- A life-size replica of the Mayflower was burned to the ground in a huge dramatic bonfire to the amazement of revellers.
- The ship has been a feature in Torrington for the last four years as members of the Great Torrington Cavaliers used scaled up toy model plans to build the structure.
A news source published in the Devonlive by Ami Wyllie states that Mayflower replica ship built to burn finally goes up in flames.
400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower
It was built to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower, the boat the sailed from Plymouth to America carrying Pilgrims who founded modern civilisation in what we now know as the USA.
It also served to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Great Torrington Cavaliers.
The ship was built using mostly recycled pallet wood, trees donated by RHS Rosemoor and wood left at the site by Torrington residents.
Mayflower is smaller than previous boat
Despite being full-sized, the Mayflower is smaller than previous boats the organisation has made, so they built a replica Barbican to go with it.
Around 800 people were able to look around the boat and the Barbican in the weeks between completion and burning.
They got to see all the intricate details on board the boat, including stained glass windows painted by Chris Stacey, a ‘Cavalier Gin’ sign, a ‘ye olde one stoppe knob shoppe’, drunken sailors drinking rum, knitted rats, an octopus and event a toilet inside a cupboard.
A real stained glass window from their Trumpton burn was fitted at the top of the Barbican stairs. This window was found among the belongings of former Chairman Steve Young, who passed away in 2020 and installed as a nod to him and his work with the organisation.
Wood used in the building of the structure
Most of the wood used in the build was going to waste, and the Cavaliers did not directly source fresh wood to build their structure.
Devon based fireworks company Two Tigers Fireworks spent two days rigging the ship with thousands of rockets for the pre-burning pyro musical.
Using music, the display took the audience on a journey with the Pilgrims aboard Mayflower, immersing guests on a stormy trip across the sea before Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’ represented the end of their plight.
After the pyro-musical, one last wildlife sweep was conducted to ensure no rogue hedgehogs or rabbits had found their way into the bonfire.
Laura, Pete and Dave, children of the late former Chairman of the Cavaliers,’ Steve Young, then lit a canon that shot into the ship as two fireballs erupted from either side of the Mayflower.
Ship set to fire by the Cavaliers
Cavaliers carrying straw padded torches set the ship alight from the back and around the sides to ensure the whole structure would catch fire.
While it took four years to build, after the bonfire started, it only took 10 minutes before the ship was engulfed in flames and the towering boat became almost unrecognisable.
The coronavirus pandemic delayed the event for a year, but the ship that was built to burn was finally set alight with a breath-taking firework finale.
While there was a great deal of excitement, relief and pride among the Cavaliers after the event, the organisers were not immediately sad that the Mayflower burning was over.
Lots of emotions and sadness
There’ll be a bit of emotion, sadness tinged with a bit of relief that it’s finally gone.
One of Mark’s concerns prior to the event was that the one of thousands of fireworks would go rogue and prematurely set the ship on fire.
Luckily, only the fabric sails that were encased in chicken wire went up ahead of time, with the rest of the boat remaining intact after the display.
Many Devon residents, who are unfamiliar with the Cavaliers’ work, were dumbfounded by the idea that the group would spend so much time and effort building a life-size boat, only to burn it shortly after completion.
There were calls for it to remain on the commons, with suggestions ranging from turning it into a museum to being used as a playground for children.
Mayflower was not built to last longer
But the Mayflower was not built to last longer than the anticipated three years, its life was only extended due to lockdown restrictions.
Mark said: “We knew it was a bonfire at the beginning, that’s why we built it.
“It looks good and we wanted people to be able to walk around it, so we ensured it was built to a safe standard that would enable us to do that.
“But, in the end, it’s got to go, it was built to be a bonfire.”
Mark added that it likely wouldn’t survive another British winter as July’s Storm Everard took several panels off the church spire which had to be repaired ahead of the bonfire.
End of the Great Torrington Cavaliers build and burn events
Had the Cavaliers’ not been able to host the event, they had agreed to stage a private burning in the middle of the night for their friends and families.
But thankfully it didn’t come to that and the night went ahead as planned and signalled the end of the Great Torrington Cavaliers build and burn events.
While there has been much speculation about whether they will plan another of these structures, both Mark and Mayflower project lead, Steve Blake, are certain that the Mayflower will be the last.
A month before the event, Steve said: “We have to seriously consider the environment and the 50th anniversary is a really a good one to end it.
“It doesn’t mean we’re giving up, we’ll still do stuff in town and do spectacular events, but they won’t be builds.”
Ticket sales
Hundreds more paid farmers with fields overlooking Torrington to park on their land and watch the event from afar.
Those farmers donate most of that money to the Cavaliers and will be added to the total ticket sales.
Once counted, 10% will be donated to Devon Air Ambulance, 10% to North Devon Hospice, 10% to Guide Dogs for the Blind and 10% to the Torrington Commons Conservators who own and manage the land they built the Mayflower on.
The remaining 60% will be divided between local organisations and charities who apply to the Cavaliers when they open submissions in a few weeks.
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Source: Devonlive
