About Fletching Bonfire Society
Fletching Bonfire Society is a volunteer-led community organisation based in the picturesque village of Fletching, East Sussex.
Despite representing a relatively small village, the society has an impressively long history. Fletching Bonfire Society was formed in 1854, making it one of the older surviving names in the Sussex Bonfire tradition. In 2024, the society celebrated 170 years since its formation.
Today, Fletching Bonfire Society combines that history with a busy programme of fundraising and community events. Its annual celebration brings torchlight to the narrow streets of Fletching before culminating in a giant bonfire and a spectacular pyromusical fireworks display.
Formed in 1854
The history of Fletching Bonfire Society stretches back to the middle of the Victorian period.
The society is recorded as having been formed in 1854, giving Fletching more than 170 years of Bonfire history.
That longevity is particularly striking when the size of Fletching is considered. Unlike societies representing large towns, Fletching has maintained its tradition within a small rural community.
A description of the society published in a guide to Sussex villages notes that it may be one of the smaller societies in the county but has a history extending back more than a century. It describes the old houses of the compact village streets glowing in torchlight as the procession passes through.
That historic village setting remains one of the features that gives Fletching Bonfire its distinctive character.
The Yeoman Warders
Fletching Bonfire Society has traditionally been associated with Yeoman Warder costume.
Better known to many people as the Beefeaters, the Yeoman Warders are the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London.
Their connection with the Gunpowder Plot is particularly strong. After Guy Fawkes was discovered beneath the Houses of Parliament in 1605, he was imprisoned and interrogated at the Tower of London.
The Yeoman Warders therefore make a striking historical costume for Fletching Bonfire Society.
However, while the costume itself is documented, I haven't found a reliable historical source explaining why Fletching originally selected the Yeoman Warders. The connection with the Tower and Guy Fawkes provides obvious historical context, but it should not be presented as the society's confirmed reason for choosing them unless further evidence emerges.
Bonfire in the Village
Fletching's annual celebration transforms the centre of the village.
The torchlit procession travels through streets lined with historic buildings, creating a very different atmosphere from the larger town and seafront celebrations elsewhere.
Fletching Bonfire Society describes its celebration as including large torchlit processions, a giant bonfire and a pyromusical fireworks display.
The procession is supported by members of Fletching Bonfire Society alongside visiting societies and other participants.
For a few hours, one of East Sussex's quieter villages becomes filled with torchlight, music, procession and spectators before attention moves to the firesite for the main display.
Fireworks to Music
One of Fletching Bonfire Society's modern specialities is its pyromusical fireworks display.
The development of fireworks choreographed to music at Fletching can be traced back more than two decades.
Writing in 2010, two Fletching residents involved with the society explained that they had begun adding music to the fireworks around ten years earlier. The displays subsequently became larger and increasingly complex.
Rather than simply playing music while fireworks are fired, a pyromusical display involves planning the visual effects around the mood, rhythm and progression of the soundtrack.
By its 170th anniversary celebration in 2024, Fletching's display featured more than 1,600 fireworks choreographed to music.
It has become one of the features that gives the modern Fletching celebration an identity of its own.
More Than £12,000 to Put On
Keeping an event of this scale going is expensive.
For 2026, Fletching Bonfire Society stated that staging its annual celebration now costs in excess of £12,000.
That includes expenses such as insurance, marshals, security, facilities, materials, bands and fireworks.
Importantly, Fletching Bonfire remains free to attend.
The money required to stage it therefore has to be raised by the society's volunteers throughout the year.
It puts the importance of the society's fundraising activities into perspective: the quiz night, plant sale or summer fete might seem a long way removed from September's torchlit procession, but each contributes towards making that celebration possible.
Fundraising Throughout the Year
Fletching Bonfire Society maintains a busy programme of events outside the Bonfire season.
The society's regular fundraising activities include bingo nights, quiz nights, a Burns Night supper, plant sales and the annual summer fete, alongside other events organised throughout the year.
The programme continues to evolve.
During 2026, events have included a Sip and Paint evening, Plant Sale and the Fletching Bonfire Society Summer Fete, while members have also attended community events elsewhere.
The society has even held events such as a Drag Quiz and Murder Mystery night, demonstrating that modern Bonfire fundraising can involve rather more than raffles and jumble sales.
These activities raise essential funds while keeping the society active within the community throughout the year.
Raising Money for Local Charities
Fletching Bonfire Society is a not-for-profit organisation, and supporting good causes forms an important part of its purpose.
The society describes its role as raising money for local charities while maintaining Fletching's Bonfire tradition.
This charitable work sits alongside the considerable task of raising enough money to stage Bonfire itself.
The society therefore performs two related roles: finding the funds needed to keep the annual celebration going while also using its activities to generate support for organisations within the wider community.
Support from the Village
The relationship between Fletching Bonfire Society and the village works both ways.
Local organisations and residents support the society's fundraising, while the society provides one of Fletching's largest annual community events.
Fletching Parish Council has also supported the society financially. In 2025, the Parish Council awarded Fletching Bonfire Society a £500 grant towards rebuilding its Bonfire trailer, which was more than 20 years old.
The Parish Council has also participated in the society's Summer Fete, demonstrating the place Fletching Bonfire Society occupies within the wider network of village organisations.
For a society representing a relatively small population, that community support is particularly important.
Membership
Fletching Bonfire Society welcomes new members, and people do not have to live in Fletching to join.
The society emphasises that there is a role for almost everyone.
Some jobs involve considerable physical work, particularly when preparing the firesite and equipment. Others involve administration, fundraising, event organisation and the many practical tasks required to keep a volunteer organisation functioning.
Members can also represent Fletching at other celebrations and events, becoming part of the wider network of friendships between societies.
For 2026, the society has actively encouraged new members to join and help with both its community fundraising and the annual Bonfire celebration.
Fletching Bonfire 2026
Fletching Bonfire returns in September 2026, although there is currently a discrepancy between published sources over the exact date.
Fletching Bonfire Society's website lists Sunday 13 September 2026, while other current event listings – including one referring to the society's Facebook event – give Saturday 12 September 2026.
Because of that discrepancy, anyone planning to attend should check the society's latest announcement before travelling.
Whichever date is confirmed, the celebration will once again bring together the features for which modern Fletching has become known: torchlit procession, a giant bonfire and fireworks choreographed to music.
More Than 170 Years of Fletching Bonfire
For such a small village, Fletching has maintained a remarkably enduring Bonfire tradition.
Fletching Bonfire Society dates its formation to 1854, meaning generations of villagers have been involved since the middle of the Victorian era.
Its traditional Yeoman Warders provide a distinctive costumed identity, while the historic streets of Fletching give the procession an atmosphere very different from celebrations held in larger towns.
The society has also continued to develop rather than simply preserve the past. Its pyromusical fireworks, now developed over more than two decades, have become a defining feature of the modern celebration.
Behind that one evening lies a year of bingo nights, quizzes, plant sales, fetes, fundraising and volunteer work – all helping to meet an annual bill now exceeding £12,000 while also raising money for local charities.
More than 170 years after its formation, Fletching Bonfire Society continues to prove that one of the smaller villages on the Bonfire circuit can maintain one of its longest-running traditions.