Skip navigation

If you would like to write a summary for this topic, email phil [at] gyford [dot] com

Wikipedia

Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night is an annual celebration held on the evening of 5 November to mark the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605, in which a number of Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to destroy the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament, in London. The occasion is primarily celebrated in the United Kingdom where, by an Act of Parliament called The Thanksgiving Act, it was compulsory until 1859, to celebrate the deliverance of the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It is also celebrated in some former British colonies including New Zealand,[1] Newfoundland, South Africa, parts of the Caribbean and the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda.[2] Bonfire Night was celebrated in Australia until the mid-to-late 1970s, when sale and public use of fireworks was made illegal and the celebration was effectively abolished. Festivities are centred on the use of fireworks and the lighting of bonfires.

[edit] The Gunpowder Plot and origin of Guy Fawkes Night

Eight of the thirteen plotters (missing are Digby, Keyes, Rookwood, Grant, and Tresham)

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, organised by Robert Catesby, Thomas Wintour, Robert Wintour, Guy Fawkes, John Wright, Christopher Wright, Robert Keyes, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham, Thomas Bates, was plot to assassinate James I of England and restore Catholicism to England.

The 13 conspirators planned to place a horde of gunpowder in an undercroft directly underneath the House of Lords. The plotters believed it to be the perfect place to hide explosives, as the undercroft had gone unused for some time.[3] As October came and the plot was finalised, concerns arose that there may be Catholics present in Parliament when the device was to explode.[4] On Saturday 26 October William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, Francis Tresham's brother-in-law, received an anonymous letter warning him not to attend Parliament. On Friday 1 November the King was shown the letter, and it was later decided that a search of the Houses of Parliament would be undertaken on Monday.

Knyvet capturing Fawkes in the undercroft shortly after midnight

According to the King's account, searchers discovered a servant nearby a large pile of firewood in the undercroft on Monday 4 November. He informed the searchers that the firewood belonged to his master, Thomas Percy. The servant's true identity was Guy Fawkes. As the searches had so far failed to locate anything untoward the King demanded that a more thorough search must commence. Shortly after midnight a search party under the command of Thomas Knyvet discovered Fawkes in the undercroft. Fawkes, who identified himself as John Johnson, was placed under arrest, and his possessions searched. He was discovered to be carrying a pocket watch, matches, and touchwood.[5] The search team then unearthed barrels of gunpowder hidden beneath the pile of firewood.[6]

Fawkes, still using the alias John Johnson, claimed when interrogated that he had acted alone. "Johnson" was relocated to the Tower of London on 6 November, where he was to be tortured, after the King gave his consent for the torture to take place.[7] On 7 November Fawkes confessed that he had not acted alone,[8] and the full extent of the plot was unearthed. The plotters were all executed, aside from Catesby and Percy, who had already been killed amidst their refusal to surrender, however the bodies were exhumed and their heads placed on spikes outside the Houses of Lords.[9]

In January 1606 the Thanksgiving Act was passed, and commemorating the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot became an annual event.[10] Early traditions soon began after the act was passed, such as the ringing of church bells and the lighting of bonfires, and fireworks were even included in some of the earliest celebrations.[10] The act remained in place until 1859.[11] Despite the repeal of the act taking place over 150 years ago, Guy Fawkes Night still remains a yearly custom throughout Britain.

[edit] United Kingdom customs

Children display their guy on the street to raise funds for fireworks

In the United Kingdom, celebrations take place in towns and villages across the country in the form of both private and civic events. The festivities involve fireworks displays and the building of bonfires on which "guys" are traditionally burnt, although this practice is not always observed in modern times.[citation needed] The "guys" are traditionally effigies of Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators. Although the night is celebrated in York (Fawkes' hometown) some there do not burn his effigy, most notably those from his old school.[12][13] In the weeks before bonfire night, children traditionally displayed the "guy" and requested a "penny for the guy" in order to raise funds with which to buy fireworks. However, this practice has diminished greatly, perhaps because it has been seen as begging, and also because children are not allowed to buy fireworks. In addition there are concerns that children might misuse the money.[14]

