[Kilsally]

http://www.theirishw...-06-25news2.htm
Mp backs Lewes bonfire

by Paul Donovan, 25 June 2004 a

The local Liberal Democrat MP in Lewes has come out in defence of the annual Pope burning ceremony in Lewes.

In response to a letter from Tory MP Ann Widdecombe, Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, stresses the need to "strike a balance between freedom of expression on the one hand, and potential offence caused to individual groups on the other."

"The Catholic population in Lewes and Sussex understands the historical perspective of Bonfire and is, by and large, not offended by it," said Baker. "A minority, I believe, are uncomfortable, but even they have not written to me to ask me to have this banned. Mr O'Keefe is the exception."

Irishman Joe O'Keefe has been campaigning to get the annual bonfire ceremony - when an effigy of Pope Pius V is burned - banned. O'Keefe was shocked at the religious bigotry he saw on display in the town on 5 November.

"It is possible to construct a rather dramatic and wholly misleading image of Bonfire from outside Lewes, but the way it is perceived in Lewes is rather different from that," said Baker.

The MP then went on to defend the radical and progressive traditions of the Sussex town. "If the people of Lewes felt that Bonfire was designed to attack Catholics in general or otherwise undermine the right of an individual to his or her beliefs, then I am quite sure that they would have no truck with it. That is not what bonfire is about and consequently I believe it has the support of most people in the town," said Baker

O'Keefe reacted angrily to the letter. "Why should we as Catholics accept this abuse. These comments are quite appalling and prove the ignorance of the man. Does he ever ask himself why these practices happen in Lewes but not in any other part of the country," said O'Keefe. "This amounts to a sort of apartheid and it is possible to see where it is going with the aggression being directed toward gypsies."

O'Keefe believes it is important to stand up against bigotry. "If we do not get our act together there will be all sorts getting on the anti-Catholic bandwagon," said O'Keefe.







http://www.lewesbonfirecouncil.org.uk/

From the Lewes Bonfire Council

But what is the Lewes tradition all about? Several things are remembered, all of which were originally undeniably sectarian:

the burning of 17 Protestant martyrs in Lewes High Street from 1555 to 1557, under the reign of Mary Tudor;


the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when conspirators led by Robert Catesby planned to blow up King James I as he opened Parliament, the plot being foiled by the discovery of Guy Fawkes about to ignite the barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament;


the landing of William of Orange (William III, half of William and Mary) on 5th November 1688 to restore a Protestant monarchy.

These days sectarianism plays scarcely any part in the festivities. What is chiefly celebrated is a pride in freedom and independence, stemming from an innate dislike of being dictated to by outsiders - be they foreign powers, or any who attempt unfairly to exert their authority or influence. It is not for nothing that the unofficial motto of Sussex (of which Lewes is the County Town) is "We won't be druv!" The major act of remembrance nowadays is that for the dead of the two World Wars, each Society in turn laying a wreath at the War Memorial. Although some societies in particular pay homage to the old traditions, with effigies of Pope Paul V (Camillo Borghese, Pope at the time of the Gunpowder Plot) and Guy Fawkes exploding in a blaze of fireworks, Bonfire is certainly no longer a Protestant festival, and Roman Catholics and people of all beliefs participate freely in the celebrations.









http://www.lewesbonf...tory/index.html

A Brief History of Lewes Bonfire
(See also the Annals of Bonfire)
Throughout recorded history, it has taken very little persuasion to get English people to make a bonfire." - The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore.
Bonfires have long been used as an expression of rejoicing in England, particularly to mark victories or deliverances, either spontaneously or by being ordained by the authorities. They have also formed an integral part of particular calendar customs.

The evolution of the English late-Autumn bonfire festivities is complex, with many strands woven into it. Some have attempted to trace it back to the Celtic festival of Samhain; others suggest that it is based upon the the custom of lighting bonfires to protect against disease, or to burn bones for fertilizer.


A document from Henry VIII's reign recommends that people should hold processions and light bonfires as a celebration of their release from the grasp of the Papacy. It is certain that in Elizabethan times the accession of the Queen was commemorated by public bonfires on 17th November each year, and perhaps this made a significant contribution in her successor's reign to the later national celebration of "Guy Fawkes Night" (though it is never properly known by this name in Sussex!)

