West Country Carnival

The West Country Carnival is an annual series of parades featuring illuminated floats (locally called "carts"). Each element of the Carnival takes place in a different location, with the principal parade being in Bridgwater, Somerset in England.

The celebration dates back to the famous "Gunpowder Plot" of 1605 which is also the focus of Bonfire Night in the UK – an annual event held on 5th November each year.

The Gunpowder Plot is inextricably linked to one of the conspirators, Guy Fawkes (whose effigy is burnt on many bonfires to this day), but the real instigator was a Jesuit priest from Nether Stowey (near Bridgwater) called Robert Parsons. As Catholics, Parsons and his co-conspirators wanted to put an end to the protestant Parliament of the day, and planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder placed in the cellars.

The celebration of the discovery of the plot, the capture and execution of the conspirators and the continuance of the protestant Parliament became a major annual event across the UK, with most people celebrating by lighting or attending huge bonfires. The reason this was so popular in the West Country was, therefore, religiously inspired. This factor has been almost totally forgotten with the passage of time – Bonfire Night and its associated firework displays having become little more than a social event with a minor historical significance.

Please visit our sister site, Faraway Places for more details about venues for the West Country Carnival.

If you're looking for a way to commemorate this event, you might be interested in this article: Commemorations with Cross Stitch

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