Home The GPS Archives Library Links Contact Us
 

Red Hall Manor

There is a strong oral tradition of life and legend in Lincolnshire as in all parts of the world and belief often defies common sense. This was the place where the Gunpowder Plot was hatched, according to the locals, yet further investigation into this claim produces nothing more than an obscure connection to the Digby family. Red Hall is yet another example of a town legend where a vague connection to a family connected with the plot has grown into folklore as being the place where Fawkes and his co-conspirators hatched the plot.

The Red Hall is thought to be the oldest surviving domestic building in Bourne today. It dates from the Tudor period and was most probably built in the early 17th century by Gilbert Fisher, a wealthy businessman and son of Richard Fisher, chief constable of the hundred or wapentake, who died in 1597. Gilbert Fisher, who was described as "a gentleman" in the parish register, owned and lived at the Red Hall until he died in 1633.

Verdict: False. It is unlikely that the house had been completed by 1605 and while there are records of it being owned by members of the Digby family, Sir Everard was certainly not one of them.

All material copyright© The Gunpowder Plot Society