Arrest

The afternoon before Parliament was due to open, Guy Fawkes took up position in the gunpowder cellar. He settled down with his watch and some matches, all ready to put the murderous plan into action.

Imagine how he must have felt when, in the middle of the afternoon, he heard voices approaching the cellar. Soldiers had come to search the storerooms, just in case the warning letter was true. They found Fawkes, and even questioned him, but didn't find the gunpowder!

Fawkes stayed put, probably thinking he'd got away with it, but no. Later that evening the soldiers came back, and this time they found the deadly gunpowder.

Fawkes was arrested. The Gunpowder Plot had failed.

The Discovery of the Gunpowder Plot , Henry Perronet Briggs c.1823 Laing Art Gallery (Tyne and Wear Museums)

This dramatic painting is huge in real life - almost 2m wide and 1.5m high. It was painted more than 200 years after the discovery of the plot, so the artist has imagined how the arrest might have been. Can you tell which one is Guy Fawkes?