The good ship Mayflower

Sailing of the good ship Mayflower and the Pilgrim Fathers for the new world of America back in the 1600s is commemorated in Southampton by this striking memorial close to the city’s waterfront.

Mind you, controversy still rages as to where the famous journey actually began. It might be rightly claimed to have started at Rotherhithe in London, or Plymouth and even Newlyn in Cornwall. But Southampton has the proudest claim.

The Mayflower was accompanied by a sister ship, the Speedwell which began its journey in Holland. But Speedwell needed repairs and a refit when it reached Southampton. Then they had to put into Dartmouth for more repairs and had to dock in Plymouth and eventually the Speedwell was considered unseaworthy for an Atlantic crossing.

So Southampton rightly claims to have been the real departure point, and this memorial stands just across the road from Mayflower Park in the city. There is a Mayflower Cruise Terminal in the port, a Mayflower theatre in the city centre and the University has Mayflower associations.