the voyage of the mayflower william bradford

William Bradford

(1590-1657)

Who Was William Bradford?

William Bradford was a leading figure in the Puritans' Separatist movement. He and other congregants eventually sailed from England on the Mayflower to establish a colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where Bradford became longtime governor after a devastating winter. He died in 1657, with much of the history of the settlement recorded in his two-volume work, Of Plymouth Plantation .

William Bradford was believed to have been born in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England, in March 1590, with records indicating his baptism being held around this time. His parents died early in his childhood, leaving Bradford in the care of various relatives. Attending a religious service in Scrooby before his teen years, the youngster joined the Separatist denomination, a more radical branch of Puritanism that believed in removing itself from the Church of England. He and other congregants eventually fled to the Netherlands to escape persecution, though in their adopted land, they still faced attacks, due to the country’s affiliation with England’s King James I.

'Mayflower' Voyage

Bradford stayed in the Netherlands for more than a decade, with the idea taking root among the Separatist congregation that they should journey to the New World and settle north of the already established Virginia Colony. Bradford was in a leadership position and handled a major portion of administrative duties, including sorting out financial backing for the trip and related claims to land. After one of the two commissioned ships was deemed unworthy for travel, in September 1620 the group of 102 passengers later dubbed “pilgrims” sailed forth from England on the Mayflower . The voyagers consisted of people called “Saints,” those who followed Separatist ideology, and “Strangers,” those who paid for passage with no regard of religious affiliation.

The troubled journey took more than two months, and due to harsh weather and being forced off course, the vessel arrived a significant distance from their planned destination, in Cape Cod, where Bradford's wife fell overboard and drowned. Soon afterward Bradford and the other male travelers signed the colonial contract known as the Mayflower Compact, a document emphasizing self-governance.

Bradford eventually remarried and had more children after the arrival of additional ships. His governance was responsible for handling judicial matters that included land disputes as well as economic matters, with religious tolerance another marker of his administration. Bradford also became known for his meticulous journaling, as evidenced by his historical work O f Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647 . The Plymouth settlement would ultimately disperse, becoming subsumed by other settlements and far overshadowed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Bradford died on May 9, 1657, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: William Bradford
• Birth Year: 1590
• Birth date: March, 1590
• Birth City: Austerfield
• Birth Country: England
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: William Bradford was a Separatist religious leader who sailed on the 'Mayflower' and eventually became governor of the Plymouth settlement.
• Politics and Government
• Death Year: 1657
• Death date: May 9, 1657
• Death State: Massachusetts
• Death City: Plymouth
• Death Country: United States

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: William Bradford Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/political-figures/william-bradford
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: August 21, 2020
• Original Published Date: October 14, 2015

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William Bradford

William Bradford was an English Separatist who is most famous for being one of the Pilgrims who sailed to America on the Mayflower and established Plymouth Colony in 1620. Bradford played a vital role in establishing the colony and making it the first permanent English settlement in New England.

William Bradford was a prominent leader of Plymouth Colony, the first successful English settlement in New England. Image Source: American History Central Digital Illustration.

William Bradford Facts

• Born — William Bradford was born around March 19, 1590 (c. 19 March 1590 – 9 May 1657)
• Died — Bradford died on May 9, 1657, at the age of 67.
• Important Fact — He was an English Puritan Separatist from Austerfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.
• Important Fact — Orphaned as a young boy, he discovered the Separatist congregation near Austerfield when Bradford was 12.
• Important Fact — He moved to Leiden, Holland to escape persecution by King James I of England .
• Important Fact — Bradford emigrated to New England on the Mayflower in 1620
• Important Fact — He signed the Mayflower Compact, which established a government for Plymouth Colony.
• Important Fact — Bradford served as Governor of Plymouth Colony intermittently for about 30 years (1621–1657).
• Important Fact —  He kept a journal that included a history of Plymouth Colony. He also contributed to another early history of the colony, known as Mourt’s Relation.
• Interesting Fact — Bradford was commissioner of the United Colonies of New England on multiple occasions and served as President twice.

Significance of Willliam Bradford

William Bradford is significant to United States history because he was a Pilgrim Father and played an important role in establishing the Plymouth Colony in New England . Bradford was also essential to the colony, serving as Governor for many years.

The Life and Career of William Bradford, Pilgrim, Governor, and Historian

Birth and family.

William Bradford was born in Austerfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. 

• His parents were William Bradford and Alice. 
• He was baptized on 19 March 1590
• The family owned a large farm and was considered wealthy and influential

Childhood Difficulties and Education

After his father passed away, he was taken care of by his uncles. 

• Bradford’s father died when he was just over a year old.
• His mother remarried when he was four, and he went to live with his grandfather, William Bradforthe.
• His grandfather died two years later, and he returned to live with his mother and stepfather.
• His mother died in 1597, leaving Bradford an orphan at the age of seven.
• Following his mother’s death, he went to live with two uncles.

While living with his uncles, Bradford suffered from illness and was unable to work on the family farm. During this time, he learned to read and enjoyed books written by Erasmus and also John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs .

• Bradford became well-acquainted with the Bible and other classic literature.
• His reading is considered a key factor in his intellectual curiosity, which led to his interest in Separatist Puritan theology.

Separatists and the Scrooby Congregation

By the time he was 12, he was attending the services of Reverend Richard Clyfton in All Saints’ Church, Babworth, Nottinghamshire, which was 10 miles away from his home.

• Following Puritan theology, Clyfton advocated for the elimination of Roman Catholic practices from the Church of England, aiming for a purer Christian church.
• Bradford was inspired by Clyfton’s preaching and continued to attend his sermons, despite objections from his family.
• During one of the meetings, Bradford met William Brewster, a bailiff and postmaster, who lived at Scrooby Manor, which was 4 miles from Austerfield.
• Bradford borrowed books from Brewster and engaged in discussions about the church reform efforts that were happening in England.

Bradford eventually decided to leave the Church of England and follow Protestant Separatism , which upset his family. 

Persecution of Non-Conformists Under King James I

King James I ascended to the English throne in 1603 and expressed his intention to put an end to church reform movements and deal harshly with critics of the Church of England, who were generally referred to as “Non-Conformists.”.

• By 1607, Bradford was attending meetings at Scrooby Manor, attended by around 50 people, under the leadership of Clyfton and the Reverend John Robinson.
• This group, like many others, came to the conclusion that reforming the Church of England was not an option, and they decided to sever their ties to it.
• The meetings of the Scrooby Congregation attracted the attention of the Archbishop of York, leading to the arrest of many members in 1607.
• William Brewster was found guilty of “disobedience in matters of religion” and fined.
• The Scrooby Congregation also learned that Non-Conformists in London had been imprisoned.

