Rye House Plot Rye House Plot The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the return journey on 1 April 1683, but because there was a major fire in Newmarket on 22 March (which destroyed half the town), the races were cancelled, and the King and the Duke returned to London early. As a result, the planned attack never took place. Historians vary in their assessment
A Ballad upon the Popish Plot to Elizabeth Somerset Herbert Powis (1633–1691) who, along with her husband William Herbert, first Marquess of Powis (or Powys), was one of the most influential Roman Catholics of that time. As one of the “Five Catholic Lords” falsely accused by Titus Oates of plotting in the King’s assassination, her husband was imprisoned in the Tower of London for six years. Her attempts to free him in the so-called “Meal-tub Plot” very nearly led to her own conviction for treason. This ballad is one of a group on the Popish Plot included in the Bagford Ballad collection, whose ballads depict the