Brockham Bonfire

Brockham Bonfire
2nd November 2024

   

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Brockham Bonfire

Welcome to the annual Brockham Bonfire celebrations which are always held on the nearest Saturday to the 5th November.


Our next bonfire is on Saturday 2nd November 2024.



Creating the whole events involves hundreds of volunteers over many weekends. It is the biggest community event in Brockham and one of the largest in Surrey. Being part of the bonfire is a great way to become part of the community. Anyone who would like to help, just turn up on any bonfire building weekend and you will be made to feel most welcome.


We are increasing the use of cashless machines but there will always be challenges when so many people arrive in the village at the same time. It would make sense to bring cash with you if you can to make sure you get the most enjoyment out of the evening. In particular, we recommend bring cash to pay for car parking (£10 per car).


As a result of your donations, Brockham Bonfire gives away over £20,000 every year to local organisations and good causes. This year, in particular, please be very generous so that we can help as many good causes as possible.


With a great many visitors in a small village it is imperative that if you choose to attend you fully appreciate and understand the guidance provided on our web site.



Wet Weather Update - 7.30am Saturday

We are confident that the main access into Brockham from the A25 over Brockham Bridge will not be flooded. Our car parks the Golf Club, Garden Centre, Rugby Club and by Betchworth Post Office will all be open. To the south of Brockham the car parks are flooded. Limited parking will be available.


An option is parking in Dorking and walking or taking an additional bus to Brockham. The weather forecast is encouraging for this evening. Wear waterproofs and sturdy footwear. Some footpaths into the village may be closed. Bring a torch and prepare for a 15-20 minute walk.


The centre of the village will still be a traffic exclusion zone.


If you are parked on a road or verge park sensibly under the guidance of stewards, please still pay to park - we still have to pay for the fireworks and insurance.


Please be very generous with your donation and eat lots of bonfire refreshments. Whatever the weather the evening will be a spectacular show with a beautiful bonfire and the largest Guy Fawkes Night Firework display in the country. We have done all we can, help us make it a bonfire night to remember despite the challenges we have tackled this week.



Timetable of events

16,30 Car parks open


17.30 Roads through the village closed 


18.35 Torchlight Procession leaves Brockham Green

This year, the Guy and an escort with burning torches will leave Brockham Green at 18.00 and head North to the Avenue, Brockham Lane. It will about turn and return to Brockham Green at soon after 18.30. Here it will combine with The Marching Sea Cadet Band and the main Procession before heading South at 18.35 The Procession will return to the Bonfire for lighting at 19.45. Torches will be handed out on Brockham Green and on the Procession route to Members of the public who wish to join us.

19.45 Lighting of the Bonfire


20.15 Firework Display


20.30 Pig Auction

Car parking and how to get here

Brockham is just south of the A25 between Dorking and Reigate.


We have arranged with local landowners to provide plenty of car parking in fields around the village. Each car park is numbered. Please remember your car park number to make it easy to find your car on the way home.


The car parks will be well signposted. Please do not park on the highway, pavement or verge. It is critical that emergency service vehicles always have clear access into the village.


Car parking costs £10 per car. We would recommend that you bring cash to pay for parking as our cashless terminals struggle in the fields used for parking when there is no wifi and the mobile networks struggle to cope with the large numbers of visitors.


Prepare for a walk to Brockham Green on unlit country roads of up to twenty minutes. The ground could be muddy or soft underfoot. Allow plenty of time to park and walk into the village.


Special buses are also being provided. Click the link below.

Click here for the Bus Timetables

Resident Car Passes

If you are planning a house party on Bonfire night it is essential that you ask your friends, guests and relatives to arrive at your home no later than 17.30. If you are having guests please start advising them of this now, they can of course use one of the car parks after this time.

Brockham Lane, Kiln Lane, the Borough Bridge, Old School Lane, Middle Street and Wheelers Lane will all close to all traffic at 17.30. This will mean that all the official road closures will come into force at the same time. This year, for safety reasons the road across the Green may remain closed until at least 23.00.

