Item List (33)

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 1920, Southampton had held one of Britain’s largest anniversary celebrations of the Mayflower voyage – only Plymouth could make a challenge to that supremacy. By the time the 1970 commemoration came around, however, Southampton’s Devonian rival…

The Mayflower 70 celebrations were centred around Plymouth. There was much anticipation of the events in the British media and hopes that the festivities could be a boost to the economy of the South-West. A five-page feature length article in the…

Lichfield played no part in the original story of the Mayflower, as far as we know - though leading Pilgrim Edward Winslow was born not that far away in Droitwich. Nonetheless, like other places, this small city was one of many to play a small part…

The town of Romford to the east of London tried very hard indeed to find connections between itself and the Mayflower. It had its own Mayflower Tercentenary Committee, an affiliate of the Essex committee, whose job it was to organise tercentenary…

Lancashire always claimed a certain affiliation with the Mayflower story because of Myles Standish’s local connection. As residents of one of the premier cities in “Standish country”, the people of Preston felt entitled to have their own performance…

Penzance’s was the most westerly of all the Mayflower celebrations for the 300th anniversary in 1920, but by no means the smallest. In fact, this was probably one of the largest celebrations that did not involve a traditional play or pageant.…

It was repeatedly said throughout the tercentenary year that many of the people who sailed on the Mayflower had come from the region of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. Lancashire was not home to a large number of the Pilgrims, but it could boast of…

Laurence Washington, who died in Maldon, Essex in 1652, was the great-great grandfather of George Washington. In 1924, Malden, Massachusetts was celebrating its 275th anniversary. Isaac Lothian Seymour, vicar of Maldon back in the ‘Old World’, was…

Southampton’s most elaborate monument to the Mayflower voyage was erected in 1913. Standing on the Western Esplanade, chosen to be as near as possible to the point of departure, it consists of a Portland stone square column that rises fifty feet from…