Bonfire Prayers

Remember, remember the Fifth of November The Gunpowder Treason

Read the full poem here...

Bonfire Anthem

Now is the time for marching Now let your hearts be gay Hark to

Read the full poem here...

Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations : The Glorious Fifth : Saturday 4th November 2023 : Huzzah!

The Lewes Bonfire Night, or the #LewesBonfire Night Celebrations, is the biggest celebrated Fifth November Event in the world, and is held in the usually peaceful county town of Lewes (pronounced “lu-is or loo-is”), East Sussex, every year on 5th November, and the carnival or festival is known as either the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations, Lewes Bonfire Night or just simply the Fifth.




It is the biggest and the only proper bonfire night celebration left of its kind in the Uk. This year it will be on Saturday, 4th November 2023.

Click Here For Lewes Bonfire Night Images And Videos

Click Here For Lewes Bonfire Visitor Information Guide and Info Tips 2023

No Car Parking in Lewes on Bonfire Night. . .

In fact, This is not one celebration as such, there are in fact six separate Lewes Bonfire Society’s all celebrating the Fifth in various parts of the town, all with their own processions, traditions, costumes, fire sites and fireworks. If you are thinking of driving to this Fifth of November Lewes Bonfire Night Celebration event on Guy Fawkes Night, 4th November, I would forget it as car parking will be a big no no, unless you get here very early as all the car parks and street parking in the town will fill up early. There will be road closures all evening and night all around the Sussex routes into Lewes, starting from about 2pm, and the main procession routes will be out of bounds for car parking.

Lewes Bonfire Charity Collection Boxes. . .

Wrap up warm in old waterproof clothes, Ignore The Weather Forecast! Tis better to be too dry and too warm than, soggy, wet and feckin cold. Bring plenty of money for the Lewes Bonfire charity collection boxes being rattled during the Lewes Bonfire Celebrations and be prepared for long waits, heavy crowds, loud noise and lots of smoke. This Lewes Bonfire Night Festival/Carnival in Sussex is not suitable for Yummy Mummy’s or very young children especially those in pushchairs, the frail or if you have breathing problems. Some pubs in the town will be ticket only and all of them will be heaving  and there will be limited toilet facilities and food vendors.

Lewes Bonfire Society Programmes 2023

Lewes Bonfire Fire Site Tickets. . .

For further details of each individual Lewes Bonfire Society, their procession routes, timings, tickets and fire sites, purchase a programme and you will be putting money into their coffers, Or look at the Lewes Bonfire Council website or any of the bonfire society websites  Fire Site tickets are available from Society Headquarters and The Lewes Tourist Information Centre, Be warned as well, that all bonfire society fire sites are now ticket only events, don’t just turn up hoping to get in, purchase your tickets in advance. No Ticket No Entry.




Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations 2023

Bonfire Night Safety Advice. . .

See also the advice given by the Lewes District Council Website, the Lewes Bonfire Council Website or by the Sussex Police Website Whatever your plans are on the 4th November, Just remember Fire and Fireworks burn and hurts like hell if it bites.

Lewes Bonfire : Lest We Forget. . .

See You On The Fifth : Stay Safe And Enjoy : And Lest We Forget.

Lest We Forget Poppies Poppy Remembrance 2023

Visiting Bonfire Societys. . .

At the Lewes Bonfire Celebrations on the Fifth of November, there will be around 25–30 visiting bonfire societies from all over Sussex, numerous marching bands (Of which I was once a drummer in one) The visiting bonfire societys and bands will be spread across the six Lewes Bonfire Societies having their own Bonfire Night Celebration on the 4th November 2023 in Lewes, Sussex celebrating the fall of Guy Fawkes, the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, remembering the Seventeen Martyrs that were burnt near the Lewes War Memorial, remembering the Fallen and more, in a very well choreographed festival manner! Lest We Forget

Lewes Bonfire Night 2023

Lewes Bonfire Processions. . .

There will be 30 plus processions during the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations, intermingling with each other through the narrow streets of Lewes with the Bonfire Night Celebration Processions starting around 5.00 pm and finishing about 1am, Each Lewes Bonfire Society will have their own routes, except the grand which is around 9pm which is when five of the Lewes Bonfire Societies will join up and march back through Lewes town, which can take an hour or so to pass, and then they will follow their own procession routes, with their own traditions, costumes, bonfire, fireworks, tableaux, and set pieces to their own fire sites.




Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations Fifth November 2023

Lewes Bonfire, Friendly or Rivalry?. . .

I like to think there is just a friendly rivalry between all of the Lewes Bonfire Societies but it goes a little bit deeper than that, there is at times some mild bigotry between some of its members towards other Lewes Bonfire Societies, a good thing in my mind as the “friendly rivalry” helps to keep the spirit of the Lewes bonfire night alive, generally though they are all inter-friendly and will all help each other out in times of need, Sometimes! and it is a topic that would take up a whole website and would not be 100% accurate as some of the rivalry history has been lost in the mists of time.

Lewes Bonfire Martyrs Remembrance Burning Crosses 17 Seventeen 2023

Seventeen Martyrs Burnt In Lewes. . .

Evolving mainly from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and Guy Fawkes (Guido Fawkes) and the Seventeen Martyrs burnt at the stake in Lewes, Sussex, during the period of 1555–1557, hence the seventeen burning crosses, the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations is now one of the most well known and talked about traditions within the UK, and attracting tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Lewes Bonfire Tar Barrel Cliffe Bridge 2023

Lewes Bonfire Night Remembrance. . .

The Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations has never been for the General Public’s benefit and never will be, it is solely for the believers in our way of remembrance of history and the members (Bonfire Boy/Boye/Belle) of each and every Lewes Bonfire Society, all the planning, preparations, costumes, etc is provided and paid for by themselves (Bonfire Boys/Boyes/Belles) and fund raising is held throughout the year to help pay for the firework display, torches, insurance, etc etc.




Lewes Bonfire Last Street Night Celebration 2023

Lewes Bonfire Council. . .

Input from the Lewes Bonfire Council, Authorities and Emergency services exists simply for the safety of the public due to the sheer numbers that turn up to watch, all the Lewes bonfire societies have a close but at times, a strained and antidisestablishmentarianistic working relationship with the Authorities and Services to ensure that the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations on the Fifth goes off with a bang ! and always will, more than Guy Fawkes achieved!

Lewes Bonfire Celebration Chasseaud

The #LewesBonfire Media Circus. . .

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody” . . . Thomas Paine, The #LewesBonfire Night Celebrations on Saturday 4th November 2023, will not be a personal dig at any group or individuals as such, despite what you may see at the fire site, paraded around the town or in one of the many media circus versions, it is the bad act or event that is more important to us and it simply serves as a reminder that we now have a freedom of choice and speech in this country (Sometimes!) at a cost to past believers lives, (martyrs, soldiers etc), which was and still is denied to many people across the globe.

Lewes Bonfire Guy Fawkes The Pope Burn Him 2023

Lewes Bonfire Tradition : No Popery. . .

Sectarianism tradition does not exist in the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations today and never did as such, despite what you may read, hear or see from the media clowns or internet trolls. Aha, I hear you say “What About No Popery?” Popery was a catholic regime not a religion. Look it up and then look up Nazism or Is.




Lewes War Memorial Sussex Remembrance 2023

On the Lewes war memorial there are recorded approximately 235 names of the fallen during World War I and approximately 129 names that fell during World War II. Everybody today who lives in Lewes and walks about unhindered owes a debt to all those brave young brothers, sons, husbands and fathers, they will be remembered and honoured by all the Lewes Bonfire Societys at some point during the evening.

Lewes Bonfire Lest We Forget Poppy Remembrance 2023

Lewes Bonfire : Freedom Of Speech. . .

And yes, representations of recent figures or events will be blown up in Lewes, this is done to highlight a problem or a grievance that the common man has with the powers to be, sometimes it is actually a person, but that person/s would have had to have done something really distasteful like trying to restrict the freedom of speech, the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations, leaking out the contents of a Tableau or misbehaving in a anti social manner.

Also remember that the year 1517 was the 500th anniversary of the start of The Reformation, also referred to as the Protestant Reformation, which was a schism from the Catholic Church initiated by Martin Luther and continued by John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other early Protestant Reformers in 16th-century Europe. You have today the choice of beliefs or not thanks to Martin Luther.

No one will get hurt (except for their ego), nor is it the intention of anyone in any Bonfire Society to hurt anybody on Saturday 4th November 2023, if the freedom of speech is curtailed as in the Prism Program, then we will be on a slippery road back to 1605, and when we get there you can be sure that the 20/36 barrels of gunpowder will be replaced with something more akin to 20/36 nuclear warheads!, Religion, Politics, Oil, Money or The Bomb, Have we actually matured enough to be responsible for any of those yet?




November 5th 1933 Eric Ravilious 2023

When In Rome : Volenti Non Fit Injuria. . .

So come along if you wish, but you do not have an invite and therefore you will be gatecrashing our Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations, and please remember “When In Rome” and “Volenti Non Fit Injuria” Also remember not to go home crying to the web or media if you did not like what you have just seen or felt after spending the whole night in Lewes!

Also if you do not like my website or my views, just hit the X button on the top right corner of your screen and then p&^S off . . Simples ! . You have a freedom of choice to do so and please do not throw your toys out of the pram either, after you have spent hours looking at all of my pages, and finding something you did not like !

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Historical Bonfire Information

Within the pages of this Lewes Bonfire Celebrations website you will find a wealth of information, history and theories. I have tried to be as accurate as my knowledge allows me to be.

There should be something for everybody within this site, whether as a spectator, bonfire boye/belle, history or just simply interested in the Lewes Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes celebrations. I am constantly adding bits and pieces as I find or think of them.

Sometimes it may seem that I am rambling! . . Perhaps I am, I like to think that this site is alive with unpredictable anecdotes, facts and pictures to liven things up. But it is all relevant to the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebration history.

If you do not like what you see or read please close the site as you would close a book or switching a tv off, I do not like scary clowns or reality tv so I avoid them ..."Simples",

For those of you that want to shoot your mouth off or disagree with some of the elements of the Lewes Bonfire Celebrations, please go through the pages within this site, and absorb the facts before passing any judgements.

Any views stated within the pages are mine and mine alone.

Sussex By The Sea

Now is the time for marching
Now let your hearts be gay
Hark to the merry bugles
Sounding along our way

Read the full poem here...

My Heart's In The Bonfire

Warm Welcome to Lewes, Farewell to elsewheres,
The birth-place of Bonfire,The small town that dares;

Wherever I wander, Wherever I rove,
The hills of the Bonfire for ever I love.

Read the full poem here...

Bonfire Prayers

Remember, remember the Fifth of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot,
I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Read the full poem here...

Fun Facts

A selection of fun facts surrounding the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations.

Lewes bonfire fun facts...