The Layton Collection

THE THOMAS LAYTON TRUST & LAYTON'S COLLECTION

Guy Fawkes

Guido Fawkes and his associates, engraving published by G Smeeton of St Martin’s Lane, London. Collection no 5286a

This image shows the conspirators who tried to blow up Parliament in 1605. It includes not only Guy Fawkes, but also Thomas Winter, Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, John Wright, Christopher Wright, Robert Winter and Bates. Based on an engraving of 1605 by Crispijn de Passe the Elder, it comes from The History of the Gunpowder Treason, collected from approved authors, as well Popish as Protestant, first published by Richard Chiswell in 1679 and reprinted by Smeeton in 1819.

The Collection

Thomas Layton collected books, coins, and archaeological items (usually described as ‘antiquities’) for 70 years. In that time he had accumulated what has been described as “probably the largest collection of London antiquities ever amassed by a single individual”.

The vast majority of items are believed to have been bought at auctions. Some came to him from his men working on the river. His businesses provided opportunities for finds from dredging, building of bridges and embankments along the banks of the Thames, for which Layton paid good money. Even by the standards of the day Layton kept poor records of where items were found. Despite this, the collection is considered highly important particularly to archaeologists and pre-historians.