Description
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 activities in 1920 - the 300th anniversary of the voyage. The Romford committee had hopes of welcoming American delegates to some local Mayflower landmarks. The only trouble was that they had to find some first. To that end, members of the committee undertook a series of scouting trips to various potential sites of interest. These members reported back at a meeting held in July 1920.
Their findings were not encouraging. Even buildings known to be of some antiquity were dispiritingly bereft of Mayflower connections, despite attempts to argue otherwise. It was reported by one member of the committee that a window at North Ockendon Church bore the arms of the Warren family. This, the member claimed, was a name most certainly connected the Mayflower. However, he did not (or could not) say precisely how. The nearest relation to a Mayflower site that could be found was an old house at Franks Farm, which may or may not have been the home of Thomas Fuller, a Mayflower passenger. In any event, it might do for the Americans.
The chairman was forced to admit that “there were not many remaining objects of historical interest in Romford connected with the ‘Mayflower’”. And although he tried to claim, quite implausibly, that what was left was of some importance, the main point of interest for the committee was Gidea Hall. Much of Gidea Hall was of modern build, but it retained some original brickwork dating from the time of Queen Elizabeth. At the very moment of the committee’s visit this had been in the process of being demolished. The committee lodged an official protest, but it seems the demolition went ahead and Romford lost another of its historic gems. Franks Farm is now traversed by the M25.
Source
Romford Recorder, “Romford and the Mayflower Tercentenary”, 2 July 1920.
Romford Recorder, “Mayflower tercentenary committee”, 9 July 1920.