This Bonfire Night will mark 400 years since the most famous terrorist plot in history was foiled at the eleventh hour. The ultimate failure of the audacious plan may have occurred in London, but the subsequent drama was played out in stately homes across the Midlands, including Coughton Court.

The Alcester manor provided a place for persecuted Catholics to celebrate Mass in secret, and also featured a double priest-hole in one of the turrets. Its owners, the Throckmortons, were traditionally staunch Catholics and had already hatched various conspiracies against Elizabeth I, including the Throckmorton Plot of 1583, which aimed to put Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne. Before this, Sir George Throckmorton, the builder of Coughton Court, had opposed Henry VIII's break with Rome and marriage to Anne Boleyn.

The family were not directly involved in the Gunpowder Plot, but Coughton Court certainly was. In October 1604 Thomas Throckmorton had rented the house to Sir Everard Digby, who was in charge of Midlands operations, and planned to gather a large group of Catholic gentry under the guise of a hunt. Once the Houses of Parliament had been reduced to rubble, this group was to capture the King's daughter, who was staying at nearby Coombe Abbey, and lead a general uprising. The eventual plan was to put her on the throne and ensure she was a Catholic ruler.

The Gunpowder Plot began with the conspirators, led by Robert Catesby (a nephew of Thomas Throckmorton), hiring lodgings near Parliament. From there, so legend has it, they started digging a tunnel directly under their target, but were forced to rethink when water from the Thames seeped through. The plotters actually managed to acquire a cellar within the Parliament buildings, where they placed 36 barrels of gunpowder, sourced by explosives expert Guy Fawkes.

Digby and other members of the Midlands' leading Catholic families were recruited for the scheme to carry out a co-ordinated uprising. Most of those involved were related either by blood or marriage, though Fawkes had been hired as a mercenary.

The first signs that the plot was doomed to failure came when Lord Monteagle received a letter warning him not to attend the Opening of Parliament. When they found out, the conspirators suspected one of their number, Francis Tresham, of writing it, but he convinced them otherwise and plans continued as it seemed that the government was still unaware of a major threat.

However, on the night of November 4, the day before Parliament was due to open, Fawkes was caught red-handed in the cellar. He was tortured until he revealed details of the plot and the names of fellow conspirators, and was eventually hung, drawn and quartered alongside them.

At Coughton, Lady Digby, the Vaux sisters, the Jesuit priests Father Garnet and Father Tesimond, and master priest-hole builder Nicholas Owen received the bad news from Catesby's servant, Thomas Bates, who had ridden up from London. The party fled Coughton and met with differing fates: the women were questioned and Tesimond escaped to Europe, while Garnet and Owen were captured at Hindlip House in Worcestershire. Garnet was executed and Owen died under torture in the Tower.

Catesby's London plotters joined Digby's group, all arriving at Holbeche House on the Staffordshire border on November 7. Several of them were injured by an accidental gunpowder explosion, and then, on November 8, the Sheriff of Worcester's men surrounded the house. Catesby and three others were fatally wounded and most remaining conspirators were arrested, imprisoned at Worcester, then taken to London to await trial. Two more were eventually captured at Hagley House.

Coughton Court is still owned by Throckmorton descendants, and has changed little architecturally over the years. An exhibition details the Gunpowder Plot and its association with the Throckmortons and the house, and on November 5 this year, a special Fireworks Spectacular will mark the anniversary in the tradition started by James I all those years ago.

Coughton Court, Alcester, Warwickshire. B49 5JA. Tel: 01789 762435 www.coughtoncourt.co.uk