In the United Kingdom, there are several foods that are traditionally consumed on Guy Fawkes Night:

In West Yorkshire the practice of collecting wood and other combustible materials to make community bonfires is known as "chumping".[23]

A Guy Fawkes Night firework display

In Sussex, Bonfire night is a major festival that centres on Lewes necessitating the closure of the town centre. The night also commemorates the Glorious Revolution and 17 local Protestant martyrs that were burnt at the stake during Marian Persecutions by the Catholic Queen Mary I.[24] The night begins with torchlight processions in costume by a number of local bonfire societies and culminates in six separate bonfires where effigies of Guy Fawkes, Pope Paul V and topical personalities are destroyed by firework and flame. The burning of an effigy of Pope Paul V is carried out by the Cliffe Bonfire Society alone and they are barred from marching with the main procession.[citation needed]

In Ottery St Mary, in Devon, burning barrels of tar are carried through the streets:

Ottery St. Mary is internationally renowned for its tar barrels, an old custom said to have originated in the 17th century, and which is held on November 5th each year. Each of Ottery's central public houses sponsors a single barrel. In the weeks prior to the day of the event, November 5th, the barrels are soaked with tar. The barrels are lit outside each of the pubs in turn and once the flames begin to pour out, they are hoisted up onto local people's backs and shoulders. The streets and alleys around the pubs are packed with people, all eager to feel the lick of the barrels flame. Seventeen Barrels all in all are lit over the course of the evening. In the afternoon and early evening there are women's and boy's barrels, but as the evening progresses the barrels get larger and by midnight they weigh at least 30 kilos. A great sense of camaraderie exists between the 'Barrel Rollers', despite the fact that they tussle constantly for supremacy of the barrel. In most cases, generations of the same family carry the barrels and take great pride in doing so. ... Opinion differs as to the origin of this festival of fire, but the most widely accepted version is that it began as a pagan ritual that cleanses the streets of evil spirits.[25]

Guy Fawkes Night is less commonly celebrated in Northern Ireland, where autumn fireworks and bonfires are more commonly associated with Halloween.

[edit] Global customs

[edit] North America

[edit] Bermuda

In the aftermath of the Boer War, Anna Maria Outerbridge – a leader of a "Boer Relief Committee" well known for trying to assist Boer POWs in escaping – was so unpopular with the British that on Guy Fawkes Night an effigy of her was burned, rather than of Guy Fawkes.[26]

[edit] Canada

In Canada, Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night is largely unheard of in most provinces, although it is still celebrated in a few places. The tradition was planted along with other cultural practices of British colonists in the 19th century. However practices have been modified over two centuries since arriving from the United Kingdom as the following reveals:

The night is also still celebrated in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The custom was brought over by British coal miners that came to Nanaimo in the mid 1800s. They built very tall bonfires – often 40 feet (12 metres) or taller, sometimes from "spare" railroad ties that they'd come across. Over the years in Nanaimo, by the 1960s the effigy of Guy Fawkes had disappeared, and so had the name – it's just called "Bonfire Night" by the local children. Now (2006), the tradition has largely been lost altogether, and the few remaining celebrations that are held are mostly in private backyards.[27]

Guy Fawkes bonfires are still burnt in many parts of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2005 the celebrations were widespread enough to merit mention by the provincial Minister of Environment and Conservation. Tom Osborne, Minister of Environment and Conservation, today asked the general public to keep safety and the environment in mind when holding bonfires this weekend to celebrate Guy Fawkes night.

Holding bonfires on Guy Fawkes night is still a tradition in many areas of our province and we are asking those participating in a bonfire this year to ensure they clean up their area, especially our beaches, when the festivities are over ... We should always be mindful of the importance of our environment and do our part to keep it clean at all times, including events like Guy Fawkes night.[28]

[edit] Caribbean

In the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the night is celebrated in the town of Barrouallie, on the leeward side of the main island of Saint Vincent. The town's field comes ablaze as people come to see all of the traditional pyrotechnics.

