Plymouth, England - Not so Wordless Wednesday

Last month I left a comment on a blog from England, and the blogger replied and we began a long conversation back and forth via e-mail. Although my original comment was not about Plymouth, or the Mayflower Pilgirms, our conversation developed about the ship the Mayflower II. We were comparing notes about Plymouth, Massachusetts and Plymouth, England.

The Mayflower Steps
where the Pilgrim Fathers disembarked
for the New World

click to enlarge and read the inscription

The Mayflower Steps in the foreground
and modern Plymouth Harbor surrounding it

Photographs copyright: Annie Barnes of Hibbitt Family History http://www.hibbitt.org.uk/

According to Annie: "I thought you might like to have these photos from Plymouth, England. There are lots of references to the Mayflower and the Pilgrims over here. Our local football team (that's soccer to you) is called Plymouth Argyle but it's nickname is the Pilgrims. The memorial is situated on the Barbican which is one of the oldest parts of Plymouth, much of the city having been heavily bombed during WWII."

Annie also adds "Mayflower II was built a few miles up the coast from here in a town called Brixham. It's a pretty little ship but the original must have been very cramped for the Pilgrims. There was an idea muted a few years ago to build another replica and have her moored here in Plymouth at Sutton Harbour where the Mayflower Steps are located but nothing seems to have come of it.

Our Plymouth is a reasonably big city with more than 250,000 people living here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth). It's been a historic port for centuries and continues to accommodate the Royal Navy at Devonport Dockyard. There have been a lot of flats built around Sutton Harbour and the waterfront in general, in the last 20 years or so which has made Plymouth appear even more built-up than what I can remember as a child.

The Barbican is still a popular attraction for tourists with its cobbled streets and the Plymouth Gin Distillery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Gin) is said to be where the Pilgrims spent their last night before leaving on the Mayflower."

Thanks, Annie Barnes!

UPDATE!  -  Annie wrote a complementary blog post at her website, and you can read it at this link:  http://www.hibbitt.org.uk/blog/item/262

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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo