Coming up in 2019:

The Imagination Museum: Mayflower 400

Thursday 7th November 2019

Venue: All Saints’ Church Babworth, Babworth Road, Retford, DN22 8EP

A very special performance at a very important site in the story of the Mayflower Pilgrims. Richard Clifton, a preacher at Babworth, was a key Separatist who inspired many to reject the established church and seek to organise their own church, including some of the leading Separatists who travelled on the Mayflower, William Brewster and William Bradford.

Free performance open to the general public at 7pm; no booking required.

About the piece:

In The Imagination Museum: Mayflower 400, 3 eccentric tour guides will lead you on a danced history tour, using movement, text and music to explore what it was really like for many of the passengers who undertook a historic journey from England to America aboard the Mayflower in 1620. Playful, imaginative and moving, The Imagination Museum is a performance about determination and the extraordinary things that it makes ordinary people do. Suitable for all ages. The performance will last about 40 minutes.

PILGRIMS FESTIVAL: 16th-29th November 2019

This year’s Pilgrims Festival marks the official opening of the Mayflower 400 commemorative year, with events taking place across the Pilgrim Roots region.

Lantern-making workshops

Get ready to join the parade near you! Free lantern making workshops are taking place in Gainsborough, Retford and Worksop for the upcoming Illuminate parades thanks to funding from Arts Council England:

• Monday 21st October, 10am-4pm
  • The Crossing, Newcastle Street, Worksop, S80 2AT
• Tuesday 22nd October,10am-4pm
  • Retford Library, 17 Churchgate, DN22 6PE
• Friday 25th October, 10am-4pm
  • Gainsborough Old Hall, Parnell Street, Gainsborough, DN21 2NB
• Saturday 26th October, 10am-4pm
  • United Reformed Church, Church Street, Gainsborough, DN21 2JR
• Monday 28th October, 10am-4pm
  • Bassetlaw Museum, 40 Grove Street, Retford, DN22 6LD
• Wednesday 30th October, 10am-4pm
  • Worksop Library, Memorial Avenue, S80 2BP
• Saturday 9th November,
  • United Reformed Church, Church Street, Gainsborough, DN21 2JR

‘Illuminate’

4.30pm – Parade participants: meet at the United Reformed Church for performances with Rhubarb Theatre

5pm – Parade gathers outside the United Reformed Church to walk through town to Gainsborough Old Hall featuring a digital projection by Electric Egg, then heading to the Market Place and finishing in Marshall’s Yard

Event led by West Lindsey District Council thanks to funding from Arts Council England, and part of the Being Human Festival – for further details, see Discover Gainsborough

Austerfield & Bawtry – Sunday 17th November

Event led by Right Up Our Street, from 4-6pm in Bawtry and beginning with a parade from Austerfield.

For further details and updates see Right Up Our Street’s Events.

Boston – Thursday 21st November

Transported & Boston Borough Council lead commemorations in Boston town centre from 5.30pm – find out more at transportedart.com

Retford – Friday 22nd November

Thanks to funding from Arts Council England, this year’s event includes:

5.30pm: Parade from Carolgate to St Swithun’s Parish Church

6pm: St Swithun’s all age event including digital projection by Electric Egg and performances by Rhubarb Theatre and Songbirds

7pm: the ‘400’ photograph, then refreshments for all in the Church

Worksop – Wednesday 27th November – NEW!

Worksop’s first Illuminate parade recognises the town’s connection to the Separatist/Pilgrim story through Worksop Priory’s 17th century vicar, Richard Bernard – thanks to funding from Arts Council England…

5.30pm: Parade participants: meet at The Crossing for performances with Rhubarb Theatre

6pm: Parade walks from The Crossing to Worksop Priory for a digital projection onto the church, followed by a 400 photo and refreshments in church

Pilgrims Art Exhibition

The Imagination Museum: Mayflower 400

Tuesday 26th November

Venue: Retford Town Hall – further details available on the Imagination Museum What’s On page

Thursday 28th November

Venue: Gainsborough’s United Reformed Church – further details available on the Imagination Museum What’s On page

Thanksgiving Dinner

Venue: Spencer’s on the Square, Retford
Thursday 28th November 6.30pm for 7pm (Thanksgiving Day)
If you’re looking for an excuse for a good night out or a location for a work Christmas ‘Do’, contact 01777 800230 to book tickets (£29.95).

Past Events

2019

PILGRIMS GALLERY

Work is now completed for Bassetlaw Museum’s new Pilgrims Gallery which opened in September 2019 – for updates see www.pilgrimroots.org; part of the Pilgrim Roots National Lottery Heritage Funded project led by Bassetlaw District Council in partnership with Bassetlaw Christian Heritage.

PILGRIMS TRAIL

Launched in September 2019, the new Pilgrims Trail connects key sites linked to the Pilgrims’ story in Bassetlaw and West Lindsey. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Trail sites include Retford’s St Swithun’s Church, All Saints Church in Babworth, St Wilfrid’s Church in Scrooby, St Helena’s Church in Austerfield, St Peter & St Paul’s Church in Sturton-le-Steeple, Gainsborough’s Old Hall and United Reformed Church.

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE FORUM

Date: Saturday 9th March 2019, 10am-1pm

Venue: The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, DN22 7BD
Event: Is Free Speech at risk? Invited Speakers on ‘Religious Tolerance’ – past and present
Free event, all welcome, with mid-morning refreshments break. Our speakers included:

• Dr Larry Kreitzer – “Pioneer of Freedom: New Light on Thomas Helwys of Nottinghamshire”
• Dr Martin Parsons – “Religious Freedom in Britain since 1700 – and what it tells us about the World today”
• Dr Calum Miller – “Is Free Speech really under threat?”

For more information, read our blog or contact Adrian Gray 

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE CONFERENCE

Date: Friday 8th March 2019, 10am-4pm

Venue: The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, DN22 7BD
Event: Representatives from Christian Heritage organisations from across the UK meet to share projects, news and learning.

For more information, please contact Adrian Gray 

BABWORTH SNOWDROPS

Date: Saturday 9th February, 10am-4pm & Sunday 10th February 2018, 12-4pm

Venue: All Saints’ Church, Babworth
Q & A session with local historian and guide Maggy Watkins on the Sunday.

2018

PILGRIMS FESTIVAL 2018

15-25 November 2018

Free lantern-making workshops

Free lantern-making workshops – making lanterns for the parade in Retford on Tuesday 20 November.
Tuesday 30th October – 10am – 4pm, with artist Jessica Kemp at Retford Library
Friday 2nd November – 10am – 4pm, with artist Kirsty Champ at Bassetlaw Museum, Retford

Thanksgiving Dinner

Venue: Spencer’s on the Square, Retford
Thursday 15th November 6.30pm for 7pm
3 course dinner plus entertainment from Adam Schofield and Jessica Mary Brett (£29.95)

Pilgrims Art Exhibition

Featuring art inspired by the Pilgrims Story
Venue: Babworth Parish Church, near Retford
Saturday 17th November 10am – 4pm with a talk by local historian Adrian Gray at 11am
Sunday 18th November 12pm – 4pm- with working embroiders and artist
Refreshments available

Austerfield & Bawtry – Sunday 18th November
11.15am: Candle-lighting Holy Communion service at St Helena’s Church, AUSTERFIELD – home of William Bradford, Mayflower Pilgrim
4pm: Hog roast at Bawtry Hall followed by a lantern parade through BAWTRY
4.40pm: the ‘400’ photograph
5pm: Parade processes around Bawtry
5.30pm: Bawtry Hall — church service including a performance by the Bawtry Mayflower Choir

Retford — Tuesday 20th November
5.30pm: Parade from Carolgate to St Swithun’s Parish Church
6pm: St Swithun’s all age event, led by Rev Mark Cantrill, with the Elizabethan Academy, Katie Green’s Imagination Museum: Mayflower 400 and the Songbirds
7pm: the ‘400’ photograph, then refreshments for all in the Church

5.30pm: Registration for parade participants from 5.30pm at the United Reformed Church, followed by a performance
6pm: Service & performance at the United Reformed Church featuring Made by Katie Green’s The Imagination Museum: Mayflower 400
6.45pm: Parade through Gainsborough from Parish Church to Gainsborough Old Hall, the Market Place and finishing in Marshall’s Yard at about 7.15pm (event led by West Lindsey District Council)

5pm: St Wilfrid’s Parish Church – talk by local author, genealogist and historian Sue Allan, a short operatic performance by opera singer, Kamilla Dunstan and a candle-lighting service
6pm: parade around the village ending at the Village Hall for a performance by Retford’s Elizabethan Academy Drama Group, and refreshments (event led by Bassetlaw District Council)

Other candle-lighting services took place on Sunday 18^th November at GAINSBOROUGH All Saints (joint with URC) and BABWORTH church. STURTON-LE-STEEPLE church held a joint event with the local primary school during the Festival Week.

