Object Details
From:NHerts
Name/TitleGuy Fawkes Day drawing
About this objectPen drawing in brown ink on creamish paper. Five standing figures, two of whom are bearing an effigy of Guy Fawkes on a litter. Samuel Lucas, senior, undated.
The infamous Gunpowder Plot was uncovered in the late night of 4 November or possibly past midnight into 5 November. The Earl of Suffolk led a search of the undercroft of the Palace of Westminster based on a letter that suggested that paliament "shall receive a terrible blow". A first search uncovered a large amount of firewood and Guy Fawkes and the search party eventually left. A second search later that night led by Sir Thomas Knyvett uncovered 36 barrels of gunpowder. Sir Thomas arrested Fawkes who was in posession of some fuses.
Fawkes and 12 other co-conspirators had aimed to blow up the Palace of Westminster to kill the Protestant King James and many other leading figures in an attempt to topple the balance of power and restore Catholic leadership to the country. The plot was set to go ahead on 5 November, the opening day of Paliament. In the days after the capture of Guy Fawkes all other conspirators, including plot leader Robert Catesby were killed or arrested.
The plotters faced a terrible death and were hung drawn and quartered. The Gunpowder Plot and Guy Fawkes in particular entered the national story of England almost immediatley. Parliament passed an act in 1606 that English churches must mark 5 of November with a special ceremony.
Across time this ceremony morphed into the event that is known best as Bonfire Night. From the 1800s through to the modern day it was also common to make effigies of Guy Fawkes to be burnt on the fire like in this small drawing. The 1900s saw children create their own effigies and go around begging for ‘a penny for the guy’.
MakerSamuel Lucas senior
Maker RoleArtist
Medium and MaterialsInk on paper
Inscription and MarksIdentification written in ink by RLH on mount above Guy Fawkes day
Measurements56 x 75 mm
Named CollectionHitchin Museum
Object TypeDrawing
Object number247/100
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved