Description
There were a number of events held in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire as part of the 350th Mayflower celebrations. One event was an exhibition held in Gainsborough’s Old Hall, an important point on the Mayflower tourist trail illustrated in both William Henry Bartlett and Huish’s guidebooks. From September to October the Old Hall told the story of Lincolnshire's links with the Pilgrim Fathers and North America. On the 26th of September, there was a Mayflower themed carnival held in the town. The Coventry Evening Telegraph reported that ‘The Old Hall will also house a production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" from September 3 to 5’. Miller’s play takes a critical view of the Puritan settlers of Massachusetts, drawing a parallel with McCarthyism and the US government’s surveillance people accused of being communists. A surprising choice perhaps, but one which suggests not all Mayflower 70 celebrations were uncritical in nature.