Historians have found the first hints of the Gunpowder Plot in a meeting in June 1603, when Thomas Percy – the good friend of Catesby's who engaged his daughter to Catesby's son - visited Robert, ranting about how he hated James I and wanted to kill him. This was the same Thomas Percy who had acted as a go between for his employer, the Earl of Northumberland, and James VI of Scotland during Elizabeth's reign and who had spread lies about James' promise to protect Catholics. After calming Percy down, Catesby added that he was already thinking of an effective plot to remove James. These thoughts had evolved by October, when Catesby invited his cousin Thomas Wintour (now often spelt Winter) to a meeting.
Thomas Wintour had worked for Catesby at least once before, during the last months of Queen Elizabeth's life, when he travelled to Spain on a mission funded by Lord Monteagle and organised by Catesby, Francis Tresham and Father Garnet. The plotters had wanted to arrange a Spanish invasion of England should the Catholic minority rise in rebellion, but Elizabeth died before anything was agreed and Spain made peace with James. Although Wintour's mission failed, he did meet several émigré rebels, including a relation called Christopher 'Kit' Wright and a soldier called Guy Fawkes. After a delay Wintour answered Catesby's invite and they met in London together with Catesby's friend John Wright, the brother of Kit.
It was here that Catesby first revealed to Wintour his plan – already known to John Wright - to free Catholic England without any foreign assistance by using gunpowder to blow up the Houses of Parliament on an opening day, when the King and his followers would be present. Having wiped out the monarch and government in one swift action, the plotters would seize either of the King's two underage children – they would not be at Parliament – start a national Catholic uprising and form a new, pro-Catholic order around their puppet ruler.
After a long discussion the initially hesitant Wintour agreed to help Catesby, but maintained that the Spanish could be persuaded to help by invading during the uprising. Catesby was cynical, but asked Wintour to travel to Spain and ask for help at the Spanish court…and while there, bring back some trustworthy help from among the émigrés. In particular, Catesby had heard, perhaps from Wintour, of a soldier with mining skills called Guy Fawkes. (By 1605, after many years on the continent, Guy was known as Guido Fawkes, but history has remembered him by his original name).
Thomas Wintour found no support from the Spanish government, but he did get high recommendations for Guy Fawkes from an English spymaster employed by the Spanish called Hugh Owen, and the commander of the émigré regiment, Sir William Stanley. Indeed, Stanley may have 'encouraged' Guy Fawkes to work with Wintour, and the two returned to England towards the end of April 1604.
On May 20th 1604, supposedly at Lambeth House in Greenwich, Catesby, Wintour, Wright and Fawkes gathered. Thomas Percy also attended, famously berating the others for inactivity upon his arrival: "Shall we always, gentlemen, talk and never do anything?" (cited from Haynes, The Gunpowder Plot, Sutton 1994, p. 54) He was told a plan was in the offing and the five agreed to meet in secret in a few days to take an oath, which they did at Mrs. Herbert's Lodgings in Butcher's Row. Having sworn to secrecy they received mass from Father John Gerard, who was ignorant of the plan, before Catesby, Wintour and Wright explained to Percy and Fawkes, for the first time, what they were planning. Details were then discussed.
The first stage was to rent a house as close to the Houses of Parliament as possible. The plotters selected a group of rooms in a house next to the River Thames, enabling them to take gunpowder up via the river at night. Thomas Percy was chosen to take the rent in his own name because he suddenly, and wholly co-incidentally, had a reason to attend court: the Earl of Northumberland, Percy's employer, had been made Captain of the Gentlemen's Pensioners, a sort of Royal Bodyguard, and he in turn appointed Percy as a member in Spring 1604. The rooms were owned by John Whynniard, Keeper of the King's Wardrobe, and already being rented to Henry Ferrers, a noted recusant. The negotiations to take the rent proved difficult, only succeeding with help from people connected to Northumberland.
