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Richard Gerard of Hilderstone, Staffordshire (born about 1635; died 11 March 1680 (O.S.)) was a figure of the Popish Plot of the reign of Charles II of England. He was a Roman Catholic landowner in Staffordshire, and came forward as a witness in the defence of the accused Catholic aristocrat, William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford. == Life == Gerard was friendly with Jesuit missioners in England, and had three sons at their college of St-Omer. He was trustee for them for some small properties. He attended a gathering on the feast of the Assumption, 1678, when Father John Gavan made his profession, at the house of the Penderels at Boscobel. This was the family who had sheltered Charles II after the battle of Worcester; and after dinner the party visited the Royal Oak, the tree in which Charles had hidden. This circumstance came to the knowledge of Stephen Dugdale, and became the occasion of Richard's imprisonment and death. Dugdale accused him of having contributed to the funds of the alleged plotters (perhaps with some reference to the pensions paid for his boys at St-Omer) and of having conspired to murder the King. Dugdale's principal target was not Gerard himself but Lord Stafford, who was executed for treason in December 1680, largely on Dugdale's evidence. Gerard would have been a crucial alibi witness and his death seriously undermined Stafford's defence. Examined by the Lords' committee (19 May 1679) he confessed to the meeting at Boscobel, and was thrown into Newgate Jail. There he was kept ten months without trial, before falling ill of gaol fever and dying.〔John Kenyon, ''The Popish Plot'' (1972), pp. 51 and 164.〕 He was attended during his last hours by Father Edward Petre, who, in a letter written 29 March 1680, speaks of his dying wish to be buried by the side of his friend, Thomas Whitbread, then recently executed. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Richard Gerard of Hilderstone」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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