About Icklesham / Robin Hood Bonfire Society
Robin Hood Bonfire Society is the local Bonfire society for Icklesham, a village between Hastings and Rye in East Sussex.
Centred around the Robin Hood Inn on Main Road, the society has traditionally organised a village Bonfire celebration and represented Icklesham at celebrations elsewhere.
The society has a particularly local identity. Rather than simply taking the name of the village, Robin Hood Bonfire Society takes its name from the historic pub that has long been associated with the organisation.
Bonfire at the Robin Hood
The Robin Hood Inn has long been at the centre of Icklesham's Bonfire tradition.
The historic pub stands on Main Road and dates from the 17th century. It remains an important community meeting place in the village and is described as the home of the local Bonfire society.
That association explains the society's familiar name.
Rather than processing simply as Icklesham Bonfire Society, the organisation is known as Robin Hood Bonfire Society, creating a direct connection between the society and one of Icklesham's longstanding community landmarks.
For a village society, that relationship between pub, community and Bonfire is particularly appropriate.
A Fifth of November Celebration
Icklesham has traditionally maintained a particularly strong connection with 5 November itself.
While many societies hold their celebrations on a neighbouring Saturday, surviving records show Robin Hood Bonfire Society holding its home event on the Fifth.
An account of the 2017 celebration, for example, records Icklesham Bonfire taking place on Sunday 5 November.
The gates at the Robin Hood opened during the afternoon before the procession began near Icklesham Village Hall. The procession was followed by the lighting of the bonfire and then the fireworks display.
Keeping the village celebration closely connected with the Fifth has given Icklesham's Bonfire a character of its own.
A Village Celebration
Icklesham's Bonfire has traditionally been considerably smaller than the huge processions staged in nearby towns.
That is part of its character.
Rather than bringing tens of thousands of spectators into a town centre, Robin Hood Bonfire Society's celebration developed around the village, the Robin Hood Inn and the local community.
The procession, bonfire and fireworks provided a local event in which residents and families could participate without the scale associated with some of the larger celebrations elsewhere.
Its location also places Robin Hood Bonfire Society within an area particularly rich in Bonfire societies, allowing members to support neighbouring celebrations while carrying the Icklesham name on the road.
A Memorable Night in 2008
One of the more unusual episodes in Robin Hood Bonfire Society's recent history came in 2008, when the society received some unexpected celebrity assistance.
Romanian pop duo The Cheeky Girls – Gabriela and Monica Irimia – attended the Icklesham celebration on 5 November.
The sisters had connections with the Rye area and joined the village celebrations despite extremely wet weather.
A contemporary local account describes them helping make the evening a success, spending time talking to children in the crowd and signing autographs.
It is an unlikely piece of local Bonfire history, but exactly the sort of detail that gives a small village society its own personality.
The Robin Hood Inn
The Robin Hood Inn remains an important part of community life in Icklesham.
As well as its association with Robin Hood Bonfire Society, the pub hosts local teams and activities and has developed a reputation for its cider.
In 2024, it was named the local CAMRA branch's Cider Pub of the Year, before going on to win the Sussex award and then the regional title. It was also named the branch's Community Pub of the Year.
That community role fits naturally with its long association with Robin Hood Bonfire Society.
For generations, pubs have provided Bonfire societies with places to meet, organise events, fundraise and socialise. In Icklesham, that relationship is particularly visible because the pub has given the society its name.
On the Road
Robin Hood Bonfire Society also represents Icklesham away from its own village celebration.
Supporting other societies is an important part of the year for smaller organisations, allowing members to participate in larger processions while ensuring that their own community remains represented.
It also creates the reciprocal support needed to bring visiting societies to Icklesham.
For a village the size of Icklesham, seeing the Robin Hood name represented at celebrations elsewhere helps give the society a presence far beyond its home parish.
Community and Fundraising
Like other volunteer-led societies, Robin Hood Bonfire Society depends upon support from members and the surrounding community.
Fundraising is necessary to meet the costs associated with organising procession, bonfire and fireworks, while collections provide an opportunity for the celebration to support good causes.
The Robin Hood Inn's position at the centre of village life provides a natural focal point for that community involvement.
The society's relatively small scale also means that volunteers make a particularly noticeable difference. A village Bonfire requires people to organise the event, prepare equipment, raise funds and undertake the practical work required before and after the celebration.
Membership and Volunteering
Robin Hood Bonfire Society provides an opportunity for people from Icklesham and the surrounding area to become involved in their local tradition.
Members can take part in the home celebration, represent the society at events elsewhere and help with fundraising and preparation throughout the year.
For a smaller village society, attracting new members is especially important.
The continuation of the tradition depends upon knowledge and enthusiasm passing from one generation of volunteers to the next, ensuring that Icklesham continues to have its own identity within the wider Bonfire community.
A Bonfire Society with a Village Identity
Robin Hood Bonfire Society represents a particularly local side of the Bonfire tradition.
Its identity is closely tied to Icklesham and the Robin Hood Inn, rather than to the scale and spectacle associated with some of the larger town celebrations.
The society's traditional connection with 5 November, its village procession and the relationship with its historic headquarters all give Icklesham Bonfire a character of its own.
Its history has also produced some memorable moments – not least the unlikely sight of The Cheeky Girls joining a rain-soaked Icklesham Bonfire in 2008.
At the centre of it all is the Robin Hood Inn, the village pub whose name has become inseparable from the society itself.
Robin Hood Bonfire Society may represent a small East Sussex village, but its close relationship with Icklesham, its local pub and the community around it gives the society an identity unmistakably its own.