Escape from England

Due to the persecution they suffered, Bradford and Brewster, along with their Scrooby Congregation, decided to move to the Netherlands, where religious freedom was offered. They intended to join other Separatist groups who had already left England.

• In 1607, the Scrooby Congregation made the decision to leave England, which required the permission of the King of England.
• The Scrooby Congregation did not seek the King’s permission, which made their intentions illegal.
• The group group had a difficult time escaping. At one point, they were betrayed by an English sea captain who had initially agreed to transport them to the Netherlands but instead handed them over to the authorities.
• Following this failed attempt, most of the congregation, including Bradford, were held in prison for a short time.

Amsterdam and Move to Leiden

By the summer of 1608, they successfully escaped from England in small groups and settled in Amsterdam. 

Bradford was 18 years old when he arrived in Amsterdam in August 1608. He was by himself and lived with the Brewster family.

The Scrooby Congregation found themselves caught up in disagreements between the Separatist congregations in Amsterdam, which they wanted to avoid. After roughly nine months, the congregation decided to move to Leiden

Life in Leiden

Bradford continued to reside with the Brewster family in a neighborhood known as “Stink Alley,” which was known for poor conditions.

In 1611, when he turned 21, he was able to access his inheritance. This allowed him to buy his own home. He also set up a workshop and worked as a weaver, making cloth for men’s clothing. By all accounts, he was well-respected in his occupation.

Bradford married Dorothy May in 1613. She was the daughter of a wealthy English family living in Amsterdam. In 1617, they welcomed their first son, John.

Plans to Leave the Netherlands

Because of cultural differences with the Dutch and concerns about the Dutch going to war with Spain, the Separatists started planning to move to New England, which was controlled by the London Adventurers Company.

• In 1617, the congregation started to make plans to move to the northern parts of the Colony of Virginia, which at that time extended north to the Hudson River.
• While they enjoyed religious freedom in the Netherlands, they were concerned about their children adopting Dutch customs and language.
• They also struggled financially, because they were not Dutch natives, and could not join the worker’s guilds. Most of them were forced to work menial, low-paying jobs.

Bradford’s Return to England

In 1619, Bradford sold his house in Leiden and returned to England. By March 1620, he was living in London, in a parish known as the Duke’s Place in Aldgate, which was known as an area where Non-Conformists lived.

By the following year, 1620, Edward and Alice Southworth were living in Aldgate, with their two sons. He held a high position within the Leiden group but died in 1621 or 1622. Following Edward’s death, Alice emigrated to Plymouth Colony.

Negotiations to Move to America

The Separatists joined a joint-stock company to raise money to pay for transportation and provisions. They work with a group of investors who called themselves the “Merchant Adventurers,” including Thomas Weston. To raise enough money, the Adventurers decided to send a group of their own settlers — also known as planters — on the voyage with the Separatists.

• It took roughly three years for the Leiden group to make the necessary arrangements to move from Leiden to America.
• Negotiations with the Merchant Adventurers, a group of financial backers in London, created challenges.
• By July 1620, two representatives from the Leiden group, Robert Cushman and John Carver successfully arranged transportation from Leiden to England.

The Journey of the Pilgrims Begins — the Separatists Leave Leiden

• Roughly 50 Separatists embarked from Delftshaven on board the Speedwell .
• The departure was difficult because they could not afford to send everyone to America right away. 
• Many families were separated, including the Bradfords. William and Dorothy decided to leave John, who was just 3 years old, with Dorothy’s parents in Amsterdam.
• Some Separatists chose to remain in the Netherlands, intending to join the voyage to America once they established their settlement.

Setbacks in England

In August 1620, the group embarked on a journey with two ships, the Speedwell and the Mayflower . However, only the Mayflower successfully made it across the ocean. 

• The original plan, as arranged by Carver and Cushman, involved the Speedwell meeting the Mayflower off the coast of England.
• The Speedwell was found to be structurally unsound, necessitating the transfer of some passengers to the Mayflower, resulting in crowded conditions. Before the transfer, some of the Separatists decided to stay in England.

Saints, Strangers, and Pilgrims

The Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620, with 102 passengers. 49 of the passengers were Separatists, but only two of them — Brewster and William — were from the original Scrooby Congregation. It is estimated there were 20-30 crewmen on the ship. The Separatists were joined by 35 colonists recruited by the Merchant Adventurers. There were also 18 servants on the ship.

The Separatists referred to themselves as “Saints.” They referred to everyone else on the Mayflower, crew, and passengers, as “Strangers.”

Collectively, they are referred to as the “Pilgrims.”

The Mayflower’s Difficult Voyage

After 65 days, the Mayflower arrived off the East Coast at Cape Cod on November 9, 1620. The ship was much further north than expected due to violent storms. Captain Christopher Jones tried to sail south, but the rough seas forced him to turn back. 

• In the second month of the voyage, the Mayflower encountered westerly gales that violently shook it.
• The caulking used to seal the ship’s seams proved ineffective in keeping out seawater, leading to wet passengers and the spread of illness.
• There were two deaths during the voyage, one among the crew and one among the passengers.
• Two babies were born before they established their settlement.
• On November 9 the crew and passengers spotted Cape Cod Hook.
• Two days later, the ship anchored in present-day Provincetown Harbor.

The Mayflower Compact

There was disagreement between the Separatists and the other passengers. There were concerns they did not have the authority to settle anywhere but at the mouth of the Hudson. 

According to William Bradford’s account, “several strangers made discontented and mutinous speeches.” A decision had to be made before anyone left the ship, so the leaders of both groups worked together on an agreement that formed a government for the new colony — the “Mayflower Compact.” 

Bradford was one of the signers of the compact.

Separatist John Carver was chosen as the first Governor of the colony.

Bradford and the Early Days of Plymouth Colony

Upon reaching New England, Bradford played a vital role in exploring the area for their settlement. When he returned to the ship after one of the expeditions, he discovered that his wife had fallen overboard and died. 

• Bradford was 30 years old, but had not yet taken on a prominent leadership role.
• After the Mayflower arrived in Provincetown Harbor, Bradford volunteered to join the exploration to find a location for settlement.
• Between November and December, these Pilgrims sent three expeditions by foot and by boat from the Mayflower.
• During the first expedition, Bradford was caught in a deer trap made by Native Americans, which hoisted him up and nearly turned him upside down.

The Third Pilgrim Expedition Finds a Place to Live

On December 6, a third expedition sailed in a small boat down the coast of Cape Cod Bay. Two days later, they arrived at present-day Clark’s Island and then spent the next few days exploring the area. On December 11, they explored the area of what is now Plymouth Bay and decided it was the place to establish their settlement.

• The location featured a prominent hill ideal for a defensive fort and abundant freshwater.
• The site was an abandoned Indian village called “Patuxet,” and much of the land had already been cleared for planting crops.
• The Patuxet Tribe had been decimated by sickness between 1616 and 1619, possibly due to contact with English fishermen or with the French to the north. 
• In his history, Bradford noted that the bones of the dead were visible in many places.

The First Winter

The Mayflower reached Plymouth Bay on December 20, and the Pilgrims started constructing the colony’s first house on December 25. Progress was slowed by a sickness that had afflicted the settlers, initially starting on the ship.

Sickness Afflicts Bradford and Plymouth Colony

• On January 11, 1621, while building a house, Bradford suddenly experienced severe hip pain and collapsed.
• He was transported to the “common house,” the only completed building at that time, and there were concerns that he might not survive the night.
• Bradford eventually recovered, but many other settlers were not as fortunate.
• By the end of the winter of 1621–1621, nearly half of the original Pilgrims died due to various hardships and illnesses.
• To prevent the Indians from finding out so many had died, the Pilgrims buried their dead in unmarked graves on Cole’s Hill. The burials were often done at night.

Bradford and Standish

During the epidemic, a small number of healthy men took on the responsibility of caring for the sick, and among them was Captain Myles Standish, a soldier hired by the settlers to oversee the colony’s defense.

• During Bradford’s illness, Standish took care of him, which was the beginning of a long friendship between the two men.
• Following the death of John Carver, Bradford was elected governor and closely Standish, depending on him for advice on defense and military strategy for Plymouth.

Bradford and Massasoit

On March 16, an Indian named Samoset walked into Plymouth, and, according to legend, asked for bread and beer — in English. He was acting as a representative of Massasoit, the sachem of the Pokanokets, which was part of the larger Wampanoag People.

Soon after, Massasoit visited Plymouth and signed a treaty with Governor John Carver. The treaty created an alliance between the Pokanokets and Plymouth. They agreed to provide military assistance to each other.

According the Bradford, the treaty contained a provision that said, “If any did unjustly war against him, we would aid him; if any did war against us, Massasoit should aid us.”

The treaty gave Plymouth an ally in New England but also created tension between the colonists and Massasoit’s rivals, including the Narragansett Tribe and the Massachusetts Tribe.

Bradford Becomes Governor of Plymouth Colony

Governor Carver died in mid-April 1621. He was working in the fields on a hot day when he collapsed. He passed away a few days later. Bradford was elected Governor and was re-elected nearly every year until he died in 1647. 

Under Bradford’s leadership, Plymouth Colony experienced ongoing challenges, including sickness, food shortages, disputes with settlers from other colonies, and conflicts with the London investors. Eventually, the Plymouth colonists bought out the London investors.

Bradford also worked to maintain a good relationship with John Winthrop , whose competing colony in Boston challenged Plymouth. Over time, the growth of Massachusetts weakened Plymouth’s strength in the New England Colonies .

Government in Plymouth Colony

Bradford’s success as Governor was enabled by his willingness to rely on advice from men like Standish and his Assistants.

• Plymouth Colony’s leadership consisted of a Governor and an Assistant Governor, with Isaac Allerton serving as the Assistant Governor during the first three years.
• In 1624, the structure was modified to include a Governor and five Assistants, collectively known as the “Court of Assistants” or the “Governor’s council.” These men advised the Governor and were allowed to vote on significant matters.
• Important assistants during the early years of the colony included Thomas Prence, Stephen Hopkins, John Alden, and John Howland.

Marriage to Alice Southworth

Alice Southworth and her two sons, Constant and Thomas, arrived at Plymouth in 1623, on the ship Anne . 

• Bradford married Alice on August 14, 1623. 
• They had three children together, William, Mercy, and Joseph. 
• In their later years, William and Alice took in several of the colony’s orphaned children. 

Bradford’s History of Plymouth

Bradford’s most important literary work is his history of the colony, called Of Plimouth Plantation , or History of Plymouth Plantation . Written in the style of a journal, Bradford documented the history of the Pilgrims from their time in the Netherlands to 1647. His manuscript ends with documentation regarding the Mayflower Passengers .

The original manuscript was kept in the Old South Meeting House in Boston, which was occupied by British troops during the American Revolutionary War. During the war, the manuscript disappeared.

It was discovered at Fulham Palace in the Bishop of London’s library in 1855. Ownership of the document was controversial. Some officials from the Church of England believed the journal belonged in church records. However, a British court ruled the document was taken after the 13 Original Colonies declared Independence, and the original was ordered to be returned to Massachusetts.

On May 26, 1897, the journal was presented to Roger Wolcott, the Governor of Massachusetts during a joint session of the legislature.

William Bradford APUSH Definition and Significance

The definition of William Bradford for APUSH is the Pilgrim leader and the second governor of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. Bradford is best known for his role in organizing and leading the Mayflower voyage in 1620 and for his detailed journal, “Of Plymouth Plantation,” which provides valuable insights into the early history of the colony. 

The significance of William Bradford for APUSH is the important role he played in establishing Plymouth as the first successful English settlement in New England. Brewster also managed to create a peaceful, cooperative relationship with Native Americans, particularly the Wampanoag, who were led by Chief Massasoit. Bradford’s history of the colony is a vital historical source regarding the early colonization of America.

Learn More About the Pilgrims and Pilgrim Fathers on American History Central

Pilgrim landmarks in leiden.

• Pieterskerk, St. Peter’s Church
• John Robinson Burial Site at Pieterskerk
• John Robinson’s Memorial Table at Pieterskerk
• Memorial to Separatists Who Died in Leiden at Pieterskerk
• Pilgrims Historic Marker at Pieterskerk
• Site of John Robinson’s Home at Jean Pesynhof
• Pilgrim Fathers Memorial on Vliet Canal
• Pilgrim Press Plaque at Brewster Alley
• Leiden University
• American Pilgrim Museum

Pilgrims in Colonial America

• Christmas in Plymouth Colony
• Mayflower Voyage and Settlement of Plymouth
• Mayflower Passenger List
• Written by Randal Rust

The Bradford Family

Passenger profile.

William Bradford and his wife Dorothy traveled on the Mayflower ; they made the decision to leave behind their five-year old son, John, behind, and have him come later. Dorothy drowned 7 December 1620, accidentally falling overboard while the ship was anchored off Cape Cod Harbor.

