Guildford Guys Bonfire

Mooch was commissioned by Electronic Arts (EA) in Guildford to create a public artwork concept for the town. The open brief allowed for in depth research into the town’s history to find a uniquely Guildford story.

During the mid 1800s the town experienced rapid change as Victorian England extended its network of railway and government systems. This culture shift from rural market town to London satellite community was underlined in the clash with the Guildford Guys. This secret bonfire society held wild celebrations every 5th November, loved and feared in equal measure by the community. These raucous events became less acceptable to the increasing numbers of more straight laced residents and attempts were made to curtail the celebrations. Eventually the clashes with the authorities got out of hand and the Guys were finally squashed once and for all by the military in 1865. Following this closure of a colourful episode in Guildford’s history, bonfire night became a more subdued affair.

The steel artwork marks the highlight of the celebrations, the bonfire which delighted so many then as it does today across the UK. Placed at the crown of the flames is an empty guy’s chair, inviting consideration of today’s objects of satire. The landmark sculpture was to be placed on a roundabout, creating a new gateway to the town centre and marking a sensational part of Guildford’s history. Mooch worked with a number of partners on the project. Fe26 to fabricate the steelwork, Packman Lucas structural designers advised on construction and technical detailing and Gavin Morgan, author of The Guildford Guy Riots, is the Guildford history consultant.

27/07/11 - EA public event
Mooch and EA organised a public event at the EA headquarters in Guildford to present the project to the public. There was a good turnout and an excellent reaction to the work. Kane FM, a cutting edge radio station based in Guildford’s High Street recorded and interview with David Goulding from EA, Theresa Smith from Mooch and Gavin Morgan, author of “The Guildford Guy Riots” book.

09/08/11 - Pecha Kucha night
Following from the highly positive public presentation at EA, Theresa Smith was invited by Simon Strong from Human Zoo to talk at the Guildford Pecha Kucha night and bring the story of the Guys to another audience. In 6 minutes 40 seconds (the Pecha Kucha time format) the gathering at the Bar Des Arts heard about the Hammers sculpture in West Ham and the proposed Bonfire sculpture.

Planning application comments
The Planning number 11/P/01648 had 3 outstanding supporting letters : 1 Susie Campbell lists the potential educational benefits of the sculpture 2 Gavin Morgan outlines how the work brings local history to life 3 Simon Strong proposes a new cultural event for Guildford using the sculpture as a focal point. They all make inspiring reading!

20/02/12 - Sculpture hits the media and Highways gives the thumbs up
The artwork creates a real buzz in the media. The sculpture made front page of the Surrey advertiser and has got people excited about public art and local history. The work has also appeared in the BBC Surrey online news and Get Surrey website. Local historian David Rose has written a superb article in the St Catherine’s Village website, outlining the big picture of embracing all history, appreciating the good that came of it and expanding Guildford’s much loved public art. Surrey Highways have given the project the thumbs up and it is going to the Planning Committee meeting on 21/02/12. A number of the planning councillors were at the project presentation in 2010 at EA’s headquarters and gave the work a round of applause. Theresa Smith and Gavin Morgan were the BBC Surrey Radio breakfast show on Tuesday 21st Feb.

29/03/12 - latest version of the sculpture. The images at the top now show the latest version of the sculpture with the base opening up to create a more open structure which shimmers and flickers as you travel around it. It is also practical allowing access for groundwork and maintenance. The narrower footprint of 4 metres give the bonfire a more vertical feel evoking the stack of wood fuelling the bonfire.The council meeting where the decision to grant permission is to be decided is 5th April and this variation on the design will be presented then along with the case for why this will be a real asset for the town. Theresa Smith has issued an interview about the sculpture and the latest design click here to view.

05/04/12 - Location, location, location
The Council decided on a couple of things at the full council meeting in April, that they did not feel that the town centre was the right place for an artwork that they felt may encourage interaction, so permission was refused. But at the end of the meeting Theresa was asked by the Council’s Leader if could another location be found where it would sit better as there was significant support for it as a new artwork in the town.

30/05/13 - Bonfire model to go on show
As EA have developed another idea that can be sited near their headquarters in the town centre the future of the bonfire hangs in the air. The most recent version of the model has however been selected to go into an exhibition at the offices of KPMG in Canary Wharf, London with an explanation of the extraordinary story of the artwork so far. This is the 150th Anniversary year of the demise of the Guildford Guys but perhaps not the demise of their bonfire…

Sadly the bonfire was not realised but who knows, perhaps one day.