Successful Retford Thanksgiving Illuminate 2021

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

Can-dles of Hope

St Swithun’s Church, Retford, 18th November 2021

We set a target of gathering 4800 cans for Bassetlaw Foodbank on Thursday 18th November 2021 – that is one can for every month since the first Thanksgiving in America, 400 years ago. From a standing start this year we achieved over 1600 cans – over a third of the target! This was due to the magnificent support from organisations and individuals in and around Retford – and a special mention to the Co-op store in Kilton – thank you all!

If you want us to come back next year to see if we can do it then, we will – the target will be 4812 then – just send an email to info@pilgrimroots.org and let us know. Bassetlaw Foodbank does a great job and deserves our support. Foodbank Manager, Robert Garland said “This sort of event, and the amazing way the people of Bassetlaw pull together to make things happen, makes me really proud to be a resident, and as a charity, we could not operate without this sort of support.”

There was a programme of performances and talks on the day and the local talent – all of whom gave their time and genius for free – were absolutely brilliant. The event started with John Coates and the St Swithun’s bellringers who announced the start of the event. Then local organist Stephen Carey played five organ pieces specially composed for the Mayflower Pilgrims commemorations, with an introduction and supporting narratives by Isabelle Richards, Heritage Engagement Officer, at the Pilgrims Gallery, Bassetlaw Museum. This worked so well bringing alive the stories of the people in the music.

Performers at the Thanksgiving Illuminate event – Jessica Mary Brett, Bassetlaw Foodbank donations, Emma Spencer & David Warren, Adrian Gray, U3A Recorder Consort, Elizabethan Academy Choir, Rev’d Mark Cantrill, Stephen Carey, and Doncaster Waites

Then, The Elizabethan Academy Choir, assisted by various soloists, and conducted by Claire Cowan performed with great enthusiasm and skill. Doncaster Waites then astounded the audience with both their superb outfits and their virtuoso playing of the popular street music and instruments at the time of the Pilgrims. The well-known U3A Recorder Consort delighted everyone with their music before the Doncaster Waites returned for a final set.

Then the pace changed and the audience was treated to a series of films about the plight of the Native Americans and what Thanksgiving represents to them – the National Day of Mourning; plus tours on screen around the local Pilgrim Churches with descriptions of the people who became the Separatists and Puritans in the 17th Century. There was then an interval and a chance to eat the amazing cupcakes purchased from an excellent cake shop not far from the church.

At 6.30pm the evening session began with the ever-popular local historian and author, Adrian Gray who gave a fascinating talk on Thanksgiving and Other Meals. This was followed by outstanding performances from local singers, Emma Spencer & David Warren, who sang songs from musical theatre. It was a privilege to hear, and see, them and if you ever get the chance to hear them, take it, they are amazing! The evening was completed by Retford’s own Jessica Mary Brett who gave a brilliant climax to the day with songs about thanksgiving and friendship.

BCH Chair, Rick Brand, closed the event and thanked everyone who had contributed to the day, especially the team at St Swithun’s and Isabelle Richards, Pilgrim Roots, Bassetlaw District Council, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, without whom the day would not have taken place.

Donors of cans were given an LED tealight, which they can display in their windows on Thursday 25th November (Thanksgiving Day) to remind them, and others, about giving thanks. We are inviting people to take photographs of these tealights to reflect the theme of Illuminate and share them on social media with the hashtag #OneSmallCandle, or send by email to info@pilgrimroots.org.

The Illuminate activity is inspired by a quote from William Bradford, one of the Mayflower Pilgrim leaders who became the second and long-serving Governor of Plymouth Colony:

‘As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many.’

– Wm. Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation

Chair of BCH, Rick Brand said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a real difference to people locally by supporting Bassetlaw Foodbank, and to be able to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving.”

Thanksgiving Illuminate Can-dles of Hope

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

St Swithun’s Church, Retford – 12noon to 9.00pm, 18th November 2021

Help us to gather 4800 (or more!) cans for Bassetlaw Foodbank on Thursday 18th November 2021 – that is one can for every month since the first Thanksgiving in America, 400 years ago. We have over 400 cans already and are looking forward to receiving many more on the day.

From 12noon on Thursday 18th November at St Swithun’s Church, Retford, there will be a programme of performances and talks where everyone is invited to call in with their donations of cans for Bassetlaw Foodbank.