Passes will only issued to RESIDENTS of Brockham who genuinely cannot get home from work before the Road Closures come into effect at 17.30hrs on Bonfire Night. They are not issued for any other reason. These are STRICTLY for Residents, your guests are asked to arrive before this time or to use one of the many car parks.

To request a pass, please send an e-mail to
brockhambonfirecarpass@gmail.com
with BONFIRE PASS in the subject line stating:
Name of Resident
Make of Car
Vehicle Registration number
Entry point, i.e. Brockham Lane, Strood Green, Old School Lane, Kiln Lane
Approximate time and Destination in Brockham

You will be sent a pass via e-mail which you must sign. The pass will contain a unique QR code. If you print more than one copy we will know from our records and you will be refused entry and will not be eligible for a pass in the future. You MUST have your pass with you on Bonfire Night. Passes are strictly non-transferable.

No passes will be issued after 1st November 2023.

Please note, there is strictly no access across the Village Green or Borough Bridge. The Opening time of the road Closures is subject to Police approval and may well be after 23.00hrs.

Disabled Car Parking Passes

*** All disabled passes taken, no more will be issued ***

We have a restricted number of disabled parking spaces available at North Downs School in Wheelers Lane for local visitors who have a blue badge for disabled parking.


These must be reserved in advance by emailing brockhambonfirecarpass@gmail.com and requesting a disabled car parking pass. You will need to provide details of the name of the driver, the make of car and the car registration number and a copy of your blue badge (both sides).


Due to the increase in requests for disabled passes, we will issues passes towards the end of October and will prioritise local residents first. No disabled car passes will be issued after 1st November 2023.


Disabled toilet facilities are available near the church and we would strongly encourage people in wheelchairs to watch the proceedings from the Churchyard.

Please note, there is strictly no vehicle access across the Village Green or Borough Bridge between 5.30pm and 11.00pm.

Bus timetables

Customers are strongly advised to purchase an M ticket in advance by downloading the First Bus app (on Google Play and App store), select 'Tickets' & 'Buy', select 'Essex' and then 'Thurrock' as the area and then buy the appropriately marked tickets. If purchasing on the day, contactless payments are preferred.

The history of Brockham Bonfire

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The earliest record we have of Bonfire Night Celebrations in Brockham is a photograph of a ‘Bonfire Boy’, L. Gilliam, dated 1888. The picture, taken at a photographic studio in Dorking demonstrates time, effort and cost and indicates that the traditions of Bonfire Night in Brockham was well established at this time.

The Dorking Advertiser began to report in some detail on the Bonfire Celebrations during the early years of the 20th Century. We know that the festivities ceased during both world wars. Detailed records are available from ‘Minute Books’ and various records from 1930 to date. Bonfires were built to celebrate both VE and VJ Day in 1945. A small bonfire was built to celebrate VE Day +50 in 1995.

The celebrations have centred around the building of a bonfire, firework display, torchlight procession and pig roast to this day.

When cricket was played on the Village Green work could not begin on bonfire building until the cricket season ended. The bonfire then was built in a few weekends and consisted largely of ‘hedge trimmings’ from farmers’ fields. Today, the Brockham Bonfire Celebrations are a model of event safety and organisation with highly experienced Stewards and Event Safety Coordinators.

Firework Display

The Blanch family moved to Brockham in the late 1920’s. Jack Blanch, who went to school with a member of the Brocks Firework family let off a few rockets and roman candles on the Village Green. Every year he would purchase a few more. Michael Smith, Jack's son-in law became involved and his sons, Martin and Thomas Smith as young lads joined the family in arranging the display.

As the display and fireworks continued to get bigger and the numbers attending the bonfire celebration grew, it was decided in 1982 to move the firework display off the village green. This enabled the display to be entirely ‘aerial’ and gave us safer distances between the crowd and the fireworks.

