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 True Narrative of the Horrid Hellish Popish-Plot by a thief. The murder of Godfrey is an attempt by participants in the plot to bring the vengeance of "th[e] excess of Jesuitical rage" upon London by stealing from and setting fire to its houses, which they have attempted to do many times before. The narrator may even be attributing blame for the Great Fire of London of 1666 to the plotters: Y[ou] have seen how they once set the Town all in flame; And divers times since have attempted the same The narrator then credits the fraudster and informer William Bedloe for knowledge of Jesuits conniving their way