William was the son of William & Alice (Hanson) Bradford, baptized at Austerfield, York, on 19 March 1589/90. He died at Plymouth, 9 May 1657 and was buried on Burial Hill where a monument was placed in 1825. William married 1) at Amsterdam, 10 December 1613, Dorothy May (who was 16 years old); married 2) at Plymouth, 14 August 1623, Alice (Carpenter) Southworth. Alice was born, probably at Wrington, Somerset, circa 1595, the daughter of Alexander Carpenter. She married 1) at Leiden, 28 May 1613, Edward Southworth. Alice died at Plymouth, 26 or 27 March 1670.

William was a signer of the Mayflower Compact in 1620. He received three acres in the 1623 land division, and in the 1627 Cattle Division, is listed with wife “Alles” and children William Jr. and Mercy.

On 16 November 1620, while on an expedition on Cape Cod to find a place to settle, William unexpectedly stepped in a deer trap and up he went, hanging by his foot. It was on a similar trip in December 1620, when Bradford returned to the ship and learned of his wife’s death. On 11 January 1620/21, while at work, William became extremely ill and he was not expected to live. In time, he recovered but he was still so ill in April, that when he was elected Governor for the first time upon the death of their first Governor, John Carver, he requested an Assistant. During the general sickness that swept through Plymouth during their first few winter months, half their numbers died, so William was fortunate he survived.

A fire broke out on 14 January 1620/21 on the roof of the common house, which is where the sick were being taken care of during the general sickness. The damage was repairable, however it was their Governor, John Carver and William who then lay sick who sustained the most loss.

Governor Bradford didn’t expect his second marriage in 1623 to be such a big celebration, it wasn’t their way, however when news got out, the Native Americans came out in style. Massasoit arrived with his queen (one of five wives); four other kings and six score men. They didn’t come empty handed either, but brought three or four deer and a turkey.

William was a driving force in Plymouth, and served as Governor for many years. In the winter of 1657, he became ill, but said that he really didn’t feel that sick, but when spring came, he only worsened. When he died on 9 May 1657, in his 69 th year, “he was lamented by all the colonies of New-England, as a common blessing and father to them all.”

Child of William and Dorothy (May) Bradford:

• John Bradford , born at Leiden, circa 1618; died at Norwich, CT, before 21 September 1676; married about 1650 or earlier, Martha Bourne; they had no children.

Children of William and Alice (Carpenter) Southworth:

• William Bradford , was born at Plymouth, 17 June 1624; died there 20 February 1703/04; married 1) soon after 23 April 1650, Alice Richards; they had ten children: John, William, Thomas, Alice, Mercy, Hannah, Melatiah, Samuel, Mary and Sarah Bradford. William married 2) prob. at Norwich, CT, circa 1674, Sarah (    ) Griswold; they had one child: Joseph Bradford.  William married 3) at Plymouth, circa 1676, Mary (Wood) Holmes; they had four children: Israel, Ephraim, David and Hezekiah Bradford.
• Mercy Bradford was born at Plymouth, before May 1627; d. probably before 9 May 1657; married at Plymouth, 21 December 1648, Benjamin Vermayes; they had no known children.
• Joseph Bradford was born at Plymouth, circa 1630; he died there, 10 July 1715; married at Hingham, 25 May 1664, Jael Hobart; they had three children: Joseph, Elisha and Peter Bradford.

Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, William Bradford , by Ann S. Lainhart and Robert S. Wakefield, vol. 22. Plymouth, 2004.

Mayflower Passenger References, (from contemporary records and scholarly journals) , by Susan E. Roser. 2011. pp. 90-129.

Descendants of William Bradford are invited to join the Governor William Bradford Compact .

Material: Fraxinus nigra (Black ash) Made in Plymouth Colony, 1630-1670 Descended in the Bradford and Hedge families

The list of Governor Bradford’s possessions made at the time of his death in 1657 lists two “great wooden chairs” in the parlor, worth a total of 8 shillings. “Wooden” referred to the seat material so it is very possible that this is one of the two chairs mentioned in the inventory. The chair descended in the Bradford family to the Hedge family, who donated it to the museum in 1953.

The chair was referred to as William Bradford’s chair as early as 1769, when it was used at ceremonies of the Old Colony Club, a social club of Plymouth men. President Harding sat in the chair at the 1921 Tercentenary Pageant celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ Landing, investing himself with historical significance. The chair is still used to validate historic occasions. In 1995, Supreme Court Justice David Souter sat in Pilgrim Hall’s reproduction of the chair at the 375th anniversary celebration in which 175 new American citizens were naturalized.

The chair has been restored and has lost about three inches in height. The hand grips are missing. The top crest rail and board seat have been replaced, and several spindles are not original. While the chair has been coated with brown varnish, faint traces of black paint can be seen under the seat rails. 

The Voyage of the  Mayflower & Speedwell

The Leiden Separatists bought a small ship, the Speedwell, in Holland. They embarked from Delftshaven on July 22, 1620. They sailed to Southampton, England to meet the Mayflower, which had been chartered by their English investors. There, other Separatists and additional colonists joined them.

On August 15, the Mayflower and Speedwell set sail for America. The Speedwell leaked so badly that both ships turned back to England, putting in first at Dartmouth and then at Plymouth. Finally, on September 16, 1620, the Mayflower set sail, alone, for America.

"The dangers were great, but not desperate; the difficulties were many, but not invincible... their ends were good & honorable... and therefore they might expect the blessing of God." - William Bradford

The Mayflower was a sizable cargo ship, around 100 feet in length. She had served many years in the wine trade. With the crowding of 102 passengers plus crew, each family was allotted very little space.

"Now all being compact together in one ship, they put to sea again with a prosperous wind." - William Bradford

The 66-day voyage was frequently stormy. At one point, a main beam cracked and had to be repaired using a large iron screw. When the passengers sighted Cape Cod, they realized that they had failed to reach Virginia, where they had permission to settle. The season was late, however, and supplies of food and water were low. They could go no further.

The Pilgrims safe arrival at Cape Cod aboard the Mayflower :

"Being thus arived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees & blessed ye God of heaven, who had brought them over ye vast & furious ocean, and delivered them from all ye periles & miseries therof, againe to set their feete on ye firme and stable earth, their proper elemente. And no marvell if they were thus joyefull, seeing wise Seneca was so affected with sailing a few miles on ye coast of his owne Italy; as he affirmed, that he had rather remaine twentie years on his way by land, then pass by sea to any place in a short time; so tedious & dreadfull was ye same unto him. But hear I cannot but stay and make a pause, and stand half amased at this poore peoples presente condition; and so I thinke will the reader too, when he well considered ye same. Being thus passed ye vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation (as may be remembred by yt which wente before), they had now no friends to wellcome them, nor inns to entertaine or refresh their weatherbeaten bodys, no houses or much less townes to repaire too, to seeke for succoure. .. Let it also be considred what weake hopes of supply & succoure they left behinde them, yt might bear up their minds in this sade condition and trialls they were under; and they could not but be very smale. It is true, indeed, ye affections & love of their brethren at Leyden was cordiall & entire towards them, but they had litle power to help them, or them selves; and how ye case stode betweene them & ye marchants at their coming away, hath already been declared. What could not sustaine them but ye spirite of God & his grace? May not & ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: Our faithers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this willdernes; but they cried unto ye Lord, and he heard their voyce, and looked on their adversitie…” William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation

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The Pilgrims’ Miserable Journey Aboard the Mayflower

By: Dave Roos

Updated: September 6, 2023 | Original: November 18, 2020

Sailing for more than two months across 3,000 miles of open ocean, the 102 passengers of the Mayflower—including three pregnant women and more than a dozen children—were squeezed below decks in crowded, cold and damp conditions, suffering crippling bouts of seasickness, and surviving on meager rations of hardtack biscuits, dried meat and beer.

