What tavern was the initial meeting place of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators?

The initial meeting place of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators was probably the Duck and Drake Inn. On 20 May 1604, Robert Catesby, Thomas Wintour, John Wright, Guy Fawkes and Thomas Percy met there in London to begin coordinating their conspiracy.

The five men reportedly swore an oath of secrecy over a prayer book. Their plan was to destroy the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament and kill King James I and much of the political establishment.

The tavern’s identification is not absolutely certain: historical accounts generally say “probably” the Duck and Drake, located just off the Strand and associated with Thomas Wintour. The conspirators later moved their operational base closer to Westminster, eventually storing gunpowder in an undercroft beneath the House of Lords.

A common mix-up is to confuse this first planning meeting with the later underground preparations at Westminster. Guy Fawkes was not the plot’s leader; Catesby devised and directed the scheme, while Fawkes was recruited for his military and explosives experience.