Titus Oates was an English priest who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.
There have been three baronies created for the Gerard family who lived historically at Bryn, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire and Kingsley, Cheshire, in the 13th century. The third and current barony was created in 1876.
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the executions of at least 22 men and precipitated the Exclusion Bill Crisis. Eventually, Oates's intricate web of accusations fell apart, leading to his arrest and conviction for perjury.
Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk was an English nobleman and politician. He was the second son of Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel, and Lady Elizabeth Stuart. He succeeded his brother Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk after Thomas's death in 1677.
There have been three baronetcies created for descendants of the ancient Lancashire family of Gerard.
Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk, KG PC FRS Earl Marshal was an English nobleman, politician, and soldier. He was the son of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, and Lady Anne Somerset, daughter of Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester, and Elizabeth Dormer. He was summoned to the House of Lords in his own right as Baron Mowbray in 1678. His unhappy marriage was the subject of much gossip, and ended in divorce.
Walter Aston, 3rd Lord Aston of Forfar was the eldest son of Walter Aston, 2nd Lord Aston of Forfar, and his wife Lady Mary Weston, daughter of Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland. He is best remembered today as a fortunate survivor of the Popish Plot.
William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, FRS was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, and his wife, the former Alethea Talbot. A Fellow of the Royal Society from 1665, he was a Royalist supporter before being falsely implicated by Titus Oates in the later discredited "Popish Plot", and executed for treason. He was beatified as a Catholic martyr by Pope Pius XI in 1929.
Israel Tonge, aka Ezerel or Ezreel Tongue, was an English divine. He was an informer in and probably one of the inventors of the "Popish" plot.
William Petre, 4th Baron Petre was an English peer and victim of the Popish Plot.
Tixall Gatehouse is a 16th-century gatehouse situated at Tixall, near Stafford, Staffordshire and is all that remains of Tixall Hall which was demolished in 1927. The gatehouse is a Grade I listed building. Tixall was used as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots for two weeks in 1586.
Maurus Corker was an English Benedictine who was falsely accused and imprisoned as a result of the fabricated Popish Plot, but was acquitted of treason and eventually released.
Richard Langhorne was an English barrister and Catholic martyr, who was executed on a false charge of treason as part of the fabricated Popish Plot. He fell under suspicion because he was a Roman Catholic and because he had acted as legal adviser to the Jesuits at a time of acute anti-Catholic hysteria.
Sir Gilbert Gerard was a prominent lawyer, politician, and landowner of the Tudor period. He was returned six times as a member of the English parliament for four different constituencies. He was Attorney-General for more than twenty years during the reign of Elizabeth I, as well as vice-chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and later served as Master of the Rolls. He acquired large estates, mainly in Lancashire and Staffordshire.
Stephen Dugdale (1640?-1683) was an English informer, and self-proclaimed discoverer of parts of the Popish Plot. He perjured himself on numerous occasions, giving false testimony which led to the conviction and execution of numerous innocent men, notably the Catholic nobleman Lord Stafford, the Jesuit Provincial Thomas Whitbread, and the prominent barrister Richard Langhorne.
Colonel William Careless was a Royalist officer of the English Civil War. It has been estimated in various written sources that he was born c. 1620, however, it is more likely that he was born c. 1610. He was the second son of John Careless of Broom Hall, Brewood, Staffordshire, and his wife Ellen Fluit. He is chiefly remembered as the companion of King Charles II when the fugitive monarch hid in the Royal Oak following his defeat at the Battle of Worcester. His surname was changed to Carlos, the Spanish for Charles, by order of Charles II. He died in 1689.
Thomas Gerard, 1st Baron Gerard was a Staffordshire and Lancashire landowner and politician, a member of six English parliaments for three different constituencies. Although a prominent member of the Essex faction in the reign of Elizabeth I, he avoided involvement in the Essex Rebellion and received greater honours, including a peerage, in the reign of James I.
Andrew Bromwich was an English Roman Catholic priest. He was a survivor of the Popish Plot, and the founder of the Oscott Mission in Staffordshire, which later became St. Mary's College, Oscott.
John Gavan was an English Jesuit. He was a victim of the fabricated Popish Plot, and was wrongfully executed for conspiracy to murder King Charles II. He was beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI.
Hilderstone is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Staffordshire.