“The boat would have been rolling like a pig,” says Conrad Humphreys , a professional sailor and skipper for a recreated sea journey of Captain William Bligh. “The smell and stench of illness and sickness down below, and the freezing cold on deck in the elements, it would have been pretty miserable.”

The Mayflower , like other 17th-century merchant ships, was a cargo vessel designed to haul lumber, fish and casks of French wine—not passengers. The 41 Pilgrims and 61 “strangers” (non-Separatists brought along as skilled craftsmen and indentured servants) who boarded the Mayflower in 1620 made for unusual cargo, and their destination was no less foreign. The ship’s square rigging and high, castle-like compartments were suited for short hops along the European coastline, but the Mayflower’s bulky design was a handicap for sailing against the strong Westerly winds of the North Atlantic.

“The journey would have been painfully slow with many days of being blown backward rather than forward,” says Humphreys.

Incredibly, though, all but one of the Mayflower’s passengers survived the grueling, 66-day ordeal, and the Pilgrims even welcomed the arrival of a newborn baby halfway through the journey, a boy aptly named Oceanus. The Pilgrims’ joy and relief on catching sight of Cape Cod on the morning of November 9, 1620 was recorded by their leader William Bradford in Of Plymouth Plantation .

“Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof," wrote Bradford.

From Two Ships to One

The Pilgrim’s arduous journey to the New World technically began on July 22, 1620, when a large group of colonists boarded a ship called the Speedwell in the Dutch port city of Delfshaven. From there, they sailed to Southampton, UK, where they met the rest of the passengers as well as a second ship, the Mayflower. The two ships disembarked from Southampton on August 6 with hopes of speedy crossing to northern Virginia.

But just hours into the journey, the Speedwell began to leak badly, and the two ships were forced to pull in at Dartmouth. The Speedwell was finally ready to sail again on August 24, but this time only made it 300 miles before springing another leak. The frustrated and exhausted Pilgrims docked at Plymouth and made the difficult decision to ditch the Speedwell. Some of the Pilgrims also called it quits in Plymouth, but the rest of the passengers and cargo from the Speedwell were transferred to the already overcrowded Mayflower.

The traditional account of the Mayflower journey begins on September 6, 1620, the day it sailed from Plymouth, but it’s worth noting that by that point the Pilgrims had already been living aboard ships for nearly a month and a half.

Life on the Gun Deck

The Mayflower was about 100 feet long from stem to stern and just 24 feet wide. In addition to its 102 passengers, the Mayflower carried a crew of 37 men—sailors, cooks, carpenters, surgeons and officers. The crew was housed in small cabins above the main deck, while the Pilgrims were consigned to the “gun deck” or “between decks,” a suffocating, windowless space between the main deck and the cargo hold below.

“These lower decks were very cramped, cold and wet, with low ceilings no more than five feet tall,” says Humphreys. “And all around you, people are getting seasick. It’s really not a very nice place to be.”

The passengers shared the gun deck with a 30-foot sailboat called a “shallop” that was stored below decks until their arrival in the New World. Between the masts, storage rooms and the shallop, the total available living space for 102 people measured only 58 feet by 24 feet. The passengers practically slept on top of each other, with families erecting small wooden dividers and hanging curtains for a semblance of privacy.

“The crew would occasionally let some of the passengers up on deck to get some fresh air, but on the whole, the Pilgrims were treated like cargo,” says Humphreys. “The crew were worried about people being swept overboard. The journey was difficult enough for seasoned sailors, nevermind novices like the Pilgrims.”

Biscuits and Beer

Mealtime on the Mayflower brought little to celebrate. The cooks would have run out of fresh food just days into the journey and instead relied on salted pork, dried fish and other preserved meats. Since regular bread would spoil too quickly, they served hardtack biscuits, jaw-breaking bricks made from flour, water and salt.

“The beverage of choice for many of these old voyages was beer,” says Humphreys, explaining that casks of fresh water tended to go “off” during long storage. “Even young children were given beer to drink.”

Subsisting on small rations of salted meats and beer, the Pilgrims would have been malnourished, dehydrated, weak and susceptible to scurvy. When Humphreys recreated Bligh’s 60-day crossing of the South Pacific, he and his crew ate only 18th-century rations—about 400 calories per person per day—and each man lost 25 percent of their body weight.

Stormy Weather and the 'Great Iron Screw'

Bradford’s short description in Of Plymouth Plantation of life aboard the Mayflower is the only surviving account of the crossing, but it includes enough harrowing details to understand how close the journey came to disaster.

After a month of relatively calm seas and smooth sailing, the Mayflower encountered the first of an unrelenting series of North Atlantic storms that buffeted and battered the ship for weeks. The crew was forced on several occasions to lower the sails and let the Mayflower bob helplessly in the towering waves.

“They were encountered many times with cross winds and met with many fierce storms with which the ship was shroudly shaken, and her upper works made very leaky,” wrote Bradford, “and one of the beams in the midships was bowed and cracked, which put them in some fear that the ship could not be able to perform the voyage.”

Whether Bradford was talking about a cracked mast or another type of wooden beam is unclear, but the damage was serious enough for the Pilgrims to call a meeting with the captain to discuss turning back. But then something remarkable happened.

“…There was a great iron screw the passengers brought out of Holland, which would raise the beam into his place,” wrote Bradford, describing an object that was either the screw of a printing press or a large jack to raise the roof of a house. Either way, it worked, and the Pilgrims “committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed.”

An Unexpected Swim

During one of those brutal storms, when the Mayflower was forced to draw its sails and “hull for divers days,” one of the passengers apparently became desperate for a breath of fresh air. Bradford wrote that a “lusty young man” named John Howland wandered onto the main deck and “with a seele [or pitch] of the ship [was] thrown into the sea.”

