A historic gold ring from the English countryside is set to be auctioned this month, and experts believe it may be linked to one of the most infamous conspiracies in British history. The artifact was uncovered by metal detectorist Andrew Rose, who found it six inches below the surface in Bushwood, Warwickshire, approximately 20 miles southeast of Birmingham.
The 16th-century ring features an inner inscription reading ‘Your Frende in Deede,’ a message thought to symbolize loyalty. The discovery has sparked intrigue among historians, who speculate about its potential connection to the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, an attempt by English Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I.
James I’s court uncovered the plot, leading to the arrest of Guy Fawkes, who was found hiding among 36 barrels of gunpowder on November 5. Despite being remembered for Fawkes and the rhyme ‘Remember, remember the fifth of November,’ the mastermind behind the scheme was actually Robert Catesby.
Rose discovered the ring near Bushwood Hall, where Catesby was born and which served as a hideout for the conspirators. ‘The hall where Catesby was born can only be accessed down a track, which means it is even more likely the ring, which was found only yards from the moat, was connected to the hall or was owned by someone who lived there,’ Rose told SWNS.
The ring is expected to fetch up to £12,000 (approximately $15,800) when it is auctioned on November 27 by Hanson Auctioneers. Auctioneer Charles Hanson noted that the local area had a significant Catholic population at the time of the Gunpowder Plot. ‘Guy Fawkes, Catesby and their network — many of whom were related by blood or marriage — moved between safe houses in the Midlands,’ said Hanson. ‘They were protected by the region’s large Catholic base, which, like them, [were] against the king.’
‘Given the remoteness of the hall’s location, its link to Catesby and the date and inscription of the ring, it is tantalizing to imagine it belonging to one of the plotters,’ he added. ‘Imagine it glinting by firelight as they planned one of the most audacious attacks in U.K. history.’