Bangs points out that all of the Pilgrims' houses have long ago been torn down, the last, Gov. William Bradford's, in 1985. The memories are marked by a few site markers attached to modern buildings. The city's plans do not call for new construction where the church wall is. A row of 20 medieval and 17th century houses will be bulldozed for that. The designers simply want to leave a large square devoid of any structures.
Bangs brings considerable expertise to the project.
Mass. Not only is the site sacred to the descendants of the Pilgrims, but it is also the church in which some of colonial America's first families worshipped, including ancestors of Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, George H.W. Bush and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Pilgrims left England in 1608, settling first in Amsterdam then moving a year later to Leiden before sailing to America in 1620 on the Mayflower. The Church of Our Lady, their principal place of worship, dates from the 14th century. After 1584, it was used by the Walloon Reformed community. Readers of United Church News can play an active role in helping to save a piece of Congregational history by expressing their support for preservation.