By some miracle, Howland was able to grab hold of the halyards hanging overboard and hold on for dear life, “though he was sundry fathoms under water,” wrote Bradford. Working quickly, the crew pulled Howland close enough to the ship to snag him with a hook and haul the foolhardy young man back onto the deck. Bradford proudly reported that after a short sickness, Howland not only recovered, but “lived many years after, and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth.”

The Death of William Butten, the First of Many

Bradford makes only passing mention of the one death on the Mayflower. A young boy named William Butten, an indentured servant to one of the Pilgrims, fell ill during the journey and died just a few days shy of reaching the New World.

Given the dangers of the journey and the rough conditions aboard the Mayflower, it was a miracle that only one person out of 102 perished on the 66-day voyage. Sadly, the Pilgrims’ fortunes changed for the worse once they landed at Cape Cod in early November. The passengers and crew continued to live on the Mayflower for months as permanent dwellings were constructed on the shore.

With each passing week, more and more Pilgrims and their “stranger” companions succumbed to bitter cold and disease. By spring 1621, roughly half of the Mayflower’s original passengers had died in their new home. Among them was little Oceanus. In one piece of good news, another baby named Peregrine, the first Pilgrim baby born in the Plymouth Colony , not only survived the brutal winter, but lived on for more than 80 years. 

HISTORY Vault: Lost Colony Of Roanoke

In 1590, the settlers of Roanoke—the first English colony in the New World—were discovered to be missing. The only clues: five buried chests and the word "Croatoan," a Native American village nearby, carved on a post. Archaeologists search for answers.

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Bradford's manuscript "of plimoth plantation".

Download the digitized version of the original "Of Plimoth Plantation"

Purchase your own copy of the facsmile of the original "Of Plimoth Plantation"

Table of Contents

Brief chronology of the manuscript volume, additional resources, introduction to the bradford manuscript.

The original copy of Of Plimoth Plantation details the travels and everyday lives of a small group of religious Separatists, who set out from England to seek the religious freedom they felt was not available to them back home. Written by William Bradford, a Pilgrim leader in the religious Separatist movement, the book presents in manuscript format the initial authoritative account of the Mayflower voyage and the settling of what would become the first permanent settlement of Europeans in New England, using the newly-signed Mayflower Compact as the colony’s governing document.

Lost for nearly a century and often believed by many to be Bradford’s personal journal in the new land, Of Plimoth Plantation , which is also commonly known as the “Bradford Manuscript,” represents a written retrospection on his experiences and observations, initially written as two books, the second of which was never completed. It has been incorrectly called the "Log of the Mayflower;" however Bradford started writing long after the arrival of the Pilgrims and it cannot be considered an actual daily journal of the Mayflower's voyage.

The Bradford Manuscript gives historical scholars, researchers, and everyday history enthusiasts a first-hand account from the perspective of a European settler of the founding of Plimoth Plantation, or Plymouth Colony, as it is now known. The original settlers were beset by diseases and illnesses that killed nearly half of the original 100 settlers within the first six months of the expedition. They suffered as well from a scarcity of food, harsh and unforgiving weather, and conflicts with the indigenous populations in the area over land and traditions. These colonists, who were originally called “Old Comers,” persevered through their hardships, frequently aided by the area’s original inhabitants, and went on to mark a place for themselves in the annals of American history. 

Although it appears Bradford never attempted to publish his manuscript, he made it clear that he wanted it preserved and read by future generations.

William Bradford

• Born:  March 19, 1590 at Austerfield, County Yorkshire, England, son of William and Alice (Hanson) Bradford
• First marriage:   Dorothy May, on 10 December 1613 at Amsterdam, Holland. Dorothy Bradford died while the Mayflower was docked at Provincetown
• Second marriage:  Alice (Carpenter) Southworth, on 14 August 1623 at Plymouth
• Served:  five terms as Governor of Plymouth Colony: 1621-1632, 1635, 1637, 1639-1643, 1645-1656
• Death:  May 9, 1657 at Plymouth

Description of the Bradford Manuscript Volume

Bradford Manuscript volume

• Binding: 17 th -century vellum
• Measurements: 11 ½” x 7 ¾”
• Paper: cream-colored handmade laid paper
• Ink: dark brown, iron-gall ink of several different colors
• Pages: ca. 580
• Order of the pages is questionable and page numbering is erratic; pages were added to the original volume after its return to Massachusetts in 1897
• Bradford’s Hebrew vocabulary
• History “of Plimoth plantation,” including the early history of the Separatists’ flight from England, travel to Amsterdam and then Leyden, preparation for the voyage to New England, the voyage itself, and then a narrative history of the plantation
• A list of passengers on the Mayflower

The Mayflower and her Passengers

Stained Glass Image of the Mayflower, 1890s. Room 433, Massachusetts State House [photograph by Bruce Diloreto]

• Number of passengers on the Mayflower: 102
• Estimate of current living descendants: There are an estimated 10 million living Americans and as many as 35 million people worldwide descended from the Pilgrims, according to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.
• The original Mayflower Compact no longer exists; only William Bradford’s hand-written copy of the document, contained within this manuscript, has survived.
•  December 25, 1620: they had finally decided upon Plymouth, and began construction of their first buildings.

"The names of those which came over first, in the year 1620, and were by the blessing of God the first beginners and in a sort the foundation of all the Plantations and Colonies in New England (and their families)"

The Mayflower Compact

The "Mayflower Compact" was signed on November 11, 1620 onboard the  Mayflower  shortly after coming to anchor off Provincetown Harbor. The Pilgrims had obtained permission from English authorities to settle in Virginia, whose northern border at the time extended up to what is now New York. The Pilgrims had originally intended to settle near the mouth of the Hudson River, but due to dangerous shoals and a near shipwreck on their attempt to head south, they decided instead to settle outside the bounds of the Virginia Company patent--which caused some "mutinous speeches" amongst some of the passengers. The Mayflower Compact was an attempt to establish a temporary, legally-binding form of self-government.

Though the original no longer exists, the text was first published in Mourt's Relation in 1622.  The earliest surviving handwritten copy of the text is included in Governor WIlliam Bradford's manuscript (pictured below). Bradford did not list the signers nor did he refer to the document as "Compact" or "Mayflower Compact."   Nathaniel Morton, secretary for Plymouth Colony, published it, along with the earliest known list of the signers, in his history,  New England's Memorial  in 1669.  A list of signers is also found in Thomas Prince's 1736 book,  Chronological History of New England ; and Thomas Hutchinson published a list of signers in 1767 as well. It is uncertain if they had access to the original, or were basing their list of signers off Nathaniel Morton's.

