About Lindfield Bonfire Society
Lindfield Bonfire Society is a volunteer-led organisation based in the historic village of Lindfield in West Sussex, with an organised history stretching back to 1894 and records of Bonfire celebrations in the village dating to at least 1881.
Unlike many societies that hold their celebrations on a convenient Saturday, Lindfield has retained a particularly strong connection with the traditional date. Lindfield Bonfire Society celebrates on 5 November, bringing its torchlit procession through the village before the bonfire and fireworks on Lindfield Common.
Its history contains everything from burning toll gates and confiscated wagons to giant set pieces, enormous Guys and generations of local families who have helped keep the celebration going.
Bonfire in Lindfield Before the Society
The earliest records identified by Lindfield Bonfire Society date from 1881, when celebrations were considerably less organised than they are today.
There were once three separate bonfires in the village: one on Lindfield Common, another outside the Bent Arms and a third in front of the Red Lion. Contemporary accounts describe street fires, tar barrels and some fairly unruly behaviour from the local Bonfire Boys.
One story tells of a gentleman enthusiastically encouraging the Bonfire Boys to keep adding wood to their fire, only to discover the following morning that some of the fuel had been taken from his own garden.
An even more significant piece of Lindfield's Bonfire history survives in the village itself.
Lindfield once stood on a turnpike road, with toll gates controlling passage through the village. When the road became a parish road in 1884, the gates were finally removed from use.
The old gates did not go quietly.
They were handed over to the Bonfire Boys and burned in the village on Bonfire Night. Lindfield's modern heritage trail still records the event.
Formed in 1894
By the 1890s, the disorder surrounding the Fifth had become increasingly difficult for local residents and authorities to tolerate.
The solution was organisation.
In 1894, Lindfield Bonfire Society was formally established, with the intention of providing an organised village celebration every 5 November.
That makes Lindfield Bonfire Society one of the longer-established societies still maintaining its celebration today.
The society's formation did not immediately remove all of the old Bonfire enthusiasm, however.
One of the best examples actually predates its formal organisation by a few years but became part of the folklore surrounding Lindfield's early celebrations.
The Mafeking Bonfire
In 1900, celebrations marking the relief of Mafeking became particularly lively in Lindfield.
A wagon loaded with wood attempted to pass the bonfire outside the Bent Arms.
The horses were released – but the wagon itself was not so fortunate.
The Bonfire Boys put the wagon and its load onto the fire, destroying it completely. The heat was so intense that the paintwork on the Bent Arms was blistered and ruined.
The authorities subsequently fined 20 men half a crown each.
It is one of those wonderfully specific incidents that gives Lindfield's Bonfire history a character of its own.
Through Two World Wars
The organised celebration continued into the twentieth century but was interrupted by both World Wars.
Bonfire was suspended during the First World War, before returning during the 1920s and 1930s.
During those inter-war years, the Anscombe family played an important role in keeping Lindfield's celebration going.
The society also developed a reputation for its set pieces.
One particularly memorable example came in 1935, when the centrepiece was a giant representation of the Loch Ness Monster – just a few years after reports of the creature had become an international sensation.
Celebrations were again suspended during the Second World War, although a small celebration was held in 1945 following the end of the conflict.
400 Torches in 1960
The post-war decades produced more stories that have entered Lindfield Bonfire Society's history.
During the 1950s, construction of the bonfire would begin at least a week before 5 November. On more than one occasion it was reportedly set alight prematurely, leaving members facing the considerable task of rebuilding it before the actual celebration.
Then came 1960.
Severe flooding forced Lewes to cancel its Bonfire celebrations that year, but Lindfield went ahead.
The Lindfield fire was lit by an extraordinary 400 flaming torches.
For a village celebration, it must have been an impressive sight and remains one of the standout moments recorded in the society's history.
First World War-Era Costume
Alongside its traditional striped Smuggler costume, Lindfield Bonfire Society has a distinctive additional costume theme based around the First World War era. The society itself confirms that this is its society-specific costume.
This provides considerable scope for historically inspired dress representing the period and gives Lindfield members a recognisable identity alongside their Smuggler costume.
The society's published material confirms the First World War-era theme, but does not give a clear account of when the costume was adopted or the original reason it was selected.
