Coughton Court

Gunpowder Plot and Gardens

Chapter 1: Introduction

You may well not have heard of Coughton Court (unless you have read the excellent ‘God’s Traitors’ by Jessie Childs) but it is definitely a place not to be missed.

The seat of the extremely prolific Throckmorton family, Coughton Court (pronounced cote-un, not cor-tun as you might expect) was a centre of Catholic resistance in Elizabethan England, and at the heart of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.

Location and Surroundings

Warwickshire is a pretty, largely rural, county, fairly flat and the area round Coughton is rolling and quite wooded, once part of the Forest of Arden. Warwickshire is in the heart of the Midlands. As well as Birmingham and Coventry, the industrial and commercial cities, there are the cultural delights of Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon not far away, with Worcester and Evesham also within easy reach. The village of Coughton is a typical ribbon development along an ancient road.

Amazon UK Amazon US