Pilgrims' Progress

Part One-2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the epic voyage of the Mayflower. We delve into the early story of the pioneering Pilgrims

- Lawrence Alexander

On 16 September 1620, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth on England’s southwestern coast, carrying 102 passengers determined to make a new life for themselves in America. But their story starts long before, in a handful of villages in the heart of England.

In the 16th and early 17th centuries life was tough for people who didn’t conform to the Church of England’s rules. Roman Catholics were famously persecuted, but even within Protestantism there was dissent from those who felt the Church of England’s ritual came between them and God. They wanted to strip away the ornament and “purify” the Church, but it was a dangerous choice. Punishment for defying the Church – and its head, the monarch – was harsh. For some, there was only one solution: emigration.

Historian and author Adrian Gray has spent many years piecing together the fragments of the Mayflower story. “We have only sketchy evidence,” he admits, “as little was written down at the time for fear of it being found and used against them.” Scholars have to read between the lines and follow a trail of radical preachers, many of whom congregated around villages in the area where modern-day Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire meet. These shadowy figures are not always the same folk who ended up on the now-famous ship to the New World, but they are the key to the people who did.

The story can be confusing. Johns, Williams, Richards and Annes clutter what records we have. Their parents and grandparents often had exactly the same names, and the churches they attended are also similar in style. But for those keen to trace distant ancestors – or simply learn more about the Pilgrims’ origins – the trail that winds through this area of rural England makes a rewarding itinerary.