The Rye-House Plot was a plan to secure the succession of the duke of Monmouth to the throne in preference to the duke of York (afterwards James II), a Roman Catholic. Some of the conspirators planned to assassinate the king, Charles II and his brother. However, the plan was frustrated by the king's house at Newmarket accidentally catching fire which caused the royal party to leave eight days before the plot was to take effect, on March 22nd 1683. The plot was discovered on June 12th and Lord William Russell and Algernon Sidney were arrested and illegally convicted and executed. The plot was so named after the conspirators meeting place, the Rye-House at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. Research Rye-House Plot
Stonehenge is the principal prehistoric monument in Great Britain. It consists of a group of large stones arranged in a circle on Salisbury Plain.
Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed that the devil bought the stones from an old woman in Ireland, wrapped them up in a wyth, and took them to Salisbury plain where after fixing them in the ground he cried out 'no man will ever find out how these stones came here'. Several hundred years later the mystery of how the stones arrived and were erected, remains a mystery.
In 2008, the results of an archaeological survey were published, suggesting that, based upon evidence of artefacts and near-by burials, that Stonehenge was used as a place of healing from prehistoric times through to the mediaeval period, including by the Romans. Whether or not Stonehenge was used for other purposes as well is not known, but it seems very likely that the stones and location were considered to have the properties of healing the body, and there is evidence that suggests people travelled from as far as Switzerland to be treated at the site. Research Stonehenge More pictures of Stonehenge
The thumb-screw or thumbscrew (also known as thumbikins) was an old instrument of torture designed to slowly break the victim's thumb joint. Thumb-screws were much used by the Spanish Inquisition and in Scotland during the persecutions of the Covenanters for extracting confessions or recantations. Macaulay reports that a thumb-screw was often effective in wringing confessions when a bootikin had failed.
The last person in Britain to be officially tortured with thumb-screws was Principal Carstairs who suffered for half an hour at Holyrood by order of the Scotch Privy Council before writing a confession of the secrets of the Argyll and Monmouth parties. Research Thumb-Screw
Henry Knox was an American patriot. He was nborn in 1750 at Boston and died in 1806. A bookseller before the American Revolution. He exchanged this occupation for that of an artillery officer, fought at Bunker Hill, and obtained much credit for his transfer of ordnance in the winter of 1775 - 1776 from the Canadian frontier and the Lake George region to the army around Boston. He was made a brigadier-general of artillery, fought with distinction at. Trenton, Brandywine, Monmouth and Yorktown, and received the grade of a major-general. He was active in the Cincinnati Society, and became Secretary of War under the old Congress in 1785. George Washington reappointed him to this position, which he filled until 1795. Research Henry Knox
Henry Knox was an American patriot. He was nborn in 1750 at Boston and died in 1806. A bookseller before the American Revolution. He exchanged this occupation for that of an artillery officer, fought at Bunker Hill, and obtained much credit for his transfer of ordnance in the winter of 1775 - 1776 from the Canadian frontier and the Lake George region to the army around Boston. He was made a brigadier-general of artillery, fought with distinction at. Trenton, Brandywine, Monmouth and Yorktown, and received the grade of a major-general. He was active in the Cincinnati Society, and became Secretary of War under the old Congress in 1785. George Washington reappointed him to this position, which he filled until 1795. Research Henry Knox
John Eager Howard was an American soldier. He was born in 1752 and died in 1827. A colonel, he joined the Revolutionary army at the outbreak of the American War of Independence, and was a captain under General Mercer at White Plains in 1776. He commanded as major at Germantown and Monmouth, fought at Camden in 1780 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and won great fame at Cowpens in 1781. He was Governor of Maryland from 1789 to 1792. In 1796 he declined the portfolio of Secretary of War in George Washington's Cabinet. He was a US Senator from 1796 to 1803. Research John Eager Howard
John Eager Howard was an American soldier. He was born in 1752 and died in 1827. A colonel, he joined the Revolutionary army at the outbreak of the American War of Independence, and was a captain under General Mercer at White Plains in 1776. He commanded as major at Germantown and Monmouth, fought at Camden in 1780 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and won great fame at Cowpens in 1781. He was Governor of Maryland from 1789 to 1792. In 1796 he declined the portfolio of Secretary of War in George Washington's Cabinet. He was a US Senator from 1796 to 1803. Research John Eager Howard
John Eager Howard was an American soldier. He was born in 1752 and died in 1827. A colonel, he joined the Revolutionary army at the outbreak of the American War of Independence, and was a captain under General Mercer at White Plains in 1776. He commanded as major at Germantown and Monmouth, fought at Camden in 1780 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and won great fame at Cowpens in 1781. He was Governor of Maryland from 1789 to 1792. In 1796 he declined the portfolio of Secretary of War in George Washington's Cabinet. He was a US Senator from 1796 to 1803. Research John Eager Howard
Robert Baillie of Jerviswood, in Lanarkshire was a Scottish patriot of the reign of Charles II. He brought himself into notice by opposing the tyrannical measures of Archbishop Sharpe against the Nonconformists, for which he was fined 6000 merks and imprisoned for four months. In 1683 he went to London in furtherance of a scheme of emigration to South Carolina taken up by a number of Scottish gentlemen, as being the only way of escaping the tyranny of the government. He became associated with Monmouth, Sydney, Russell, and the rest of that party, and was charged with complicity in the Rye-house plot. After a long imprisonment, during which vain attempts were made to obtain evidence against him, he was brought before the Court of Justiciary on the 23rd of December 1684, was found guilty, and condemned to be executed that afternoon. Research Robert Baillie
Robert Baillie of Jerviswood, in Lanarkshire was a Scottish patriot of the reign of Charles II. He brought himself into notice by opposing the tyrannical measures of Archbishop Sharpe against the Nonconformists, for which he was fined 6000 merks and imprisoned for four months. In 1683 he went to London in furtherance of a scheme of emigration to South Carolina taken up by a number of Scottish gentlemen, as being the only way of escaping the tyranny of the government. He became associated with Monmouth, Sydney, Russell, and the rest of that party, and was charged with complicity in the Rye-house plot. After a long imprisonment, during which vain attempts were made to obtain evidence against him, he was brought before the Court of Justiciary on the 23rd of December 1684, was found guilty, and condemned to be executed that afternoon. Research Robert Baillie
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Rye-House Plot
