The Mayflower Pilgrims Memorial is a stone column on Southampton’s Western Esplanade that marks the departure of the Mayflower and Speedwell from the town’s West Quay in August 1620. It was unveiled in 1913 by Walter Hines Page, the American ambassador, and is crowned by a model of the Mayflower above plaques to the ship’s passengers and crew. The memorial stands outdoors beside the medieval town walls and is free to see, and Southampton is about 1 hour 20 minutes by direct train from London Waterloo.
- History of the Mayflower Pilgrims Memorial
- Visiting the Mayflower Pilgrims Memorial: Practical Information
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Nearby Chronicle Trails Guides
History of the Mayflower Pilgrims Memorial
The story the memorial tells begins in Holland. Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, records that the Leiden Separatists sailed from Delfshaven aboard the Speedwell on 22 July 1620 to meet the Mayflower at Southampton. The Mayflower had been chartered out of London by the group’s English investors, and her master was Christopher Jones of Harwich and later Rotherhithe. More Separatists and other colonists joined the company at Southampton. Pilgrim Hall, following William Bradford’s account Of Plymouth Plantation, dates the two ships’ departure to about 5 August 1620, while the Royal Museums Greenwich maritime memorials record gives the date commemorated by the monument as 15 August 1620. Today the column is one of the most significant landmarks and monuments in England for visitors tracing the American story.
The Speedwell Ship
The Speedwell was the smaller of the two Pilgrim ships, bought in Holland so that the settlers would have a vessel to use in the colony after they arrived, according to Pilgrim Hall Museum. Her master was Captain Reynolds. After leaving Southampton she leaked so badly that both ships turned back, putting in first at Dartmouth and then at Plymouth in Devon. The Speedwell went no further, and the Mayflower finally set out alone for America on 6 September 1620. Historic England’s listing notes that the Southampton memorial commemorates the sailing of both ships, not just the Mayflower.
John Alden
John Alden is the Mayflower passenger most closely tied to Southampton. William Bradford, the colony’s governor, wrote that Alden “was hired for a cooper, at South-Hampton, where the ship victuled”, as quoted by Pilgrim Hall Museum. A cooper is a barrel-maker, and Alden was about 21 at the time. He chose to stay in America, married fellow passenger Priscilla Mullins, and became an Assistant in the colony government for many years, occasionally serving as deputy governor and as colony treasurer. Pilgrim Hall notes that the famous tale of Alden and Myles Standish competing for Priscilla first appeared in print in 1814 and was popularised by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1858 poem The Courtship of Miles Standish, but that nothing in Plymouth Colony’s records supports it.
Pilgrim Fathers’ Memorial, 1913
The Pilgrim Fathers’ Memorial was first proposed in 1909 by F. J. C. Hearnshaw, Professor of History at Southampton’s University College, according to historian Tom Hulme of the University of Exeter’s Voyaging Through History project. Hearnshaw wrote in 1910 that the town should be proud “to have given shelter to the Mayflower for a fortnight”. A civic committee led by the Mayor appealed for funds on both sides of the Atlantic, but Hulme records that money came in slowly, the original design was scaled back, and the finished monument cost £600. Not everyone approved: local historian Charles Cooksey, a Catholic, wrote repeatedly to the local press calling it a vanity project.
Historic England’s listing records that the memorial was designed by R. M. Lucas, and it has been Grade II listed since 14 February 1969. Grade II is the national designation that legally protects a building or structure of special interest. Hulme describes a Portland stone column rising about 50 feet from a stepped base, with a white and gold glass mosaic cupola on eight columns and a Mayflower weathervane on top. Carved heads on the columns represent Faith, Hope and Charity, alongside a ship’s prow facing the sea. The site was chosen to be as close as possible to the point of departure. The inscription, transcribed by Royal Museums Greenwich, records that Walter Hines Page, the United States ambassador, unveiled the monument on 15 August 1913. Hulme notes that the Bishop of Winchester led a short service and that the ceremony closed with both national anthems.
Mayflower Pilgrims Names and Plaques
The Mayflower Pilgrims Memorial carries eight plaques dedicated to the pilgrims, passengers and crew, according to Mayflower 400 UK, the national programme for the voyage’s 400th anniversary. Tom Hulme records that the original inscriptions named individual pilgrims such as John Alden and William Brewster. Royal Museums Greenwich notes that later plaques on the monument include one to D-Day. For the anniversary in 2020 the plaques were refurbished, and a new plaque was added to remember the original inhabitants of Patuxet, the Wampanoag village whose site became Plymouth Colony. Mayflower 400 UK reports that the Mayor of Southampton pledged that the city would always include the Wampanoag people when telling the Mayflower story.
Visiting the Mayflower Pilgrims Memorial: Practical Information
- What you’ll see: A Grade II listed stone column with plaques to the Mayflower’s passengers and crew, standing outdoors.
- Location: Western Esplanade, Southampton SO14, in front of the remains of the medieval town wall.
- Price: Free.
- Opening hours: The memorial stands on a public street, so there are no opening hours.
- Booking: Not needed.
- Nearest station: Southampton Central, the city’s main railway station.
- Getting there from London: Direct South Western Railway trains run from London Waterloo to Southampton Central in about 1 hour 20 minutes. Southern trains from London Victoria take about 2 hours 30 minutes.
- Nearby attractions: The medieval town walls, Tudor House and Garden, and SeaCity Museum.
Prices last checked: October 2026.
Opening hours last checked: October 2026.
Sources: Historic England listing, Historic England Archive, Royal Museums Greenwich maritime memorials, Visit Southampton: getting here.
Where to book: The Mayflower Pilgrims Memorial is free and needs no booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not quite: the core of the group were Separatists, who believed they had to leave the Church of England rather than reform it from within. Pilgrim Hall Museum notes that historian Francis Bremer sees them as puritans in a broad sense, sharing far more with other puritans than divided them.
The Separatists at the heart of the group were Calvinist Protestants who had broken away from the Church of England, according to Pilgrim Hall Museum. Not everyone on board shared their faith: Visit Hampshire puts the Separatists at 40 of the 102 passengers.
The Speedwell leaked so badly after leaving Southampton that both ships put into Dartmouth and then Plymouth, where she was left behind. The Mayflower crossed the Atlantic alone, setting out on 6 September 1620.
Only partly: the Mayflower began her voyage at Southampton in August 1620, but her final departure for America was from Plymouth in Devon. Visit Hampshire describes Southampton as the original intended departure port for both ships.
No, John Alden was hired as the Mayflower’s cooper, or barrel-maker, according to William Bradford. Bradford records that he was taken on at Southampton, where the ship was loaded with supplies.
Take a direct South Western Railway train from London Waterloo to Southampton Central, which takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. The memorial is on Western Esplanade in the city centre, so it fits easily into a day trip.
Yes, the memorial is an outdoor monument on a public street, free to see with no booking needed.
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