Huddington Court facts for kids
Huddington Court is a beautiful old house from the 1400s, located in the village of Huddington in Worcestershire, England. It's about six miles east of the city of Worcester. This amazing house is surrounded by a moat, which is a deep, wide ditch filled with water, often built around castles or large houses for protection. A famous expert named Sir Nikolaus Pevsner once called it 'the most picturesque house in Worcestershire', meaning it's one of the prettiest.
Huddington Court was once home to the Wintour family. Some members of this family, like Robert, Thomas, and John Wintour, were involved in a very famous historical event called the Gunpowder Plot. Today, Huddington Court is a private home, so it's not open for visitors. It's also a very important historical building, listed as Grade I since 1952, which means it's considered to be of exceptional interest.
The Gunpowder Plot Connection
Huddington Court played a small but important role in the famous Gunpowder Plot of 1605. This was a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. Part of this secret plan was actually thought up right here at Huddington Court!
Secret Hiding Places
Inside the house, there are two special secret rooms called "priest holes." These were built to hide Catholic priests during a time when practicing Catholicism was dangerous in England. It's believed these hiding spots were created by a master builder named Nicholas Owen.
- One priest hole is hidden behind a wooden panel in what used to be the chapel, where religious services were held. This main hiding spot has another secret door leading to a tiny room.
- The other hiding place is in a room across the hall. It's a door cleverly disguised to look just like part of the wall. This one leads to a surprisingly large room that wasn't discovered until the 1920s!
After the Plot
After the main plotter, Guy Fawkes, was caught in London, the other plotters quickly fled. Many of them arrived at Huddington Court around 2:00 p.m. on November 6th. They didn't stay long, leaving early the next morning in heavy rain. They traveled to Holbeach House in Staffordshire, where they were eventually caught or killed in a shootout.
Some of the Wintour brothers managed to escape for a while. Robert Wintour avoided capture for two months. Thomas Wintour was wounded, and their half-brother, John, surrendered at Dudley Castle. Sadly, all of them were later executed for their part in the plot.
Because of their involvement, Huddington Court and all the Wintour family's lands were taken by the government. However, the house was back in the family's hands by 1607. This likely happened because large fines were paid by the Talbot family, as Robert Wintour's wife, Gertrude, was the daughter of Sir John Talbot.
A Mysterious Message
In the main bedroom of the house, there are words etched into the glass: "past cark, past care." For a long time, people believed that Lady Wintour, Robert's wife, carved these words with her diamond ring while her husband was hiding.
However, this story isn't true. The words were actually carved by a priest named William Clerke. He was hiding at Huddington Court in the summer of 1603 because he was involved in another plot called the Bye Plot. He was arrested in Worcester on August 13th that year and later executed in Winchester on November 29th.
