Hidden Histories – The Gunpowder Plot

"A little beyond the town, on the road to Dagenham, stood a great house, antient, and now almost fallen down, where tradition says the Gunpowder Treason Plot was at first contriv'd..."
– Daniel Defoe, 1724

This quote from author Daniel Defoe is referencing the rumours circulating over 300 years ago... rumours that remain strong to this day. 

The People

It all starts back in the early 1600s. Alderman John Moore rented Eastbury from its owner Mrs Anne Steward, widow of Clement Sisley. John Moore's wife Maria, and stepdaughter (also Maria) were Spanish and devout Catholics. Documents show that after his death in 1603 his widow and daughter were given special dispensation to practise their religion at Eastbury.

The younger Maria married Lewis Tresham in 1603, brother of Francis Tresham and cousin of Robert Catesby- and infamous Gunpowder Plotter. At the time of the plot Lewis was in Spain, but his brother was in England, and heavily implicated. 
The Tresham brothers also had a sister, Mary, who was married to none other than Lord Monteagle, who received the letter which led to the discovery of the plot. Monteagle had several residencies, but was certainly living somewhere in Barking in 1607- his son was baptized at St Margaret's Church, Barking. It is possible he stayed from time to time at Eastbury with his sister-in-law. 

The Place

Eastbury may have provided an ideal meeting place for the plotters,being in an isolated position in close proximity to the River Thames, which provided a quick and direct route into London. At that time there were small creeks or inlets running from the river across the marshes, almost as far as the Eastbury Garden. It would have been possible to travel to and fro in a rowing boat at night without being seen. 

Guy Fawkes' Link to Barking

Just four days after the plot was foiled, local Justice of the Peace, Sir Nicholas Coote, interrogated a Barking fisherman named Richard Franklin at Valence House in Dagenham. Franklin stated that his employer, Henry Parrish, had hired out a boat to Guy Fawkes and a companion in which they had travelled in disguise to and from the French coast. Franklin also revealed that if the plot had succeeded, Guy Fawkes intended to make his way to safety on the Continent using the same route. 

The Rumours Develop

As a result of these circumstances, rumours have grown through time, some more elaborate than others:

• Some believe that Guy Fawkes was born here...
• Some say that the location meant the plotters would gather here for their secret meetings, contriving their plans...Some say gunpowder was stored at the house, with tunnels beneath it...
• Others believe Lord Monteagle received a warning letter about the Plot here...
• And others still suggest the fisherman Richard Franklin helped ferry plotters and gunpowder from Eastbury to the Houses of Parliament.

It's true to say that no evidence has ever confirmed any of the above. However, some of the rumours remain, and many have not been disproved. What do you believe?