Music at Worksop Priory

Monday 19th November 7pm for 7.30pm
International Mediaeval Harpist Leah Stuttard returns to the Priory – this year Leah played her Sacred Fragments programme – the evening will start with a short talk about the Priory and its place in the Mayflower Pilgrims Story
£10 entry incl. mince pies & mulled wine

Friday 23rd November 7pm for 7.30pm
Doncaster Waites: Music from the streets from the time of the Pilgrims – Doncaster Waites both play and explain historic instruments in an entertaining and engaging way. The evening will start with a talk about Worksop Priory and the Mayflower Pilgrims (a different speaker to Monday)
£10 entry incl. mince pies & mulled wine

Pilgrims Fun Run

Sunday 25th November 9.15am from Retford Market Square
Began with the Retford Christmas Market and Lights Switch-On – prizes for the best children’s and adult’s pilgrim outfit – for fun! In partnership with Retford Business Forum and TLS, supporting Bassetlaw Hospice

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE CONFERENCE 2018

Date: Friday 9th March 2018, 10.30am – 4.00pm
Venue: The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, Notts., DN22 7BD

BCH hold an annual Christian Heritage Conference featuring delegates from across the UK involved with Christian heritage sites and projects. Discussions and speakers explore issues surrounding faith-based heritage, tourism and education. For further information, please contact Adrian Gray 

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE FORUM 2018

Date: Saturday March 10^th 2018, 10am-1pm
Venue: The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, DN22 7BD
Event: Invited Speakers on ‘Religious Tolerance’ – past and present
Free event, all welcome, with mid-morning refreshments break. This year’s event is supported by Bassetlaw District Council. Our speakers include:

• Dr David Appleby – Lecturer in Early Modern British History, University of Nottingham, and adviser to the National Civil War Museum, on freedom and persecution in the post civil war era
• Masoud Ahmadi – International Liberty Association, talking about his escape from persecution
• Phil Lyons – CEO of the National Holocaust Centre, who will describe the work done at the Centre and discuss the use of survivor testimony and recent innovations, including the Forever project

Plus:

• Ben Huxtable of Release International and Andrew Smith of Open Doors
• A video of an interview with Dr Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, and former Archbishop of Canterbury

For more information, please contact Adrian Gray 

SNOWDROP WEEKEND AT BABWORTH

Date: Saturday 10th February, 10am-4pm & Sunday 11th February 2018, 12-4pm
Venue: All Saints’ Church, Babworth
Talk: ‘Richard Clifton’ by tour guide Maggy Watkins – Saturday 10th February, 2pm

The snowdrops surrounding All Saints’ Church at Babworth provide a wonderful display of nature showing the first beginnings of a new year of growth. Walk along the Snowdrop Trail before a cup of tea and a cake inside the church. Look around at some of the features of the Pilgrims’ church itself – can you find all of the “Mousies”? Produce and plants for sale. Toilet and disabled facilities; car park. Entry is free, everyone welcome.

2017

ILLUMINATE 2017

This year’s Pilgrims Festival starts on Saturday and Sunday 18th & 19th November with a Pilgrims inspired Art Exhibition at Babworth Church and Worksop Priory, followed by a range of events in Austerfield and Bawtry on Sunday 19th November; Retford on Tuesday 21st November; and Gainsborough on Wednesday 22nd November. A Thanksgiving Day Dinner is planned at Spencer’s on the Square in Retford on Thursday 23rd November and a concert by Doncaster Waites at Scrooby Village Hall on Friday 24th November. The Christmas Tree Festival at St Swithun’s and the Star Festival at the Grove will start on Saturday 25th November and the Christmas lights will be switched on in Bawtry and Retford on Sunday 26th November.