Image of the handwritten record of the Mayflower Compact

Text of Mayflower Compact (original punctuation and spelling):

In ye name of God Amen· We whose names are vnderwriten,  the loyall subjects of our dread soueraigne Lord King James  by ye grace of God, of great Britaine, franc, & Ireland king,  defender of ye faith, &c

Haueing vndertaken, for ye glorie of God, and aduancemente  of ye christian ^faith and honour of our king & countrie, a voyage to  plant ye first colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginia· doe  by these presents solemnly & mutualy in ye presence of God, and  one of another, couenant, & combine our selues togeather into a  ciuill body politick; for ye our better ordering, & preseruation & fur= therance of ye ends aforesaid; and by vertue hearof, to enacte,  constitute, and frame shuch just & equall lawes, ordinances,  Acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought  most meete & conuenient for ye generall good of ye colonie:  vnto  which we promise all due submission and obedience.  In witnes  wherof we haue herevnder subscribed our names at Cap= Codd ye ·11· of Nouember, in ye year of ye raigne of our soueraigne  Lord king James of England, france, & Ireland ye eighteenth  and of Scotland ye fiftie fourth. Ano: Dom ·1620·|

Text of Mayflower Compact (spelling and punctuation modernized):

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November [New Style, November 21], in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620.

Bradford's Hebrew Studies and the "Triangle Text"

Bradford's preface to his Hebrew text manuscript pages

Bradford's History "of Plimoth Plantation" concludes in the year 1647 but he had still some years to live. He may have described himself as "growne aged" but that does not mean that he was not still dedicated to his own enlightenment and education. He may have slowed down in body but not in mind and spent his quiet "retirement" days in Hebrew study whose notes occupy the first pages of his manuscript.

Return of the Manuscript to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

After a long campaign , the Bradford Manuscript was returned on Wednesday, May 26, 1897, to great ceremony in the General Court as detailed in the Journal of the House of Representatives from 1897:

At eleven o'clock A.M., pursuant to the order previously adopted, the two branches met in joint convention for the purpose of witnessing the exercises of the formal presentation to the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Bradford Manuscript History recently ordered by decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London to be returned to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the hands of the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, lately ambassador at the court of St. James's. The President of the Senate being in the chair, a committee consisting of Messrs. Roe, Woodward and Gallivan, of the Senate, and Messrs. Pierce of Milton, Bailey of Plymouth, Brown of Gloucester, Fairbank of Warren, Bailey of Newbury, Sanderson of Lynn, Whittlesey of Pittsfield and Bartlett of Boston, of the House, was appointed to wait upon His Excellency the Governor and inform him that the two branches were in convention for the purpose of witnessing the exercises of the formal presentation to him of the Bradford Manuscript History. Soon afterwards His Excellency the Governor, accompanied by His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor and the Honorable Council, and by the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, lately ambassador of the United States at the Court of St. James's, the Honorable George F. Hoar, Senator from Massachusetts in the Congress of the United States, and other invited guests, came in. The decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London, authorizing the return of the manuscript and its delivery to the Governor of this Commonwealth, was read. The President then introduced the Honorable George F. Hoar, who addressed the convention, giving an account of the manuscript and of the many efforts that had been made to secure its return. The Honorable Thomas F. Bayard was then introduced by the President, and he formally presented the manuscript to His Excellency the Governor, who accepted it on behalf of the Commonwealth.

History in the State Library of Massachusetts

Bradford Manuscript on display in the State Library's reading room in 1899

In 1898 Governor Roger Wolcott deposited the manuscript into the custody of Caleb B. Tillinghast, State Librarian, for safekeeping and it has remained in the State Library of Massachusetts ever since.

After an extensive project to repair and digitize the Manuscript  at the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Massachusetts, it is now housed in a custom-made box that supports it from all sides, keeping it protected from light and dust under controlled environmental conditions. Visitors to the State Library can view a facsimile volume printed from the high resolution digital images taken after the conservation project was completed.

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The maiden voyage of the Mayflower II: Provincetown was first again

My knowledge of the world drops off sharply beyond the Orleans rotary, but the recent hullabaloo about the Mayflower II passing through the Cape Cod Canal really sizzled my synapses.

Thus, a steep learning curve began. I figured the "II" in the name of the ship was likely a clue that the original Mayflower had retired to The Villages in Florida and was raising heck on a tricked-out golf cart. 

But that doesn't seem to be the case, although the fate of the original Mayflower appears to be murky, at least to a bumbling historical sleuth like me.

An intriguing possibility about what happened to the Mayflower was raised by noted historian and physician Charles Edward Banks in his 1929 book about the English ancestry and homes of the Pilgrims. Here's what he wrote:

"What finally became of her is an unsettled problem. Dr. Rendel Harris, an English historian of the Pilgrim ship, has published interesting material which he claims as proof that this historic vessel was finally broken up and her timbers used in the construction of a barn at Jordan's (village) in Buckinghamshire."

So let's assume the original Mayflower is no more. How the heck did folks come up with the idea to build a replica in the first place?

According to an account on the Plimoth Patuxet Museums website , a reproduction of the Mayflower "was always part of (founder) Harry Hornblower’s vision for Plimoth Patuxet Museums." The organization contracted a naval architect to cook up plans for a Mayflower-type ship in the early 1950s.

A similar plan was springing to life at roughly the same time in England, where a fellow named Warwick Charlton had founded Project Mayflower Ltd. "to honor the alliance of friendship forged between the United States and United Kingdom during World War II," according to Plimoth Patuxet .

Team Charlton read an article by Plimoth Patuxet's naval architect, which led to Plimoth Patuxet sharing their research and plans. The game was afoot!

According to his 2002 obituary in The Telegraph, an English newspaper, "Charlton was determined that everything about the ship and its voyage should be authentic."

The Mayflower II was built in Devon, England in the mid-1950s, as the creative Charlton was able to find all sorts of ways to finance the replica, including charging folks two shillings to get a look at the ongoing construction.

According to Charlton's obituary, "On April 20, 1957, amid much publicity on both sides of the Atlantic .... the 33-man crew, dressed as Pilgrim Fathers, set sail from Brixham. Powered solely by sail, Mayflower II took 54 days .... to cross the Atlantic, during which time the crew encountered a violent storm and a severe depletion of supplies. The beer ration was reduced to a bottle a day."

The final destination on the ship's maiden voyage was Plymouth , a seaside town located somewhere off-Cape. But all Cape Codders know that the original Pilgrims stopped in Provincetown first , and so did the Mayflower II.

The June 13, 1957 front page headline in the Provincetown Advocate newspaper read: "Mayflower II Makes Safe Harbor Here As Thousands Line Shore In Welcome."

