CHAPTER VI

FIREWORKS IN THE NINETEENTH & TWENTIETH CENTURIES

As we have seen, the commencement of the eighteenth century was marked by great activity in the pyrotechnic art.

Firework displays were looked upon as a necessary item in the programme of a place of public entertainment. So ambitious did these displays become, owing to keen rivalry existing between the various resorts, that any official display in celebration of peace or like event must of necessity be on a scale of unexampled lavishness.

No official display of note appears to have been given in London during the first thirteen years of the nineteenth century, or indeed since the Aix-la-Chapelle peace display. The reason may have been the public outcry on the score of waste on that occasion.

They were totally prohibited at the coronation of George III, and at his jubilee in 1809 there were apparently no firework displays in London, although more than forty towns about the country celebrated the event pyrotechnically, and a fine display was given from the Fleet at the Nore.

The largest public firework exhibition on this occasion was that given at Bombay, where the celebration took place earlier in the year, the date selected being June 4th, the King’s birthday, instead of October 25th, the actual anniversary of his accession.

The Peace of 1802, although no official display was given, was the occasion of much private pyrotechnic enterprise, the fireworks and illuminations in London lasting nearly a week.

The Peace of 1814 was signalised in London by several displays: the 1st of August was chosen for the Peace Celebration, it being the centenary of the accession of the House of Brunswick, and also the anniversary of the Battle of the Nile.

The display in Hyde Park commenced with a naval engagement on the Serpentine between model warships representing the English and the combined French and American Fleets. This item, which lasted three hours, was followed by a display of water fireworks. The display in Green Park commenced at ten o’clock, one of the chief items being the “grand metamorphosis of the Castle into the Temple of Concord.” This change, says a writer in “The Times” of the period, “was made with somewhat less celerity than those witnessed in our theatrical pantomimes. It resembled rather the cautious removal of a screen than the sudden leap into a new shape. When fully developed, however, it presented a spectacle which excited general approbation.”

The Temple of Concord was an elaborate structure illuminated with coloured lamps, and decorated with gilding, festoons, etc., and transparent paintings. It was designed by Smirke, the paintings being by Stodard, Howard, Hilton, and others, and represented such subjects as “The Golden Age,” and “Peace restored to Earth.”

Charles Lamb, in a letter to William Wordsworth, dated August 9th, 1814, after describing the havoc wrought in the park by the crowds and booths, remarks that: “After all the fireworks were splendent—the Rockets in clusters, in trees and all shapes, spreading about like young stars in the making floundering about in space (like unbroke horses) till some of Newton’s calculations should fix them, but then they went out. Anyone who could see ’em and the still finer showers of gloomy rain fire that fell sulkily and angrily from ’em, and could go to bed without dreaming of the Last Day, must be as hardened an Atheist as ****.”

St. James’s Park was reserved for those who paid for admission. The trees were illuminated with lamps, and a Chinese bridge, which had been erected over the lake, was similarly treated. The use of gas on this structure must be one of the earliest occasions of its being employed for outdoor illuminations of this nature. Neither can the result be considered altogether successful, as the building caught fire towards the end of the firework display, and a lamplighter, who appears to have been caught by the flames in an attempt to throw himself into the water, was killed. Other men similarly employed were also severely burned. These men, evidently through ignorance, had started lighting the lower lamps first, working upwards on the structure, until they found themselves in a position of intolerable heat with no means of descending.

The pyrotechnic display consisted chiefly of aerial fireworks with gerbs, roman candles, fountains, and wheels; there do not appear to have been many devices of any size. “The Times” reporter complains that “the repetition of these things, with occasional pauses, for more than two hours became tedious to all.”

The coronation of George IV, in 1821, was celebrated by a display in Hyde Park, including land and water fireworks, superintended by Congreve. The displays on the coronation of William IV, in 1831, were directed by Congreve’s successor, Sir Augustus Frazer, but appear to have been of an insignificant character.

Queen Victoria’s coronation was celebrated by displays in Hyde Park and Green Park, conducted by Southby and D’Ernst, which exhibitions included a Temple on similar lines to that of 1814.

In France, during the first few years of the nineteenth century, there were many pyrotechnic displays of importance. Napoleon is credited with being extremely partial to such exhibitions. Displays took place in Paris in the Champs Elysées, at the barriere Chaillot, before Les Invalides in 1801 to celebrate the foundation of the Republic, and in the following year in honour of Napoleon’s arrival in that city.