Bawtry

Illuminate Lantern Parade, Bawtry and Austerfield

Join residents in Austerfield and Bawtry in South Yorkshire as they commemorate their historic links to the Pilgrims’ story – starting in William Bradford’s home village – and finishing with a lantern parade in nearby Bawtry on Sunday 19 November 2017.

Find out more at Eventbrite.

Retford

Illuminate Lantern Parade, Retford town centre

Join us for our first Illuminate Lantern Parade commemorating Bassetlaw’s role in the Pilgrims’ story, by making lanterns with professional artists then joining Retford’s Illuminate Parade on Tuesday 21 November 2017 – an Arts Council England funded project led by Bassetlaw District Council.

Free Lantern Workshops at:

• Aurora Wellbeing Centre, Worksop (S80 2BP) Tuesday 24 October 10am-4pm – with Jess Kemp
• Bassetlaw Museum, Retford (DN22 6LD) Friday 27 October 10am-4pm – with Jess Kemp
• Grove Street Methodist Church, Retford (DN22 6LB) Saturday 11 November 10am-4pm & Sunday 12 November 12pm-5pm – with Jess Kemp & Vincent Canning

Register on Tuesday 21 November from 4.30pm on Carolgate (near Wilko’s) for a parade start of 5pm to the Market Square

Illuminate Service, St Swithun’s Parish Church, Retford

Date: Tuesday 21 November 2017, 6pm

Retford’s Illuminate service this year is based on the theme of Pilgrim Women, featuring drama from Elizabethan Academy students, music from the Songbirds Choir and special guest speaker Rev Paulina Hlawiczka, from the Trinity Lutheran Church in Nottingham.

Gainsborough

Illuminate joint candle-lighting service, All Saints Parish Church, Gainsborough

Date & time: Sunday 19 November, 10.30am

All welcome to Gainsborough’s joint service between All Saints and the United Reformed Church, in preparation for the Illuminate Service at the United Reformed Church on Wednesday 22 November (6pm).

Pilgrims Autumn Fayre, United Reformed Church, Gainsborough

Date: Tuesday 21 November, 9.30am-12pm

The URC will be holding their Pilgrims Autumn Fayre during the usual Coffee Morning. The URC will continue to be open from 12-2pm that day, when visitors may take the opportunity to look around the Bassetlaw Christian Heritage Pilgrims’ exhibition – focusing on Gainsborough’s links to Separatist leaders John Smyth and John Robinson. Also open to visitors from 10am-2pm on Thursday 23 November and 10am-12pm on Saturday 25 November during Coffee Morning.

Illuminate Lantern Parade, Gainsborough town centre

Join us for our first Illuminate Lantern Parade commemorating West Lindsey’s role in the Pilgrims’ story, by making lanterns with professional artists then joining Gainsborough’s Illuminate Parade on Wednesday 22 November 2017 – an Arts Council England funded project with West Lindsey District Council.

Free Lantern Workshops at:

• Trinity Arts Centre, Gainsborough (DN21 2AL) Monday 23 October 10am-4pm – with Julie Willoughby of zoomorphia
• X-Church, Gainsborough (DN21 1BY) Thursday 26 October 10am-4pm – with Kirsty Champ
• United Reformed Church, Gainsborough (DN21 2JR) Saturday 18 November 10am-4pm & Sunday 19 November 10am-4pm – with Julie Willoughby & Vincent Canning

Register on Wednesday 22 November from 4.30pm on Silver Street (near Argos) for a parade start of 5pm to Gainsborough Old Hall.

Illuminate Service, United Reformed Church, Gainsborough

Date: Wednesday 22 November, 6pm

Gainsborough’s first Illuminate Service will take place after the lantern parade in the URC, with special guest speak Rev Geoffrey Clarke, Deputy Moderator of the East Midlands Synod of the United Reformed Church. Kismet Theatre will perform the story of the Pilgrims, and Songbirds Choir will perform the Pilgrim anthem which was commissioned in Boston two years ago.

REFORMATION 500 COMMEMORATION: MUSIC WORKSHOP & SERVICE

Date: Saturday 14th October 2017

Music Workshop: 9.30am – 5.30pm

Service: 7pm

Venue: St. Saviour’s Church, Welham Road, Retford, DN22 6QW

Between 9.30am and 5.30pm Andy Watts of The Carnival Band will help participants explore the musical heritage of Martin Luther and the Reformation, and ways in which it developed in England, particularly the West Gallery music as performed today by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band. The number of places for singers and instrumentalists is limited to 50 (£10 including lunch).

