Harwich Mayflower Heritage Centre

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Mayflower Replica
History
United Kingdom
NamesakeMayflower
OwnerHarwich Mayflower Project
Keel Cut: June 2013
Projected Completion Date: Not specified
Quatercentenary Voyage: 2020

The Harwich Mayflower Project is based in Harwich, in the United Kingdom. It is a community project of which the main goal is to construct a full-scale, sea-worthy replica of the famous Mayflower ship which transported a hundred pilgrims from the UK to Cape Cod in America in 1620.

History

The formation of the Project was inspired by a visit to the town from a replica of the HMS Endeavour, the ship commanded by Captain Cook. The visit created a lot of interest within the town, and a small group of locals came together with the intention of building on this interest. As a result of a meeting in 2009, they decided to form a project for Harwich to build its own replica ship; the Mayflower was the obvious choice due to its Harwich connections (Christopher Jones, the ship's master, was born and raised there).[1] The first designs of the ship were unveiled in April 2009.[2] By 2010 the Project had achieved charitable status,[3] and before the year was through the Project had effectively commenced.[4] The Project received a major boost in the latter half of 2010 with an official endorsement by Richard Branson,[5][6] the billionaire founder of Virgin Group.

In 2016 a brand new, purpose-built visitor centre and museum was built in the yard, next to the ship build, and is set to officially open by the end of August 2016.[7]

Build

The main construction of the Mayflower is within a specially built shed, situated within Harwich Town station's railyard, and the main progress is visible outside in the yard. The build officially commenced in December 2012, with the cutting of the first oak tree.[8] In June 2013, a ceremony was held for the cutting of the keel.[9][10] In December 2014, the first stage of the build was completed.

While visible progress of the build has stalled since this first stage, the vice-chairman of the Mayflower Project board of trustees (who has since resigned)[11] stated that she expected building to recommence in the Summer of 2016.[12]

As of March 2017 the build has still to recommence and it has been reported that currently with no significant funds available, no build would start until funding was in place.[13]

Training

The project has a Training Centre which offers NVQs and apprenticeships; this was closed temporarily in May 2016.[14] One of the goals of the Project besides building a Mayflower replica is to provide access to further education and training, particularly in the diminishing industrial sector.[15] When active the training centre, located by the station entrance, offers NVQs and apprenticeships in fields such as marine engineering, construction, business administration, and also the likes of customer service, retail, and general employability skills.[16][17]

In the media

Word of the Project gathered momentum in 2013, with multiple news agencies both sides of the Atlantic and beyond picking up on the story of Harwich's Mayflower claim, from Britain[18][19][20][21][22][23] to America,[24][25][26][27] Canada,[28] and even Hungary.[29]

The Project itself has also received national coverage from the BBC, and ITV,[30] as well as a number of local papers, including the Harwich & Manningtree Standard and the East Anglian Daily Times.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Harwich: £4 Million pound replica of historic vessel to be built in town?". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 10 March 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Harwich: designs for £4 Million ship replica unveiled". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Harwich: Ship project gets charitable status". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  4. ^ "About - Harwich Mayflower Project". Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Harwich: Billionaire supports ship build project". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Harwich Mayflower Project". Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  7. ^ "New Mayflower Project visitor centre and museum nearing completion". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Mayflower ship building begins". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Harwich Mayflower Project ceremony to cut keel and open training centre". BBC News. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Keel cutting ceremony launches Mayflower Project". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Ambitious project no longer viewed as major part of Mayflower 2020 celebrations". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  12. ^ ""Mayflower on track to sail in 2020", says trustee with the ambitious project". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Ambitious project no longer viewed as major part of Mayflower 2020 celebrations". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  14. ^ "Mayflower Project training centre to shut over lack of funding". Harwich and Manningtree Standard. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Training". Harwich Mayflower Project. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Courses". Harwich Mayflower Project. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Apprenticeships". Harwich Mayflower Project. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  18. ^ "Harwich Mayflower Project to build life-size replica". BBC News. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  19. ^ "Harwich voices its claim to Mayflower". ITV News. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  20. ^ "Plymouth who? Harwich claims that Pilgrim Fathers were really Essex boys". The Times (needs a subscription). 30 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  21. ^ "Harwich lays claim to the Mayflower as it takes on Plymouth ahead of 400th anniversary". Daily Mail Online. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  22. ^ "America's founding fathers were Essex boys, according to claims". Telegraph. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  23. ^ "Harwich: Birth Of The American Dream?". Heart. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Harwich tries to claim Mayflower". Wall Street Journal (needs a subscription). 23 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  25. ^ "Multiplying Mayflowers". The Boston Globe. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  26. ^ "Harwich, England claims Mayflower built there". Wicked Local. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  27. ^ "Do you know your Mayflower history? Residents of coastal English town dispute Pilgrims' launch site". CBS News. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  28. ^ "Did Plymouth hijack Mayflower story from Harwich?". Toronto Star. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  29. ^ "Honnan jöttek a zarándok atyák?". Múlt-kor (Hungarian). 30 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  30. ^ "Griff's Great Britain Episode 2". 11 January 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  31. ^ "Video/Gallery: Project to recreate the Mayflower - the ship that put America on the map". East Anglian Daily Times. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harwich_Mayflower_Heritage_Centre&oldid=786778639"