The Mayflower

This statue 'Sunshine Weekly and the Pilgrim’s Pocket' depicts a 17th century pilgrim and a boy

Thames tour of Rotherhithe: Stage 6

The Mayflower pub stands on the site of The Shippe pub that dates back to around 1550.

It is close to where the Mayflower ship was fitted out for the long transatlantic voyage.

The pub was rebuilt as the Spread Eagle and Crown in 1780 and renamed as The Mayflower in 1957.

It was the nearby landing steps to this pub that the Pilgrim Fathers set sail aboard The Mayflower Ship.

The Mayflower pub close to where the Mayflower Ship set sail for America

The Pilgrims were mostly a group of separatists who had broken away from the Church of England.

They decided to opt for a new life after hearing tales of earlier settlers to the New World.

The Pilgrims sailed to Southampton on 5th August 1620 where it was joined by the Speedwell.

This ship proved to be un-seaworthy forcing them to turn back twice before The Mayflower took on some of her passengers.

She finally set sail from Plymouth, south west England on 6 September 1620 with 102 passengers aboard.

THE PILGRIM FATHERS The pilgrims left Rotherhithe and headed for America via Southampton and Plymouth The location they landed on is now known as Plymouth Rock The Mayflower was a 12-year-old, 180-ton vessel, which had previously been used in the wine trade The voyage took 66 days Former President George Bush, Richard Nixon, Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart were all descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers The Mayflower Pub is the only place licensed to sell American stamps in the UK Michael Caine was born in Rotherhithe on 14 March 1933 as Maurice Joseph Micklewhite. He is patron of the Southwark Young Pilgrims

Two months later they arrived along the east coast of America and landed in Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts, on 21st December.

They were the first permanent European settlers in America.

Southwark Young Pilgrims

The Southwark Young Pilgrims Project by Veronica Alden, founder

"We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our very successful project, the 'Southwark Young Pilgrims'.

The use of the name' Pilgrim' in this context means traveller and has no religious meaning or inference.

Our project, has been running annually for the past eleven years, training the disadvantaged youth (14 - 16 year olds) who live or go to school in Southwark.

A sign outside the Mayflower Pub

The out of school hours project run two courses taking 75+ students during the spring and summer months at London Bridge and New Globe walk in S.E.1, under the legal and charitable umbrella of Southwark Heritage Association (Charity No. 800351).

As an organisation, (Southwark Heritage Association) we raise all the funding each year.

The course is designed to introduce young people to the idea of a career in the travel and tourism industry through a structured programme of accredited training and work experience as "Ambassadors for the Borough".

The Project is successful in achieving its main target outputs, and in adding to the young peoples knowledge and pride in their local History and Heritage.

It also helps to enhance the links between the local Heritage Association, Travel industry, local Schools, Colleges, and Youth Organisations.

The whole project is about getting the student to be more confident, self-reliant and to take an interest in the world of work.

The students, for one reason or another - be it problems at home or just sheer boredom, will leave school without any formal qualifications.

The successful students will receive accredited certificates in Welcome Host Customer Care, Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Youth Achievement Awards, First aid, Mayflower 1620 Ltd certificate of achievement and several more, totalling nine in all.

In addition, the student's work on the project is also accepted towards A.S.D.A.N. GCSE and NRA qualifications.

The participating schools select the students who they feel will benefit most from the course and suggest that the student contacts us for a placement.

This is the first step towards confidence building and ensures their commitment to the project, as they are made aware that this is a weekend and school holiday project.

At this stage the student is unaware that they are paid to work one day in three for five weeks, including weekends and bank holidays.

During the first week we train them in the history and heritage of the area in addition to the above named disciplines.

At the end of the first week, the students sit a short exam.

Southwark Young Pilgrims

The successful students are then divided in to three groups and given their shift patterns.

Over the following five weeks the students meet and greet visitors to the borough at the purpose made street stands.

Once the student's interest has been rekindled and they attain the confidence through our guidance and interaction with members of the general public, they return to school with a better idea of what they want to do and how to achieve it.

We are now taking students from seven local secondary schools with more wishing to take part as the course reputation has become better known."

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at 020 8299 0470 or 07702167187