Popish Plot

The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the show trials and executions of at least 22 men and precipitated the Exclusion Bill Crisis. During this tumultuous period, Oates weaved an intricate web of accusations, fueling public fears and paranoia. However, as time went on, the lack of substantial evidence and inconsistencies in Oates's testimony began to unravel the plot. Eventually, Oates himself was arrested and convicted for perjury, exposing the fabricated nature of the conspiracy.

John Arnold, widely known as John Arnold of Monmouthshire (c.– 1702), was an English Protestant politician and Whig MP. He was one of the most prominent people in the English county of Monmouthshire in the late 17th century. A stark anti-Catholic, he was a notable figure during the Popish plot and the suppression of Catholicism in the country. Arnold represented the constituencies around Monmouth (known as the Monmouth Boroughs) and Southwark in Parliament in the 1680s and 1690s. His strong anti-Catholic beliefs and insurgences against Catholic priests made him an unpopular and controversial figure amongst his peers and in his native Monmouthshire. In his later years, his behaviour became increasingly eccentric, and he was widely believed to have faked an attempt on his own life. Amongst his associates were Titus Oates and Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury.

Cwm (also known as Come and Welsh Jesuit College of St Francis Xavier) was a Jesuit gathering place, Ecclesiastical province and college in Llanrothal, Herefordshire, England. It became a Jesuit college in 1622. Based in a large farmhouse, the Cwm included two houses, called "Upper Cwm" and "Lower Cwm". They were divided by a walled forecourt and during their prime in the early 17th century each was able to generate £60 (equivalent to £10,000 in 2023) annually in rents from its own land.