Ambrose Rookwood (1664–1696) was an English Jacobite soldier, a conspirator and commander in the assassination plot of 1696 intended to kill

William III of Great Britain William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

. He was convicted and executed.

Life

Born on 20 September 1664, he was the son of Ambrose Rookwood (1622–1693) and Elizabeth Caldwell of

Dunton, Essex Dunton Wayletts or Dunton is a hamlet and former civil parish in the Borough of Basildon in Essex, England. It lies on the western outskirts of the borough's main town of Basildon, adjoining the suburb of Laindon. Toponymy The name Dunton has ...

, and great-grandson of

Ambrose Rookwood Ambrose Rookwood (c. 1578 – 31 January 1606) was a member of the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant King James I with a Catholic sovereign. Rookwood was born into a wealthy family of Catholic recusants, and ed ...

the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

conspirator. He entered the army, in which he rose to be

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

under James II. Rookwood remained an adherent of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

, and early in 1696 Sir George Barclay enlisted his services in the plot to kidnap or assassinate William III. In February Thomas Prendergast, one of the conspirators, turned king's evidence, and the plot was revealed. On 27 March Rookwood was found in bed in a Jacobite alehouse, and committed to

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

. On 7 April a true bill of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

was found against Rookwood at the Middlesex county sessions. He was brought before the

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court of common law in t ...

on 21 April. His case, tried with those of

Robert Lowick The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

and Charles Cranburn who was a Jacobite quartermaster, was the first treason trial to use the new system of procedure brought in by the

Treason Act 1695 The Treason Act 1695 ( 7 & 8 Will. 3. c. 3) is an act of the Parliament of England which laid down rules of evidence and procedure in high treason trials. It was passed by the English Parliament but was extended to cover Scotland in 1708 by th ...

, which in particular allowed for

defense counsel In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat a s ...

. Rookwood pleaded not guilty, and was defended by Sir Bartholomew Shower and Constantine Phipps.

George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...

, one of the principal conspirators, gave evidence against him, and Rookwood was convicted. Rookwood was executed at

Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

on 29 April, with Lowick and Cranburn. In a manuscript which he gave to the sheriff at the place of execution, he excused himself. Some ''Observations'' on this paper were published in 1696.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Rookwood, Ambrose 1664 births 1696 deaths English Jacobites People executed under the Stuarts for treason against England