Here's some of the Advocate story: "The Mayflower II rounded Long Point and headed into the harbor at 12:30 yesterday afternoon, 53 days out of England, thus marking Provincetown's authentic place in the history of the nation as the first landing place of the Pilgrims."

Local officials also stressed the Provincetown-first storyline: "Joseph Lema Jr., Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, reading from a scroll, said, 'You have attested your fidelity to history by stopping first in the waters of this ancient Town of Provincetown where your forefathers first touched foot on the soil of the Western hemisphere."

It seems the Pilgrim rivalry between Provincetown and Plymouth was still going strong back then. The Advocate article ends with this: "Whatever follows in Plymouth will be anti-climatic, Provincetown felt. For this original landing place the real story took place in the harbor, here."

Eric Williams, when not solving Curious Cape Cod mysteries, writes about a variety of ways to enjoy the Cape, the weather, wildlife and other subjects. Contact him at  [email protected] . Follow him on X: @capecast.

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Virtual Voyages: The Homes of Brewster and Bradford

Discover the homes, places and roots of two of the leading figures in the Mayflower story - William Brewster and   William Bradford   - in the third of our Virtual Voyages series.

Explore the historic villages clustered together in north Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire where Brewster and Bradford were born, go inside centuries-old churches that go to the very origins of the Mayflower story and peek inside the new Pilgrim Gallery in nearby Retford that tells their stories.

Special thanks to:

Isabelle Richards, Heritage Engagement Officer at Bassetlaw District Council

Peter Swincoe, Warden at All Saints' Church, Babworth

Adrian Gray, Pilgrims & Prophets Tours, Retford

With thanks to:

Pilgrims Gallery, Bassetlaw Museum, Retford, and St Helena's Church, Austerfield.

The Bassetlaw Museum and The Pilgrims Gallery

The museum features a map of the greater Retford area, which saw the rise of the Mayflower Pilgrims and was a real hotbed of religious non-conformity in the 17th century.

It spreads from here in Retford to South Yorkshire and also over into Lincolnshire, and in this area we saw the rise of a lot of people who went on to play key roles in the Mayflower story - including William Bradford , William Brewster, John Robinson and John Smith.

Brewster is a really crucial figure, and the Pilgrims Gallery contains a reimagined space that would perhaps been in Scrooby Manor depicting his study, and we have an excellent local actor portraying him a mirror where he appears and tells four stories from his life.

These interactives are really based on his point of view as a Pilgrim elder.

William Brewster and Scrooby Manor

William Brewster came from Scrooby and had a great influence on the Pilgrims, perhaps encouraging them to make that move to Holland.

The Brewster family lived at Scrooby Manor and were the bailiffs for the Archbishop, so William would have been fairly well-off, with his dad also being the postmaster.

He did go off to Cambridge was a young lad, but he wasn't there for very long.

Brewster was employed by William Davidson, who was one of the ambassadors of Elizabeth I - and that's how he ended up travelling to Holland and seeing the tolerance that was found there at the time.

When the Mayflower left for America, the group didn't have a pastor or any proper priests with them.

Robinson, who was considered to be the leader, remained in Leiden and Brewster, being one of the elders, became the spiritual leader of the colonists.

Susanna White

Recent information uncovered by historian Sue Allen shows that Susanna White was born Susanna Jackson.

The Jackson family were from South Yorkshire and ended up in Scrooby as well, so she would have grown up knowing Brewster.

We believe that Susanna's dad was probably the 'Jackson' who was arrested with Brewster right before the group went to Holland.

And that's where she would have met her first husband, William White, before they both sailed on the Mayflower.

William sadly died before setting foot in America, and Susanna had their son, Peregrine (which means 'Pilgrim' in Latin), on the Mayflower while they were anchored off the coast of Cape Cod - making him the first person born in what would become Plymouth Colony.

Susanna would also have the Colony's first marriage when she wed Edward Winslow , and together they had a son named Josish who would later become a governor.

All Saints' Church, Babworth

Babworth is a really picturesque church which is set in woodland, and as you travel down the lane you imagine that it's been tucked away like this forever.

But actually that lane was a more important road during the Pilgrims' time.

Babworth was already a centre of non-conformity before Richard Clyfton got there, but Clyfton really fostered that further and had William Bradford and William Brewster coming to listen to his sermons, with Brewster repeating them in the afternoon at Scrooby as well.

Separatists often objected to the use of the prayer book, they didn't like to wear the robes surpluses; they also didn't make the sign of the cross of baptism and they didn't observe the feasting days and fasting days that the main church did.

Bradford, at around the age of 12, got quite into the scriptures and started to come under Clyfton's influence, so he must have walked back to hear the sermons and he would have met Brewster there as well.

We also hear that Bradford's uncles and perhaps other villages were a bit scornful and dismissive of their religious bent that he was getting into.

William Bradford and St Helena's Church

William Bradford was born in Austerfield in 1590 and was an orphan, but with moderated well-connected relatives.

Bradford's importance rests on two things: He kept a journal of his life up to 1646, which was later discovered and published as 'Of Plimoth Plantation'.

The second reason is that he was governor of Plymouth Colony for many years after 1621, following the death of John Carver .

A few hundred yards from Bradford's house in Austerfield lies his old church, St Helena's.

Austerfield has a place in Christian history long before Bradford, though, for in 702AD it was the site of an important conference between the bishops of the Celtic and the Roman Catholic churches to decide their differences over issues such as the date of Easter and the seniority of bishops like Wilfred.

The most amazing feature of this church will strike you before you've even entered it, as above the door is a carving caught a tympanum of the winged dragon.

It is believed that this was intended to scare the Devil away from the church.

Another treasure here is the stained-glass window commemorating William Bradford and the Mayflower voyage.

At the end of the 1800s, there was growing interest from America in forming a memorial to Bradford, so a new north aisle was built and, much later, a wonderful window was installed in 1989.

Another interesting feature is the font, which was rediscovered in a farmyard and is believed by many to have been the from where Bradford was christened.

Austerfield Manor House

The main link between William Bradford and the village of Austerfield is now the old Manor House where he lived and which is remarkably well-preserved.

This is a small timber-framed house, much of which dates from the 1500s.

Because Bradford has so many descendants in America, it is effectively the ancestral home of thousands of people.

William Butten

Between St Helena's Church and the Manor House is a very striking plaque at the entrance to a new housing estate called Butten Meadow .

This shows a picture of the Mayflower and commemorates a boy named William Butten who died on the journey across The Atlantic.

No one knows for certain where William came from, but the surname 'Butten' was used around Austerfield, and there is a lane called Billy Button Lane a few miles away at Tolworth.

William had lived with the Leiden separatists, so some connection is quite possible.

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