Major-General Lord Blayney, who was captured by Napoleon’s troops in the Peninsula in 1810, travelled on parole across Spain and France on his way to Verdun. His somewhat leisurely journey of nearly six months enabled him to witness many celebrations of French victories in the towns through which he passed. He records having seen fireworks and illuminations among other places at Malaga and Orleans.

In 1804 a display was given by Napoleon before the Hotel de Ville, Paris, on his assumption of the title of Emperor of the French. The scenery provided for this display took the form of a representation of Mount St. Bernard, with a figure symbolising Napoleon mounted on a charger on the summit.

This display was repeated in 1810 on the occasion of his marriage with Marie Louise; this time, however, the topmost feature was the Temple of Hymen, with figures of Napoleon and his bride.

Other displays were given on the bridge of Louis XVI, which appears to have been a popular position for such exhibitions, in 1800, 1804, 1806, 1820, and 1821. Another site frequently used for displays was the garden of the Senate, where Ruggieri fired displays in the years 1801, 1806 (twice), and 1807.

Fireworks continued to be a national institution in France, irrespective of the form of government. Louis Napoleon, like his uncle, being fond of fireworks, or it may be, considering them a good means of gaining popularity, made any public event an excuse for pyrotechnic displays. Notable occasions were the Military Fetes, 1852, the Fete of the Emperor, 1853, the visit of Queen Victoria to the Paris Exhibition of 1855, in honour of which a most elaborate display was given at Versailles, the Baptismal Fetes in 1856, the triumphal entry and the Emperor’s birthday, 1859, and the visit of the King Consort of Spain in 1864.

The Entente Cordiale movement in 1868 was responsible for displays in the Fleets on both sides of the Channel, those in France taking place in Cherbourg, those in England at Spithead.

A previous event which had been celebrated pyrotechnically on a large scale in both countries was the Peace Rejoicing at the conclusion of the Crimean War.

This occasion was marked in London by four displays of fireworks on a scale hitherto unprecedented. The sites chosen were Hyde Park, Green Park, Primrose Hill, and Victoria Park. They were arranged thus with the very sensible idea of splitting the crowds of sightseers into sections and thus preventing dangerous crowding to one spot. The fireworks were prepared for these displays in Woolwich Arsenal, under the direction of Mr. Southby, the pyrotechnist of the Surrey Gardens, who went there for this event.

The programmes of these displays were precisely similar, with the exception of that at Primrose Hill, which consisted mainly of aerial fireworks.

Tyrrell, in his “History of the War with Russia,” gives the following account of the display in Green Park: “At the appointed signal there was a continuous discharge of maroons, accompanied by brilliant illuminations with white, red, green, and yellow fires.... Then for two hours followed every conceivable design of elegant and dazzling pyrotechnic art. Flights of rockets a hundred at a time; revolving wheels, sun star and golden streamers, and fiery serpents chasing each other through the air. Gerbs, Roman candles, tourbillions, shells, and fixed pieces of the most fantastic designs and brilliant hues. The eyes were dazzled by the intensity of the light.... It was strange to believe that so fierce and ungovernable an element as fire could be rendered so delicately obedient to the will of man.... The triumph, however, of the entertainment was reserved for the close of it. This was a tremendous bombardment, during which the air was constantly filled with flights of rockets, and was intended as a representation of the last grand attack upon Sebastopol—the blowing up of the magazines and works, and general conflagration.

“As an introduction to this there were five fixed pieces, all of complicated construction, the centre being an enormous one which, amid all its fantastic blazing and revolving, exhibited the words ‘God Save the Queen.’ Language fails to convey a vivid idea of the deafening, roaring, crashing and grand appearance of the termination, during which the proud fortifications of Sebastopol were supposed to succumb. Then rose up into the blackness, rapidly one after another, six flights of rockets, comprising altogether no less than ten thousand of these beautiful and brilliant instruments.... It was such a spectacle as man could not reasonably expect to witness more than once in a lifetime.”

This account appears to be somewhat highly coloured, as the official programme makes no reference to the fall of Sebastopol, but it is evident from it that the writer was greatly impressed with the display, and contemporary prints indicate that he was voicing popular opinion.