Programme

Here is the programme:

12 noon – 12.15pm John Coates and the bellringers will ring the church bells

12.30pm – 1.30pm Stephen Carey will play five organ pieces specially composed for the Mayflower Pilgrims commemorations, with an introduction and supporting narratives by Isabelle Richards, Heritage Engagement Officer, Pilgrims Gallery, Bassetlaw Museum.

1.30pm – 2.30pm The Elizabethan Academy Choir

2.30pm – 3.00pm Doncaster Waites (popular music at the time of the Pilgrims)

3.00pm – 3.45pm U3A Recorder Consort

4.00pm – 4.30pm Doncaster Waites (return)

4.30pm – 5.30pm Pilgrim Churches + Videos on screen – sit back and take a tour around local historic locations linked to the Separatists

5.30pm – 6.30pm Interval

6.30pm – 7.30pm Adrian Gray, historian & author – ‘Thanksgiving and other meals’ (talk)

7.30pm – 8.30pm Emma Spencer & David Warren (singers)

8.30pm – 9.00pm Jessica Mary Brett (singer)

9.00pm Thanks and Close

Donors are welcome to stay throughout or pop in for a few minutes – whatever works for them – refreshments will be available.

Let’s make this a great event for Bassetlaw Foodbank and the people it serves – no-one should go hungry in Bassetlaw!

Everyone who brings a donation for the Foodbank at St Swithun’s on 18th November will be given the opportunity to write a message of hope which will be given out by Bassetlaw Foodbank. To receive a positive message like this, especially in the run up to Christmas, can make a big difference.

This will be a fantastic way for people to give thanks for their own lives whilst helping others to survive in modern hardship – a brilliant way to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving Meal held in North America.

The first 400 donors will be given an LED tealight, which they can display in their windows on Thursday 25th November (Thanksgiving Day) to remind them, and others, about giving thanks. We will be inviting people to take photographs of these tealights to reflect the theme of Illuminate and share them on social media with the hashtag #OneSmallCandle, or send by email to info@pilgrimroots.org.

The Illuminate activity is inspired by a quote from William Bradford, one of the Mayflower Pilgrim leaders who became the second and long-serving Governor of Plymouth Colony:

‘As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many.’

– William Bradford, Of Plimmoth Plantation

Chair of BCH, Rick Brand said: ‘This is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a real difference to people locally by supporting Bassetlaw Foodbank, and to be able to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving.”

Background

November 25th 2021 will be the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving meal which was shared between the newly arrived settlers to North America – the Mayflower Pilgrims – and the local population who had formed an alliance with them – the Mashpee Wampanoag.

In the first year, half of the passengers from the Mayflower had died, having arrived at the start of winter, ill-prepared for what was to come. Members of the native population showed them which crops to grow, and how to go about it. A year on from their arrival a celebration meal took place with the settlers and the leader of the local Wampanoag people and one hundred of his warriors.

However the anniversary is not celebrated by the Wampanoag people today. The successful establishment of the Separatists was followed by large scale incursion by Europeans across the continent. Thanksgiving has been marked, since 1970, among many Native Americans as a National Day of Mourning.

Millions of Americans today mark Thanksgiving as a celebration of family and an opportunity to give thanks for what they have. People travel across the country to enjoy a meal together, usually featuring turkey. The original meal would probably have consisted of venison, shellfish and cereals.

The Thanksgiving/Illuminate activity in Bassetlaw, North Nottinghamshire has been organised by Bassetlaw District Council Pilgrims Gallery at Bassetlaw Museum, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and BCH (Bassetlaw Christian Heritage).

Pilgrim Roots is a regional partnership including Bassetlaw District Council, West Lindsey District Council, Bassetlaw Christian Heritage and other organisations in the Lincolnshire, Bassetlaw, North Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire area.

Full Programme for Retford’s ‘Candles of Hope’

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage
What’s on for this year’s Thanksgiving/Illuminate Candles of Hope

All the details about what’s happening in St Swithun’s Church, Retford from 12noon – 9pm, Thursday 18th November 2021:

  • 12 noon – 12.15pm John Coates and the bellringers will ring the church bells
  • 12.30pm – 1.30pm Stephen Carey will play five organ pieces specially composed for the Mayflower Pilgrims commemorations, with an introduction and supporting narratives by Isabelle Richards, Heritage Engagement Officer, Pilgrims Gallery:
    • Introduction
    • Plymouth Soundings by Carson Cooman
    • Four Mayflower Portraits by Clive Jenkins
    • Martial Music for Myles Standish
    • Lullaby for Peregrine White
    • Ballad for Priscilla Mullins
    • Toccata for John Howland
  • Additional organ pieces:
    • Gavotte by Padre Martini
    • Toccata in D Minor by Gaston Belier
  • 1.30pm – 2.30pm The Elizabethan Academy Choir
  • 2.30pm – 3pm Doncaster Waites (popular music at the time of the Pilgrims)
  • 3pm – 3.45pm U3A Recorder Consort
  • 4.00pm – 4.30pm Doncaster Waites (return)
  • 4.30pm – 5.30pm Pilgrim Churches + Videos on screen – sit back and take a tour around local historic locations linked to the Separatists
  • 5.30pm – 6.30pm Interval
  • 6.30pm – 7.30pm Adrian Gray – ‘Thanksgiving and other meals’ (talk)
  • 7.30pm – 8.30pm Emma Spencer & David Warren (singing)
  • 8.30pm – 9pm Jessica Mary Brett (singing)
  • 9pm Thanks and Close

Revd Mark Cantrill will MC the event and provide further pieces of interesting information throughout the day.

Donations of cans for the Bassetlaw Foodbank will be accepted throughout the event – please bring as many as you ‘can’ and help us raise 4800 cans – one for every month since the first Thanksgiving meal in America, four hundred years ago.

About the Performers

U3A Recorder Consort Retford

The recorder group has continued to grow and now has about 28 active members with around 20 attending most playing sessions. They are very grateful to their musical director, Janet Lewis, for providing them with a wide variety of music to enjoy. The group includes members with varying playing abilities from beginners to quite experienced players. Those new to the recorder have welcomed being given some one-to-one support by Janet to help develop their confidence. Between them they play most sizes of recorder (sopranino, descant, treble, tenor, bass and contrabass). Those who have been in the group from the beginning have noted how the overall standard of playing has improved so they can now play, reasonably well, pieces which they struggled with a few years ago.

The Doncaster Waites

A group of local musicians who have a passionate interest in music and history. Their interests have led them to perform early music on copies of original instruments and to wear clothes appropriate to the time of the music. Theirs is not the music of the courts and the aristocracy but the music of the common people. The waites were the original town band and played for civic events, feasts, weddings and in the streets. Doncaster had a band of waites from 1457 to 1832 and it is the spirit of these musicians that they try to re-create.

The Doncaster Waites are:-

  • Andrea Offord – bagpipes, recorders, pipe & tabor, rauschpfeife
  • Lynn Harvey – shawm, bagpipes, pipe & tabor, recorders
  • Norma Sharp – shawm, recorders, tabor pipe
  • Ray Harvey – sackbut, recorders
  • Roger Offord – shawm, hurdy-gurdy, curtal, recorders                 

The present group has been playing together now for over 12 years, but most of them have been playing together for a lot longer than that! The Doncaster Waites are members of The International Guild of Town Pipers.

Adrian Gray

Adrian Gray was born in Grantham and now lives at Laneham, Notts. He graduated in history from Cambridge and is the author of twenty-five history books including several in Nottinghamshire. His books cover a range of historical topics including folk tales, crime and railway history, as well as titles of regional interest. He also contributes regularly to a number of magazines. After a career in education, Adrian now combines his writing and historical interests with a role as a national and international education consultant. He is also historical advisor to Bassetlaw Christian Heritage and is a director of Pilgrims & Prophets Christian Heritage Tours, which helps people get to know the secrets and treasures of Bassetlaw.

Emma Spencer

Emma has been singing and dancing since she was a little girl. She has always had a passion for all things musical theatre. Emma graduated from The University Of Central Lancashire in 2019 with a BA Hons degree in music theatre. More recently, Emma has qualified as a primary school teacher, working at a local primary school. Emma wants to stay linked with the theatre industry and definitely doesn’t want to give up singing. She loves it too much. 

David Warren

David is originally from Southport, where he was heavily involved with the theatre from a very young age. David graduated from The University of Central Lancashire in 2019 with a BA Hons degree in music theatre. More recently, David has qualified as a music secondary school teacher, working at a local secondary school.

Jessica Mary Brett

Jessica is a lady who has been singing since she was just 12 years old and now sings professionally across the country. Jessica takes her role in community seriously and recently set up a brand new Community Interest Company with her Business partner Vicky Waring. Let’s for the Community has an objective is to generate projects to help the socially isolated, vulnerable, and multigenerational community. Creating groups and activities to breakdown inequalities within communities, keep the community active, provide music and song and focus on positive mental and physical well-being. 

JMBSINGER – 07867430104 https://m.facebook.com/JMBSINGER/
LET’S SING – https://m.facebook.com/letssingcommunity/

Can-dles of Hope – Retford’s Illuminate 2021

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

Thursday 18th November 2021

St Swithun’s Church, Retford | 12noon to 9pm

Help us to donate 4800 items to Bassetlaw Foodbank!

One item for every month since the first Thanksgiving meal, 400 years ago.

The first 400 donors will receive an LED tealight to display in their window on 25th November -Thanksgiving Day, they will also be invited to send a message of hope card which the Foodbank will distribute.

Donate some cans of food with a message of hope, and we will give you a candle… we call them – ‘Can~dles of Hope’.

Free programme of performances and talks hosted by Revd Mark Cantrill.

Everyone is welcome with donations. Refreshments will be available.

Performances from:
– St Swithun’s Bellringers
– Elizabethan Academy Choir
– U3A Recorder Consort
– Stephen Carey – organist
– Singers Emma Spencer and David Warren
– The Doncaster Waites
– Adrian Gray – talk on ‘Thanksgiving & other meals’

Times of performances will be published soon; please check back here for updates.

Thanksgiving Illuminate event 18th November 2021

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

St Swithun’s Church Event

On Thursday 18th November 2021, we will be working with Bassetlaw Foodbank to deliver an opportunity for people to provide gifts of food to help those less fortunate. This will be a way for people to give thanks for their own lives whilst helping others to survive in modern hardship. We think this would be a good way to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving Meal held between the Mashpee Wampanoag native American people and the Mayflower Pilgrims in North America.

Donors will also have the opportunity to leave messages of hope on postcards which will be forwarded via Bassetlaw Foodbank to people receiving their parcels. To receive a positive message like this from other people, especially in the run up to Christmas, can make all the difference.

From 12noon on Thursday 18th November at St Swithun’s Church Retford, there will be a programme of performances and talks where everyone is invited to call in with their donations for Bassetlaw Foodbank (normal rules – cans, sealed packs etc). Donors are welcome to stay throughout or pop in for a few minutes – whatever works for them. Let’s make this a great event for Bassetlaw Foodbank and the people it serves – no-one should go hungry in Bassetlaw!

We will be giving donors battery tealight candles to display in their windows on 25th November (Thanksgiving Day in 2021) and will be inviting them to take photographs of these to reflect the theme of Illuminate and share them on social media with the hashtag #OneSmallCandle, or send by email to info@pilgrimroots.org. We will also support schools in creating their own Illuminate features and will invite them to send photographs for our online display.

The Illuminate activity is inspired by a quote from William Bradford, one of the Mayflower Pilgrim leaders who became the second and longest-serving Governor of Plymouth Colony:

‘As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many.’

Background

On 25th November 2021, the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving meal will be commemorated. This was shared between the newly arrived settlers to North America – the Mayflower Pilgrims – and the local population who had formed an alliance with them – the Mashpee Wampanoag.

In the first year, half of the passengers from the Mayflower had died, having arrived at the start of winter, ill-prepared for what was to come. Members of the native population showed them which crops to grow, and how to go about it. A year on from their arrival a celebration meal took place with the settlers and the leader of the local Wampanoag people and one hundred of his warriors.

However the anniversary is not celebrated by the Wampanoag people today. The successful establishment of the Separatists was followed by large scale incursion by Europeans across the continent. Thanksgiving has been marked, since 1970, among many Native Americans as a National Day of Mourning.

Pilgrim Embroidery installed by East Retford Mayor at St Swithun’s Church, Retford

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

Cllr Carolyn Troop, Town Mayor of East Retford, at her first official event, installed the first of the five Pilgrim Embroideries at St Swithun’s Church in Retford on 1st July 2021.

East Retford Town Mayor, Cllr Carolyn Troop with Jenny King

Five large embroideries have been made to commemorate the Mayflower 400 commemorations by a small group of North Nottinghamshire embroiderers, known as The Pilgrim Embroiderers.

The works are being donated to the churches at Austerfield, Babworth, East Retford, Scrooby and Sturton le Steeple, that can be found along the Pilgrims Trail.

Designed by Jenny King, they represent the church leaders and typical 17th century congregations, many of whom sailed on the Mayflower.

The embroideries were worked on large frames using specially woven woollen cloth and threads. The figures on the St. Swithun’s embroidery were mainly worked by Beverley Naylor, the church and background by Jenny King.

A book, ‘The Pilgrim Embroideries Made in Retford, Nottinghamshire’, has been published explaining the processes undertaken and the embroidery stitches used, and especially highlights the development of community involvement during the two years of construction from inception to completion. Copies are available from Bassetlaw Museum, and Retford Arts Hub.

Cllr Carolyn Troop, Town Mayor of East Retford said: “I was delighted to unveil this prestigious Pilgrim Embroidery and to congratulate the Pilgrim Embroiderers on their skill and commitment to producing such an exciting piece of work.”

Rev’d Dick Lewis, Priest at St Swithun’s Church said: “We are delighted to receive the tapestry to display in St Swithun’s Church. Here we recall that many Separatists chose to stay behind whilst the Pilgrims were making their journey to America. People like George Turwyn, who was Vicar of St Swithun’s and later Rector of Babworth, decided to remain in England to try to reform the Church of England from within.”

Jenny King, lead Pilgrim Embroiderer said: “It is a pleasure in donate the embroidery to St. Swithun’s Church, East Retford, and hope it brings interest to many people in the future.”

Jenny King with Beverley Naylor

Isabelle Richards, Heritage Engagement Officer, Pilgrim Roots Project, Bassetlaw Museum said: ‘It’s fantastic to see the St Swithun’s Pilgrim Embroidery installed in the church. This will be great addition to the attractions of St Swithun’s to Pilgrims Trail visitors and be a positive sign of the 400th anniversary commemorations for years to come.”

Retford’s fifth annual Freedom & Tolerance Forum – a great success

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

On Saturday 7th March 2020, at The Well in Retford, Bassetlaw Christian Heritage (BCH) presented a group of nationally-recognised speakers to an audience from in and around Bassetlaw, including Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith, and Bassetlaw District Council Chairman, Debbie Merryweather.

Freedom and Tolerance is as important today as it was 400 years ago when local Separatist, Thomas Helwys, first advocated tolerance between people of all faiths and those of none. In the anniversary year of the Mayflower Pilgrims, our heritage can still teach us much about journeys, rebellion, and the freedoms we take for granted.

Brendan Clarke-Smith MP, Cllr Helen Richards, Cllr Debbie Merryweather (Chairman of Bassetlaw District Council), Lord Beith, Rev’d Dr Stuart Jennings, Adrian Gray, John Pontifex

Bassetlaw MP, Brendan Clarke-Smith, opened the event giving thanks to the organisers and expressing a personal interest in the subjects being discussed.

Lord Beith spoke about Methodist heritage and its significance today. He referred to the heritage of one of the three elements that make up the Methodist church, the United Methodists, who were the most independent-minded and authority-challenging of Methodists, relating this to the significance of religious freedom and toleration.

Rev’d Dr Stuart Jennings who is a specialist in Nottinghamshire history at Warwick University and is an academic advisor to the National Civil War centre at Newark, spoke about faith and fighting in Nottinghamshire during the Civil War. Stuart explained the role of political, religious and human geography in the positioning of Nottinghamshire during the civil war and particularly the contribution of the Thornaugh family from Retford.

John Pontifex, who is Head of Press & Information for Aid to the Church in Need (UK), asked whether religious freedom has become an orphaned right. He gave moving, individual descriptions of the suffering of persecuted communities around the world today. John has travelled widely in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, investigated human rights violations relating to Christians and other faith minorities, and has interviewed survivors.

Local author and historian, Adrian Gray, was interviewed by Retford-based publisher, Angela Meads, of Bookworm. Adrian launched his new book, Restless Souls, Pilgrim Roots, an epic history of the people of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, showing how their peoples interconnected and spread ideas from the early 7th Century until 1660. Adrian went on to give an engaging and informative talk on an unfolding story of intriguing characters during periods of spiritual change, rebellion and death, emphasising the significant impact that local people have made.

