If put on the spot to give the historical reason behind why we celebrate Bonfire Night, few might find themselves stumped.

But plenty are likely to be perplexed by Kent 's links to the failed assassination attempt against King James I - so we've come up with the answers for you.

Why do we celebrate Bonfire Night?

Most will know Guy Fawkes had something to do with it.

History lecturer Tim Luckhurst tells us more about the true story which occurred in 1605.

He said: "Bonfire Night's intriguing because it's about torture, it's about gruesome execution, and it's about high politics.

"When Elizabeth I died, and James I came to the throne, Catholics in England hoped very much that they were going to get a much better deal than they'd got from his predecessor.

"They had reason to hope that, but it didn't happen.

"James couldn't afford to be nice to Catholics so he began to persecute them in just the way that they had feared.

"So a group of Catholic plotters decided that they wanted to end the King's reign and bring down his parliament."

The conspirators attempted to do this by placing explosives beneath the House of Lords. Guy Fawkes was among them and was arrested while guarding the explosives.

Then, when King James I survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London to celebrate.

Months later, the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

More than 400 years later, the day is still marked in the United Kingdom.

How could Kent be linked?

Guy Fawkes might have used Faversham gunpowder.

Both Faversham and Dartford were famous for their production of gunpowder, which was used in the huge battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar.

Several small gunpowder production houses were brought together into one single plant called ‘Home Works’ which was taken over by the government in 1759.

According to Annie Petrie, author of The Story of Kent, by the turn of the century the powder mills in Dartford had become the most extensive in the county.

She wrote: “The Dartford mills were surrounded by large earthen embankments to minimise the damaging effects of accidental explosions, which were a regular feature on the site.”

The dangerous work of gunpowder production caused 16 separate explosions in 1833.

These destroyed a number of mills, killed eight workers and three horses.

But before that - although it cannot be proven - there are theories that Guy Fawkes himself used gunpowder from Faversham in his 1605 plot to blow up Parliament.

Prof Leonie James, lecturer in early modern history at the University of Kent, said: “Given Faversham's proximity to London and the fact that it was relatively easy to transport it by water, we suspect that some of it might have come from there.”

Research shows that Dame Dorothy Selby, who is buried at Ightham in Sevenoaks , is supposed to have helped thwart the 1605 plot.

The former lady in waiting to Elizabeth I, who was renowned for her amazing needlework, caught wind of the plans and sent an anonymous letter warning her cousin Lord Monteagle of what was afoot.

Findings by the Kent Archaeological Society show her family support the view that she either wrote or discovered the meaning of the anonymous letter received by Lord Mounteagle on October 26, 1605 warning him not to attend the meeting of Parliament.

This is thought to have been depicted in her needlework.

Researchers were shown several pieces of needlework done by Dame Dorothy Selby which are now in the possession of Mrs. R.M.Curteis, owner of Winkenhurst, Hellingly, East Sussex, and a descendant of the Selby family.

One of these pieces which measures 25 inches by 21 inches in size represents the papal conclave with the Armada and Guy Fawkes.

Kent Archaeological Society writes: "...without a doubt, is the original needlework (it is not tapestry) from which the engraving on the monument was copied—with such variations as were necessary to adapt the subject to the space available on the slab.

"In the writer's opinion the picturesque legend must now be laid to rest. The words "whose arte disclosed" mean whose art portrayed—the plot in needlework."

A series of 17th Century "witchmarks" believed to be connected to the 1605 Gunpowder Plot were uncovered at a historic house in Sevenoaks in 2014.

The marks, which include a chequerboard, mesh designs and interlocking V-shapes, were found on beams and joists at Knole House .

They were discovered under the floorboards and surrounding the fireplace of a room which was built for King James I, in anticipation of his planned visit to Sevenoaks.

A few months before the marks were engraved, the infamous Gunpowder plot of 1605 had caused mass hysteria across the county. Accusations of demonic forces and witches at work were rife.

The etchings were thought to form a 'demon trap', warding off demonic possessions and have been dated back to 1606 by archaeologists who used tree ring dating methods.

Experts from the National Trust believe the markings were carved by craftsmen working for the owner of Knole house, Thomas Sackville, in anticipation of a visit from the King - a visit he never made.

The discovery came as part of the National Trust’s £7 million, five-year project, supported by Heritage Lottery Fund, to conserve Knole, one of Britain’s most important historic houses.

James Wright, an archaeologist at the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), said at the time of their discovery: “King James I had a keen interest in witchcraft and passed a witchcraft law, making it an offence punishable by death and even wrote a book on the topic entitled Daemonologie.

“These marks illustrate how fear governed the everyday lives of people living through the tumultuous years of the early 17th century.

“To have precisely dated these apotropaic marks so closely to the time of the Gunpowder Plot, with the anticipated visit from the King, makes this a rare if not unique discovery.

"Using archaeology to better understand the latent fears of the common man that were heightened by the Plot is extremely exciting and adds huge significance to our research about Knole and what was happening at that time.”

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