Harwich Mayflower Heritage Centre

The Harwich Mayflower Heritage Centre is a museum and charitable community project whose main goal is to establish a "legacy for Essex", both through constructing a full-scale replica of the famous Mayflower ship which transported a hundred Pilgrim Fathers from England to America in 1620, and through celebrating the history and heritage of Harwich, a town in the south-east of England.

The Centre's formation, initially as the "Harwich Mayflower Project", was inspired by a visit to the town from a replica of HMS Endeavour, the ship commanded by James Cook. A small group of residents came together in 2009 to form a project for Harwich to build its own replica ship. The Mayflower was the obvious choice due to its Harwich connections, as ship's master Christopher Jones was born and raised there. The first designs of the ship were unveiled in April 2009. By 2010, the project had achieved charitable status, and it commenced before the year was through. It received a major boost in 2010 with an official endorsement by Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group.

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