Guy Fawkes’ Former School Will Not Burn Effigy During Annual Fireworks Display

St Peter’s School, the institution once attended by gunpowder plotter Guy Fawkes, is preparing for its yearly fireworks event, though its head teacher has confirmed that neither a bonfire nor an effigy will be part of the celebration. Fawkes, recognized as the most notorious plotter in the 1605 conspiracy to detonate Parliament and assassinate King James I, was born in York in 1570 and attended St Peter’s School. The date the plot was uncovered, 5 November, evolved into Bonfire Night, a tradition where, over time, effigies crafted from old clothing and straw were ignited on bonfires to symbolize Fawkes’ act of treason. Head teacher Jeremy Walker stated: “We have fireworks at the school… but what we won’t be doing is having a bonfire and burning an effigy of one of our former pupils on top of it.” Mr. Walker noted that the school maintains an “interesting relationship” with Fawkes, acknowledging him as both a prominent historical figure and a criminal. He elaborated: “On the one hand, he was very clearly a terrorist and he attempted regicide [the act of attempting to kill a reigning monarch], which very clearly is not good.” “On the other hand, he is known worldwide for his image.” “You only have to draw the stove pipe and the goatie beard and moustache and everybody knows instantly who Guy Fawkes is.” The independent institution has relocated from its initial premises near York Minster to the Clifton district of the city, occupying land that was formerly owned by Fawkes himself. Fawkes inherited this land but subsequently sold it to finance his journeys to Europe; in what Mr. Walker described as a “quirky circularity,” the school was later re-established on that very property. Alan Sharp, representing White Rose York Tours, suggested that Fawkes was likely born in Stonegate, York, given that his father owned property in that location. He clarified that Bonfire Night customs originated following the apprehension of the Catholic conspirators. He recounted: “The Lord Mayor of London ordered a day of rejoicing because the king had been spared, by setting bonfires across the capital.” He added: “They then made it an annual day of rejoicing and building the bonfires, but that thing about burning an effigy on top of the bonfire, that didn’t start until about 50 years afterwards and then it was usually the Pope who was burnt as an effigy and not Guy Fawkes.” The practice of burning an effigy of “a guy” truly commenced around the Victorian era. An additional connection to the plot in North Yorkshire exists at Ripley Castle, where co-conspirators Robert and Thomas Wintour stayed for the week preceding 4 November, acquiring excess armour from the local area. Sir Thomas Ingleby, who owns the castle, commented: “They were amongst the most dangerous leaders in the conspiracy and both were killed in the mop-up operations afterwards.” He described the conspiracy as a “family” affair that “collapsed like a pack of cards” once Guy Fawkes was found with an unusual quantity of firewood, leading to the subsequent discovery of the gunpowder. He remarked: “You can tell this was a Yorkshire plot.” “It all collapsed because the quality of the gunpowder was poor, it was stale and it was kept in damp conditions.” “Only a Yorkshireman would plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament and stick to the cheapest materials possible – it has Yorkshire written all over it!”