The Gunpowder Plot and Origin of Guy Fawkes Night

Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night (or, more casually in recent times as
Fireworks 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 Houses of Parliament in
London. The occasion is primarily celebrated in Great Britain 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.
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 hoard 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 torchwood.[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] Coincidentally the celebrations for the pagan
festival of Samhain, which included the burning of the "old guy" on a bonfire, were held
about this time of the year, and so other traditions, such as ringing of church bells and lighting
fireworks were added soon after the act was passed and the "guy" became a personification of
Guy Fawkes.[10][11] The act remained in place until 1859.[12] 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. The "guys" are traditionally
effigies of Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, although may
also be effigies of local or national hate figures. Although the night is celebrated in York
(Fawkes' hometown) some there do not burn his effigy, most notably those from his old
school.[13][14] 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.[15]
In the United Kingdom, there are several foods that are traditionally consumed on Bonfire
Night:
 Bangers and Mash

 Black treacle goods such as bonfire toffee[16] and parkin[17]
 Toffee apples[18][19]
 Baked potatoes – more commonly referred to as "jacket potatoes" – which are
wrapped in aluminium foil and cooked in the bonfire or its embers[20][21]
 Black peas with vinegar[22]
 Potato pie with pickled red cabbage[23]
 Groaty pudding specifically in the Black Country[citation needed]
In West Yorkshire the practice of collecting wood and other combustible materials to make
community bonfires is known as "chumping".[24]
In Sussex, Bonfire night is a major festival that centres on Lewes necessitating the closure of
the town centre.Thousands of people travel to Lewes every year to watch the celebrations, and
Lewes has many different societies. 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.[25] 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 and Commercial Square
bonfire societies.
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 5 November each year. Each of Ottery's
central public houses sponsors a single barrel. In the weeks prior to the day of the event, 5
November, 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.[26]
Bonfire Night is not celebrated in Northern Ireland, where fireworks and bonfires are more
commonly associated with The Twelfth, which celebrates the victory of Protestant king
William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690).

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Guy Fawkes Night

The Gunpowder Plot and origin of Guy Fawkes Night

The 13 conspirators planned to place a hoard of gunpowder in an undercroft directly

Knyvet capturing Fawkes in the undercroft shortly after midnight

[edit] United Kingdom customs

 Bangers and Mash

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