Rye-House Plot

in English history, an attempt to assassinate Charles II and his brother the Duke of York. The ill-contrived plan was arranged by a lot of low fellows. It was to be put into effect at a farm known as the Rye-House, belonging to one of their number, as the king and his brother were returning from the Newmarket races. The plot was frustrated by the return of the royal party earlier than was anticipated. Some inkling of the conspiracy leaked out and numerous executions followed. Three noblemen, Lord William Russell, Lord Essex, and Algernon Sidney, who were in all probability totally ignorant of the plot, became involved in the general charges which followed and were executed. See Gunpowder Plot