In Antigua and Barbuda, Guy Fawkes Night was popular until the 1990s, when a ban on fireworks made it almost non-existent.

In the Bahamas, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated in the Fox Hill area of New Providence, the main island. Other islands have smaller celebrations for their residents.

On the twin island nation of St.Kitts and Nevis, the night is still celebrated throughout the country.

[edit] Colonial America

This day was celebrated in the Colonies and was called "Pope's Day". It was the high point of "anti-popery" (in the term of the times) in New England. In the 1730s or earlier Boston's artisans commemorated the day with a parade and performances which mocked Catholicism and the Catholic Stuart pretender. It was also the day when the youth and the lower class ruled. They went door to door collecting money from the affluent to finance feasting and drinking.[29] George Washington forbade the celebration of the day among his troops due to its anti-Catholic and pro-British purpose.[30]

[edit] Southern hemisphere

[edit] Australia

In Australia, Guy Fawkes Night has not been celebrated since the late 1970s, when sale and public use of fireworks was banned in most states and territories to prevent their misuse and personal injuries, and especially because of the danger of bushfires during hot Novembers. Prior to this ban, Guy Fawkes Night in Australia was celebrated in private, backyard fireworks lightings and occasionally with larger communal bonfires or fireworks displays in public spaces. Some recent immigrants to Australia from Britain preserve the British tradition and arrange private parties with bonfires and sparklers.

A pyrotechnic fountain

[edit] New Zealand

Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night (and the weekend closest to it) is the main night for both amateur and official fireworks displays in New Zealand, with major New Zealand cities holding their own popular public firework displays on Guy Fawkes night.

In New Zealand, the sale of fireworks has been increasingly reduced. This is predominantly due to misuse by young people. Firecrackers have been banned since 1991, and rockets (or any firework where the firework itself flies) have been banned since 1994.[31] In 2007, the sale period for fireworks was reduced to the four days leading to Guy Fawkes Night, and the legal age to buy fireworks was raised from 14 to 18.[32] Despite those sales restrictions, there is actually no restriction on when one may light fireworks, only a restriction on when they may be sold.[33] There are some local bans on setting off fireworks, usually covering only the days around Guy Fawkes Night.[34] Ex Prime Minister Helen Clark considered banning the sale of personal fireworks in New Zealand,[35] although 2007 was one of the "quietest on record" according to the NZ fire service.[36]

[edit] South Africa

Guy Fawkes is widely celebrated in South Africa, however, the day has largely lost its original meaning, and is seen more often as just a reason to light fireworks. Bonfires with Fawkes effigies are not uncommon, although they are certainly not essential to the celebrations. Many schools and community centres stage fireworks displays in order to raise money. Until government restrictions on the purchase of fireworks were introduced in the 1990s (primarily motivated by animal welfare concerns), it was common for middle-class neighbourhoods to host quite elaborate informal fireworks displays. These have diminished of late, due to the necessity of obtaining a permit hold such events. Small, quiet fireworks (such as a "fountains" and "sparklers") are often lit at private home parties.

The government has allocated sections of public beaches to be used as sites for the lighting of fireworks. These sites are usually plagued by pollution due to Guy Fawkes celebrations.

Guy Fawkes day was celebrated to some extent by South Africans of British descent, but the practice began to dwindle by the 1960s. Personal fireworks were banned by the Apartheid-era government, which feared that they could be converted into improvised explosive devices during periods of civil unrest. This development may have contributed to the decline of celebrations, however, South Africa's expulsion from the Commonwealth and distancing from Britain in the 1960s is another likely factor.

[edit] Traditional rhymes

Several traditional rhymes have accompanied the festivities. Sometimes "God Save the king" can be replaced by "God save the Queen" depending on who is on the throne.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I see no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd (or by God's mercy*)
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!

these words are used in by Battle Bonfire Boyes who carry on the tradition of bonfire at their annual event in Sussex who lay claim to the longest continuous Guy Fawkes bonfire celebrations in the world.[citation needed] The above traditional 'bonfire cry' is used at the society meeting immediately preceding the annual event, prior to the lighting of the bonfire, and on other significant occasions.

In more common use the "bonfire cry" is occasionally altered with the last three lines (after "burning match") being supplanted by the following;

A traitor to the Crown by his action,
No Parli'ment mercy from any faction,
His just end should'st be grim,
What should we do? Burn him!
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring,
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King!

Since the town of Lewes does not just focus on Guy Fawkes they add an extra verse to do with the Pope, reflecting the struggle between Protestants and Roman Catholics. This practice is unique to the Lewes Bonfire celebrations.[citation needed]

A penny loaf to feed the Pope
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A fagot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah hoorah!

A variant on the foregoing:

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot!
A stick or a stake for King James' sake
Will you please to give us a fagot
If you can't give us one, we'll take two;
The better for us and the worse for you!

Another piece of popular doggerel:

Guy, guy, guy
Poke him in the eye,
Put him on the bonfire,
And there let him die[27].

Or, today used frequently, instead of "Put him on the bonfire", "Hang him on a lamppost".

...and another variant, sung by children in Lancashire whilst begging "A Penny For The Guy":

Remember, remember the fifth of November
It's Gunpowder Plot, we never forgot
Put your hand in your pocket and pull out your purse
A ha'penny or a penny will do you no harm
Who's that knocking at the window?
Who's that knocking at the door?
It's little Mary Ann with a candle in her hand
And she's going down the cellar for some coal

The following is a South Lancashire song sung when knocking on doors asking for money to buy fireworks, or combustibles for a bonfire (known as "Cob-coaling"), there are many variations, this is a shorter one:

We come a Cob-coaling for Bonfire time,
Your coal and your money we hope to enjoy.
Fal-a-dee, fal-a-die, fal-a-diddly-i-do-day.
If you don't have a penny a ha'penny will do.
If you don't have a ha'penny, then God bless you.

