Bonfire Night fireworks across UK
The gist
Communities across the UK held fireworks displays and bonfires for Bonfire Night on Thursday, November 5.
The tradition marks a failed 1605 plot to blow up Parliament, 400 years on.
How it unfolded
- Nov 5, 1605Guy Fawkes was caught with 36 barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords in the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to kill King James I; he was later executed for treason.
- Oct 15, 2026The period in which fireworks for private use can be bought from licensed sellers opened in England, Scotland and Wales, running to November 10.
- Nov 4, 2026A free display was held at Cronkeyshaw Common in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, from 7.30pm.
Key terms
- Gunpowder Plot
- Failed 1605 attempt by English Catholics led by Robert Catesby to kill King James I by blowing up Parliament.
- treason
- The crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance, such as waging war against one's country or trying to overthrow its government.
- House of Lords
- The upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, meeting in the Palace of Westminster in London.
Source: Wikipedia