Exciting events have been added to the year-long programme of celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower setting sail from Plymouth UK to Plymouth Massachusetts in September 1620.
The international programme kicks off in November and new events and attractions include the opening of an interactive Pilgrim Gallery at Bassetlaw Museum in Retford, Nottinghamshire; the heart of the ‘Pilgrim Roots’ region that also covers Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire. Visitors can find out about pilgrim leaders William Brewster, from Scrooby, and William Bradford, from Austerfield, as well as the views of the Native Americans they encountered in America; see www.pilgrimroots.co.uk
Previously unknown secrets of the pilgrims and their fascinating connections to Boston in Lincolnshire are revealed in an exhibition at Boston Guildhall, open from 28 September – see https://familytr.ee/bostonpilgrims – while £100,000 has been awarded to Gainsborough (where the Separatists would meet in secret) to fund events exploring their local legacy; go to www.discovergainsborough.com/pilgrim-roots/