The Mayflower and Mayflower 400
Explore Southwark’s heritage with the Mayflower 400 app
The national Mayflower 400 programme has launched an app with free self-guided walking tours. These are designed to help visitors discover more about sites broadly connected with the Mayflower and to celebrate local heritage. Southwark Council has commissioned two trails for this app.
You can download the app by selecting one of the links below on your mobile device or searching for ‘Mayflower 400’ in the App and Play stores.
If you're an Apple user, download the app to your phone here
If you're an Android user, download the app to your phone here
The modern borough of Southwark has a history as a place of trade and travel since before Roman times. There are two areas of special interest, however, concerning the Mayflower.
The first is the ancient borough of Southwark, in what is now Borough, Bankside and Bermondsey, where the Separatist church was founded in 1592 and where it was very active in the run-up to the 1620 voyage. The second area is Rotherhithe, where the Mayflower was based and where several of its crew lived, including its Master and part-owner, Christopher Jones.
In our walking trails, you’ll encounter numerous buildings, street names and stories of people connected to the Mayflower’s journey and its beginnings. You’ll also discover more about the long and fascinating histories of these areas, shaped not only by the search for religious freedoms but also by migration, trade, enterprise and links to the wider world.
These two trails draw on research undertaken and kindly shared by historian Graham Taylor. Thanks also to Rita Cruise O’Brien and Veronica Alden, and staff and representatives of the featured museums and organisations, for their assistance.
To explore Rotherhithe in more detail via a similar but longer route, please pick up a copy of the ‘Rotherhithe: History, Art and the Mayflower’ booklet available from local outlets. The booklet provides more information on the history of Rotherhithe and locations to visit in the area. It has been produced by Our Rotherhithe and the Rotherhithe and Bermondsey Local History Society, with funding from Southwark Council, United St Saviour’s Charity and British Land.
Page last updated: 14 February 2024
