Sussex's biggest Bonfire Night event is undoubtedly the celebrations that take place in the town of Lewes, with tens of thousands of people attending each year.
What makes the event quite unique is there are in fact six different Bonfire Societies in Lewes which all have their own processions, traditions, costumes, fire sites and fireworks.
As a result, this means the vast majority of the town is used in some way for the celebrations and it has attracted plenty of visitors over the years.
However, it has got to the point where local councillors and police are urging people to stay away from Lewes.
On the late afternoon of Bonfire Night, roads and train stations around the town are closed to try and prevent people from coming.
But why did the Lewes Bonfire Night become so popular and what is the history behind it?
The history of Lewes Bonfire Night
Bonfire Night was a concept started after the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, where Guy Fawkes and his conspirators attempted to assassinate King James I of England in hopes of sparking a Catholic uprising.
They had placed 36 barrels of gunpowder under the Parliament building but Fawkes was caught and tortured for information.
According to English Heritage in January 1606 Parliament passed ‘An Act for a Public Thanksgiving to Almighty God every Year on the Fifth Day of November’.
It made it mandatory for every church in England to hold a special service on November 5 each year.
In the decades after the plot, other forms of celebration began to accompany this religious commemoration.
English Heritage adds: "Although evidence is patchy, records suggest that they were widespread, with bonfires and bellringing and sometimes official artillery salutes and fireworks."
Lewes was one of the places where other forms of celebration occurred and in the early years would often get out of hand, turning into near riots.
When the monarchy was restored by King Charles II in 1660 the celebrations returned in Lewes on a random basis.
In 1679, the first recorded parade of Guy Fawkes and other enemies of the nation at the time took place as they were paraded in picture form on long poles by young armed men in Lewes.
The first proper Bonfire Night celebrations in the town were recorded in 1795.
Lewes Bonfire Celebrations says this was when "the Sussex Weekly Advertiser reported a bonfire and fireworks in a street of Lewes near the old Star Inn (Now The Town Hall) on the 5th November."
It brought the police and 'Bonfire Boyes' into conflict, with 18 being arrested in 1806.
In 1832, an attempt was made by the Lewes police to prevent the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations from taking place.
Hundreds of prohibition notices were issued but they were ignored and the celebrations continued.
In 1847 authorities were determined to stop the event and police reinforcements were drafted in from the Metropolitan Police ‘A’ division.
The Riot Act was read from the steps of the County Hall (Now the Law Courts) and police charged the crowd, causing many injuries.
These were Cliffe Bonfire Society and Town (Now Lewes Borough Bonfire Society).
This was the start of the organised Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations as we know them today.
After that, there was relatively little incident until 1906.
Lewes Bonfire Celebrations explains: "In 1906 Police prohibited bonfires in the street and the dragging of burning tar barrels.
"This order was breached and the Police arrested four leading Bonfire Boys, who were subsequently acquitted at court.
"A crowd of Bonfire Boys then marched to the town's police station, lit a bonfire in the road outside and celebrated the acquittal unopposed."
Lewes Bonfire Celebrations says: "In 1992 the police and local authorities held a ‘secret’ meeting with the intention of drawing up rules, to be followed by all the Bonfire Societies.
"With no discussion or prior warning, all the Bonfire Societies were exasperated and resented, what they considered to be, the underhand way in which the meeting had been kept secret, and fought the rules.
"The police and local authorities found themselves as ‘Enemies of Bonfire’ In an attempt to restore and repair the relationship between the police, local authorities and the Bonfire Societies, a Bonfire Safety Council was formed, made up of representatives from all parties. This still sits today."
Why is Lewes Bonfire Night so popular?
Lewes Bonfire Night is likely very popular due to the huge number of displays and processions which make the event far grander than many elsewhere.
Explaining a possible reason for the large scale of the event, Lewes Bonfire Celebration said: "Perhaps it was the fanatical way that Lewes Folk followed their chosen religion in the past, Lewes once had up to thirty churches, chapels, meeting rooms etc covering pretty much every protestant denomination."
An extra edge to that might be related to the 17 Protestant martyrs who were burnt in Lewes during the reign of Mary I in the 1500s.
Processions in Lewes tend to carry burning barrels and 17 burning crosses as a way to mark this.
