Holbeche House

Holbeche House stands in open countryside about a mile north of Kingswinford in the West Midlands, close to the old boundary of Staffordshire. The mansion was built around 1600 as a three-bay manor with two storeys, an attic and projecting wings topped by Dutch gables. Early in the 19th century new façades were added and the house was enlarged, giving it a grander appearance. The house is known for its part in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. After raiding Warwick Castle and Hewell Grange for weapons and gunpowder, the plotters reached Holbeche House on the evening of 6 November. Gunpowder laid before the fire ignited, wounding several men. The next day a sheriff’s posse surrounded the house and, after a brief fight, most of the plotters were killed or captured. Inside, some original wood panelling survives from the early 17th century. The building has Dutch gables and dormer windows on the attic floor, while the early 19th-century façades give it a more imposing look. The house has been a private nursing home but fell into disrepair and is now on the Heritage at Risk register.