Who was Guy Fawkes’s father, a church lawyer and registrar in York?

Guy Fawkes’s father, a church lawyer and registrar in York, was Edward Fawkes.

Edward Fawkes worked as a proctor and advocate in ecclesiastical courts and served as a registrar for the consistory court of the Archbishop of York. Guy was born in York in 1570 and was the couple’s only son. Edward died when Guy was eight years old.

After Edward’s death, Guy’s mother, Edith, later married Dionis Baynbrigge. Baynbrigge was a Catholic, and this marriage is commonly connected with the religious environment in which Guy became a Catholic. Guy eventually served as a soldier in the Spanish Netherlands before joining Robert Catesby’s conspiracy.

A common mix-up is confusing Guy’s father with his stepfather. Edward Fawkes was his biological father; Dionis Baynbrigge was his stepfather. The family background helps explain the setting of Guy’s early life, but it does not by itself prove when his conversion occurred.