After the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, celebrations were held throughout the country on 5th November, encouraged by the Church of England and other authorities. Both Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn refer to the custom in their diaries. It is not clear why this habit of communal celebration died out (or dwindled into family bonfires with a few fireworks and maybe a Guy) in many areas, or why the tradition remained so strong in Sussex. Whatever the reason, the surviving Sussex celebrations degenerated into disorganised and drunken revelry, with houses being (accidentally or deliberately) burnt down. Often large numbers of local people were sworn in as special constables to control the Bonfire Boys, resulting in arrests and subsequent heavy fines or imprisonment. The formation of the original Bonfire Societies, to bring them into some kind of order, came none too soon.

"This 5 of November is observed exceeding well in the City; and at night great bonefires and fireworks."

Samuel Pepys, 1660.

"5 It being an extraordinary wett morning, & I indisposed by a very greate rheume, I could not go to Church this day, to my greate sorrow, it being the first Gunpouder conspiracy Anniversary, that had ben kept now this 80 yeares, under a Prince of the Roman Religion: Bonfires forbidden &c: What dos this portend?"

John Evelyn, 1685. (It seems that Evelyn's pessimism was ill-founded, and that Gunpowder Plot bonfires were not forbidden during the Roman Catholic James II's short reign.)


Following an unsuccessful attempt to suppress the celebrations in 1847, the Bonfire Boys recognised they needed to curtail the more riotous aspects of their activities, so they transformed the Fifth into an occasion for organised torch-lit processions accompanied by barrels, banners and bands. Members with flamboyant military titles marshalled the processions, while the participants wore increasingly elaborate costumes, the striped guernsey and mask (worn originally as a disguise) being replaced by a variety of fancy dress. During the last century, specific costumes became associated with the different Societies, and this can still be seen in today's processions.

The specific origins of the stunning costumed processions and spectacular firework displays observed today in Lewes every 5th November - Bonfire Night, as it is known locally - date back to 1853, when the Lewes (now Lewes Borough) and Cliffe Bonfire Societies were formed, followed by Commercial Square in 1855. These, together with the more recently formed South Street (1913), Waterloo (1964) and Nevill Juvenile (1968) Bonfire Societies, make up the present membership of today's Lewes Bonfire Council.

Originally each Society operated within the locality of the town from which it took its name, drawing the majority of its members from there and organising its processions, bonfire and firework displays within its boundaries. After 1906, however, when the local authority banned street bonfires on the Fifth, the Societies were forced to find open fields on the town's outskirts. Being less confined at the new firesites, the Societies continued to improve and enlarge their firework displays. The traditional effigies of the co-conspirators, Guy Fawkes and the Pope, were sometimes joined by other 'notorieties' perceived by the Bonfire Boys as being enemies either of Britain or of Bonfire. The firework tableaux, depicting contemporary local and political events, which evolved during the nineteenth century became more elaborate and spectacular. In more recent years, large aerial fireworks have enhanced the overall effect of the firesite displays.

Since the formation of the Societies, Bonfire Night (as it is known locally) has been held annually, apart for interruptions during the two World Wars, a typhoid outbreak in the town in 1874 and the Lewes floods of 1960. (Despite the catastrophic Lewes floods in October 2000, Bonfire Night that year went triumphantly ahead.)


But what is the Lewes tradition all about? Several things are remembered, all of which were originally undeniably sectarian:

a.. the burning of 17 Protestant martyrs in Lewes High Street from 1555 to 1557, under the reign of Mary Tudor;


b.. the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when conspirators led by Robert Catesby planned to blow up King James I as he opened Parliament, the plot being foiled by the discovery of Guy Fawkes about to ignite the barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament;


c.. the landing of William of Orange (William III, half of William and Mary) on 5th November 1688 to restore a Protestant monarchy.

Lewes Martyrs being burnt at the stake during
the Marian Persecutions


The Gunpowder Plot conspirators

These days sectarianism plays scarcely any part in the festivities. What is chiefly celebrated is a pride in freedom and independence, stemming from an innate dislike of being dictated to by outsiders - be they foreign powers, or any who attempt unfairly to exert their authority or influence. It is not for nothing that the unofficial motto of Sussex (of which Lewes is the County Town) is "We won't be druv!" The major act of remembrance nowadays is that for the dead of the two World Wars, each Society in turn laying a wreath at the War Memorial. Although some societies in particular pay homage to the old traditions, with effigies of Pope Paul V (Camillo Borghese, Pope at the time of the Gunpowder Plot) and Guy Fawkes exploding in a blaze of fireworks, Bonfire is certainly no longer a Protestant festival, and Roman Catholics and people of all beliefs participate freely in the celebrations.

