Editing Gunpowder Plot (section)

===Accusations of state conspiracy===
Many at the time felt that Salisbury had been involved in the plot to gain favour with the King and enact more stridently anti-Catholic legislation. Such [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] alleged that Salisbury had either actually invented the plot or allowed it to continue when his agents had already infiltrated it, for the purposes of propaganda.<ref name="MarshallPP187-188">{{Harvnb|Marshall|2003|pp=187–188}}</ref> The [[Popish Plot]] of 1678 sparked renewed interest in the Gunpowder Plot, resulting in a book by [[Thomas Barlow (bishop)|Thomas Barlow]], Bishop of Lincoln, which refuted "a bold and groundless surmise that all this was a contrivance of Secretary Cecil".<ref name="NorthcoteParkinsonp118">{{Harvnb|Northcote Parkinson|1976|p=118}}</ref>

In 1897 John Gerard of [[Stonyhurst College]], namesake of [[John Gerard (Jesuit)|John Gerard]] (who, following the plot's discovery, had evaded capture), wrote an account called ''What was the Gunpowder Plot?'', alleging Salisbury's culpability.<ref>{{Citation|last=Gerard|first=John|title=What was the Gunpowder Plot? : the traditional story tested by original evidence|publisher=Osgood, McIlvaine & Co|location=London|year=1897}}</ref> This prompted a refutation later that year by [[Samuel Rawson Gardiner|Samuel Gardiner]], who argued that Gerard had gone too far in trying to "wipe away the reproach" which the plot had exacted on generations of English Catholics.<ref>{{Citation|last=Gardiner|first=Samuel|authorlink=Samuel Rawson Gardiner|title=What Gunpowder Plot was |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co|location=London|year=1897}}</ref> Gardiner portrayed Salisbury as guilty of nothing more than opportunism. Subsequent attempts to prove Salisbury's involvement, such as Francis Edwards's 1969 work ''Guy Fawkes: the real story of the gunpowder plot?'', have similarly foundered on the lack of any clear evidence.<ref>{{Citation|last=Edwards|first=Francis|title=Guy Fawkes: the real story of the gunpowder plot?|publisher=Hart-Davis|location=London|year=1969|isbn=0-246-63967-9}}</ref>

The cellars under the Houses of Parliament continued to be leased to private individuals until 1678, when news of the Popish Plot broke. It was then considered prudent to search the cellars on the day before each State Opening of Parliament, a ritual that survives to this day.<ref name="NorthcoteParkinsonp118"/>