Every year on 5th November, people in Britain celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 with bonfires, effigies of Guy Fawkes and fireworks. You’ll find thousands of descriptions and images of Bonfire Night celebrations from the past in our collection of historical newspapers. We’ve selected some of our favourite examples for you to enjoy. 1861: Burning the Guy on the fifth of November Penny Illustrated Paper – Saturday 09 November 1861 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS …
bonfire night
We were fascinated by this newspaper story from 1828 that reports on how Guy Fawkes night was celebrated in England that year. With the exception of the ringing of church bells, it seems that perhaps not much has changed since 1828. And it’s very interesting to see that this article also includes a mention of how the Stock Exchange celebrated the event – a refreshing angle that is sadly lacking in many of today’s newspaper reports of Bonfire Night. Manchester …