Mayflower celebration, Eastbourne Baptist Church, Eastbourne, Sussex (October 1920)

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 together in 1920 to enact scenes from the adventures of the Pilgrim Fathers. Unlike the large-scale pageant written by Hugh Parry, the one at Eastbourne seems to have been a local, amateur affair. The sets included the interior of a Dutch house and a clearing in a forest in New England. Seventeen performers took part, all of whom played their parts with enthusiasm.

The performance was well-attended and much appreciated by the audience, and it seems likely that the organisers achieved their aim of raising funds to buy a new piano.

The Baptist Church at Ceylon Place still stands, though it is no longer a place of worship.

Eastbourne Chronicle, “’The Pilgrim Fathers; an historical sketch”, 9 October 1920.