Places can be booked at http://www.eventbrite.co.uk: search for Luther 500 Applications, or http://www.trinitycircuit.net/events).

The workshop will be followed by a REFORMATION 500 COMMEMORATION SERVICE at 7pm in St Saviour’s Church to which everyone is invited. The music and songs rehearsed during the day will be included and the preacher will be the Rev Paulina Hlawiczka, the Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Nottingham.

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS

Date: Saturday 9 September 2017

Venue: United Reformed Church, Gainsborough

Gainsborough’s John Robinson Memorial Church will be open for Heritage Open Days, featuring an exhibition about Gainsborough’s Separatist heritage, including the key figures John Robinson and John Smyth.

CHURCH HERITAGE AS MISSION OPPORTUNITY

Date: Sunday 16th July 2017, 1 – 4pm

Venue: Grove Street Methodist Church, Union Street, DN22 6LB

Dr Jill Barber will lead a Seminar on using the Heritage of Churches for Christian Mission.

Dr Jill Barber, is a past Vice-President of the Methodist Conference & Project Director of Engelsea Brook Chapel & Museum of Primitive Methodism.

The seminar will help churches think about how they use their history to tell the gospel story today.

Starts with buffet lunch (booked attendees only). To book please email di.welchman@trinitycircuit.net or ring and leave a message on 01777 702786 by Wednesday 12th July.

OPEN CHURCHES WEEKEND

Dates: Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th July 2017

Venues: Churches across Bassetlaw 

Visit churches across the Bassetlaw & Bawtry deanery this July. Find out more in the official brochure.

ANNUAL RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE CONFERENCE

Date: Saturday 11th March 2017, 9.30am – 1.00pm

Venue: The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, DN22 7BD

Professor John Coffey (University of Leicester) heads the programme at this year’s Retford Annual Religious Tolerance Conference at the Well on March 11th.

John Coffey is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Leicester. He will give an historical approach to the ideas of persecution and tolerance in religion, politics and ideas through the 17th and 18th centuries. He has written extensively on this subject, and is the author of four books including Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England, 1558-1689 (2000) and Exodus and Liberation: Deliverance Politics from John Calvin to Martin Luther King Jr(2014). He was the co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism (2008).

Rev Canon Tony Walker, Area Team Rector, Retford Area Team Ministry will interview Imam Bakhtyar Pirzada, Deputy Principal, Eaton Hall, on Islamic teachings and debates on tolerance.

Andrew Haigh, CCO, International Christian Consulate will give a modern-day perspective on religious tolerance through the subject of Christian refugees in the Middle East.

The event will be introduced by Cllr Jim Anderson, Chairman of Bassetlaw District Council, with a concluding summary and reflections from John Mann MP and Cllr Jo White, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Bassetlaw District Council.

Following on from our successful event in March 2016, when we commemorated the anniversary of the death of Thomas Helwys, supported by Baroness Berridge and Rev Tony Peck, we are now making this an annual event to focus on the subject of religious tolerance. Last year’s event resulted in a Radio 4 Sunday Worship broadcast live from The Well in October 2016, on the same subject.

We are very grateful to Bassetlaw District Council and Churches Together in Retford for their continuing support.

Free event – everyone welcome.

ANNUAL CHRISTIAN HERITAGE CONFERENCE

Date: Friday 10th March 2017, 10.30am – 4.00pm

Venue: The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, DN22 7BD

This year’s BCH Christian Heritage Conference features delegates from across the UK to explore issues surrounding faith-based heritage, tourism and education. The conference is now fully booked. For further information, please contact us.

SNOWDROP WEEKEND AT BABWORTH

Date: Saturday 11th February, 10am-4pm & Sunday 12th February 2017, 12-4pm

Venue: All Saints’ Church, Babworth

Talk: ‘Richard Clifton’ by tour guide Maggy Watkins – Saturday 11th February, 11am

The snowdrops surrounding All Saints’ Church at Babworth provide a wonderful display of nature showing the first beginnings of a new year of growth. The setting of the church deserves its title of ‘The Church in the Woodland’. Part of the Mayflower Pilgrims exhibition will also be on display in the church throughout the weekend.