Bonfire Night turns the streets of Lewes into rivers of flame








http://www.lewesbonfirecouncil.org.uk/





Lewes Bonfire Council has a very important role for the now world-famous Lewes Bonfire celebrations. The Council co-ordinates the activities of the town's six Bonfire Societies - Cliffe, Commercial Square, Lewes Borough, Nevill Juvenile, South Street and Waterloo - and gives support, but not interference, to those activities, leaving each Society remaining independent and able to keep its individual approach to its celebrations.

There have been times when interference from the authorities has quickly motivated the Bonfire Council to defend not only the rituals of a very unique and historical event which is part of the heritage of Lewes, but also the rights and freedom of the Bonfire Boys and Girls to process through the narrow streets of Lewes. Such interference has sometimes been dealt with in acrimony, but the authorities have now learned to deal with us with respect and understanding that our celebrations are here to stay and to be improved upon and seen to grow.

Lewes Bonfire Council and delegates from all the Lewes Societies meet several times a year with the Lewes Bonfire Safety Group in a calm and friendly manner to iron out issues of safety. Safety is an issue which all Societies take seriously, and Lewes Bonfire Council paved the way for the Safety Group to be officially formed and assists in its running. The Lewes Bonfire Safety Group is made up of the emergency services (Police and Fire Brigade), the local Councils and the railway operators. Lewes District Council plays a very important role providing mobile toilets, barriers and signs, and controlling food and other vendors. However, it is only through the Safety Group that many things have been changed for the better and have helped to enhance the celebrations.

Lewes Bonfire Council holds an annual Fancy Dress Competition at Lewes Town Hall in October, where members of the Societies are judged for the costumes worn on the night of The Fifth. Points are awarded to each winning individual or group, and are totalled to reveal the Society with the most points.

Many other common problems, such as the best means of obtaining fireworks, torch materials, insurance or street closure orders, the placement of barriers, the times and routes of the 31 processions, the selling of programmes and the organisation of the Grand United Procession are dealt with.

In 2003 the 150th anniversary of the formation of Bonfire Societies will be celebrated, and we hope to be able to mount an exhibition of archiver material if we can find an affordable venue.

Whatever it is that you want to know about Lewes Bonfire, we hope that you will find the answers here. If you feel there is an area which we have not covered, please get in touch with us - this web site is intended to be a full and authoritative resource, and with your help we can make it so.

[Kilsally]

The Carnival held on the Fifth of November,

Is a sight if once seen you will ever remember,

Such rousers and squibs,

Such torches and fire,

Gigantic processions, fantastic attire.

Nor would we forget how it once was the scene,

Of the burning of Martyrs when Mary was Queen,

The truth which led them to die at the stake,

May the people of Lewes never forsake.





http://www.acts2.com...Protestants.htm
Of Bonfires, Famous and Infamous

The Catholic Herald calls Protestantism "the battle cry of murderers"

By Professor Arthur Noble

Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.

- Popular nursery rhyme

On 13 November 1998 The Catholic Herald published an outrageous article attacking Protestants, entitled "Incendiary Remnant of a more volatile and believing age". We reproduce the following extracts:

The recent Auto da Fé in Lewes, in which "the pope" was burnt in effigy, offended many Catholics and brought back talk of the "bad old days" before Catholic Emancipation. It was an offensive act: would loyal Anglicans wish to see Catholics burn the Archbishop of Canterbury in effigy (probably many would) or, far worse, would they wish to see an effigy of the Queen, as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, burst into flames? [...] The annual Lewes Bonfire on the Fifth of November is offensive and ironic. But it is much more. It is the last gasp of a tradition that was once the basis of our national identity. Protestantism, once the foundation of our "glorious constitution in Church and State", is now something preached in small, back-street chapels and among the fanatic fringes of Northern Ireland's criminal classes. It has become the battle cry of murderers. [...]

According to the author of this article, one James Munson, whose journalistic impertinence matches his myopic understanding of history, the annual Lewes Bonfire of the Fifth of November is "offensive" and "ironic".

His suggested comparison with burning an effigy of the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Queen is, of course, totally irrelevant, since neither of them has ever been guilty of the atrocities perpetrated by the Pontiffs of his own Church. Moreover, his false portrayal of the traditional Bonfire as representing "the last gasp" of a dying Protestantism glaringly overlooks the fact that it was again his own Church that systematically put Protestants to death. The Protestants of Northern Ireland must demand an apology and a retraction from this Romanist adventurer, who should be taught that the fundamentalist Protestant Churches in the United Kingdom are no back-street chapels attended by those whom he describes as fringe lunatics, criminals and murderers. He would have been better employed in exposing the real identity of the criminals and murderers in this scenario - not Protestants, but his own co-religionists. His article is characterised by blatant distortion of historical fact...

His article is characterised by blatant distortion of historical fact and the convenient failure to mention the continual attacks by the Vatican on our country, both military and conspiratorial, throughout our history, which accompanied the long and bloody struggle for the freedom of our Kings and Queens from the domination of the Papacy.

The Lewes celebrations are part of the commemoration of the successful foiling of one such attack - the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy by prominent Roman Catholics to kill James I, King of England (1603-1625) - who gave us the Authorised Version of the Bible - and to murder the Lords and the Commons, at the state opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605. The object, as Munson must well know, was to overthrow Protestantism, the faith of the majority, in England, and to place the infant daughter of James on the throne under a Papist protector. A full account of the Gunpowder Plot was published in The Weekly Newes [sic], No. 19, of 31 January 1606, which quoted the Indictment of 28 January against the conspirators as designed "to stir rebellion and sedition in the Kingdom", "to change, alter and subvert the Religion here established" and "to ruinate the state of the Commonwealth and to bring in strangers to invade it".

The Romanist conspirators were directed by the Jesuit Garnet and aided by the suicide bomber Guy Fawkes, who confessed his own guilt and was hanged on January 31, 1606. In the week or so preceding 5 November a rag-stuffed figure, formerly representing the Pope himself, has since been traditionally taken around the streets by children asking for fireworks money - "a penny for the Guy". On the night itself, also known as Bonfire Night, bonfires are lit in which, traditionally, the effigy, or Guy, is burnt. Nowadays, the spectacular fireworks displays staged by many municipalities are as much part of the ceremony as the lighting of bonfires. Was it offensive to the Lewes Protestants of the sixteenth century to torture and burn them? - and by whom were those bonfires set?

The significance of Lewes, however, reverts to fifty years previously, when in the twelve months from June 1556 it was the scene of the burning of innocent Protestants for "heresy". On 8 May 1901 a great Martyrs' Memorial was unveiled in Lewes in memory of these witnesses for an open Bible, who opposed the Mass and the Confessional. Is it not symptomatic of Munson's loyalty to the wiles of 'Holy Mother Church' to attack the innocent, symbolic and commemorative burning of an effigy in order to cover up the real, true and actual burning of the martyrs? The tactic of not mentioning this atrocity can only have been designed to obscure the facts of history by portraying the Lewes celebrations as offensive to Roman Catholics. Was it offensive to the Lewes Protestants of the sixteenth century to torture and burn them? - and by whom were those bonfires set? By Romanists in back-street chapels - the real fringe lunatics and murderers! These are historical facts which Munson's feigned conciliatory language cannot expunge. Subtle use of ecumenical-style jargon may succeed in luring the weaklings into the fold of Romanism, but it cannot conceal the unchanged hatred of Protestantism expressed in the outrageous extracts quoted above.

...or, more recently, the Fascist-Roman Catholic statelet of Croatia during the Hitler era when it systematically slaughtered a quarter of a million Orthodox Serbs and forcibly converted three quarters of a million of them to Romanism.

There follows much rhetoric about "tolerance" - "ironic", indeed, to cast Munson's own word back at him. If tolerance is indeed, as he states, "the mark of a civilised country which has beliefs but which also has an overriding determination to tolerate but not to accept the views and practices of minorities", how is it then that Munson's own faith has the remarkable historical record of calling for tolerance in the name of Protestant principles when it is in the minority, but denying tolerance to Protestants in the name of Vatican principles when it is in the majority?