It is worthy of note that these celebrations were the first occasion of the kind in which the exhibitions consisted of veritable fireworks without extraneous matter in the form of scenery and buildings. This may account for the fact that there was, on this occasion, considerably less of the usual outcry against the “waste” involved. It is curious that on occasions of this kind there are always to be found certain damp spirits who begin a clamour against the expenditure of money on fireworks which might be applied to other objects. The Aix-la-Chapelle display excited these gentlemen to a great pitch, probably on account of the elaborate nature of the preparations, which, as we have already seen, occupied over five months, thus providing them with plenty of time to develop their theme, or an object lesson to prove their statements.

Where, however, the display consists—as on the occasion under consideration—solely of fireworks proper, a few days’ preparation on the actual site is usually sufficient; the kill-joy has less time to spread himself. It may be mentioned his season is over with the display; generally the British public, having enjoyed itself, turns a deaf ear to those who would convince it that it ought not to have done so.

Other displays took place in various parts of the kingdom: in Edinburgh on Arthur’s Seat, at Portsmouth on the Fleet, to mention two only.

An interesting event which took place on the 25th August was the entertainment of 2,000 men of the Guards at the Surrey Gardens. This resort was at the time the home of British pyrotechny, the displays being conducted by Southby, who, as we have said, went into Woolwich Arsenal to assist in the production of the fireworks for the official displays. The amusements of the day concluded with an exhibition of fireworks.

A further event connected with the foregoing celebration was the festivities in Moscow on the occasion of the coronation of the Emperor Alexander II, which concluded with a pyrotechnic display.

From this time until the end of the century the history of pyrotechny in this country is practically the history of pyrotechny at the Crystal Palace; it has been the Crystal Palace displays which have set the pace, as it were, to pyrotechnists in this country, and has provided the spur which has placed British pyrotechnists not only ahead but markedly ahead of their competitors in other countries.

The Crystal Palace displays became a national institution, and any public event worthy of such recognition was accorded a pyrotechnic celebration there on a scale hitherto unattempted.

The credit for the original introduction of fireworks at the Crystal Palace must belong to the late C. T. Brock, who succeeded in inducing the Directors to institute a competition among pyrotechnists in 1865. It may be interesting to give in his own words an account of the matter, taken from an article written by him some few years later:

“It occurred to me that of all the places of public resort suitable for the inauguration of a new era for pyrotechny, none offered such glorious advantages as the Crystal Palace, then at the height of its popularity. Its terraces, fountains and foliage offered unrivalled advantages for the display of grand effects. The Directors of the Crystal Palace Company, who had more than once been applied to for permission to hold displays in the grounds, feared that, inasmuch as fireworks had been recently associated solely with gardens of the Cremorne class, the Palace itself would be degraded to the same rank if consent were granted. I urged that the Exhibition of 1862 had afforded no opportunity for competition among firework makers—necessarily excluded by the nature of their trade—although almost every other branch of manufactures were embraced, that such a contest might with reason and advantage be held at Sydenham, and that fireworks were really not of an immoral tendency. I further agreed that in the event of the result being unfavourable, either financially or from a social point of view, no second display need take place, but if, as I felt confident, there should be a large attendance of the better classes, then other exhibitions might follow. The Directors, after many months of delay, consented to make the experiment, and the favourable result of the trial on July 12th, 1865, far exceeded my most sanguine expectations.

“The result was an unlooked-for success, 20,000 people being present on the occasion. Three more displays took place that year upon a small scale, but always with successful results.

“The first display was produced jointly by my father and Mr. Southby, the winner of the first prize, and continued to the end of that season by my father alone under my management.

“The success of fireworks at the Crystal Palace having become an accomplished fact, I built extensive works at Nunhead, and commenced manufacturing on a scale never previously dreamt of in the trade—the vast expanse of the locale of my displays obviously necessitating extraordinary expenditure of material.

“By degrees the set pieces grew from twelve feet in diameter to 300 feet. Shells for which the Crystal Palace has been renowned grew to one hundred times more than the ordinary shells of my early days, and thousands of pounds weight of material was gradually introduced to increase the effectiveness of these displays.”