The custom seems to have died out in the 1980s–1990s to be ovetaken by the rise of the American import of Trick-or-treating.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Kerre Woodham Guy Fawkes Night: Gone with a bang, The New Zealand Herald, 11 November 2007
  2. ^ Acton, Nancy (November 4, 2008), Why observe Guy Fawkes traditions?, The Royal Gazette, http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d8b23b30030013&sectionId=80 
  3. ^ Fraser 2005, pp. 144–145
  4. ^ Northcote Parkinson 1976, pp. 62–63
  5. ^ Fraser 2005, pp. 201–203
  6. ^ Northcote Parkinson 1976, p. 73
  7. ^ Fraser 2005, pp. 211–212
  8. ^ Fraser 2005, pp. 216–217
  9. ^ Fraser 2005, pp. 235–236
  10. ^ a b Aftermath: Commemoration, gunpowderplot.parliament.uk, 2005–2006, http://www.gunpowderplot.parliament.uk/adults_plot_ac.htm, retrieved 2010-01-21 
  11. ^ House of Commons Information Office (2006-09) (PDF), The Gunpowder Plot, parliament.uk, http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/g08.pdf, retrieved 2010-01-21 
  12. ^ St Peter's School, York, Old Peterites, http://www.st-peters.york.sch.uk/opclub/framesOP.htm 
  13. ^ H2G2 Entry on York, England, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A577055 
  14. ^ A Penny for the Guy, http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/bonfire-night/features/a-penny-for-the-guy-in-progress 
  15. ^ Keating, Sheila (October 20, 2007), Where to get the best treacle toffee, London: Times Online, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article2662748.ece 
  16. ^ Lepard, Dan (November 3, 2007), How to bake 100-year-old parkin, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2203374,00.html 
  17. ^ McEvedy, Allegra (October 31, 2007), The G2 weekly recipe: toffee apples and pears, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2202178,00.html 
  18. ^ "Tasty toffee apples". BBCHereford & Worcester. http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/features/2003/11/firework_toffee.shtml. Retrieved 11 November 2007. 
  19. ^ Tantalising recipes for your bonfire feast, BBC, 26 March 2004, http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/features/bonfire_feast.shtml 
  20. ^ The top 10 Guy Fawkes links, Telegraph, 3/11/2007, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2007/11/03/dlweb03.xml&page=2 
  21. ^ Beckett, Fiona (June 3, 2000), Bean feast, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,327387,00.html 
  22. ^ Bolton Revisited : Remember Remember the Fifth of November Retrieved 5 November 2009
  23. ^ Hinchcliffe, Peter (27 October 2006). "About a week:Chumping". Open writing. Huddersfield. http://www.openwriting.com/archives/2006/10/chumping.php. Retrieved 13 December 2009. 
  24. ^ Lewes Bonfire Night: An Explosive Event, http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/bonfire-night/features/november-5th-in-lewes 
  25. ^ Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels
  26. ^ Benbow, Colin (1994). Boer Prisoners of War in Bermuda. Bermuda: Island Press Limited. p. 28. ISBN 0-9697893-0-0. 
  27. ^ a b http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/encyclopaedia!openframeset&frame=Right&Src=/edible.nsf/pages/guyfawkes!opendocument/ 
  28. ^ Public asked to keep environment in mind on Guy Fawkes night, http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2005/env/1104n02.htm 
  29. ^ Nash, pg. 165
  30. ^ George Washington, November 5, 1775, General Orders The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor
  31. ^ New Zealand is ready for a fireworks retail ban, 17 October 2006, http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0610/S00194.htm 
  32. ^ Sales rocketing despite tougher rules, November 2, 2007, http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/423466/1425814 
  33. ^ Not illegal to let off fireworks, TV NZ, November 8, 2005, http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/625359 
  34. ^ Auckland City fireworks bans.
  35. ^ Thompson, Wayne (November 5, 2007), Fireworks sales facing total ban as PM talks tough, The New Zealand Herald, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10474049 
  36. ^ Guy Fawkes quietest in decades, One News, November 6, 2007, http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1431296 

[edit] References

This text was last fetched from this Wikipedia page (where you can edit it) on
18 Mar 2010, 8:03am under the terms of the GFDL.

Annotations

  • shocker 05 November 2003
    “…Guy Fawkes’ gunpowder plot would have wrecked buildings in Whitehall up to a third of a mile away as well as destroying the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, scientists have calculated.

    By working out the explosive power of the 2,500kg of gunpowder he secreted under the old Westminster Hall in November 1605, physicists at the Centre for Explosion Studies at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, forecast there would have been “severe structural damage” from the blast.

    The calculation is the first time anyone has worked out what could have happened if Fawkes’ plot to blow up King James I, as he addressed Parliament in the House of Lords on 5 November, had not been discovered the previous night….”
    http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=460561

  • Just as well it was a damp squib!
    Apparently the gunpowder wouldn’t have caused so much damage because it was well past its sell-be date. Guido was had by Paynes, the supplier.
    I have little concern for James 1 but Westminster Abbey is a beautiful building. (The current Palace of Westminster is 19th century, so the houses of parliament don’t count)
    If it had succeeded, would Britain have become Catholic (the intention) or would there have been a backlash that would have put back ecumenism centuries?

  • According to today’s London Times, there were more than two tons of gunpowder.

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-880971,00.html

    With regard to Grahamt’s question above: I would vote for the second outcome, i.e. that you can’t bomb people into submission and that there would have been a very strong, fanatical Protestant pogrom against all Catholics, guilty or innocent (just an opinion, of course).

    (Did anyone see the Michael Wood TV programmes speculation that Shakespeare - who was distantly related to some of the conspirators - was a secret Catholic. And was one of the few playwrights never to have anti-Catholic pieces in his plays?)

