5th November 2010
The Gunpowder Plot - The Parliamentary Perspective
by David Prior, Parliamentary Archivist
This lecture was held on the evening of 5th November and in the event
gave the audience pause for thought about the event being commemorated that day, while being
in a sheltered place inside and warm on what was in fact a foul evening.
David Prior is an archivist at the Palace of Westminster. Some of the documents pertaining to the Gunpowder Plot are held in the Parliamentary Archive, but this was not a lecture based on a series of unintelligible written documents. This was a vivid account of the practicalities of blowing up the King and Parliament. The explanation was made clear by reference to plans and drawings of the Houses of Parliament as they then were. All that said, the most telling part of the lecture was to remind the audience of the speculation that has existed about who was actually behind the Plot. The ringleaders did not survive to be able to throw light on what or who was behind it. Even if they had, they would have certainly been tortured and the worth of evidence derived from torture is a question that remains relevant to this day.
David Prior is an archivist at the Palace of Westminster. Some of the documents pertaining to the Gunpowder Plot are held in the Parliamentary Archive, but this was not a lecture based on a series of unintelligible written documents. This was a vivid account of the practicalities of blowing up the King and Parliament. The explanation was made clear by reference to plans and drawings of the Houses of Parliament as they then were. All that said, the most telling part of the lecture was to remind the audience of the speculation that has existed about who was actually behind the Plot. The ringleaders did not survive to be able to throw light on what or who was behind it. Even if they had, they would have certainly been tortured and the worth of evidence derived from torture is a question that remains relevant to this day.