The Weaver, the Shoemaker and the Mother of a Nation: Dorking’s Mayflower Pilgrims
The Weaver, the Shoemaker and the Mother of a Nation: The story of Dorking’s Mayflower Pilgrims
by Kathy Atherton and Susannah Horne
The home of shoemaker William Mullins on Dorking’s West Street is the only home of a ‘Pilgrim Father’ known to have survived into the 21st century. But Mullins was just one of six residents of this small Surrey town to travel to the New World on the Mayflower in 1620.
Who were the others and what were their lives in Dorking like? Why did they leave the place of their birth on a perilous journey to an uncertain future? How did they fare in the precarious new colony?
The Weaver, the Shoemaker and the Mother of a Nation tells the story of those who risked everything, leaving friends and family to find a new future. It also provides insight into day to day life in the town they left behind.
Fully illustrated, with maps and photographs to enable readers to identify buildings that would have been known to Dorking’s Mayflower pilgrims and which survive today.
Published 2020 by the Cockerel Press
ISBN 978-1-909871-18-2
88 pages; 43 illustrations (33 in colour) £8
Available now from Dorking Museum online OR
order and pay now via the online store OR
order via kathy.history@gmail.com
Virtual Voyages: Dorking
This short film explores 17th century Dorking and the story of the six residents of the town who travelled to the New World on the Mayflower.
More information about Dorking’s Mayflower connections and guided walks can be found here.