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America's Heritage and Roots of the USA with 'Pilgrims & Prophets'

Two successive waves of migration – in 1620, and then again from 1629-34 – cemented powerful connections between Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the future states of the USA.

Explore the roots of Captain John Smith, William Bradford, John Cotton, Anne Bradstreet, Anne Hutchinson and the city of Boston itself, and trace the ideas that gave birth to the First Amendment.

This is the only tour that covers the range of American migration from Smith’s Virginia to the Mayflower Pilgrims and the Great Migration and is led by a Cambridge-educated historian. It's recommended to book at least two days for this in-depth experience, but three is better!

Where?

Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire

Tour provider

Pilgrims & Prophets Christian Heritage Tours

Contact and booking

Telephone: 44 (0)7470 366689
Email: adriangray@pilgrimsandprophets.co.uk
Travel Trade Contact: As above

Website

Pilgrims & Prophets

Boston's Historic Market Place

Tours are tailored to suit your interests, covering the range of American history from 1607 to 1640. You can visit Willoughby, home of Captain John Smith, and see Pocahontas in stained glass.

Tour the home villages and churches of 'Mayflower' Pilgrims like William Brewster and William Bradford. A highlight is sure to be Boston, the magnificent church where John Cotton preached before his escape to Massachusetts.

Guides will also take you off the tourist trail Sempringham, where the great migration was planned by Winthrop, Dudley and Roger Williams in 1629, and Alford, home of Tom Paine and the turbulent Ann Hutchinson who so shook up the Massachusetts community.

You can stop at Belleau, where Roger Williams came to discuss religious liberty with former governor of Massachusetts Sir Henry Vane who had fled back to England, only to be executed by Charles II.

Williams’s writings helped shape the First Amendment – but he got his ideas from our local friends who became the first Baptists - so guides include where they came from, and also the great priory church where Williams’s wife originated.

All this and choral evensong at the wonderful Lincoln Cathedral. Tours can be from one to three days.

John Cotton Stained-Glass Window

Tour Highlights

Visit Babworth, the church in the woods birthplace of the Scrooby Mayflower congregation.
Visit Boston, Lincolnshire and the church where John Cotton was a preacher.
Learn the truth and fiction of the famous story of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.

Customisable Options

Pilgrims and Prophets can arrange additional local excursions and experiences as part of your tour. Please ask for details and prices when you make your booking enquiry.

Cream tea at Hodsock Priory.
Lincoln Cathedral choral evensong
Traditional English bell-ringing
Real ale beer-tasting
Europe’s largest antiques market
Sherwood Forest 'Red Bus' Tour
Visits to the historic chapels of Monksthorpe (Baptist) and Raithby (Methodist)

More about the package

Price: From £160.00 for full-day tour (up to seven people) - excluding transport, attraction entries, and lunch. Final prices confirmed on quotation.

Group size: Most group sizes can be accommodated.

Duration: Full day, 10 hours. Option to extend to two or three days.

Special equipment needed: Comfortable shoes and warm clothes (as the churches can sometimes be cold).