Remember, Remember the Fifth of November
History you can almost touch at the Ashmolean Museum
When I was a girl, the days leading up to the 5th of November were filled with excitement, and an opportunity for adventure.
We would make “Guys” out of old clothes stuffed with newspaper, give them a hat and a painted face, and set ourselves up on a street corner calling out to passing commuters and neighbours.
“Penny for the Guy!”
A small, proud enterprise, and a child’s first taste of earning money though looking back, the whole thing had a strangely macabre twist.
The “Guy” we so cheerfully made was, of course, Guy Fawkes: the man who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.
On Bonfire Night, families would gather in gardens or village greens, light fireworks, and build a great bonfire. As the sparks flew and Catherine wheels spun, the evening would reach its climax when “the Guy”, our usually shabby effigy, would be tossed onto the flames.
This eerie custom dates back to the early 17th century, when the failed Gunpowder Plot was remembered each year as a triumph of king and Parliament over treason. Effigies of Guy Fawkes, and in some places the Pope! were burned in towns and villages across England.
Today, few children go out begging “a penny for the Guy,” and most backyard bonfires have been replaced by organised firework displays. Yet in places like Lewes in Sussex, Bridgwater in Somerset, and Ottery St Mary in Devon, the old tradition survives with dramatic torchlit processions, giant effigies, and burning barrels, an echo of that fiery history.
You will learn more about England’s quirky history on an Oxford History Tour.
I’ve selected two.
‘Religious History of Oxford’ introduces the tumultuous story of faith in England, and particularly in the traces of Oxford’s buildings, artefacts and personalities.
‘Oxford’s World Class Museums’ introduces you to Oxford’s history and culture and a curated tour of the city’s museum’ curated especially for you.
You’ll never look at 5th November the same way again.
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