Lewes Bonfire Night celebrations traditionally burn an effigy of Pope Paul V.
Paul V was pope from 1605 to 1621, including the period of the Gunpowder Plot. English Protestant communities associated the papacy with opposition to the Protestant settlement, and the Lewes celebrations preserve that historical anti-Catholic symbolism.
Lewes Bonfire is not simply a fireworks display. It combines torchlit processions, bonfires, themed effigies and commemorations of local religious history. The town also remembers the 17 Protestant martyrs burned at Lewes during the Marian persecutions of the 1550s.
A common mix-up is to identify the effigy as Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes effigies are widespread on Bonfire Night, but Lewes is especially known for burning large, topical and historical figures, including Pope Paul V.