 Richard Walsh, Sheriff of Worcester, and his company of 200 men besieged Holbeche House at about 11: 00 am on 8 November. While crossing the courtyard Thomas Wintour was hit in the shoulder. John Wright was shot, followed by his brother, and then Rookwood. Catesby and Percy were reportedly both dropped by a single lucky shot, while standing near the door. Catesby managed to crawl inside the house, where his body was later found, clutching a picture of the Virgin Mary. This and his gold crucifix were sent to London, to demonstrate what "superstitious and Popish idols" had inspired the plotters. The survivors were taken into custody and the dead buried near Holbeche. On the orders of the Earl of Northampton however, the bodies of Catesby and Percy were exhumed and decapitated. John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington of Exton, made an opportune study of the heads while en route to London, and later reflected: "more terrible countenances were never looked upon". Placed on "the side of the Parliament House", Catesby's head became one of the "sightless spectators of their own failure."
