant of the Tower treeated him very well, but he was interrogated heavily.
He knew he could have been racked for more information, and it’s believed that he was
in fact tortured and because of his pain he did give over some information about the gunpowder
plot.
He was placed on trial on the 28th March 1606 and was taken by coach to the Guildhall.
The government accused him of involvement in treason dating back over 20 years to the
reign of Elizabeth I, and he was linked to other possible jesuit encouraged plots against
Elizabeth.
It took only 15 minutes for the jury to find Henry Garnet guilty of treason, and he was
then sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.
He wrote tot he King saying he was against violence, and he then spent around three months
inside the Tower of London.
On the 3rd May 1606 he was strapped to a wooden hurdle and was taken by three horses to the
courtyard of St Paul’s.
He wore a black cloak over his clothes, and had his eyes closed during the journey.
He was asked when he got there of any treasons he knew about, and he said he had committed
no offence against the King.
Whilst on the scaffold he spoke to the crowd and claimed he was innocent and also stated
that he was going to be killed on the Feast of the Cross.
He at the bottom of the gallows where the ladder was prayed on his knees, and he disrobed
and then climbed on the ladder.
A protestant mnister came froward saying he was ‘ever meant to die a true but perfect
catholic,’ and a bishop said ‘we are all Catholics.’
He then had the noose secured around his neck, and the executioner pushed him off the ladder
leaving him hanging.
Just before Henry Garnet was killed, he was cut down alive and many in the crowd pulled
on his legs and it was said he did not suffer the death as the crowd may have killed him
before he hit the floor.
The executioner quartered him and beheaded him and when the executioner held up his heart
and said, ‘behold the heart of a traitor,’ there was no response.
His head was later then placed on a pole over London Bridge.
Many were greatly upset by the death of Henry Garnet and he was one of the leading Catholics
across England.
Others viewed him as a dangerous and treasonous individual who was committing crimes even
during the reign of the previous Queen Elizabeth I. He was linked to the gunpowder plot, and
possibly should have been stronger in his denial.
It’s also interesting to consider that he probably should have gone to live in Europe
to save his life following the gunpowder plots failing.
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