The Gunpowder Plot was uncovered on 5 November 1605, during the planned opening of the English Parliament under King James I.

Basic facts

  • The Gunpowder Plot was a failed attempt by a group of English Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in 1605.
  • The authorities discovered Guy Fawkes guarding barrels of gunpowder in a cellar beneath the House of Lords in the early hours of 5 November 1605.

Why 5 November matters

  • 5 November 1605 became a symbolic date in British history because the plot’s failure was quickly celebrated as a deliverance of king and Parliament from destruction.
  • In the years that followed, annual bonfires and later fireworks on 5 November (Guy Fawkes Night/Bonfire Night) developed to commemorate the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot.

TL;DR: The Gunpowder Plot was in 1605, and it was foiled on 5 November when Guy Fawkes was caught with gunpowder under the House of Lords.