TELEVISION historian David Starkey will be at Coughton Court tomorrow to take part in a series of events marking the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot.

He will join Clare Throckmorton to open a new interactive exhibition before giving a talk to visitors.

Mrs Throckmorton, Coughton Court's owner, is a descendent of the family inextricably linked with the famously foiled attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

The day's events continue with a mass at the Catholic church conducted by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols.

Mrs Throckmorton said: "This is not a celebration of the Gunpowder Plot but a commemoration of an event in the family's dark history that proves, if proof were needed, that fanaticism and violence will never be allowed to prevail.

"We all hope that we can learn the lessons of history."

David Starkey's lecture is set to begin at 2.30pm and tickets cost £5. The mass is due to start at 3.30pm.

Entrance to both Coughton Court and the gardens costs £8.60 and £5.90 for just the gardens.