Mayflower celebrations, Cross St Chapel and Free Trade Hall, Manchester (September, 1920)

The main events of Manchester’s Mayflower Tercentenary took place over the week of September 18^th to 25^th. First was a young people’s demonstration in Cross Street Chapel, held on Saturday the 18^th. On the following Monday, there was a large public demonstration at the Albert Hall, organised by the Anglo-American Society, which also held a commemorative dinner on the same evening. The Free Trade Hall was the venue for the performance of Rev. Hugh Parry’s Mayflower pageant (which you can read more about here). 300 performers took part in the Manchester version, with a choir of 200 voices. Sunday September the 19^th was also set to be observed as “Mayflower Sunday” amongst all the Free Churches of Manchester.

Manchester, London, Plymouth, Southampton, and other large towns and cities tended to have both relgious and civic celebrations, which often overlapped. This is in contrast to the great many commemorations which were limited to single church groups. The push to include young people can be seen in all the different forms of Mayflower commemoration.

Manchester Guardian, “The Mayflower celebrations in Manchester”, 8 September 1920.