Southwark Central Library, London (October-November, 1920)

The riverside borough of Southwark in south London had a traditional link with the Pilgrim Fathers, who were said to have worshipped at one of the area’s first Protestant Separatist congregations before emigrating to Holland (thus the “Church of the Pilgrim Fathers” in New Kent Road). This was aside from other important links between Southwark and New England – John Harvard, founder of Harvard University, was baptised on the site of what became Southwark Cathedral. It was also claimed that the first Englishwoman to set foot in America was from Southwark.

In 1920, for the 300th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage, Southwark Central Library on the Walworth Road held an exhibition of objects, rare books, prints, and portraits lent by the Bishop of London, among others. Southwark’s Chief Librarian, Mr. Richard W. Mould, was responsible for organising the exhibition and did so with the aim of reviving local interest in the story. Among the books on display was the Bible from which John Eliot was said to have made translations into Native American languages. (Incidentally, this was also the Bible read at the Tercentenary Celebrations at the Royal Albert Hall.)

Also on display was the communion plate said to have been used by the Pilgrims when they worshipped in Southwark. This included beakers, candlesticks, and a snuffer. It would have been impossible to prove the veracity of any claim that these items had been handled by the Pilgrim Fathers, but no one at the time begrudged the people of Southwark this indulgence of their local tradition.

The library also hosted a talk by Mr A. Boylston Beal, Special Attaché to the American Embassy. Beal spoke of the oft-overlooked literary and cultural legacy of the Pilgrim Fathers in America, and proclaimed that educational ideals were among the primary imports that the Puritans had brought to America. In fact, it was on their principles that the foremost American schools and universities were founded.

Southwark Central Library was located in what was until recently the site of the Walworth Town Hall, Newington Library, and the Cuming Museum on Walworth Road. In 2013 a fire, apparently caused by nearby building works, damaged the structure and the unique collection at the Cuming Museum. Books and objects were temporarily removed and the building underwent extensive repairs. The image for this entry shows the building under plastic hoarding while repairs were ongoing.

Westminster Gazette, “Southwark Pilgrims”, 30 October 1920.

South London Press, “’Mayflower’ Tercentenary: what the Western world owes to the borough of Southwark”, 3 November 1920.