The Popish Plot may refer to "a period of extraordinary political tension that took hold in England in 1678" (Fictitious treasons: 'The Popish Plot') instigated by revelation of a fictitious plot known by this name.
My notebook included a reference to Sir Robert Southwell's deciphering during this period since 2009, but I have not known whether this involved codebreaking or used a key obtained in a non-cryptographical way. The other day, I found Southwell himself wrote this was "without a key", which makes it interesting enough to be included in an additional section in "Ciphers of Coleman's Correspondence Discovered in the Popish Plot".
It's a pity it is not known specifically what cipher was broken by Southwell.
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