Brockham Village
Brockham Bonfire
** PARKING UPDATE **
The recent wet weather has resulted in the loss of some car parks. Cars from the Dorking direction will be parked in Hilliers Garden Centre and Betchworth Golf Club. Once full all traffic will be directed to Betchworth Roundabout. Initially cars will be directed to The Brockham Big Field / Rugby Club. When this is full cars will be directed through Betchworth Village to the South of Brockham.
Cars from Reigate / Box Hill will also be directed to the Rugby Club and then through Betchworth Village to the South of Brockham.
PLEASE DO NOT PARK ON THE ROADS OR VERGES UNLESS DIRECTED TO DO SO.BY STEWARDS. BROCKHAM VILLAGE BECOMES A TRAFFIC FREE VILAGE AT 17.30.
Alternatives are to park in Dorking and enjoy the walk with hundreds of others through the Betchworth Golf Club to Brockham (bring a torch) or catch one of the additional busses from Dorking, Redhill and Reigate.
Please remember if you bring a car and avoid a £10 parking fee you are not contributing to the cost of our fireworks, insurance etc. Please reflect this in your voluntary donation on entry into Brockham as even in wet weather we have substantial costs. Thank you.
Organisers Top Tips – Arrive early, 18.00-19.00, join the Procession, enjoy the famous Bonfire Catering and enjoy our beautiful village.
The timetable of events can be found on the website brockham.org in the Bonfire Section.
Welcome to the annual Brockham Bonfire celebrations which are always held on the nearest Saturday to the 5th November:
2024 - Sat 2nd November
2025 - Sat 8th November
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.
16:30 Car parks open
17:30 Roads through the village closed
18:35 Torchlight Procession leaves Brockham Green
19.45 Lighting of the Bonfire
20.15 Firework Display
20.30 Pig Auction
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.
Please click or scan the QR code to make your donation
Sponsor a firework now
We are delighted that you would like to sponsor a firework for this year's bonfire celebrations. We enjoy celebratory and upbeat messages and can also offer you a personal Smiley Face or Heart Firework.
In Memoriam Fireworks and Messages. These can in included in our annual brochure and will be published on our web site. We will not be able to announce IN MEMORIUM Fireworks on Bonfire Night. However, if you wish a Smiley Face or Heart firework will be dedicated to your loved one or for a celebration. A list of names of loved ones to whom Smiley Face or Heart Fireworks are dedicated will be announced on Bonfire Night before the main display. In addition, we will add a label with a name onto the firework, if you wish
We ask for a minimum donation of £30.
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 make 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 2024
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.
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.
Residents can apply for passes up until 30th October 2024, passes will be issued during October, normally evenings when my work commitments permit, requests received before October 1st will be held to issue during October.
No passes will be issued after 30th October 2024.
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 (only 20 available for local people)
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).
There will be disabled parking passes available for 20 vehicles, passes will be issued during the weekend of 26/27th October to Blue Badge holders who live locally. Anyone applying for a Disabled Pass will need to provide photos of both sides of the Blue Badge and say where they are arriving from so directions can be given on how to access the parking.
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 30th October 2024.
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 tickets in advance by downloading the
First Bus App (on Google Play and
Apple 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
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 2024, in particular, there are many good causes which really need your help.
Please give generously.