  • 5th of … and the warning letter
    and more of the dastardly deed
    “…My Lord out of the love I beare to some of youere friends, have a caer of your preservation. Therefore I would advice yowe as yowe tender youer lyfe to devyse some excuse to shift off youer attendance to this parleament, for God and man hath concurred to punish the wickedness of this tyme and thinke not slightlye of this advertisement but retyre youer selfe into youer contri wher yowe maye expect the event in safti. Yet I saye they shall receyve a terrible blow this parleament and yet they shall not sei who hurts them. This cowncel is not to be condemned because it may do yowe good and can do yowe no harme for when the danger is passed, will give yowe the grace to make good use of it. To whose holy protection I comend youe - to the right honourable the Lord Mow’teagle…..”
    http://www.pillagoda.freewire.co.uk/PLOT.htm

  • Guy Fawkes
    Is the gunpoweder plot the most consistently celebrated event in England? The City of Bristol echoed for hours, non-stop last night (5/11/03), with the constant boom of fireworks all over the city - providing a very similar experience to that of Pepys 343 years ago. While Pepys did celebrate Chirstmas and Easter, they wer much lower key than celebrations of today.

  • Interesting point PHE, but aren’t Christmas and Easter christian continuations of pagan festivals of Yule and Eoster…? As such they are really much older fesivals than the Gunpowder Plot celebrations…(Rowdy here too in Staines!)

  • 1647 Details of Firework Display -London
    5 November 1647-

    Firework display: “before the Lords and Commons of Parliament and the militia of london in commemoration of God’s great mercy in delivering this kingdom from the hellish plots of papists, acted in the damnable Gunpowder Treason”
    Gunner George Brown designed the display with a printed programme which explained what each
    tableau conveyed:-

    “1. Fire-balls burning in the water, and rising out of the water burning, showing the papist’s conjuration and consultation with infernal spirits, for the destruction of England’s king and parliament.

    2.Fire-boxes like meteors, sending forth many dozen rockets out of the water, intimating the popish spirits coming from below to act their treasonous plots against England’s king and parliament.

    3. Fawkes with his dark lantern, and many fire-boxes, lights, and lamps, ushering the pope into England, intimating the plot to destroy England’s true king and parliament.

    4. Pluto with his fiery club. Presenting himself maliciously bent to destroy all that have hindered the pope from destroying England’s king and parliament.

    6. Runners on a line, intimating the papists sending to all parts of the world, for subtle cunning and malicious plotters of mischief against England’s king and parliament.

    7. A fire-wheel, intimating the display of a flag of victory over the enemies that would have destroyed
    England’s King and parliament.

    8. Rockets in the air, showing the thankfulness of all well-willers to true religion, for the deliverance of England’s king and parliament.

    9. Balloons breaking in the air, with many streams of fire, showing God’s large and bounteous goodness towards England’s king and parliament.

    10. Chambers of lights, showing England’s willingness to cherish the light of the glorious gospel therin to be continued.

    11. A great bumber -ball br eaking in pieces, and discharging itself of other its lights, holding forth the cruelty of the papists to England’s king and parliament.

    12. Fire-boxes among the spectators, to warn them to take heed forthe future that they cherish none that are enemies to England’s king and parliament.
    -A Modell of the Fire-Works to be presented in Lincolnes-Inne Fields on the 5th of Novemb. 1647. (London 1647) A good source for contemporary fireworks: Francis Malthus, “A treatise of Artifician Fire-Works, both for Warres and Recreation”(London, 1629) and John White. “A rich Cabinet, with Variety of Inventions…Whereunto is added avariety of Recreative Fire-works, both for Land, Aire, and water.” (London, 1651)

    There were also bonfires and bells.”

    http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5567/celebrations.html?200726

Post an annotation

Before posting an annotation please read the annotation guidelines.
If your comment isn't directly relevant to this page, try the discussion group for other Pepys-related topics or the social group for general chat.

(required)

(required)

(optional)


No HTML in annotations. URLs will be turned into links. About copyright

References in the diary

A graph of all the references in the diary

1660
Nov: 5
1666
Dec: 1