The Crystal Palace displays carried out by C. T. Brock and his brother, Arthur Brock, who succeeded him in the business on March 25th, 1881, have since become proverbial. They continued up to 1910, when the Crystal Palace was taken over by the promoters of the Pageant of Empire. They have been revived in 1920, when the War Museum was opened, and the attendance has proved that the public taste for fireworks is very far from diminishing.

During the run of forty-five consecutive years an installation was built up, method and technique were evolved unknown in any other place of pyrotechnic exhibition.

While the firework terrace, with its magnificent background of park and shrubberies, is unrivalled as a firing ground, it is at the same time the most exacting. The huge building, its imposing position and setting, the wonderful fountains, all demand pyrotechnic effects on a corresponding scale.

The pictorial set pieces, originally introduced by C. T. Brock in 1875, increased in size until a plant was arrived at capable of exhibiting a picture ninety feet high and two hundred feet long on the main girder, which length could be extended to even six hundred feet of frontage, as on the occasion of the exhibition of a battle piece or similar subject.

During this period the subjects dealt with in the main set pieces have covered a wide range. A favourite subject, and one lending itself particularly well to pyrotechnic production, is the sea battle. Almost every historic naval engagement of sufficient size to warrant its adoption has been proved the subject for a fire picture.

Among the battle pictures produced are the following:—Bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, Siege of Gibraltar in 1883, Battle of Trafalgar in 1884; during 1885, two pictures representing the use of the ironclads of the period and based on the Naval manœuvres, entitled the “Attack on Dover,” and the Battle of Bantry Bay; the following year another imaginary picture depicting an attack by torpedo boats on the latest battleship, the “Colossus.” The Bombardment of Sebastopol was reproduced in 1887, followed by the Jubilee Naval Review at Spithead. In 1888 the defeat of the Spanish Armada was depicted; in 1890 Trafalgar, followed in 1891 by the engagement between the “Chesapeake” and the “Shannon,” together with a portrait of Admiral Sir Provo Wallis, then aged one hundred, and another from an early painting showing him at the time of the engagement when the command of the English vessel devolved upon him owing to the casualties among the senior officers. Later in that year the Battle of the Nile was reproduced; 1893 saw the Bombardment of Canton; 1894 the Battle of the First of June, and the Battle of the Yalu. The Battle of Manilla Bay was produced in 1898, and on the centenary date the Battle of the Nile. In 1889, H.M.S. “Implacable” was shown in action on the day on which she was commissioned, followed in 1900 by the Bombardment of the Taku Forts, and in 1901 by the immortal sea fight between the “Revenge” and the “Fifty-three.” In 1904 the Russo-Japanese War gave subjects in the various attacks on Port Arthur and the Battle of Tsu-Shima, and the Battle of the Sea of Japan in the year following. The Battle of Trafalgar was renewed that season, and in 1908 another imaginary picture portraying modern naval warfare was produced, followed in 1909 by an imaginary encounter between the first Dreadnought and other craft.

The revival of the Crystal Palace displays in 1920 saw the reproduction of the Battle of Jutland, of which the following appreciation appeared in the Press:

“The chief set piece in the programme is a Fire Picture of the Battle of Jutland, the most realistic spectacle ever produced in fire; by ingenious devices the guns fire, shells burst in all directions, gaping holes appear in the sides and upper works of the ships engaged, until—when the din of battle has reached its height—the German cruiser ‘Lutzow’ blows up and sinks. One realises that here at least is one pictorial subject in which the Cinematograph is hopelessly outdone; the variety of noises, varying from the sharp bark of quick-firers to the boom of the heavy guns, which are here so wonderfully reproduced, are quite inadequately rendered by the conventional thumps on the big drum in the orchestra.”

Before the resources of lance-work were fully understood, the reproduction of famous buildings was a fruitful source of subjects; those reproduced vary from the Crystal Palace itself to Worcester and Salisbury Cathedrals, and from the Arc de Triomphe to the Mosque at Delhi.

Natural catastrophes such as the Avalanche, the Eruption of Vesuvius, and the Destruction of Pompeii have been portrayed. The Wreck of the Eider in 1892, with the rescue of the passengers by the lifeboats, formed the subject of a popular set piece; another successful scenic showed a wreck with line-throwing rockets and transport of passengers by the breeches buoy.

In 1879 portraits in fire were reproduced for the first time, and since that date those executed have included almost all the Royal Personages of the day, many of which have been fired electrically from the Royal Box by the originals. Other eminent people reproduced range from King Cetewayo in 1882, the Maori King in 1884, Li-Hung-Chang in 1896, to Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford in 1920.

