Robert Keyes
Encyclopedia
Robert Keyes was a member of the group of provincial English Catholic
s who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot
of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords
during the State Opening of Parliament
on 5 November 1605. He was the sixth man to join the plot.
Unlike several other conspirators Keyes was not a particularly wealthy man. He was trusted by Robert Catesby
, the plot's author, with guarding the explosives stored at the latter's lodgings in London. When the plot was uncovered he fled the city, and was captured several days later in Warwickshire
. He was subsequently tried with his co-conspirators, found guilty, and in January 1606 hanged, drawn and quartered
.
in North Derbyshire
. His mother was a daughter of Sir Robert Tyrwhitt of Kettleby in Lincolnshire, and related to the Catholic Babthorpes of Osgodby. Keyes' first cousin Elizabeth Tyrrwhitt was married to another member of the plot, Ambrose Rookwood. By 1604, Robert had converted to Catholicism. His wife Christina, a widow when he married her, was the governess for the children of Henry Mordaunt, 4th Baron Mordaunt, at Drayton
in Northamptonshire
, and for this Keyes gained the use of horses and other amenities.
succeeded Queen Elizabeth I
, but Robert Catesby
, a Catholic zealot from Ashby St Ledgers
, remained unimpressed by the new royal dynasty. He therefore planned to kill James by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder, following which he would help incite a popular revolt to install James's daughter, Princess Elizabeth
, as titular Queen. His role being to guard the gunpowder and other items stored at Catesby's house in Lambeth, Keyes joined the conspiracy in October 1604.
The Jesuit priest John Gerard described Keyes as "a grave and sober man, and of great wit and sufficiency". Father Oswald Tesimond
claimed that Keyes had "tasted persecution himself, having lost his goods because of it" while historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson's image of him was of a "desperate man, ruined and indebted". Tall, with a red beard, despite his relative poverty Catesby declared him "a trusty honest man", and may have paid him for his services. Like fellow plotter Guy Fawkes
, he was thought capable of looking after himself. Several conspirators expressed concerns about the safety of fellow Catholics who would be at Parliament on the day of the planned explosion; Keyes was particularly worried about Lord Mordaunt, his wife's employer. Thomas Percy was concerned for his patron, Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
, and the Lords Vaux, Montague
, Monteagle
and Stourton were also mentioned. Keyes's suggestion to warn Lord Mordaunt was treated by Catesby with derision, when he answered that "he would not for the chamber full of diamonds acquaint him with the secret, for that he knew he could not keep it."
Keyes and his cousin-in-law Ambrose Rookwood spent the night before the planned explosion at the house of an Elizabeth More, near Temple Bar
. They were visited late that evening by Fawkes (in charge of the explosives beneath the House of Lords) who collected a watch left by Percy, for timing the fuse
. Several hours later, however, Fawkes was discovered guarding the explosives, and arrested.
by Rookwood, who was rushing to inform Catesby and the others of what had transpired. After he and Rookwood had caught up with Catesby, Percy, Thomas Bates
, and John
and Christopher Wright, Keyes left the group, and headed instead for Lord Mordaunt's house at Drayton, where he went to ground. He was identified as a suspect on 6 November, and captured several days later.
The conspirators were tried on 27 January 1606 at Westminster Hall. Despite entering pleas of not guilty (only Digby professed his guilt), all eight were found guilty. They were each allowed to speak "wherefore judgement of death should not be pronounced against them". Keyes made no attempt to excuse his actions, claiming that "death was as good now as at any other time", preferable to living "in the midst of so much tyranny". The Jesuit Oswald Tesimond
wrote in his Narrative of Keyes's defence:
On 31 January 1606 Keyes, Rookwood, Thomas Wintour and Fawkes were taken to the Old Palace Yard in Westminster
, to be hanged, drawn and quartered
. Rookwood and Wintour were the first to ascend to the gallows. Grim-faced, Keyes went "stoutly" up the ladder, but with the halter around his neck he threw himself off, presumably hoping for a quick death. The halter broke, however, and he was taken to the block to suffer the remainder of his sentence.
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
during the State Opening of Parliament
State Opening of Parliament
In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
on 5 November 1605. He was the sixth man to join the plot.
Unlike several other conspirators Keyes was not a particularly wealthy man. He was trusted by Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby , was the leader of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605....
, the plot's author, with guarding the explosives stored at the latter's lodgings in London. When the plot was uncovered he fled the city, and was captured several days later in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. He was subsequently tried with his co-conspirators, found guilty, and in January 1606 hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
.
Life before 1604
Born in about 1565, Robert Keyes was the son of the Protestant Rector of StaveleyStaveley, Derbyshire
Staveley is a town within the borough of Chesterfield, in Derbyshire, England. The town is situated alongside the River Rother, adjacent to Eckington to the north, Barlborough to the east, Sutton-cum-Duckmanton civil parish to the south and Brimington to the west.-History:It has traditionally been...
in North Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. His mother was a daughter of Sir Robert Tyrwhitt of Kettleby in Lincolnshire, and related to the Catholic Babthorpes of Osgodby. Keyes' first cousin Elizabeth Tyrrwhitt was married to another member of the plot, Ambrose Rookwood. By 1604, Robert had converted to Catholicism. His wife Christina, a widow when he married her, was the governess for the children of Henry Mordaunt, 4th Baron Mordaunt, at Drayton
Drayton, Northamptonshire
Drayton is a hamlet in England, in the county of Northamptonshire, in the parish and union of Daventry, hundred of Fawsley, ¾ of a mile on the low-lying western side of the town of Daventry.-History:...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, and for this Keyes gained the use of horses and other amenities.
Gunpowder Plot
English Catholics had hoped that the persecution of their faith would end when the apparently more tolerant King James IJames I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
succeeded Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, but Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby
Robert Catesby , was the leader of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605....
, a Catholic zealot from Ashby St Ledgers
Ashby St Ledgers
Ashby St Ledgers is a village in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire, England, although the postal address is Rugby in Warwickshire. The Manor House is famous for being the location for the planning of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The building is now part of the Crown estate.-Location:The...
, remained unimpressed by the new royal dynasty. He therefore planned to kill James by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder, following which he would help incite a popular revolt to install James's daughter, Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
, as titular Queen. His role being to guard the gunpowder and other items stored at Catesby's house in Lambeth, Keyes joined the conspiracy in October 1604.
The Jesuit priest John Gerard described Keyes as "a grave and sober man, and of great wit and sufficiency". Father Oswald Tesimond
Oswald Tesimond
Oswald Tesimond was a Jesuit born in either Northumberland or York who, while not a direct conspirator, had some involvement in the Gunpowder Plot....
claimed that Keyes had "tasted persecution himself, having lost his goods because of it" while historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson's image of him was of a "desperate man, ruined and indebted". Tall, with a red beard, despite his relative poverty Catesby declared him "a trusty honest man", and may have paid him for his services. Like fellow plotter Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
, he was thought capable of looking after himself. Several conspirators expressed concerns about the safety of fellow Catholics who would be at Parliament on the day of the planned explosion; Keyes was particularly worried about Lord Mordaunt, his wife's employer. Thomas Percy was concerned for his patron, Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland KG was an English aristocrat. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Henry was a long-term prisoner in the Tower of London. He is known for the circles he moved in as well as for his own achievements...
, and the Lords Vaux, Montague
Anthony-Maria Browne, 2nd Viscount Montagu
Anthony-Maria Browne was an English peer during the Tudor and Stuart period.He was born in 1574, and become the Second Viscount Montagu on the death of his grandfather in 1592. He married Jane Sackville, the daughter of Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, in 1591...
, Monteagle
William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle
William Parker, 13th Baron Morley, 4th Baron Monteagle was an English peer, Lord of Morley, Hingham, Hockering, &c., in Norfolk, the eldest son of Edward Parker, 12th Baron Morley , and of Elizabeth Stanley, daughter and heiress of William Stanley, 3rd Baron Monteagle .When quite a youth he...
and Stourton were also mentioned. Keyes's suggestion to warn Lord Mordaunt was treated by Catesby with derision, when he answered that "he would not for the chamber full of diamonds acquaint him with the secret, for that he knew he could not keep it."
Keyes and his cousin-in-law Ambrose Rookwood spent the night before the planned explosion at the house of an Elizabeth More, near Temple Bar
Temple Bar, London
Temple Bar is the barrier marking the westernmost extent of the City of London on the road to Westminster, where Fleet Street becomes the Strand...
. They were visited late that evening by Fawkes (in charge of the explosives beneath the House of Lords) who collected a watch left by Percy, for timing the fuse
Slow match
Slow match or match cord is the very slow burning cord or twine fuse used by early gunpowder musketeers, artillerymen, and soldiers to ignite matchlock muskets, cannons, and petards...
. Several hours later, however, Fawkes was discovered guarding the explosives, and arrested.
Failure and death
When Keyes heard that Fawkes had been captured he took to his horse and fled for the Midlands. He was overtaken at HighgateHighgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
by Rookwood, who was rushing to inform Catesby and the others of what had transpired. After he and Rookwood had caught up with Catesby, Percy, Thomas Bates
Thomas Bates
Thomas Bates was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Bates was born at Lapworth in Warwickshire, and became a retainer to Robert Catesby, who from 1604 planned to kill King James I by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder, and...
, and John
John Wright (Gunpowder Plot)
John Wright , and Christopher Wright , were members of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords. Their sister married another plotter, Thomas Percy...
and Christopher Wright, Keyes left the group, and headed instead for Lord Mordaunt's house at Drayton, where he went to ground. He was identified as a suspect on 6 November, and captured several days later.
The conspirators were tried on 27 January 1606 at Westminster Hall. Despite entering pleas of not guilty (only Digby professed his guilt), all eight were found guilty. They were each allowed to speak "wherefore judgement of death should not be pronounced against them". Keyes made no attempt to excuse his actions, claiming that "death was as good now as at any other time", preferable to living "in the midst of so much tyranny". The Jesuit Oswald Tesimond
Oswald Tesimond
Oswald Tesimond was a Jesuit born in either Northumberland or York who, while not a direct conspirator, had some involvement in the Gunpowder Plot....
wrote in his Narrative of Keyes's defence:
On 31 January 1606 Keyes, Rookwood, Thomas Wintour and Fawkes were taken to the Old Palace Yard in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, to be hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
. Rookwood and Wintour were the first to ascend to the gallows. Grim-faced, Keyes went "stoutly" up the ladder, but with the halter around his neck he threw himself off, presumably hoping for a quick death. The halter broke, however, and he was taken to the block to suffer the remainder of his sentence.