Skip to content

Mayflower ship sculpture installed near Harwich port

BBC The sculpture is placed on its globe baseBBC
The sculpture of the Mayflower is to commemorate 400 years since the vessel sailed to America

A sculpture of a ship which took the Pilgrims Fathers to America has been installed to commemorate 400 years since its historic journey.

The Mayflower travelled across the Atlantic in 1620 and its captain, and several crew members, hailed from Harwich, Essex.

The seven metre-tall artwork will greet arrivals on the first roundabout outside Harwich Port.

A year of events to remember the Mayflower journey is planned for 2020.

The piece, created by artists (Hanman Murphy), was commissioned by Tendring District Council and it hopes the work will encourage visitors to the town.

Mayflower crew
The Mayflower's crew and passengers arrived at what would become the Plymouth Colony in 1520
A crane lowers the sculpture
The Mayflower carried the founding fathers to America

Capt Christopher Jones came from Harwich and the Mayflower was registered to the town at the time of the voyage to America.

Mike Carran, head of sport and leisure at Tendring, said: "Next year is the 400th since the sailing of the Mayflower which Harwich has great connections with.

"This roundabout is the first point of call for people coming over from mainland Europe and we really want to say Harwich has this great history, and to say turn left go and see Harwich as opposed to going right towards London."

The sculpture travelled from Colchester to Harwich before being placed in position by crane.

Tendring District Council The crane lowers the sculptureTendring District Council
The sculpture was transported from Colchester by lorry and a crane was used to place it on the base

The finishing touches will be made to it over the coming weeks.

Madelaine Hanman Murphy, who works alongside her husband Alistair Hanman, said: "We wanted to create a structural skeleton that evokes the historic starting point of the Mayflower story, represented as structurally and proportionally accurate as possible.

"The globe reflects this interpretation of iron bearing waters, and the international legacy of the Mayflower."

Madelaine Hanman Murphy
Madelaine Hanman Murphy created the sculpture with her husband

Mayflower 400 is a programme of events which will mark the journey of the vessel from Plymouth to what is now Plymouth in Massachusetts, USA.

Mayflower sculpture
The sculpture was commissioned by Tendring District Council