Mayflower400 | Swords and Spindles Living History

By the wonders of that witchcraft that do be called the Zoom and the PowerPoint, Mistress Agnes and Master Christopher have been entertaining folk from across the globe (even some from countries that haven’t been discovered in their time). They foregathered in Plymouth’s Minerva Tavern in 1670 to chat about plague, about fire, about witchcraft and the late war. By chance, Sir Francis was residing in that same tavern. It was a full twenty five years since he and Master Christopher last met and they reminisced about times past. A little known fact about Mistress Agnes was revealed. She was fair set to sail upon the Mayflower but having travelled from Rotherhithe, decided to abandon ship at Plymouth, where she encountered Master Christopher, who was ship’s surgeon on board a vessel at anchor in that city. They had spent the intervening years in Bideford on Devon’s northern shore but had lately come to Plymouth, finding the activities of Bideford’s rector, one Nathaniel Eaton, uncongenial. In fact, Mistress Agnes was in danger of being taken up as a witch. So thanks to Devon Family History Society for their role in organising a fascinating conference about all things Mayflower and for asking the folk of Swords and Spindles to take part.

It has not escaped the good folk of Swords and Spindles that 2020 marks 400 years since 102 souls, along with 30 crew, left these shores for a life in the New World. We are proud to be part of a wonderous line-up of folk at an International Mayflower Conference in Plymouth in August.

It is 1670. You will meet our characters, in a slightly adapted guise, as they mull over the events of the fifty years since the Mayflower set sail. What a time it has been, with plague, fire, witch trials and conflict, to say nothing of a king losing his head. Our folks’ lives back in England have not been uneventful, Francis Holyoke trades in salt cod and tobacco. A much travelled man, he was in Essex at the time of the Witchfinder General and in London during the plague and Great Fire. Master Christopher, a ship-board barber surgeon, late of the port of Bideford, saw service with Prince Maurice during the Civil War. He and his goodwife Agnes have but lately come to Plymouth, a city that has seen many changes over the past half-century. Although trade is flourishing, there has been much unrest in Bideford of late, with disputes betwixt those who perceive different routes to heaven. In recent times too, there have been rumblings about witches, best that Master Christopher takes Mistress Agnes to reside in Plymouth, before her dispensing of herbal remedies gets her into trouble.

We will be more than pleased to take this presentation to other venues and are now accepting bookings for September 2020 onwards.