Doug Smith, a retired History teacher, spoke about the Popish Plot, a fictitious conspiracy that emerged in 1678, alleging that Jesuits were planning to assassinate King Charles II in order to place his Catholic brother on the throne. Doug gave us a whistle-stop tour of the events which led up to the Plot, describing how the turmoil following the Reformation of the 16th century and the Civil Wars of the 17th century were the root cause. He used examples from Worcestershire to show how the Plot, centred on London, affected the whole kingdom.
Douglas H Smith (Doug) is a retired secondary school History teacher with over forty years of experience. In 2012 he was awarded an MBE for Services to Education. Since retirement he has spent more time on his love of history and his written four books and numerous booklets. The books are: Cheer Boys it’s Hartlebury!, Whose For the Game? From Trams to Trenches, and finally ‘Most Poorly and Cowardly’. Hartlebury Castle and North Worcestershire in the Civil Wars 1642-1660. He became a Trustee at HartleburyCastle in 2021.