The Smith family now have a fourth generation of family members with Jack Blanch’s great grandchildren, Jacob, Lily and Merlyn being part of the display team.

The firework display is organised and arranged by a large team many of whom have been involved for many years. From humble beginnings, the firework display is now one of the largest with four tonnes of fireworks. The display takes 50-man days to assemble and clear away but takes only 12 minutes to fill the sky with pyrotechnic brilliance.

The Guy

The Brockham effigy of Guy Fawkes has always played a very important role in the celebrations. He has changed from an almost life-like figure to sometimes a twelve-foot giant. To ensure young people are not frightened at the thought of burning a life-like figure whilst dressed beautifully our effigy is purely a caricature.

It is a great honour to be part of the team escorting the Guy to the top of the Bonfire. An honour most Bonfire Boys and Girls only ever experience once and the team are selected from those whose contribution to the success of the celebrations is enormous.



The Procession

The celebrations have included a torchlight procession around the village for at least eighty years. The Procession is led by the ‘Red Devil’ a long-time tradition and once again this is a special honour given to either a Bonfire Boy or Girl. Many Bonfire Boys and Girls in Fancy Dress escort the Guy on its journey around the village followed by several hundred torch bearers and many hundreds of people who simply enjoy the walk around our beautiful village.


The Guy, a marching band and the Guy's escorts at the front of the procession arrive first on Brockham Green and fix the Guy to the top of the Bonfire. Once complete the torch-bearers encircle the bonfire and under close supervision are asked to place their torches at the base of the fire. Once lit, the fencing around the fire is securely fixed to keep the crowds safe.







The Roast Pig Auction

One of the oldest traditions of Brockham Bonfire is the roasting of a ‘two tailed pig’. This began in the 1930’s and has fascinated thousands of people over the years and provides a very memorable and enjoyable end to the evening.


The ‘Roasting’ begins early on Bonfire day and culminates in an auction of ‘Prime Roast Pork’ immediately after the firework display. The Pig Roasters work all day to ensure a perfectly cooked pig. Our auctioneer then sells joints prepared by our local butcher. The auction is the site of much fun and bonfire banter, is a reunion site for many and has been opportunities in the past for much fun, merriment and even proposals! It is also a major fund-raising part of the evening contributing to the cost of running the event. During the early evening Pork rolls are sold adjacent to the Pig Fire site.



Donations

Over the past 20 years, your generosity has enabled us to donate close to £450,000 to local societies, charities and worthy causes.


Many of these donations go to organisations that help out on the night or in the build up to the bonfire including those who help us on the catering stalls, in the car parks, and by shaking collection buckets.  Their support year after year is critical to the on-going success of the bonfire.


We also support specific projects which are connected to Brockham or are sponsored by some of our bonfire boys and girls. In 2019, these included Dorking BESOM which provides household items for people in need, Brockham’s Wednesday Club and Dorking Minds which supports local mental health initiatives.


We would like thank everyone who makes a donation at Brockham Bonfire – your donations really make a difference and in 2022, in particular, there are many good causes which really need your help.


Please give generously.



Donate Now

You can now make donations to Brockham Bonfire online

To donate £5 click here

To donate £10 click here

To donate £20 click here

Sponsor a firework now

We are delighted that you would like to sponsor a firework for this year's bonfire celebrations. We would prefer celebratory and upbeat messages. Messages remembering people who have died will only be read out on Bonfire Night if the person has died in the past 12 months. We ask for a minimum donation of £25.


Messages should be no longer than 50 words. We reserve the right to edit messages.


Please fill in the form below with your details and your firework sponsorship message. Once completed, please press the submit button at the bottom of the page. This will redirect you to a donation page where you can pay your donation.


Please note that your message will only be added to the list once we have received your donation.


Thank you in advance for supporting Brockham Bonfire.


(Please note that any data collected will only be used for Brockham Bonfire purposes and will not be shared with anyone else)


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