Statute of artificers

One thing that many of the conspirators had in common was that they were artisans, skilled men, whose earnings had been decimated by the Industrial Revolution and the end of the Napoleonic wars.  To cut the cost of fighting the war the government had abolished the Statute of Artificers, which had protected the apprenticeship system since the time of Elisabeth I. This had cast many artisans into poverty as cheap labour took away work.

Many of them had served in this war so would have bene familiar with the weapons that they had gathered together at their Cato Street hideout.