Speedwell (1620 Pilgrim ship)

Type

Pinnace

Period

17th Century

Nation

Great Britain

Overview: Speedwell was a 60-ton English pinnace best known as the ill-fated companion vessel to the Mayflower during the 1620 Pilgrim voyage to the New World. Originally built in 1577 as the war-ship Swiftsure, she was decommissioned and renamed Speedwell in 1605 before being purchased by Leiden Separatists to help carry English Dissenters (the Pilgrims) to America. Specifications: A small single-decked pinnace of only 60 tons burthen, roughly one-third the tonnage of the Mayflower. She was originally single-masted as Swiftsure but was refitted with a second mast prior to the 1620 voyage, giving her a two-masted rig suited to ocean crossing. Service History: As Swiftsure, she served against the Spanish Armada in 1588 and as second-in-command's ship during the Earl of Essex's 1596 Azores expedition. Renamed Speedwell and refitted, she carried Pilgrims from Delfshaven to Southampton in July 1620 to rendezvous with the Mayflower, but persistent leaking forced both ships back twice, first to Dartmouth and then to Plymouth, England. The voyage was abandoned for Speedwell, her passengers transferring to the already-crowded Mayflower, and she was later sold at auction in London where, once repaired, she reportedly made further successful trading voyages, including one to Virginia in 1635 under Captain John Thomas Chappell. Notable Facts: Some historical accounts, including Governor William Bradford's writings, suggest the ship's captain and crew may have deliberately sabotaged Speedwell's seaworthiness to avoid the long Atlantic crossing, since her leaks mysteriously vanished after being sold to new owners. The ship's dramatic failure is memorialized in Robert Walter Weir's 1843 painting "The Embarkation of the Pilgrims," displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, which remains a popular visual reference for modelers depicting the vessel.