Chapter XLIX

At the beginning of the month of September, 1605, Father Garnet was at Gothurst,[A] three miles from Newport Pagnell, in the County of Buckinghamshire, and about the 5th of September from this still standing stately English home there proceeded the nucleus of a pilgrim-band bent for the famous well of St. Winifred, the British Saint, situated at Holywell, in North Wales.

[Footnote A: Gothurst (now Gayhurst) is twelve miles from Northampton and from ten to fifteen miles from Great Harrowden. Weston Underwood and Olney, immortalized by William Cowper, are not far from both places. The poet would be distantly related to young Lord Vaux of Harrowden, through the Donnes, who, like Lord Vaux, through the Ropers, were descended from Sir Thomas More. To Walter Carlile, Esquire, who now resides at Gayhurst, which was the ancient name of the Estate (Gothurst, however, being its name in Sir Everard Digby’s day), I am indebted for the information as to the distance of Gayhurst from Northampton. Cowper was, it will be recollected, the intimate friend of the Throckmortons of his day.]

Sir Everard Digby, the Master of Gothurst, was not of the company, as he was engaged in negotiating a match between the young Lord Vaux of Harrowden, then a youth of about fourteen years of age, with one of the daughters of the Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Suffolk. But Lady Digby formed one of the band, as did the uncle of Lord Vaux, Edward Brookesby, Esquire, of Arundell House, Shouldby, Leicestershire, and his wife the Honourable Eleanor Brookesby, together with her sister the Honourable Anne Vaux.

At least two Jesuits formed part of the cavalcade, Father Henry Garnet and Father John Percy, the chaplain to Sir Everard Digby.

Father John Gerard, who had “reconciled to the Church,” as the phrase went, both Sir Everard and Lady Digby and was their intimate and honoured friend, as well as the friend of the Dowager Lady Vaux of Harrowden and her family, did not join the pilgrimage.

Father Gerard was most probably in Yorkshire at this time. For there is interesting evidence tending to prove that about the 25th of August, 1605, this Lancashire Jesuit was being harboured as the guest of Sir John and Lady Yorke, at Gowthwaite (or Goulthwaite) Hall, near Pateley Bridge, in Nidderdale.[A]

[Footnote A: See “_The Condition of Catholics under James I._” Edited by John Morris, S.J. (Longmans, 1872), p. 257.]

The following abstracts from the Evidence of two of Sir Everard Digby’s serving-men, who accompanied their devout, charming young mistress on this now famous pilgrimage, will give the best account of what took place on this occasion.[A] They are as follow:——

[Footnote A: St. Winifred’s Well is at Holywell, Flintshire, Wales, and is sacred to St. Winifred of Wales, an early British Virgin and Martyr. Her “Life” will be found in Butler’s “_Lives of the Saints_,” under date November 3rd, her Feast Day. The waters of the Well are of healing quality, very copious and icy cold. There is an elegant mediæval stone Chapel built over the Well. (I visited this ancient shrine of a British Maiden——who still rules human hearts——in September, 1897, on my return from Ebbsfleet, where the thirteenth Centenary Commemorations had been held in honour of the spiritual grandsire and sire of the English race, the Italian Pope Gregory the Great and the Italian Benedictine Monk Augustine.)]

GUNPOWDER PLOT BOOKS——NO. 153.

[Abstract.]

ii. Dec. 1605

[In Cal. 11 Dec. 1605.]

“Th’examination of James Garvey serv^{t} to S^{r} Everard Digby

* * * * *

“Saieth about Bartholmew tide last his ladie roade to St.
Wenefred’s Well from Gotehurst: first daie to Deyntrie:[A] 2 to
Grantz:[B] 3 to Winters:[C] 4 to Mr. Lacon’s:[D] 5 to
Shrewsberie: 6 to holte:[E] 7 to the well: they staied at the
well but one night: and retorned the first day 2 to holt 2 to
Mr. Banester’s at Wen[F] 2 to Mr. Lacon’s againe and so retorned
to Gotehurst.

[Footnote A: Daventry, Northamptonshire.]

[Footnote B: John Grant’s, at Norbrook, Snitterfield,
Warwickshire.]

[Footnote C: Huddington Hall, near Droitwich, Worcestershire.]

[Footnote D: Most probably at Kinlet Hall, about five miles from
Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire.]

[Footnote E: Holt, in Denbighshire.]

[Footnote F: Wem, Shropshire.]

“Saieth ther were in that jorney the ladie Digby, Mrs. Vaux,[B]
Mr. Brookysby and his wief Mr. Darcy[C] one Thomas Digby[D] a
tall gentleman: one fisher[E] a little man: S^{r} frauncis Lacon
and his daughter and two or 3 gentlemen more went with them from
Mr. Lacon’s to the well, &c., &c.

[Footnote B: Miss Anne Vaux.]

[Footnote C: An alias of Father Garnet; Farmer was another of
Garnet’s aliases.]

[Footnote D: An uncle of Sir Everard, belike.]

[Footnote E: An alias of Father Percy, afterwards famous for his
historic controversy with Archbishop Laud.]

(Endorsed) “11 Dec. 1605.

“The Exam^{n} of James Garvie srv^{t} to S^{r} Everard Digby.”

GUNPOWDER PLOT BOOKS——No. 121.

[Abstract.]

“Th’examination of William Handy servaunte to S^{r} Everard
Digby taken the xxvij^{th} of November 1605

* * * * *

[Par. 4]——“Saith that he haith bin at many masses since Easter
last sometimes at the howse of the said Digby sometimes at the
howse of the L: Vaux sometimes at the howse of Mr. Throgmorton
at the howse of Mr. Graunt at the house of Mr. Winter and at the
house of Mr. Lacon in Shropshire and at Shrosbury in an Inn and
at a Castle in the Holte in Denbeghe or Flintshire, and at St.
Wynyfride’s Well in an Inn, from whence the gentlewomen went
barefoote to the said well and in their retourne from the said
well at one Farmer’s howse about 7 miles from Shrosbury, and
from thence to Mr. Lacon’s where they had masse whereat S^{r}
Frauncis Lacon was from thence to Mr. Robert Winter’s and from
thence to Mr. Graunte’s from thence to Deyntree and from thence
to S^{r} Everard Digby at all which places they had masse.[A]

[Footnote A: The reason why the Examiner who took down the
Evidence was particular to inquire about Masses was that for a
priest to say (or offer) Mass was to be liable to a penalty of
200 marks (a mark being 13s. 4d.) _and_ imprisonment for life;
while for a lay person to hear (or assist at offering) Mass was
to be liable to a penalty of 100 marks and imprisonment for
life. To harbour a priest was felony and the penalty was
hanging, but without the cutting down alive, drawing and
quartering. This last was the portion of the priests who, by
remaining in England 40 days, were held _ipso facto_ guilty of
High Treason without proof of the exercise of priestly
functions. This last penalty, of course, rendered unnecessary
the having recourse to the penalty of 200 marks fine _and_
imprisonment for life, since the greater included the less.]

* * * * *

(Endorsed) “27 Nov. 1605.

“Th’examination of Wm. Handy serv^{t} to S^{r} Everard Digby.”