Local author Adrian Gray launches new book: ‘Restless Souls, Pilgrim Roots’ at the Freedom & Tolerance Forum

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

A Thousand Years of Faith, Hope and Rebellion

Date: Saturday 7th March 2020 – 10am-1pm

Venue: The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, DN22 7BD – free event, all welcome

An epic history of the people who laid the foundations of the Christian faith in a Viking-ravaged land, then rebelled against what they saw as corruption of their Faith and Church. Adrian Gray’s latest book covers the two counties of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire showing how their peoples interconnected and spread ideas.

Running from the early 7th Century until 1660, Adrian Gray places great and intriguing figures in the context of their times and in an unfolding story of spiritual change, rebellion and sometimes death. Figures such as Saint Hugh of Lincoln, Thomas Cranmer, the architect of the Church of England, George Fox from Mansfield who formed the Quakers, the Mayflower Pilgrims and the first leaders of the Baptist Church are included. A range of characters stretching from Guthlac, whose supernatural experiences in the Fens became the first English biography, to Elizabeth Hooton, the Nottinghamshire Quaker who travelled the world and escaped death many times are also there.

The story also has its fair share of ‘villains’ including corrupt and venal bishops, despotic leaders who sent those who disagreed with them to the stake or the gallows, on both sides of the Atlantic, and one of Elizabethan England’s most sinister torturers.

ADRIAN GRAY has an MA in History from Cambridge University and is the author of over twenty books. He is well-known as the historical adviser to Pilgrims & Prophets Christian Heritage Tours and Bassetlaw Christian Heritage, which promote interest in the Christian heritage of the two counties of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

Author Adrian Gray

Freedom and Tolerance is as important today as it was 400 years ago – in the anniversary year of the Mayflower Pilgrims, see what history can teach us about journeys, rebellion, and things we take for granted.

Speakers at the Freedom and Tolerance Forum this year include:

  • Lord Beith – Member of the House of Lords Constitution Committee and the Lord Speaker’s Committee on the size of the House. MP for Berwick upon Tweed, 1973-2015. Subject: Methodist Heritage and its significance today
  • Professor Elizabeth Tingle – Professor of Early Modern European History at De Montfort University, Leicester. She taught at the Universities of Plymouth and Northampton. Subject: Irish Catholic Refugees in Europe in the early 1600s
  • Rev’d Dr Stuart Jennings – Specialist in Nottinghamshire history, Warwick University. Subject: Faith and Fighting in Nottinghamshire during the Civil War
  • Mr John Pontifex – Head of Press & Information for Aid to the Church in Need (UK). Subject: Has Religious Freedom become an Orphaned Right?

This will be the fifth annual Tolerance Forum to be held in Retford. It provides a unique opportunity for the subject to be discussed in an open forum.

Pilgrims Festival 2019 – Illuminate parade – another success for Retford!

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

The crowds turned out in the rain to take part in the Pilgrims Festival Illuminate Parade on Friday 22nd November.

This was the fifth year that Retford has taken part in the commemorations of the Mayflower Pilgrim Families’ journey to America. These events form the opening of the commemorative year leading to the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage in 2020 .

Retford’s event on 22nd was the fourth in the Pilgrim Roots area following Gainsborough on 16th, Bawtry on 17th and Boston on 21st November, with increasing numbers taking part and turning out to watch. Retford’s event was even more successful!

Retford’s lantern parade started outside Wilko’s on Carolgate at 5.30pm and walked to St Swithun’s Parish Church. The parade was led by the Chairman of Bassetlaw District Council, Cllr Deborah Merryweather and Retford Mayor, Garry Clarkson. Local uniformed groups, schools and voluntary organisations came with lanterns that they had made in workshops with artist Kirsty Champ. Specially commissioned large lanterns were made by artists Julie Willoughby and Jess Kemp. The pipers from the Retford Pipe and Drum band provided the music and members of the Retford Lions helped with the larger lanterns and with marshalling the parade.

There was an all-age event at St Swithun’s Parish Church led by Rev’d Mark Cantrill, including performances by Rhubarb Theatre and the Songbirds choir, followed by the ever popular ‘400’ photograph in the churchyard, and a fantastic light projection show on the side of the church commissioned from specialists Electric Egg .

