Popish Plot
Preserved but no longer current.
A fictitious plot implicating the Duke of York and others in high place, in- vented in 1678 by Titus Gates (1649-1705) who alleged that the Catholics were about to mas- sacre the Protestants, burn London, and assas- sinate the king. Some thirty innocent persons were executed, and Gates obtained great wealth by revealing the supposed plot, but ultimately he was pilloried, whipped, and imprisoned.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Popish Plot” mean?
A fictitious plot implicating the Duke of York and others in high place, in- vented in 1678 by Titus Gates (1649-1705) who alleged that the Catholics were about to mas- sacre the Protestants, burn London, and assas- sinate the king. Some thirty innocent persons were executed, and Gates obtained great wealth by revealing the supposed plot, but ultimately he was pilloried, whipped, and imprisoned.
Is “Popish Plot” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.