It would therefore be misleading to attach a particular historical explanation to the choice without further evidence.
Lindfield's Giant Guy
Another long-running feature of the celebration is the Guy.
During the 1980s, Martin Durrant began constructing the Guy for Lindfield Bonfire Society, and some examples have reached more than 15 feet in height.
On one occasion, enthusiasm got the better of practicality.
The Guy had been built so tall that it couldn't pass beneath the telephone lines on the procession route, meaning it was unable to take its intended journey around the village.
Martin Durrant remains closely connected with the society and is listed as its current President.
Bonfire Night on the Fifth
The annual Lindfield celebration remains firmly associated with 5 November.
Before the main procession, the society holds a children's fancy dress competition, which has produced an extraordinary range of entries over the years – from Harry Potter and Dennis the Menace to postboxes, Flower Pot Men and even a Viking invasion.
Children taking part are encouraged to join the procession afterwards.
The procession forms up with the band and flaming torches before making its way through the village, travelling along roads including Black Hill, Hickmans Lane, Pickers Green and Lindfield High Street.
Eventually it reaches Lindfield Common, where the bonfire is lit and the fireworks begin.
The route gives the celebration a particularly attractive setting, carrying flaming torches through the historic centre of a village with buildings dating back hundreds of years.
The Bonfire Bishop
Lindfield Bonfire Society also maintains a number of traditional ceremonial roles.
Among those listed for the society's Bonfire Night organisation are a Bonfire Bishop, Harbour Master, Procession Captain and Captains responsible for barrels, buckets, ranks, torches and set pieces.
These roles provide a glimpse of the organisation required behind the public spectacle.
The Bonfire Captain and Vice-Captain oversee another crucial part of the operation, while qualified pyrotechnicians, first aid staff and marshals are required to ensure the celebration can take place safely.
What spectators experience as one evening in November is therefore the product of a much larger volunteer effort stretching throughout the year.
Fundraising and Local Charities
Lindfield Bonfire Society is a non-profit organisation, and the rising cost of staging the annual celebration means fundraising is essential.
Members organise activities throughout the year to pay for expenses including fireworks, first aid, security, safety training and other requirements associated with putting on a major public event.
Importantly, the society separates this fundraising from the money collected for charity on Bonfire Night.
The proceeds of its street collection on 5 November are donated to local children's charities.
That allows the thousands of people who come to watch the celebration to contribute directly to good causes in the local community.
Membership
Lindfield Bonfire Society has been run by volunteers since its formation in 1894, and new members remain essential to its future.
Membership is open to people whether or not they live in Lindfield, with adult, child, joint, family and life membership available.
Members can process beneath the Lindfield Bonfire Society banner at the home celebration and outmeetings, take part in society events and help with the practical work required throughout the year.
The society also operates a day membership system for people who want to help at particular events without becoming full members.
In 2020 it introduced Friends of Lindfield Bonfire Society, giving supporters another way to contribute directly towards keeping the annual 5 November celebration going.
The need for new volunteers is nothing new.
Lindfield Bonfire Society's own history records that the organisation nearly folded during the 1970s because of a severe shortage of members.
Its survival since then demonstrates just how important each new generation of volunteers can be.
More Than 130 Years of Organised Bonfire
Few village societies have a history containing quite as many memorable stories as Lindfield.
There were three separate fires in the village in the 1880s, and the old toll gates were ceremonially destroyed on Bonfire Night in 1884. The society itself was formally organised in 1894, bringing some order to celebrations that had previously been rather more unpredictable.
Since then there has been a wagon thrown onto the fire during the Mafeking celebrations, a Loch Ness Monster set piece, prematurely burned bonfires, a 15-foot Guy that couldn't fit beneath the telephone wires and a celebration lit by 400 torches when flooding stopped Lewes in 1960.
Behind those colourful stories is a tradition that has survived two World Wars, periods of declining membership and the increasing cost and complexity of staging a major public event.
Today, Lindfield Bonfire Society continues to bring flaming torches through the village every 5 November, ending on the Common with the bonfire and fireworks that generations of Lindfield residents have helped preserve.
More than 130 years after the society was formally established, Lindfield remains a particularly good example of a village where Bonfire history is not simply something recorded in archives – it is still carried through the streets each November.