At the outbreak of the Plot, Barrow was one of the most sought-after of the alleged plotters, although his use of the alias Harcourt caused the Government great confusion, as several other Jesuits also used it.

Oates' claim that he had heard some of them plotting treason in the White Horse Tavern in London in late April 1678 was something they could in could conscience deny, although they did not feel obliged to mention that they had been at a meeting of the Jesuit chapter in Whitehall Palace at the time.

[6] Scroggs in directing the jury laid down two crucial legal principles- Barrow and the others were found guilty, and condemned to undergo the punishment for high treason.

The King, who was well aware that they were innocent, ordered as an act of grace that they be spared drawing and quartering, and given proper burial.

The behaviour of the crowd, which listened in respectful silence as each man maintained his innocence, suggests that popular opinion was turning against the Plot.