Godspeed

Definition: The phrase “godspeed” is a personal blessing. The intent is to convey true concern, hope or desire for another person to successfully accomplish a difficult task, or journey. Oftentimes the endeavour at hand is dangerous and may have little chance of success.

This is Otley Hall, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. It was here that Bartholomew Gosnold was born in 1571, in the reign of Elizabeth 1. Gosnold was from a wealthy landowning family, and studied law at Cambridge - he married and settled down in Suffolk and he and his wife had seven children, all baptised in the Cathedral at Bury St Edmunds.

But then he gave up law, and took up sailing - he wanted to explore the 'New World' - in 1602 he travelled on "the Concord" to check out the land in New England. He landed in Maine - and named one area "Cape Cod", then travelling along the coast, he found a beautiful area where lush wild grape vines were growing. In memory of his firstborn infant daughter Martha- who had died 2 years before, and was buried back in the Suffolk Cathedral, he named the place "Martha's Vineyard"

Uncertain that their provisions would see them through the winter, he and his men sailed back, with a cargo of cedar, furs and sassafras. He worked hard to persuade wealthy London Merchants to fund another expedition. Returning a few years later in 1606 [with the support of King James] Gosnold set up a proper colony - Jamestown, Virginia. His second ship was called the "Godspeed"

Sadly he died [only three months after arriving] during an outbreak of malaria, in 1607 - far from his beautiful Suffolk home. The whereabouts of his burial were uncertain, until 2002 when archaeologists found a grave containing the bones of a man, who had died in his mid to late 30s, height 5 and a half feet - matching descriptions of Bartholomew. This statue created using the skeleton for inspiration' now stands outside the Williamsburg Courthouse

Various replicas of Godspeed have been built over the years, as people have sought to replicate Gosnold's hazardous voyage.

I knew nothing of this story, until we visited Bury last month whilst on holiday - although I'd heard of Jamestown, and Cape Cod, and Martha's Vineyard. But many regard this wise and gentle man as the "Forgotten Founding Father of English America" 

He lived and died a century before George Washington and the other FFs, his tiny ships sailed across the Atlantic, finding safer, faster routes for those who were to follow [like the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620]

Benjamin is commemorated by a sculpture in the Cathedral gardens.  It represents his perilous final journey to the New World. I found it utterly beautiful - it is simply called Godspeed