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1696 Jacobite assassination plot
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1696 Jacobite assassination plot
George Barclay led an unsuccessful attempt to ambush and kill William III and II of England, Scotland and Ireland in early 1696.
One of a series of plots by Jacobites to reverse the Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689, the plot of 1696 had been preceded by the "Ailesbury plot" of 1691–1692. Strictly the "Fenwick plot" of 1695 is distinct from the assassination plot of 1696. The successor was the proposed French invasion of Scotland of 1708.
Robert Charnock had served under John Parker in the Jacobite cavalry at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. In 1694 he was put in command of forces raised in the London area by Parker, for a potential Jacobite rising against William III and Mary II. Parker also drew in George Porter and Sir William Parkyns. He left the country in the middle of 1694. By then Charnock was discussing a plan to kidnap William III and take him to France. Mixed messages from James II confused the issue, and nothing had been done by April 1695, when William left the country.
Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, was one of the inner circle who advised James on English affairs. Mary's death at the end of 1694 revived their interest in direct action in England, and finance from France arrived by April 1695. Fenwick, however, was opposed to the schemes proposed by Charnock and his group. Meeting in May with Sir John Friend and others, he sent Charnock to France to move a plan for a massive invasion, instead. In June Fenwick was involved in Jacobite rioting and was arrested. Sir George Barclay was sent to act as his deputy in commanding forces supposed to co-ordinate with an invasion force under the Duke of Berwick. Barclay assessed the plan as hopeless, shunned Fenwick, and went back to the original idea of "kidnapping" William, certainly a euphemism for an assassination.
The plot was based on William III's habitual movements, on returning from hunting. On the south bank of the River Thames, at Kew, he would take a ferry that would bring him to the north bank, on a lane that ran from Turnham Green to Brentford (at this period these places were not built up, and lay west of the London conurbation). Barclay's plan depended on surprising William in his coach, and his armed escort. It was intended to use three parties of armed men, one to capture the king, and the others to deal with his guards. A point was chosen on the lane which was narrow enough so that the royal coach and six horses would not be able to manoeuvre.
The plot was prepared and its armed men were ready to act on 15 February and 22 February 1696. One party was under the command of Ambrose Rookwood.
William Trumbull, who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department at the time, heard about the plotting beginning in August 1695. He gathered intelligence on it through informers, and led the early investigation, which later was handed over to James Vernon. There was no shortage of rumour, with the information from Thomas Prendergast proving decisive: he had been approached by George Porter on 13 February 1696, and then went to William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, to reveal the conspiracy. In a second interview he gave the king details of the conspirators, a group numbering around 40 in all.
The ramifications of the plot proved more troublesome to Vernon. Fenwick defended himself actively by trying to implicate Lord Godolphin, the Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Marlborough, and the Earl of Orford. These charges led into the heart of the Junto, and Shrewsbury was Vernon's immediate superior. To add to the awkward position, this group of Whigs had in fact been in correspondence with James II at St Germain.
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1696 Jacobite assassination plot
George Barclay led an unsuccessful attempt to ambush and kill William III and II of England, Scotland and Ireland in early 1696.
One of a series of plots by Jacobites to reverse the Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689, the plot of 1696 had been preceded by the "Ailesbury plot" of 1691–1692. Strictly the "Fenwick plot" of 1695 is distinct from the assassination plot of 1696. The successor was the proposed French invasion of Scotland of 1708.
Robert Charnock had served under John Parker in the Jacobite cavalry at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. In 1694 he was put in command of forces raised in the London area by Parker, for a potential Jacobite rising against William III and Mary II. Parker also drew in George Porter and Sir William Parkyns. He left the country in the middle of 1694. By then Charnock was discussing a plan to kidnap William III and take him to France. Mixed messages from James II confused the issue, and nothing had been done by April 1695, when William left the country.
Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, was one of the inner circle who advised James on English affairs. Mary's death at the end of 1694 revived their interest in direct action in England, and finance from France arrived by April 1695. Fenwick, however, was opposed to the schemes proposed by Charnock and his group. Meeting in May with Sir John Friend and others, he sent Charnock to France to move a plan for a massive invasion, instead. In June Fenwick was involved in Jacobite rioting and was arrested. Sir George Barclay was sent to act as his deputy in commanding forces supposed to co-ordinate with an invasion force under the Duke of Berwick. Barclay assessed the plan as hopeless, shunned Fenwick, and went back to the original idea of "kidnapping" William, certainly a euphemism for an assassination.
The plot was based on William III's habitual movements, on returning from hunting. On the south bank of the River Thames, at Kew, he would take a ferry that would bring him to the north bank, on a lane that ran from Turnham Green to Brentford (at this period these places were not built up, and lay west of the London conurbation). Barclay's plan depended on surprising William in his coach, and his armed escort. It was intended to use three parties of armed men, one to capture the king, and the others to deal with his guards. A point was chosen on the lane which was narrow enough so that the royal coach and six horses would not be able to manoeuvre.
The plot was prepared and its armed men were ready to act on 15 February and 22 February 1696. One party was under the command of Ambrose Rookwood.
William Trumbull, who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department at the time, heard about the plotting beginning in August 1695. He gathered intelligence on it through informers, and led the early investigation, which later was handed over to James Vernon. There was no shortage of rumour, with the information from Thomas Prendergast proving decisive: he had been approached by George Porter on 13 February 1696, and then went to William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, to reveal the conspiracy. In a second interview he gave the king details of the conspirators, a group numbering around 40 in all.
The ramifications of the plot proved more troublesome to Vernon. Fenwick defended himself actively by trying to implicate Lord Godolphin, the Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Marlborough, and the Earl of Orford. These charges led into the heart of the Junto, and Shrewsbury was Vernon's immediate superior. To add to the awkward position, this group of Whigs had in fact been in correspondence with James II at St Germain.
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