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Mayflower 400 Flower and Quilt Exhibition returns to St Andrew's Church in Plymouth

Apr 28, 2021

The Minster Church of St Andrew in Plymouth UK staged a second exhibition of the beautiful quilts that were exhibited in September 2020.

There were many more wonderful displays to see at this event, including floral displays and more beautiful creations from the Plymouth Calligraphy Group.

The Mayflower 400 Quilt Exhibition is funded as part of Mayflower 400 Community Sparks - a partnership project between Mayflower 400, Plymouth Culture, Plymouth City Council, The Box and Vital Sparks. It ran from Thursday 3 June to Wednesday 9 June 2021.

The exhibition considered the themes of freedom, faith and personal liberty that informed the original journey and address themes of migration both in 1620 and today.

The Mayflower Baltimore Quilt by Shirley Matthews

Quilters, flower arrangers, and calligraphers could choose any of the four themes of the Mayflower 400 commemoration for inspiration for their designs.

The themes - Leaving Home, Life at Sea, Journey’s End and Life in the New Land - could be interpreted in any way that they chose, and the result is a wonderful collection of multimedia textile art work from across the whole community.

The flower arrangements were stunning, with many experienced and talented contributors to the event.

Unfortunately, there were no flower displays when the event was staged in September 2020 due to Covid restrictions.

Organisers made up for that with more than a dozen wonderful displays throughout the church.

Through the Window by Janet Greaves Stocker. This is a picture of the Prysten House as it might have been at the time of the Mayflower 400

The exhibition of 24 quilts and beautiful calligraphy designs came from as far afield as London and Massachusetts, as well as from two Plymouth schools and voluntary groups from Devon and Cornwall.

Also on display were copies of two of the original drawings of the stunning stained-glass windows designed by John Piper and created by Patrick Reyntiens.

The six windows were designed as part of the rebuilding of the church following the damage sustained by the aerial bombing of the church during the Plymouth Blitz of 1941. Visitors will be able to compare the original drawings by the artist with the finished windows.

Joe Dent, Rector of the Minster Church of St Andrew, said: "I am so pleased to be able to welcome people in to our church again and hope that the event is well-supported to recognise the efforts of everyone involved in putting on this exhibition."

A quilt by Elle Seward that depicts a cob of sweetcorn in reference to the Wampanoag Indians giving the settlers sweetcorn which they called Waweekanash

The Pillaton Patchwork group have been working on a drawn set of pictures of the settlers

Thanksgiving Quilt by Janet Greaves Stocker. This quilt is made in the style of log cabin. In the centre of each square is something Janet is thankful for.

Life at Sea by Janet Greaves Stocker. The background material was found in an outdoor market in Amiens, Northern France, in February 2018

The Three Sisters by Janet Greaves Stocker. This quilt with pumpkins, corn and beans on is called ‘The Three Sisters’, which was the style of planting that the Wampanoag people used