Perhaps, as his model of "tolerance", he would like to cite the Inquisition with its brutal and dastardly torture, "correction" of "heretics", bludgeonings, dismemberings and burnings at the stake; or, more recently, the Fascist-Roman Catholic statelet of Croatia during the Hitler era when it systematically slaughtered a quarter of a million Orthodox Serbs and forcibly converted three quarters of a million of them to Romanism. Then, as an extra measure to divert attention from the real significance of Lewes, we have a discourse on "Catholic emancipation". Lewes was not about the emancipation of Roman Catholics; it was about the murder of Protestants.

As to Munson's description of the 'inflammatory' nature (if the pun can be excused) of the Lewes celebrations as an "incendiary remnant of a more volatile and believing age", it would have been more honest and truthful to expose those who, throughout history, have been actually responsible for the flames, from the bonfires of the Inquisition to the canons and gunpowder of invaders and the incendiary devices and Semtex of Rome-inspired terrorists; but then truth and honesty have never been the hallmarks of a Romanist, be he cleric or lay writer. This article, dressed in the garb of conciliation, is itself an inflammatory and libellous attack on decent Protestant people who hold to the truth of 'the faith once delivered to the saints'.

The other day I came across by a drawing inspired by John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. If Munson should ever have the occasion or the desire to read the history books accurately, let him well remember the truth portrayed in that drawing. It shows an Old Pope sitting biting his nails, and wondering what to do next, in the midst of the skulls and bones of all humanity, burned to death by his devices. Instead of vilifying the famous Lewes Bonfire, which is but a harmless and symbolical, but utterly vital, reminder of the origin of the atrocities of that time, let the author of this scurrilous article read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest, that the real bonfires were set in this country by none other than his own Church of Rome. They are well symbolised in that drawing. They were a bonfire of bones, a bonfire of Bibles, and a bonfire of brave men. The bones were the bones of Wycliffe, the Bibles were the Bibles of Tyndale, and the brave men those who were burned in the persecutions carried out by the Romanist "Bloody Queen Mary". Let the Protestants of Britain remember this great Memorial at Lewes, the unveiling of which was described as follows by The Protestant Echo of May 15, 1901: This long looked for event was celebrated on Wednesday, May 8th, amid considerable interest and enthusiasm. The company was a large one, and comprised Protestants from long distances as well as those of the surrounding neighbourhood, the trains bearing heavy freights of persons who were desirous of doing honour to the memory of those worthy men and women who gave up their lives rather than deny Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

[...] The memorial is a granite obelisk, 35 ft. in height, bearing on that side facing the county town an inscription to the memory of those who perished at Lewes during the Marian persecutions. It is situated on the slope of the Downs, practically in a straight line with Lewes High Street.

[...] The Countess of Portsmouth [...] gracefully performed the unveiling of the memorial, and exposing to view the inscription, which ran as follows:

"In loving memory of the undernamed seventeen Protestant martyrs who, for faithful testimony to God's truth, were, during the reign of Queen Mary, burned to death in front of the Star Inn - now the Town Hall - Lewes; this obelisk, provided by public subscriptions, was erected A.D. 1901.

DATE OF MARTYRDOM, June 6th, 1555.
Dirick Carver, of Brighton. Thomas Harland and John Oswald, both of Woodmancote. Thomas Avington and Thomas Reed, both of Ardingly.

DATE OF MARTYRDOM, about June 20th, 1556. Thomas Hood (a minister of the Gospel), of Lewes. Thomas Miles, of Hellingly.

DATE OF MARTYRDOM, June 22nd, 1557. Richard Woodman and George Stevens, both of Warbleton. Alexander Hosman, William Mainard, and Thomasina Wood, all of Mayfield. Margery Morris and James Morris (her son), both of Heathfield. Denis Burges, of Buxted. Ann Ashton, of Rotherfield. Mary Groves, of Lewes.

"And they overcame because of the blood of the Lamb; and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their live even unto death." - Rev. xii 11, R.V.

The Lewes Protestant Martyrs' Memorial Volume, Turn or Burn, by Rev. F.J. Hamilton, D.D., and W. Stanley Martin, was published in 1901. The book contains a chapter on "Why the Lewes Martyrs were burned" in which the authors demonstrate that the doctrines for protesting against which the martyrs were killed in 1555-56 were the very same ones as those being taught by the Roman Church in 1901. They remain unaltered in 1998.

Semper eadem!