Thursday, November 16, 2017

Along the Pilgrim Trail ~ Fishtoft, Lincolnshire where the Pilgrims were Betrayed!

Along the Pilgrim Trail, Part 14

The Pilgrim Monument at Fishtoft

Vincent and I recently took the General Society of Mayflower Descendants Historic Sites Tour of England, Wales and The Netherlands along with 41 other enthusiast participants (known as "The 43").  We traced the footsteps of the Separatists and the Mayflower passengers and crew all around these countries with some amazing tour directors, guides, historians and authors.  We were given access to places off the usual tourist trails, and behind the scenes.  We had a wonderful time, and I will be blogging about it over the next few weeks.

In 1607 the Scrooby congregation of Separatists decided to leave England due to the persecutions of many of their members. They decided to go to Holland, where they could worship without fear.

The Scrooby Separatists hired a barge to leave from the small village of Fishtoft, Lincolnshire which would take them to a ship over the North Sea to Holland.  Fishtoft is 60 miles from Scrooby, a village in the tidal marshes off The Haven ( the River Witham which drains the Fens).  The barge was to leave a small brook or creek known as Scotia creek.  From here you can see the tower of St. Botolph's church in nearby Boston, Lincolnshire.

Once the Separatists boarded the barge, the group was seized by officers who put them into open boats and carried them back upriver to Boston.  The men and women were searched bodily.  Money, books and possessions were seized.  The men were arrested and imprisoned in the Guildhall.

Stay tuned for the next episode to find out what happened next in Boston!

Near this place in September 1607
those later known as the
Pilgrim Fathers
were thwarted in their first attempt to sail
to find religious freedom across the seas.

Memorial re-worded by
the generous gift of the National Association of
Congregational Christian Churches
and the First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa,
WI, USA - 2009

By the way, according to Wikipedia, the original wording on this monument used to read "Near this place in September 1607 those later known as "The Pilgrim Fathers" made their first attempt to find religious freedom across the seas.  Erected 1957".  It was erected in 1957 on the 350th anniversary of the event.

Mayflower descendants along the creek
in Fishtoft, Lincolnshire, walking the dike
towards the Pilgrim Fathers Monument

An audience of cows

Vincent and Yours Truly at the Pilgrim Monument
The spire of St. Botolph's church can
be seen over the cabbage fields from Fishtoft


Part 1 of this series "Babworth, Nottinghamshire":
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/along-pilgrim-trail-babworth.html  

Part 2 of this series “Scrooby Manor, Nottinghamshire”:

Part 3 of this series "Gainsborough, Lincolnshire"

Part 4 of this series "Harwich, Essex, home of the Mayflower"

Part 5 of this series "Upper Clatford, Hampshire":
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/along-pilgrim-trail-stephen-hopkins-of.html   

Part 6 of this series "William Mullins of Dorking, Surrey":

Part 7 of this series "Edward Winslow of Droitwich, Worcestershire":

Part 8 of this series "The Fullers of Reddenhall, Norfolk":

Part 9 of this series "John Howland of Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire":

Part 10 of this series "Tilley and Sampson of Henlow, Bedfordshire":

Part 11 of this series "William Bradford of Austerfield, Yorkshire":

Part 12 of this series "Francis Eaton of Bristol":

Part 13 of this series "James Chilton, Robert Cushman of Canterbury, Kent, England":


----------------------------------


Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Along the Pilgrim Trail ~ Fishtoft,  Lincolnshire where the Pilgrims were betrayed!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 17, 2017, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/11/along-pilgrim-trail-fishtoft.html: accessed [access date]). 
Posted by at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)