New memorial honours Baptist founder John Smyth 

A memorial has been installed at Sturton-le-Steeple, the birthplace of English Baptist founder John Smyth - and is believed to be the first monument to name Smyth anywhere in Britain

Smyth is one of four Christian figures named on the base of the memorial, which also commemorates the Nottinghamshire village’s link with the Mayflower, the sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620.

The memorial was commissioned from an artist by the Sturton-le-Steeple Parish Council, which has enthusiastically engaged with Sturton’s uniquely important role in the puritan and separatist movements. Despite its size - Sturton is six miles east of Retford and has a population of just over 500 residents - it features four important names from Christian history.

Smyth himself was a leading figure in the separatist movement in the area during the period 1601-8, before leaving for Amsterdam.

The memorial also names John Lassells, a Protestant martyr who was burnt at the stake in 1546 for rejecting the doctrine of transubstantiation.

John Robinson, the ‘pastor of the Pilgrims’, is also named; he went with Smyth and others to Amsterdam but later they disagreed over many issues.

The final person named is Katherine Carver, Robinson’s sister-in-law, and also born in Sturton; she travelled to America on the ‘Mayflower’ in 1620 but both she and her husband died there in early 1621.

The design incorporates images drawn by children from the local school, a shell to symbolise pilgrimage and sea travel, and a mast with a cross emblem.  

The project was led Lynn Clapperton, a member of Retford Baptist Church and the Parish Council, and supported by Pilgrims & Prophets, which organises Christian heritage tours in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. The sculpture has been funded by Rural England with Bassetlaw District Council and a contribution from Pilgrims & Prophets, led by the village community.

Adrian Gray is a member of Retford Baptist Church and director of Pilgrims & Prophets.

He said, 'This memorial celebrates the village's unique history of having four important names from Christian history all from one small place. 

'With a ship's mast and sea shell it captures the fact that three of the four had to leave their country by ship to practise their faith as they wanted to.

'It is believed that this is the first monument to name Smyth anywhere in Britain – though any information to the contrary would be happily received!

'It is hoped that it will provoke discussion and raise awareness of Christian heritage, including about who Smyth was, and what he stood for.'