Refreshments were provided afterwards inside the church, and Bassetlaw Christian Heritage Chair, Rick Brand, presented Veda Brocklesby, representing St Swithun’s, and Dr Anna Scott with bouquets as thanks for their support and help since the first Pilgrims Festival.

Bassetlaw Christian Heritage (BCH) is delighted to have received funding from Arts Council England, with support from the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham, and District Councillors Carolyn Troop, Helen Richards and Joan Sanger via their community grants.

Visitor numbers to the area are already increasing, and are forecast to increase further, as 2020 grows closer. The story of the Mayflower Pilgrim families and their roots in the area in and around Bassetlaw, North Nottinghamshire, is becoming better known.

You can find out more about the story on this website or by visiting the Pilgrims Gallery in Bassetlaw Museum, Retford, the Pilgrims Museum at The Hub in Churchgate, Retford, and the Pilgrims Room at the United Reformed Church in Gainsborough.

BCH is grateful to Arts Council England, the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham, Bassetlaw District Councillors, St Swithun’s Parish Church, the Methodist Church, Scouts, Guides and schools in Bassetlaw for their continuing support.

Photo credit: Electric Egg for BCH

Retford leads the way!

Posted on by Bassetlaw Christian Heritage

Retford’s Annual Religious Tolerance Forum provides the key to support for the Mayflower Pilgrims Commemoration in the USA 

Dr David J. Appleby
Adrian Gray
Phil Lyons MBE
John Mann, MP

There is enthusiasm in the USA for the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower Pilgrims’ arrival in North America in 1620, however there is concern about its impact on the First Nations people who were already there.

By focusing on the theme of religious freedom and tolerance and looking forward through heritage rather than backwards as history, this will provide an approach, based on shared values, which should be acceptable to everyone. The fact that Retford has established an annual event focused on this subject, based on the thinking of its local puritans, some of whom were Mayflower Pilgrims, is of major interest to partners in the USA.

At this year’s Religious Tolerance Forum, held on Saturday 10th March 2018 at the The Well in Retford, Bassetlaw MP John Mann, who had just returned from a visit to Boston (USA), was able to share this exciting information arising from his trip. John Mann MP is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Mayflower Pilgrims.

Also at the Religious Tolerance Forum, Adrian Gray, local historian and author of the book From Here We Changed The World, told the story of the roots of religious tolerance in Bassetlaw and Gainsborough. The Forum in Retford is an annual event, started in 2015 to commemorate the death of local puritan, Thomas Helwys, who was the author of the first document advocating religious freedom, not only between Christian denominations but also with Jews, Muslims and those without any faith. He also claimed that there should be no connection between state and religion, meaning each individual should be free to believe what they want.

Dr David Appleby, Lecturer in Early Modern British History at the University of Nottingham, focused on the subject of tolerance in the aftermath of the English Civil War, which proportionally had a greater casualty impact on the population than the First World War. He examined how the political environment was shaped and modified by the views and opinions of the people and how the leaders of the day responded, with the resulting persecutions and unlikely collaborations.

Phil Lyons MBE gave an extensive view of the National Holocaust Centre with its elements of the exhibition, The Journey, telling a refugee story from the perspective of a young boy, collections including 700 historical items, and The Forever Project which provides interactive survivor interviewing. Virtual reality applications are also being created enabling immersive experiences to be taken out to schools. This is currently the only museum of its type in the UK.

Rev Richard Warren interviewed representatives of Release International and Open Doors who seek to provide evidence of, and argue against, persecutions happening today around the world.

The event was completed by a video of an interview between Rick Brand, Chair of Bassetlaw Christian Heritage and Dr Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and former Archbishop of Canterbury.

Next year’s event will be held on Saturday March 9th, 2019 – save the date!

What’s the background to this event?

The main Separatists and Mayflower Pilgrims came from the area around Retford, in Bassetlaw, North Nottinghamshire; Bradford from Austerfield, and Brewster from Scrooby. Although not travelling to North America on the Mayflower, Clifton, from Babworth, Turvin from Retford, Bernard from Worksop, Smith and Robinson from Sturton le Steeple along with Helwys from Broxtowe were all part of the local puritan movement.

Roger Williams (from Essex) married Mary Bernard, daughter of Richard Bernard of Worksop Priory, and together they travelled to North America, where they befriended the local tribes and learned their languages, ultimately setting up Rhode Island State as a beacon of religious tolerance, separation of state and religion, and rejection of slavery.