In 1887 what is known as the transformation set piece was introduced. Upon lighting, the piece exhibits a floral design in colours, which, after burning some time, becomes transformed into a portrait, the lines of which are worked inconspicuously with those of the floral design, and, to use a modern term, camouflaged by its colours, the colour of the portrait being white.

The first portrait to be so shown was Lord Beaconsfield, the floral design being of primroses, and the occasion Primrose Day. This, for the first example of its kind, was very successful, and later in the year an enormous transformation picture, 200 feet long and 100 feet high, was fired at the Jubilee display, changing to portraits of Queen Victoria and members of the Royal Family.

A popular picture of this kind is the puzzle picture which transforms from a jungle scene to animals.

Another most successful changing picture was entitled “The Seasons,” first produced in 1889, and revived from time to time. A rural scene changes from Spring to Summer, from Summer to Autumn, and finally to Winter. The effect is produced by varying compositions in the lances, and by employing lances of varying length, and requires very exact manipulation and supervision.

Patriotic, congratulatory, and political cartoons and devices have been exhibited in wonderful variety of design, sentiment, and language: Chinese, Persian, and Maori, to mention only three of the latter.

Living Fireworks, invented and patented by C. T. Brock and Co., in 1888, have always been a favourite feature of the Crystal Palace displays. The performer is clad in overalls of asbestos cloth, and on the side nearest to the spectators wears a light wood framework, of which the outline is “lanced” to depict the particular character to be portrayed.

The first subject dealt with was the boxing match, which has enjoyed continuous popularity up to the present day, and is possibly the most successful.

Other favourites have been Blondin on the tight rope, inspired by the appearance of the real Blondin on the firework terrace, surrounded by firework effects, in 1871; dancers of various kinds, from the Sailor’s Hornpipe to Salome; Cat fights; Cock fights; the Boxing Kangaroo in 1893, when that performance was attracting crowds to the old Aquarium; an Indian Snake Charmer; a Fisherman; a Trapeze Artist, have all been produced by living actors in fire.

In 1895 “The Village Blacksmith” was enacted, with horse, blacksmith, assistant, and horse’s owner, with forge, bellows, anvil, and all necessary “properties.” The following year a piece was exhibited showing various members of the building trades at work. Then followed the Fire Scene, in which a house is seen on fire, the motor fire engine arrives, the men jump down, unroll the hose, and proceed to extinguish the outbreak with a jet of fire. Another ambitious effort showed a City policeman regulating the traffic. The most elaborate scene of the kind yet attempted was to work living figures in connection with the main set piece. The subject chosen was life in the Arctic Regions, and opened with the open Polar Sea, with whaling vessels, spouting whale, and launch of the whaling boat, which follows the whale and fires a harpoon. The picture then changed to Arctic winter, ice forms, and the vessel is frozen with the ice, sledging parties travel over the ice, and the picture concluded with a man and bear fight in living fireworks. The same year—1890—there was introduced into the Children’s Fireworks, which form an annual feature of the Crystal Palace displays, a living Jack and the Beanstalk picture.

In 1906 the then popular song, “I wouldn’t leave my little Wooden Hut for You,” was the basis of what was described in the programme as a Living Firework Drama. The popular songs of the day have provided the subject for many successful set pieces, and form a class of picture which derives much of its success from the band accompaniment and the opportunity for vocal effort on the part of the crowd.

The origin of this type of picture is worth recording. In 1889 the Shah of Persia visited the Crystal Palace, and fired a portrait of himself, electrically, from the Royal Box. A popular song of the day, “Have you seen the Shah?” was suggested to some musically inclined members of the audience, who commenced to sing it, and were soon joined by the whole of the spectators, numbering about 50,000.

The effect of this impromptu concert was so striking as to lead to the production of the popular song whenever there happened to be one suitable for pictorial rendering in fireworks.

In 1892 a mechanical Lottie Collins, 60 feet high, dancing to the then popular strain of “Ta-ra-ra-bom-de-ay,” was enthusiastically received. A series of patriotic and sentimental songs at the time of the South African War, as “The Absent-minded Beggar” and “Good-bye, Dolly Grey,” etc., were very successful. The “Honeysuckle and the Bee” provided the subject for a transformation picture, a design of honeysuckle changing to a girl’s head with a mechanical bee twelve feet long.

