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Guy Fawkes may be the most infamous figure in the Gunpowder Plot but he might not have been involved in the legendary conspiracy to blow up Parliament, if it had not been for a Welsh spy.<\/strong><\/p>\n Fearing the wrath of the authorities, Hugh Owen fled to Flanders and built up a network of contacts that anyone seeking to wipe out the political establishment would want to tap into. He was known to have been involved in some way or an-other with all sorts of conspiracies and plots. He was also popular with other conspirators due to his ability to communicate in Latin, French, Spanish and Italian, as well as English and Welsh. Owen\u2019s contribution included providing intelligence to Catholic Spain, perhaps even during plans for the Spanish Armada of 1588. Research by Jonathan Roche, of the University of Nottingham has shown how in 1597 Owen told Spain that Essex had taken most of the front line fleet to the Azores to intercept a treasure fleet, which left England undefended. His report apparently led to the immediate deployment of the third Spanish Armada, which failed only because of storms off the Scilly Isles. Roche said \u2018The Armada of 1597 came within miles of landing in Cornwall and, if it weren\u2019t for a storm, who knows what might have happened?\u2019<\/p>\n By 1605 Catholics had given up on hopes that James I would be more sympathetic to them. Attempts to instigate rebellions among the aristocracy and to secure a foreign invasion had failed. So, led by Robert Catesby, the Gunpowder plotters decided the best way to destroy the government was to blow it up. By then, Owen himself had developed a passionate dislike of King James, calling him \u2018this stinking King of ours\u2019 and \u2018a miserable Scot\u2019. Owen could be trusted and knew all the right people. It was no surprise when one of the lead conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, Thomas Wintour, came to Flanders in 1604 to see him. Wintour outlined the plan to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5th November 1605. Owen was only too glad to play his part, using his secret contacts to put Wintour in touch with a Spanish explosive expert, none other than Guido Fawkes, better known today of course as Guy Fawkes.<\/p>\n England later demanded Owen\u2019s extradition from Flanders but had little evidence of his involvement. Owen successfully distanced himself from the conspiracy saying, \u2018I take my oath that no human being ever wrote to me about it, nor did I write to anyone about it, nor did any other person do so by my order.\u2019 He was able to spend his last years courtesy of the Spanish government, living out his life in relative luxury at the Spanish embassy in Rome. It was a welcome obscurity, entirely suitable for someone who lived life in the shadows. His end was a lot less traumatic than that of Guy Fawkes, who revealed the names of his fellow conspirators partly due to being stretched four inches on the rack. Following interrogation, Fawkes, Win-tour and several other conspirators were hanged, drawn and quartered. Hugh Owen lived on and eventually died in 1618 at the age of 80.<\/p>\n Hugh Owen, was a devout Catholic born in 1538 at Plas Du in Caernarvonshire. He was known as the \u201cWelsh Intelligencer\u201d and was one of the most determined plotters against the Protestant monarchy. Owen was hated by the government in England who considered him a major trouble maker\u2026with good reason!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE WELSHMAN BEHIND THE GUNPOWDER PLOT Guy Fawkes may be the most infamous figure in the Gunpowder Plot but he might not have been involved in the legendary conspiracy to blow up Parliament, if it had not been for a Welsh spy. Fearing the wrath of the authorities, Hugh Owen fled to Flanders and built up a network of contacts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[334],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-3dP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":505,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=505","url_meta":{"origin":12389,"position":0},"title":"Pontneddfechan and Penderyn","author":"Wenvoeadmin","date":"6th June 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We started from Craig y Ddinas a towering stone wall which translates as \u2018Fortress Rock\u2019. The car park was busy and groups of adventurers were donning wet suits and crash helmets ready for \u2018gorge walking\u2019 activities in this area famous for its beautiful waterfalls. We kept to the southern side\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/a-JUNE-W2-IMG_4830.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/a-JUNE-W2-IMG_4830.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/a-JUNE-W2-IMG_4830.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/a-JUNE-W2-IMG_4830.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12140,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12140","url_meta":{"origin":12389,"position":1},"title":"Place Name History -Y BARRI","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st August 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"3. THE MEANING AND DERIVATION OF PLACE-NAMES Y BARRI \/ BARRY We know that the name Barri was in existence before the Twelfth Century because the de Barri family, the family of the well-known historian and Archdeacon of Brecon, Gerallt Gymro - Giraldus Cambrensis, Gerald the Welshman - who was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5546,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=5546","url_meta":{"origin":12389,"position":2},"title":"What Else Happened On St David’s Day?","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd March 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"WHAT ELSE HAPPENED ON ST DAVID'S DAY? March1st is arguably the most widely known and important day in Welsh history and culture. Across the country we mark the death of St David, patron saint of Wales, who died on 1st March in 589 AD. Most celebrations take traditional forms, such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/goons.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1413,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=1413","url_meta":{"origin":12389,"position":3},"title":"Offa’s Dyke","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st November 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"WHO WAS KING OFFA AND WHAT WAS HIS DYKE FOR? You have probably heard about Offa\u2019s Dyke \u2013 but do you know who King Offa was and why he had a dyke built? 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