What would have happened if Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot was a success: an interactive map shows which parts of London would have been blown up immediately… and which parts would have been left unscathed
Today marks 419 years since one of the most catastrophic episodes in English history was narrowly averted.
In the early hours of November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes was caught outside London’s House of Lords with a box of matches and 36 barrels of gun power.
Along with his fellow Catholic conspirators, Fawkes was found guilty of attempting to blow up Parliament and assassinate James I of England.
Fortunately, the disastrous explosion was foiled, undoubtedly saving the lives of thousands of people, not to mention the King and members of the Houses of Parliament.
Fawkes, meanwhile, was tortured on the rack before being tried for high treason in January 1606.
Since then, the question remains: What would have happened if the evil Gunpowder Plot had been successful?
MailOnline’s interactive map gives an idea of the kind of destruction that would have occurred if 2,500kg of gunpowder had been set on fire.
If Fawkes had not been found by the royal authorities, Westminster and the surrounding areas could have looked very different today.
In what became known as the Gunpowder Plot, Catholic conspirators led by Robert Catesby (pictured above with Guy Fawkes and other conspirators) fatefully planned to assassinate James I by blowing up Parliament in 1605.
MailOnline’s map is based on a 2003 analysis by the Center for Explosion Studies at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, led by Dr Geraint Thomas.
The researchers found that the explosion would have destroyed Westminster Hall and Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and more.
Of course, the Houses of Parliament as we know them today were built in the 19th century after a fire, but Fawkes is said to have hastened their demise.
Jewel Tower, part of the 14th century Palace of Westminster, could have been partially damaged, as could Whitehall – where Downing Street is today.
Everything within a radius of about 40 meters would have been razed, while buildings up to 100 meters away would have been at least partially destroyed.
Up to about 900 meters away, some windows would have been blown out and Londoners would have felt the force of the blast.
Even further from the heart of the explosion, smaller effects, such as the sound of a faint boom, may have been audible.
Dr. Thomas and colleagues based their estimate on the assumption that gunpowder today would have been as powerful as TNT.
The cellar under the House of Lords, as illustrated in 1799, where Guy Fawkes was found with the gunpowder, was probably no longer in existence. It was described as 77 feet long, 24 feet and 4 inches wide, and 10 feet high
Fawkes was only one of thirteen co-conspirators; he is most famous because he was the one caught guarding the explosives, not because he was the ringleader
“Fawkes was an expert in explosives and if he had properly packed the powder in barrels it would have an explosion radius equivalent to that of modern TNT,” Dr Thomas said.
The study referred to models given during the world wars about the detonation of TNT and how much damage it would cause depending on the distance.
“Granted, we don’t know the exact composition of the gunpowder or where it was placed in relation to structural walls,” says co-author Cathy Gardner.
‘It is difficult to say the exact damage that would have been caused and the Houses of Parliament could have just about been left standing but the building would not have been in a good condition.’
A total of 36 barrels of gunpowder, weighing a total of 2,500 kg, were stored in a cellar beneath the House of Lords – a space that no longer exists.
The intention had been to detonate them during the State Opening of Parliament on November 5, when James I, the Queen and his heir would also be present.
The plot was devised by Robert Catesby when it became clear that King James I, who came to power in 1603, would continue the persecution of Catholics by his predecessor, Queen Elizabeth I.
It is known that Fawkes – an explosives expert who had served in the Spanish army – used substantially more gunpowder than he needed.
In 2005, to mark the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a full-scale replica of the House of Lords was built and destroyed using barrels of gunpowder at RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria, England.
Originally from York, Fawkes’ job was to light the fuse and escape across the Thames, but with hours to go he was found during a royal search following a tip-off.
An anonymous letter of warning was sent to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, a Catholic Member of Parliament, who immediately showed it to the authorities.
An extract reads: ‘They will deal a terrible blow to this parliament and yet they will not see who is hurting them’.
Royal guards searched the House of Lords and in the early hours of 5 November, Fawkes was found in the cellars, with a fuse, a small lamp, a box of matches and 36 poorly hidden barrels of gunpowder.
After Fawkes’ arrest, Catesby and the other conspirators fled the 80 miles from London back to Ashby St. Ledgers in Northamptonshire in seven hours.
Catesby died two days later in a shootout as he tried to resist arrest at Holbeach House in Staffordshire.
His head was later cut off and taken to London, where it was stuck on the roof of Parliament.
Fawkes and fellow conspirators Thomas Wintour, Ambrose Rookwood and Robert Keyes were hanged, drawn and quartered in the Old Palace Yard, opposite Parliament at Westminster.
Fawkes’ death came after he was interrogated and tortured for three months.
His signature on the confession he made on November 9 was barely legible, demonstrating the impact of the torture.
What is bonfire night?
Bonfire Night – also known as Guy Fawkes Night – marks the failed gunpowder plot to blow up Parliament in 1605.
It takes its name from Guy Fawkes – a member of the Catholic plot intended to assassinate the Protestant King James I and replace him with a Catholic.
Fawkes was only one of thirteen co-conspirators; he is most famous because he was the one caught guarding the explosives, not because he was the ringleader.
The plot failed, the conspirators were discovered and they were hanged, drawn and quartered.
Londoners celebrated James I’s survival of the assassination attempt by lighting bonfires around the city, and within months Guy Fawkes Night was established.
It has been celebrated every year in Britain since then, with communities marking it with fireworks and lighting bonfires on which they burn a ‘Guy’ – a stuffed effigy that resembles the famous figure.
Many local associations now choose public figures as celebrities and burn them on gigantic fires.
Every year on November 5, bonfires and fireworks are lit in memory of the Gunpowder Plot, during which an effigy of Guy Fawkes is traditionally burned
Until 1959, it was illegal in Britain not to celebrate Bonfire Night, except during the World Wars, when no one was allowed to set off fireworks or light bonfires due to the risk of being spotted by enemy aircraft.
Instead, the bonfire night was celebrated indoors to protect the people by not advertising where they were.
Until 1959, there was only one place in Britain that refused to celebrate the failed plot.
St Peter’s School in York was cleared from burning photographs of its former pupil, Guy Fawkes.
Guards still check the cellars beneath the Houses of Parliament every year.
The Yeoman of the Guard checking the cellars of the Houses of Parliament has become a ceremonial tradition before the State Opening of Parliament each year.