Little known facts about bonfire night

Remember, remember the 5^th November, gunpowder treason and plot… Bonfire Night is almost here and while we all know the story of Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby and the rest of the plotters, here are some things about bonfire night and fireworks that you might not know.

If they’d been successful, they would have created 500m worth of damage…

Guy Fawkes was found guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder, which, if they had gone off would have really changed how London looks today. That amount of gunpowder would have destroyed Westminster Hall and Abbey and many of the surrounding buildings.

Though the original cellar was destroyed, parliament is still searched

The cellar where the gunpowder was stored was destroyed in a fire in 1834 but that didn’t mean an end to the Houses of Parliament being searched, just in case there are any modern day Guy Fawkes’ who have the same idea. Now, every year before the State Opening of Parliament, the Yeoman of the Guard search the Houses of Parliament, it is a ceremonial rather than serious search however and is conducted with lanterns rather than modern technology.

It was illegal not to celebrate bonfire night…

That’s right – it was illegal to not celebrate bonfire night in Britain until 1959, however during the first and second world wars, there couldn’t be displays because it would attract enemy attention, so people were expected to celebrate indoors.

Despite that…

There is at least one school in York (St Peters’) that ignored this law – to this day St Peters’ School is the only place in England that actively doesn’t celebrate bonfire night as a show of respect for their former pupil, Guy Fawkes.

You can see Guy Fawkes’ lantern…

If you visit the Tower of London you can see Guy Fawkes’ former cell and even see his name scratched into the wall but did you know you can also still see the lantern he was carrying when he was caught guarding the gunpowder? It can be seen at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and was given to the museum by the University of Oxford who in turn were gifted it.

In some places he is a hero…

There is even an island named after Guy Fawkes, no one is really sure why but you can find it in the Galapagos.

Guy Fawkes wasn’t technically executed

Though he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and tortured for a confession, he didn’t actually end up being executed. After a trial found him and some of his fellow conspirators guilty of treason (four of them were killed in a shoot out with the King’s men), he was sentenced to be publicly hung, drawn and quartered. However, Guy Fawkes managed to get away from his guards while waiting by the gallows and jumped to his death instead.

Bonfires were once something else entirely…

Bonfires have existed since the Middle Ages, only back then, they were known as bone fires and were used to… well… burn bones.

Fireworks were invented by accident

These days we celebrate bonfire night by lighting fireworks and watching displays but did you know they were invented accidentally? According to records, a cook in China accidentally invented them by mixing common ingredients found in the kitchen back in the 10^th century. They wouldn’t make their way to Europe until 1400s, the first recorded display took place in Florence, Italy.

The royals used fireworks

The first recorded firework display in England was at the wedding of King Henry VII in 1486 when he married Elizabeth of York and united the fighting families of Lancaster and York. Years later, his granddaughter Elizabeth I created the title of Fire Master of England which was given to the person she considered to be the country’s best firework maker. Apparently she loved fireworks and would use them regularly.

In Devon, they have a special bonfire tradition...

In the village of Ottery St Mary in Devon they continue to celebrate bonfire night with a special tradition that can’t be seen anywhere else in the UK. On 5^th November, the locals take it in turns to carry large barrels of burning tar in a procession through the village that culminates in a large bonfire.

Want to find out more about the gunpowder plot and bonfire night? Click here for a brief run down of the events and don’t forget the 5^th November!