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An English County Marks The Founding Of Jamestown USAEdited by Gilly PickupThe English town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk celebrates its connections with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, USA. The event, ‘AMERICA 400’, will take place throughout May. The town will celebrate the county's links with the first permanent English settlement in the USA 400 years ago. Adventurer Captain Bartholomew Gosnold led two maritime expeditions from England to the New World, the first in 1602 and the second in 1606/07. He was one of the prime movers in the founding of the Jamestown colony some thirteen years before the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in the Mayflower. Both voyages are said to have been planned in Otley Hall, near Ipswich, which was then home to the Gosnold family.
A booklet, ‘On the Gosnold Trail,’ highlights Suffolk locations linked to Captain Gosnold which are open to the public. Free copies are available from Tourist Information centres in Suffolk. For a free copy of the ‘Choose Suffolk’ short breaks brochure which provides an overview of the county, go to: http://www.choosesuffolk.com Otley Hall will be open to the public on 6 and 27 May and 26 August, between 2 -6pm. http://www.otleyhall.co.uk For more information on the area visit:
http://www.visiteastofengland.com Images by Gilly Pickup |
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Gosnold's eldest daughter Martha was baptised
in the cathedral at Bury St Edmunds in 1597. She died in
childhood and was buried in an unmarked grave in the Great Churchyard. On his
first voyage to the New World, Gosnold named the Massachusetts island of
Martha's Vineyard in her memory.
On Sunday 6 May a family fun day including veteran car
display, stalls, military parade and funfair will be held in Bury St Edmund's
Abbey Gardens. Visitors will also be able to learn more
about the county's famous ancestors. At 3.30pm a special service in St Edmundsbury
Cathedral will feature the premiere
of a
piece of music specially commissioned for the Cathedral Choir to mark the
occasion. Several kneelers make reference to the strong links between Suffolk
and America and there is a contemporary sculpture of Gosnold's ship, the
Godspeed, in the refectory garden.
Throughout May, 'American Connections ' Blue Badge Guide
tours of Bury St Edmunds will be available for groups pre-booked through the
Tourist Information Centre {tel + 44 (0)1284 764667} and the Record Office
will display artefacts linked to the Gosnold family as well as those of other
early explorers to the New World. On America 400 day these will be displayed in
a marquee in Abbey Gardens.
