Sheffield's late Mayflower pageant, Drill Hall, Sheffield (February, 1921)

Hugh Parry’s pageant, which you can read more about here, travelled around the UK throughout 1920 and into the next year. In February 1921, it came to Sheffield. The fanfare around the event was huge: newspapers had begun trailing the spectacular in the previous year. The event was organised by the Sheffield Free Church Council and was held in the Artillery Drill Hall, Edmund Road. It was said at the time that Sheffield and nearby areas had their own claims on the Mayflower story and the history non-conformity because of the importance of Doncaster and Retford to the history of the nonconformist movement more broadly.

No fewer than five hundred performers took part. With the exception of the stage manager and of Parry, the author, who also took on the role of the villain of the piece, the Sheffield Mayflower pageant was put on entirely by a company of local people, most of them from the Free Churches. Several ministers also took part. This drew some wry coverage in the local newspapers which delighted in the fact that “a sober deacon will represent the reckless Miles Standish” and “an evil-looking, brawling, slashing persecuting Catchpole will be portrayed by a well-known Congregational minister”. The result was “three hours of first-rate entertainment”. The pageant was wildly successful and proved a popular draw for local audiences, to the extent that an extra day’s performance was added. In this way, according to the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, “many Sheffield people have realised as they never before had realised what a great adventure was that on which the Pilgrim Fathers embarked 300 years ago.”

Sheffield Daily Telegraph, “Puritans play-acting”, 24 December 1920.

Sheffield Daily Telegraph, “The great pageant”, 22 January 1921.

Sheffield Daily Independent, “Mayflower pageant”, 8 February 1921.

Sheffield Daily Telegraph, “The Mayflower”, 8 February 1921.

Sheffield Daily Telegraph, “The pageant’s success”, 14 February 1921.