In 1908 three songs were included in one piece—“Bill Bailey,” “Farewell, my Bluebell,” and “The Old Bull and Bush.”

The smaller mechanical pieces form a history of locomotion during the half-century covered by the displays. Bicycles, motor cars, looping the loop, aeroplanes, costers’ barrows, hansom cabs, fire engines, scooters have all been represented, and in 1895, on the occasion of the visit of the Railway Conference, two of the best mechanical pieces ever carried out—full-sized representations of the “Rocket” and the latest type of express engine with exact details and working parts.

An effective working device introduced as early as 1870 was a comet travelling down a wire from one of the famous towers to the ground. Later the comet was replaced by a dragon, Mother Goose, and in 1872 by a “Fiery Bicycle,” a subject which seems somewhat out of place in such a position. The next development of this feature was to introduce a living man who, clad in shining armour and surrounded and illuminated by a frame of fireworks, striking an impressive attitude, slid from the summit of the tower to the terrace.

The name of this performer, no doubt in imitation of the Italian artists who on a smaller scale carried out a similar feat at Vauxhall, was given in the programme as Signor Gregorini. In private life or in the works, however, he went by the name of Bill Gregory, and it is recorded that, when on the first night he stuck half-way down and had to remain in his airy position for the remainder of the display, his remarks left no doubt as to the country of his origin.

It is characteristic of Mr. C. T. Brock that he who originated the idea was the first to try the descent. The weight of the cable was very considerable and the strain very heavy in order to keep it sufficiently taut, and doubts were expressed as to the advisability of putting such a stress on the structure, which led to the abandonment of the performance.

It would be tedious to attempt to give anything like a description of the many and varied moving and stationary devices used in the Crystal Palace displays. The descriptions in the traditional somewhat flowery language of the firework programmes would convey little without illustration. One feature generally to be found in the programme is that of the wheels. These are generally fired in a group of three in the centre of the Terrace, the designs varying in form, movement and colour from time to time, the fire of the centre or largest wheel forming a circle one hundred feet in diameter.

The historical displays during this period include the displays given in India in 1875–6, during the tour of King Edward, then Prince of Wales, at Bombay, Madura, Colombo, Madras, and Jaipur, and a series of enormous displays carried out at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, at one of which 250,000 people paid half-a-dollar admission, and in 1877, the displays given at Calcutta and Delhi on the occasion of the assumption by Queen Victoria of the title Empress of India.

The Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria produced enormous activity in the manufacture of fireworks. Displays great and small took place all over the United Kingdom, or rather, the Empire.

Among the displays fired on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee, certainly not the least interesting, although comparatively small in extent, was that given at Blantyre in the heart of the African continent. This display, which included a portrait of Her late Majesty, was carried up three hundred and sixty miles of the Zambesi, thence by canoe over eighty miles of sandbanks and mud, and finally thirty miles overland with a rise of 3,500 feet.

Other displays were the display on the Tagus in 1886 on the occasion of the marriage of the late King of Portugal; the display fired from Brooklyn Bridge for the Columbus Tercentenary in 1892; the Imperial Fete on the Danube in 1903; the display fired from thirteen battleships moored at a distance of a quarter of a mile from each other on the occasion of the “Entente Cordiale” visit of the French Fleet in 1905; the display celebrating the Tercentenary of the founding of Quebec in 1908; and the greatest display of fireworks ever fired—the official Peace display in Hyde Park in 1919, in which some of the ground works suffered from the rain which, unfortunately, started about five o’clock, but the aerial work was on an unprecedented scale, shells varying from sixteen inches down to 5½ inches in diameter being fired in salvoes of twenty-five to one hundred.

Rockets of 1 lb. were fired in flights of one hundred, and a final flight of three thousand; sets of Roman candles, each containing two hundred; one hundred fiery jets, etc., etc. The “Fourth of June” celebration at Eton has always been the occasion of a firework display, and displays have taken place annually, with the exception of the years of the Great War, from at least as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century. Hone, in his “Everyday Book” (1831), speaks of the fireworks as a well-established feature of the festival.

It is possible, and even probable, that they date from the reign of George III, on whose birthday the event takes place.