Sun 14 Sept - Heritage Open Day: Gunpowder, Treason & Sub-Plot! The Story behind one of Northamptonshire's Tudor Houses

* OVER HALF THE TICKETS ALREADY GONE * We welcome back Philomena Liggins for a fascinating talk in honour of Heritage Open Days. Join us and be part of the 'Jury in the Brewery'!

Lyveden New Bield is an unfinished Tudor mansion in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside. It stands as a testament to its creator Sir Thomas Tresham, but work stopped in 1605 due to the family’s staggering debts. This is where our story begins!

In 1605 a group of plotters planned to kill King James I and blow up the Houses of Parliament. However, Sir Robert Cecil, who was the King’s head of intelligence, had other ideas and he and his collaborators foiled what would become known as the ‘The Gunpowder Plot’. The plotters were either killed or captured and tried and executed, apart from one, Sir Francis Tresham. Francis avoided his trial and execution having died of ‘natural causes’ whilst incarcerated in the Tower of London. Or did he?

This is Francis’s story, and that of his widowed mother Muriel. Did Francis escape from the Tower? And what part – if any – did Muriel play in organising her son’s escape? And to whom was Muriel paying off family debts until the day she died in 1615?

Whilst carrying out research for her book "Agents, Aliens & Spies", Philomena Liggins has uncovered some evidence. But it is up to you – the jury in the Brewery – to decide if Francis escaped from the Tower, where he went, and what was the business relationship between Muriel and Robert Cecil?  

This will be Philomena's second Heritage Open Day talk and her fourth talk in total here at the Mill. She lives in Towcester and is a social historian and author. 

Held in the Malt Room on the second floor at 5pm. Doors to the Malt Room bar open at 4.30pm. Talk will last around 45 minutes, plus some time will be available for book signings.

Please book your free ticket here to reserve your space!