Anthony Babington's family crest Born into a wealthy Catholic family to Henry Babington and Mary Darcy in Dethick, Derbyshire. He was the third son. His father died in 1571 when he was nine years old, and his mother remarried to Henry Foljambe.
While publicly Protestant, the family remained Catholic. Babington apparently remained in Dethick until about 1577, when he was briefly a page to Mary Queen of Scots during her imprisonment. It is during this time that Babington became a supporter of Mary and her cause to sit on the throne of England. In 1579 he was married to Margery Draycot, and by 1580 was in London studying law.
He did not practise law for very long, attracted to high society in London. He started to become interested in political and doctrinal matters, forming close associations wit Catholic priests such as Edmund Campion and Robert Parsons. Babington briefly visited the continent at this time, spending six months in France where it is believed he may have first met some of Elizabeth's enemies.
In 1582, due to heightened religious tensions, Edmund Campion was executed. Babington's family soon after left London for the relative safety of Dethick. In 1585 he visited France and Italy, meeting various supporters of Mary Stuart. He and some of his supporters also were granted an audience with the Pope who gave him letters to pass on to Mary.
Babington was considered not the shrewdest of conpirators. His supposedly secret group of colleagues frequently dined and received mass together. Some historians have commented on the 'foolish vanity' of Anthony Babington, and his desire more for Mary's recognition and reward, than for the true cause behind what they were hoping to achieve.
During Elizabeth's reign, her court was particularly concerned about the prospect of Mary Stuart toppling her. It was a time of great religious tension. Babington was no match for the Queen's security forces, led by Francis Walsingham and spies like Robin Poley. During one of Walsingham's investigations, a suspected subversive Gilbert Clifford was arrested and interrogated in December 1585. To avoid punishment, Clifford agreed to act as a double agent. He made contact with the French and arranged the smuggling of letters from Mary Stuart to French and Spanish officials. Clifford ensured that the Walsingham was given access to these communications, which revealed Mary's requests to the French and Spanish that they intervene in her situation, invade England and make her Queen.
On 25 June 1586, Mary wrote a letter to Anthony Babington. Babington wrote in reply to Mary that he and a group of six friends were planning to murder Elizabeth and rescue Mary. Babington's (and Mary Stuart's) defenders say that in the sixteenth century, killing tyrants was morally acceptable. However, Babington was troubled by ethics of assasination so decided to write to Mary to seek her authorization, which she could provide as the legitimate Queen. His letter proposed to rescue Mary and assasinate Elizabeth. Mary replied to Babington in which she stressed the necessity of foreign aid if the rescue attempt were to succeed. However, she left the matter of the assasination to Babington's conscience to decide what to do. When Walsingham and his officials had gathered the evidence (some of it believed to be forged) they needed, Babington and others were charged with high treason.
On 18 September, 1586, he and his co-conspirators were convicted of high treason and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered. This penalty involved the condemned men being tied face down and drawn by horses through the streets of London. Later he was hung for a short period but brought down before he died. He is believed to have still been alive when he was quartered which involved the removal of his genitals, intestines and then setting fire to them. Then the executioner carved up his body before a cheering crowd and distributed the parts to prominent parts of London to warn all of the consequence of disloyalty to the monarch. Even by the rugged standards of the day, the Babington execution was regarded as especially violent. Elizabeth was disturbed by the reports of the execution and ordered that the remaining conspirators be killed prior to their disembowellment.
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