Take a walk along the Snowdrop Trail to get your appetite for a cup of tea and a cake inside the church. Look around at some of the features of the Pilgrims’ church itself – can you find all of the “Mousies”? Buy some produce and plants – but be early, they go quickly.

Toilet and disabled facilities; car park. Entry is free, everyone welcome.

2016

REBELS & RELIGION EXHIBITION

Dates: Wednesday 30 November – Sunday 4 December 2016

Venue: Worksop Priory

Worksop Priory Church’s annual Christmas Tree Festival, including for the first time an exhibition on the Separatists and Mayflower Pilgrims.

ILLUMINATE 2016

RETFORD PILGRIMS’ FESTIVAL

2016 Programme

Dates: Friday 18 November – Sunday 27 November 2016

Venue: Various venues in and around Retford, Nottinghamshire

Hosted by: Bassetlaw District Council & Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

Art Exhibition & Talk

Dates: Saturday 19 November, 10am-4pm; Sunday 20 November, 12-4pm

Venue: All Saints’ Church, Babworth

Featuring arts and crafts inspired by the stories of the Mayflower Pilgrims, Separatists and Puritans. Open to all artists – works will be accepted on the afternoon of Friday 18 November at Babworth Church from 12pm-4pm. Exhibitors wishing to book space please contact 01777 703996 or peterswinscoe@tiscali.co.uk

Adrian Gray, local author and historian, is giving a talk at 11am, Saturday 19 November, at the Church on “How Nottinghamshire Changed the World”.

Heritage Exhibition: ‘Rebels and Religion’

Dates: Tuesday 22 November – Friday 25 November, 10am-4pm (except Thursday: 10am-1pm)

Venue: Ballroom, Retford Town Hall

Featuring stories about life in our area 400 years ago and why some people – the Separatists – decided they had to escape to Holland, and later became Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Others made the choice to stay.

Free entry, complimentary refreshments will be served.

Bassetlaw Christian Heritage are very grateful for the ongoing support of Bassetlaw District Council, which has made this event possible.

Lunctime Heritage Talks

Dates: Tuesday 22nd, Wednesday 23rd and Friday 25th November – 12.30pm each day

Venue: Ballroom, Retford Town Hall

A series of talks on the Mayflower Pilgrims and subjects related to their times and stories.

Americana Evening at Spencer’s on The Square

Date: Tuesday 22 November, 6.30pm for 7.30pm

Venue: Spencer’s on The Square, Retford Market Square

An opportunity to celebrate the “special relationship”: enjoy a two-course meal accompanied by American classics of the 1950s and 1960s provided by Jessica Mary Brett and Max Bowker.

Tickets £25 from Spencer’s and The Hub.

Pilgrims Food

Dates: Thursday 24 November – Saturday 26 November

Venue: Opera Tea Rooms, off the Market Square, Retford

Authentic seventeenth century cuisine, in the style that the Mayflower Pilgrims would have known, will be added to the Opera Tea Rooms’ menu, including Pilgrim Specials like Hodgepot.

Candle-lighting Services – Thanksgiving Day

Date: Thursday 24 November

Venues:the Pilgrim Churches:

• Gainsborough United Reformed Church, 9.15am
• Sturton-le-Steeple Church, 10am
• Austerfield Church, 11am
• Scrooby Church, 12pm
• Babworth Church, 4pm.

A warm welcome is extended to everyone, of all faiths and none.

Civic Service

Date: Thursday 24 November, 6pm

Venue: St Swithun’s Church, Retford

Our Illuminate service is inspired by this year’s heritage theme, ‘Rebels and Religion’, and a quote from leading Pilgrim William Bradford, who wrote that ‘as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled has shone unto many’.

This event has been made possible with the support of Bassetlaw District Council and St Swithun’s Church.

If you want to get involved in this year’s Illuminate or find out more, please get in touch by contacting us at contact@bassetlawchristianheritage.com.

BBC RADIO 4’s SUNDAY WORSHIP

Date: Sunday 30 October, 7.30am

Venue: The Well, Retford

The Well hosted BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship, led by Baroness Berridge and Rev. Brewster, reflecting on the life and writings of Thomas Helwys on religious tolerance. Find out more at: A Declaration of Freedom.

