Rowley Researcher Album

Here is my latest painting of the Mayflower. On April 5, 1621, the Mayflower set sail, bound for England, arriving back on May 6, bringing news of the successful establishment of Plimoth but with a devastating 50% of the Pilgrims having lost their lives, and with no cargo of lumber, furs and fish for profit..

The Mayflower then sailed to France, bringing home to London a cargo of salt. Shortly after, her master and quarter-owner, Christopher Jones, fell sick. He died in March 1623. My painting shows the Mayflower in 1624, sitting in ruins in the river Thames. The sunset is symbolic of the end of the life of the vessel. The Port of London is in the background, soon to exploit the riches of the New World, unaware of the historic importance of the decaying hulk in its midst. The Mayflower was valued at £128, including 5 anchors, the suit of worn sails, an old pitch pot and kettle (a large cauldron). The ship was probably sold off as scrap lumber.

In 1920, J. Rendal Harris claimed to have discovered Mayflower timbers in a medieval barn at Jordans, situated 25 miles northwest of London. Despite the total lack of evidence and no supporting documentation, this theory has been accepted by the mass media, and has found itself in "National Geographic," and as a question on Jeopardy. Nonetheless it is almost certainly not the Mayflower. I have painted some foxes on the side of the cart on which the timber is being loaded, alluding to this hoax!

Please feel free to use the image for printing, illustrating a web-site or to give more impact to a presentation. Please give me proper credit, listing my name as the original artist and my website contact information.

Dr Mike Haywood
Marine and portrait painter

http//www.mikehaywoodart.co.uk/mayflower.html