Few rural traditions have lived for over 120 well-documented years.

Even fewer have followed basically the same format and I suspect even fewer are still held in exactly the same location.

Even more amazing is that bonfire night could have been celebrated on Brockham Green for many years prior to 1880. Our village green was granted Common Land status and was obviously the centre of village life way back in 1812 when 'Brockham's Act of Parliament' was passed; long before Christ Church was built and when Betchworth Castle was still occupied!

The annual Brockham Bonfire is a marvellous tradition, renowned for getting the community together in building a monster bonfire on the village green.

Held on the nearest Saturday to November 5th (traditionally Guy Fawkes night) it attracts thousands of visitors. It's a great party and raises much money for local charities. What is particularly impressive is all the time given by so many people in organising the event and particularly building the fire - it is huge and takes weeks to build.

Rumour has it that it appeared in the Guinness book of records at one stage but this is not the case unfortunately. About fifteen years ago the Guinness book of records described a bonfire made in circa 1920 of 120 feet high.

The famous 1990 bonfire was about 40 feet high (leaning, which was always going to be a problem), but the top slid off. Therefore the height has since been restricted to 25 feet.

Behind the tradition of Bonfire

Undoubtedly, bonfire celebrations would not have remained as popular in towns and villages like Brockham, as England became more tolerant to religious preference and the history behind the event ceased to have as much relevance to local communities. With fire being an ever potent symbol of heat, light and excitement the new Bonfire Night is the link between the warm, green, lush months and winter with the onset of cold, darkness and decay, echoing perhaps pagan rituals usually celebrated in May and June.

‘ Bonfire Night’ in Brockham today, is an inclusive family affair with all religious connotations severed. ‘Guy Fawkes’ is still burnt and the Red Devil still climbs the bonfire but their roles are more theatrical than in historical significance. Some even grander events, such as those in Lewes, Sussex still have religious overtones but not through intolerance but as a historical remembrance of the past.

Brockham Bonfire in the twentieth century

The earliest known record of the Brockham Bonfire is from 1905, when the Dorking Advertiser reported it as the largest on record, although it is likely that celebrations were held as they were in the rest of England since 1606, the year after the Gunpowder Plot.

The festivities were halted during the First World War, re-started afterwards for a short period of six or seven years and then stopped in 1925.

It seems the event was rekindled in 1931 by the Budd family, who owned Budd’s farm. Hedge trimmings from the fields were heaped into a bonfire and brothers Ted, Syd, Arthur and their father held their own firework party in Leighs field, with a box of fireworks from Jack Blanch.

The evening was so successful that the Guy Fawkes celebrations on Brockham Green were restored.

The foundations of today’s celebrations were laid the following year, in 1932, by the Football Club, Bob Chudley, Jack Blanch and the Budd brothers who built the bonfire once more on Brockham Green. This ‘first’ bonfire only took a couple of weeks to build because it was made of hedge trimmings.

In 1933 the Bonfire Committee had grown and included Bill Jones, H and L Humphrey, Titch Bowrey, Don Horton, Joe Smith and the Budds. The bonfire was lit by the Duke of Newcastle and the celebrations were so successful that ‘Mr Jones gave a tankard to each member of the committee for all their hard work.’ The event raised £21 3s 6d (£21.17p) and was donated to the East Surrey and Dorking Hospitals.

In these formative years of the nineteen thirties rubbish was collected by horse and cart, and by the Budd’s lorry when it was not out delivering coal. There was also an intense rivalry between communities and, in the spirit of ‘mischief making’, it became a annual ritual for rival gangs from neighbouring villages to try to steal the central pole from the fire, once it had burnt down enough to get through the flames.

The Second World War stopped celebrations once again in 1938 and lasted throughout the war years. However, once the war was over in 1945, bonfires were built in celebration of VE Day, VJ Day and Guy Fawkes night. The profit made was £85.00 and was donated to the ‘Welcome Home Fund’ for local members of the armed services.
By the late forties Brockham lacked the amenity of a sports ground and Dorking Council were not in a position to provide one. So in 1949 the profit from the bonfire of £64.00 was put into ‘The Brockham Green Sports Ground Trust Fund’. This account was raised at the Bonfire Committee’s request and held by Brockham Green Village Society. In 1950 the Trust received an additional £56.00.

Maintaining and re-turfing the Green has always been an important post Bonfire task and in 1933 Moses Arnold of Brockham Lane was paid a shilling (5p) an hour to lift the turf from the Green, while in 1950 the Committee waited for turf to be made available from the ‘new housing estate’ in Dodd’s Park.

For some strange reason it was decided in 1951 to ‘roast a reindeer’ instead of the traditional pig at the celebrations. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the reindeer), a suitable beast couldn’t be found and a treasure hunt, bowling for a pig, with two chickens as prizes, were put on instead.

The Bonfire nearly stopped in the 1950’s due to lack of support, however the ‘spirit of bonfire’ was revived towards the later part of the decade and has never looked back.

There was calamity in 1963, two days before the celebrations, when the bonfire was set alight and was completely destroyed. The whole village pulled together and rebuilt it and lorries laden with rubbish flocked to the Village. Sterling efforts by the Bonfire Committee working through Friday night and Saturday ensured the Bonfire of ’63 went off as if nothing had happened.

Since then the Bonfire has been well guarded and many attempts at disrupting the event have been foiled due to the vigilance and dedication of the Bonfire Committee.

Building the Bonfire

Over the years the construction of the bonfire is a well drilled process lasting six weekends prior to the celebrations starting and can only be achieved with a considerable amount of hard work by the Bonfire Committee and the local community.
The bonfire is built around a central pole. In 1980 this was a complete silver birch tree donated by Ralph Holland. This is sunk six feet into the ground and erected using lifting gear. The base of the fire is approximately 45 feet in diameter with a circumference of 140ft and is built from large logs and dense material to give the fire stability and to stop it sinking. The first 10-15 feet are critical in building the bonfire and are built perpendicular to the ground again to add strength. Layers are gradually built up to a height of 25 feet. The bonfire is now limited to this height after it was buillt to around 40 feet in 1990 and the top slid off.

Trees and cuttings are passed up the bonfire by means of ‘pitch holes’ which are approximately 8 feet apart. As the height of the bonfire increases the gap between them decreases as the weight of the fire compresses the materials – sometimes as much as 3 ft in a week.

The top of the bonfire is specially tapered by the ‘chief builder’ and if left to lean one way or the other it can cause a risk of the top sliding down.

The Procession

All roads through Brockham are closed from 5.00pm until 10.30pm to allow the procession and the festivities to take place.

The Procession is led by the Red Devil – one of the Bonfire Committee who has been awarded this privilege through his hard work. Closely following behind him are the ladies of the Committee in fancy dress. The band follows, which in recent years has been the Reigate Sea Cadets, but in 1980 it was the Littlehampton Sea Cadets.
The band precede the many villagers bearing handmade torches. Work on preparing these torches starts as early as August.

At about 6.00pm the procession leaves the Village Green and forms at The Avenue of Brockham, it makes its way along Wheelers Lane along to Glenfield Road and down Middle Street, before arriving back at the Village Green. The torch bearers encircle the bonfire and once the last of the procession is in place the lighting of the bonfire takes place.

Pig Roasting

In the past a pig has been donated by the incumbent butcher and in recent times this has been Chitty and Son. Charlie Humphrey, once the local butcher in the thirties, established what has now become a tradition – the roasting of the ‘two-tailed’ Brockham pig, which has been specially bred for the occasion.

Slowly roasted during the day it is now, and has been since 1955, auctioned after the firework display, raising hundreds of pounds for charity.

Bonfire Funds

The generosity of those attending the annual Brockham Bonfire Celebrations allow the Bonfire boys and girls to be extremely generous local benefactors to local societies, charities and worthy causes. The annual street collection permit has enabled our army of tin and bucket shakers to collect in the region of £100,000 over the last ten years. All of this has been given away either locally or to other worthy causes within Mole Valley and occasionally to national fund raising appeals.

The general principal of our donations is that this is a local event to benefit the local community. Sometimes donations are given to those groups that contribute significant manpower (and womanpower) to the successful running of the evening – without whose help the event could not be staged.

Some of those groups include; Christ Church Brockham, Brockham School, Brockham Scouts, Guides & Brownies, Bowls, Football and Cricket Clubs; St. Johns Ambulance Brigade, The British Red Cross and BASICS London. Betchworth and the Surrey Association of Bell Ringers, Horley and Polesden Venture Scout Units, Reigate Scouts, Brockham Green Nursery, Sunday School, Mother and Toddler Group Brockham Badgers Football Club. The Dorking Rotary Club, Model Helicopter Flying Club, Dorking Young Farmers and Brockham Recreation Ground Committee.

For many years Christmas Hampers and shopping vouchers were given to nearly 150 local sick, elderly or needy people in the local area. In 2001 this system changed and now we make a significant donation to Brockham Good Companions whose work locally within the community is focussed to better understanding the needs of local people.

Monetary donations have also been made to support local medical needs through the Brockham Health Trust. This has been an excellent system to provide much needed equipment within the home. We have for many years provided the money to cover the fuel costs of the famous Brockham Bus that annually supports the annual Crisis at Christmas appeal for the homeless. We are delighted to support St. Catherine’s Hospice, Age Concern in Dorking, Deaf Dorking, the Queen Elizabeth Foundation in Leatherhead, the Sidlow Bridge Education Centre, the Local Alzheimer’s fund, Dial a Ride in Dorking, Dorking Talking Newspapers, The Macmillan Nurses, Telephones for the Blind, Surrey Deaf Children and the Cheshire Homes.

I hope the above gives you an indication of how much your generosity benefits others within our very special community. However, this list is not complete; we have supported many other worthy courses over the years.

Your generosity does not end here. We have been able to support many ‘in home’ appeals after being approached by a range of local health and social workers with requests for help. Such projects have included new washing machines, contributions to the purchase of wheelchairs, televisions, flood damage costs, kitchen utensils, garden furniture for care homes, clothing and shoes, the payment of fees and help towards charitable fund raising ventures both home and abroad.

The tradition of Bonfire funds supporting the community can trace its records back over sixty years when support was given to the Cottage Hospitals in Dorking and Redhill, the Brockham Home, known as Way House and the funds established to welcome home service men and women after the second world war.

Through you, this generosity will continue, so please continue to help us help others. I hope this has helped you to understand ‘where the money goes’
Tony Hines MBE
Chairman, Brockham Bonfire Ltd
November 2003

What does the bonfire cost to stage?
Simply thousands and thousands of pounds and every year it seems to get more! Brockham Bonfire Limited operates as a limited company and as such files annual reports to Companies House. So every year our accounts are audited and we make a return to Mole Valley Council under the provision of a Street Collection Permit. As I have previously described over the last few years ‘collection income’ has been in the order of £15,000, except for last year when we were hit by torrential rain. All of this is given away.
Our main costs are fireworks, insurance, hire of toilets, radios, public address equipment, maintenance of tractors, electrical fittings and lights, food to sell on catering stalls, the marching band in the procession, printing programmes, fencing, safety equipment and a multitude of other costs.
Income to recover our costs comes from a number of ‘streams’ all of which are vital if we are to cover the cost of the event without using our capital reserves, these include car parking, our annual raffle, advertisements, event sponsorship, firework sponsorship, bangle selling, programme sales, the pig roast and catering.
Now perhaps you understand why we are continually asking for additional help. Assistance is always required to sell raffle tickets, firework sponsorship, bangles and brochures. These alone generates £8,000.00 of income. Car parking is governed by the weather. Income has ranged over the last few years from virtually nothing to £7,000. Our three catering stalls, who in fierce competition with one another generate about £9,000 between them. The very famous two tailed pig roast turns a £125 carcass to an auction of ‘prime cooked pork’ generating nearly £1,000. Bangle sellers, a business we gained from unlicensed street traders, have excelled over the last couple of years with sales of £2,500. If you can’t beat them, join them! Firework sponsorship has been another lifeline with families in the Village pledging over £2,000 and advertisements in the brochure generating over £1,000. This leaves raffle ticket sales and the sales of the brochure, another £2,000. We have also benefited from an event sponsor for the last couple of years, whose financial assistance and support we are extremely grateful for.
Fireworks are our main annual expenditure and because Brockham Village has the benefit of experienced pyro-technicians, who have all worked for one of the major display companies, we are able, through our firework suppliers to prepare the display. Our actual expenditure is in excess of £10,000 and the team turn this into a display that would otherwise cost in the region of £30,000. How fortunate you and we are!
In conclusion we have to generate in the order of £25,000 every year to cover the cost of staging the event. Bonfire 2002 was a particularly wet evening and consequently some of our cash reserves were used to cover the loss. Luckily we were in a position to do this, but more than two or three bad years in succession and the financial stability of the business would be questioned.
We target an annual income in excess of £50,000, this of course includes the ‘collection’, which we give away, and allows for reserve funds in the order of £15,000.
If we assume an audience of 20,000 people, we need to generate £2.50 from every person who attends, so come on tin shakers, brochure sellers, catering stall helpers, car park marshals, pig auction assistants – we need your help.

Families are our target audience; teenagers are very welcome, provided they make their contribution. Cheer, clap, oooh and aaah with parents and grandparents - give the family a night to remember.
Our pleasure is making it all happen, safely and to financially secure the tradition established at least a century ago. Please help us to fly the flag for Brockham Bonfire.
Tony Hines MBE
Chairman, Brockham Bonfire Ltd
November 2003

Why Brockham Bonfire Limited?
In 1995 we recognised the fact that the society in which we lived had become extremely litigious. If there was an accident associated with the bonfire celebrations we could face the prospect of legal action. This meant that despite being an organising committee with annually elected officers, we could not legally and collectively share the responsibility for the safety of the general public.
Brockham Bonfire Ltd was incorporated by Companies House with 25 Directors who all have a legal responsibility to the Company. We are probably the only company who does not have a salary bill. We are a Membership based Company and local residents are invited to become Members of Brockham Bonfire Ltd. This only costs £2.00 per annum. Why should I, you ask? Clearly as Members you have no legal responsibility to the event but we can demonstrate a commitment from Brockham that this is a community event of which they are happy and proud to be associated with.
Safety - your safety is our priority.
Brockham Village Green is a spectacular venue for a bonfire and firework display. The safety of the general public who attend and all the bonfire boys and girls who spend six weeks building the bonfire and preparing the firework display is of paramount importance. Brockham Green is Common Land, but its use is dependant on certain conditions set by Mole Valley District Council being met.
Over the last ten years or so, a unique partnership between Brockham Bonfire Ltd, Mole Valley District Council, Surrey Police, Surrey Fire Brigade and Surrey Ambulance NHS Trust has developed. Although the safety of those attending is the responsibility of Brockham Bonfire Limited a multi-agency approach with a joint control and communications operation has been established.

Tony Hines MBE

Chairman

Brockham Bonfire Limited

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