HERITAGE OPEN DAY

Date: Saturday 10 September, 10am-4pm

Venues: Exhibitions on Mayflower Pilgrims heritage were held at:

• All Saints’ Church, Babworth: Clifton 400 – 400 years since the death of Richard Clifton, preacher at Babworth
• St Swithun’s Church, Retford: Turvin & Retford – the one who stayed behind…
• United Reformed Church, Gainsborough: Robinson & Smyth – inspiring the Pilgrims

These exhibitions were sponsored by Bassetlaw District Council.

Talk on Why the Pilgrims matter to us at Babworth Church, 1pm.

RETFORD ARTS FESTIVAL

Date: Saturday 28 May – Monday 30 May 2016

Venue: All Saints’ Church, Babworth, near Retford

BCH contributed to events during the Retford Arts Festival weekend, including a talk on Clifton and the Mayflower Pilgrims.

THOMAS HELWYS COMMEMORATION

Date: Saturday 12th March 2016, 10.30am – 12.00pm

Venue: The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, DN22 7BD

A special event to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the death of THOMAS HELWYS, Founder of the Baptist denomination, Pioneer of Religious Liberty for All.

Keynote speeches by Baroness Elizabeth Berridge and Rev Tony Peck on the life of Thomas Helwys and its importance today, plus a short film about Thomas Helwys.

The talks took place from 10.30am to 12.00 noon, followed by a buffet lunch and optional tour of local churches relevant to the Helwys story.

Free event – everyone welcome.

Thomas Helwys was from a North Nottinghamshire family and was born at Askham, near Retford. He became a friend of the puritan and separatist, John Smyth, and helped finance the escape of the Pilgrim Separatists to the Netherlands in 1608. There, Smyth and Helwys became Baptists.

Thomas Helwys is of global significance because:

• Helwys was the first Englishman to explicitly state that people of any religion – Christian, Jew or Muslim – should be free to exercise their faith without government interference;
• He founded the English-speaking Baptist denomination – the largest single Christian group in the USA and with nearly 50 million Baptists worldwide;
• In an age dominated by strict Calvinists, he preached that God’s love was available for all.

BCH are very grateful to Bassetlaw District Council for their support for this event.

VOCATIONS DAY

Date: Saturday 5 March 2016, 10am-2pm

Venue: Ranskill Church

BCH hosted a stall at Vocations Day in the church at Ranskill.

SNOWDROPS AT BABWORTH

Date: Saturday 13 – Sunday 14 February 2016, 10am-4pm

Venue: All Saints’ Church, Babworth

Part of the Bassetlaw District Council/Bassetlaw Christian Heritage Mayflower Pilgrims’ Illuminate exhibition on show at Babworth during their snowdrop weekend.

2015

The Illuminate events launched Bassetlaw’s countdown to the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower in 2020, and beginning to tell the story of the Mayflower Pilgrims and how the area is connected to the story.

ILLUMINATE 400 EXHIBITION

Date: Saturday 28 November 2015, 10am-4pm

Venue: The Crossing, Worksop

Exhibition exploring the story of the Mayflower Pilgrims and Bassetlaw’s Christian heritage.

ILLUMINATE 400 – RETFORD 2015

Date: Thursday 26 November 2015, 10am-4pm

Venue: Retford Town Hall

‘Illuminate 400: Retford 2015‘, a full day of free events, including:

• A pop-up exhibition on America’s Thanksgiving Day, telling the story of the Mayflower Pilgrims and Bassetlaw’s wider Christian heritage;
• Workshops with schools, with lantern-making and woodcut printing;
• Performances by TaleGate Theatre of their new play Chronicles of the Mayflower Pilgrims;
• Talk by local historian Adrian Gray on Why did it happen here? 

ILLUMINATE 400 CIVIC SERVICE

Date: Thursday 26 November 2015, 7pm

Venue: St. Swithun’s Church, Retford

A civic service to commemorate the five year countdown to the Mayflower 400 anniversary in 2015, with an address by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and newly commissioned performances by drama students from the Post-16 Centre in Retford, followed by a reception hosted by Bassetlaw District Council in Retford Town Hall.