On the Pilgrim Trail Across England, 400 Years After the Mayflower, Part 2

I’m in the historic English city of Lincoln ahead of the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims leaving these shores on the Mayflower.

The anniversary is an opportunity for both Americans and Britons to learn about the history of the Pilgrims, not least the history beyond the Mayflower folklore at the heart of the annual Thanksgiving holiday.

After first visiting Harwich, home of Mayflower Captain Christopher Jones and likely where the ship was built, I drove to Lincoln where I learned about its extensive connections to the Pilgrims and those who followed them. Along the way, I stopped in Boston, the namesake of Boston, Massachusetts.

In the original Boston, I discovered the finely preserved circa 14th century Guildhall, including the cells where William Bradford, arguably the most famous of Mayflower passengers, and other Pilgrim leaders were jailed after attempting to leave for the Netherlands in 1607. I also explored St. Botolph’s Church, which rivals some cathedrals in size, and saw the pulpit used by John Cotton, a firebrand Puritan clergyman.

Four hundred years ago, Lincolnshire and neighboring Nottinghamshire were on the frontlines of religious dissent with the two main factions being Puritans, who wanted to reform the Church of England from within, and Separatists, who, as their name implies, wanted to separate from the established church.