Item List (22)

Historical pageants, a sort of amateur re-enactment, were incredibly popular forms of engagement with the past in the early to mid 20th century. They usually took the form of a series of chronological episodes, often starting as far back as the…

In addition to the pageant put on by Rev. Hugh Parry, the Mayflower tercentenary also saw the production of several original plays, including John Alden's Choice, performed in Southampton, and The Seed and the Fruit performed in Exeter. Probably the…

Written by Canon Leville Lovett and his daughter Myra, ‘John Alden’s Choice’ was the crowning glory of Southampton’s 1920 celebrations for the 300th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower. Staged four times by a large cast of 444 amateur…

Historical pageants, a sort of amateur re-enactment, were incredibly popular forms of engagement with the past in the early to mid 20th century. They usually took the form of a series of chronological episodes, often starting as far back as the…

Hugh Parry’s Mayflower pageant was a huge draw throughout the autumn of 1920. In London, the pageant was performed for 25 days, from the end of October to the middle of November. But it returned to London in April 1921, where it ran for ten days at…

Rev. Hugh Parry’s historical pageant of the Mayflower was a roaring success throughout 1920 and into the following years. It debuted in Plymouth and had triumphant runs in Manchester and London, to the extent that the organisers were being pressed to…

The performance of Hugh Parry’s Mayflower pageant (which you can read more about here) was the biggest Mayflower event in London, and possibly in the country. The performances took place at the large Royal Horticultural Hall, Westminster, which was…

There were a number of plays and pageants produced during the Mayflower Tercentenary of 1920, some of which, like Rev. Hugh Parry’s pageant, were performed in more than one town. But Exeter had the distinction of putting on an original play by a…

Because they were viewed as “the spiritual ancestors of the non-conformists”, a great many non-conformist churches and groups were keen to celebrate the Mayflower Pilgrims. In Eastbourne, “local enthusiasts, in many cases quite youthful”, got…

Chatham, on the Medway in North Kent, was one of several towns and cities to undertake performances of the Mayflower Pageant written by the Rev. Hugh Parry (which you can learn more about here). Like many early twentieth-century pageants, Parry’s…