How A Bury Lawyer Founded Jamestowne

Bartholomew Gosnold is considered by Preservation Virginia to be the "prime mover of the colonization of Virginia". His legacy - Jamestowne in Virginia - led him to become one of the world's most renowned travellers.

Visitors to Bury St Edmunds can see a permanent reminder of Bartholomew Gosnold’s adventures in the Refectory garden of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, outside the Pilgrims Kitchen cafe.

There sits a beautifully modern piece of art by Jonathan Clarke which depicts Gosnold’s ship, the Godspeed. Gosnold commanded the ship when it set sail for on December 10 1606 to found the first recorded permanent English settlement in America, 14 years before the famous Mayflower which took Pilgrims, from Plymouth, England to the New World.

Bartholomew Gosnold and his wife Mary (nee Golding) lived in Bury St Edmunds (altiugh the family ancestral home was Otley Hall in Suffolk) and had seven children, six of whom were baptized at Bury St Edmunds, between 1597 and 1607. Although a lawyer, between 1595 and 1601 it seems Gosnold spent little time practicing the law, choosing to spend time planning his adventures on the sea!

Bartholomew started his first voyage to the New World departing Falmouth on 26 March 1602 commanding the ship 'Concord', carrying twenty colonists and a dozen crew members.

On 14 May 14 1602 the ship made landfall off the southern coast of Maine and 15 May 1602 - Bartholomew Gosnold sailed into Provincetown Harbor, naming the peninsula Cape Cod after the huge schools of fish sighted. On 21 May 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold sighted the island he named Martha's Vineyard. We believe this is after his daughter who died in Bury St Edmunds before the age of 2. Martha is buried in St Edmundsbury Cathedral churchyard. Or it could be after his mother-in-law who part funded his trip!

It is not until 10 April 1606 that King James I grants an exclusive Royal Charter for Gosnold to settle Virginia. This was the start of The Virginia Company of London (although the original charter did not mention a ‘Virginia Company’; the name were applied later to the overall enterprise).

It was on his second journey to the New World, which departed on 20 December 1606, that Gosnold commanded the ship 'Godspeed'. They made landfall on the coast of Virginia on 26 April 1607 and later reached the settlement which Gosnold was to name Jamestown, in honour of the king, on 13 May 1607.

His adventures in Jamestown were to be short lived, as Gosnold died just 4 months later on 22 August 1607 after falling ill.

On 16 September 1620, 13 years after Gosnold's death, The Mayflower would follow the northern route across the North Atlantic that he pioneered, following his charts into Cape Cod Bay.

For years Gosnold’s final resting place was unknown until 2002 when the Jamestown Rediscovery team discovered the probable final resting place just outside James Fort’s western corner. There were many indications that the burial site was for a high status individual - the grave shaft contained metal portions of a captain’s leading staff, and dark staining left from the wooden staff measured five and a half feet. The nail pattern left after the deterioration of the wooden coffin suggested it was gable-lidded, which was another indicator of status. Forensic analysis by the Smithsonian Institute determined that the skeleton belonged to a European male about five and a half feet tall who died in his mid- to late-thirties. Gosnold died at age 36.

Gosnold was “a worthy and religious gentleman . . . upon whose life stood a great part of the good success and fortune of our government and colony.”
– President Edward Maria Wingfield

The town of Gosnold encompasses the Elizabeth Islands: a chain of islands that lies between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Named for Bartholomew Gosnold, the town is made up of roughly a dozen named islands, including Naushon, Pasque, Nashawena, Penikese, and Cuttyhunk. In total, Gosnold has 63 miles of shoreline and 13 square miles of land. As of the 2010 Census, Gosnold is home to 75 year-round residents, which makes it the smallest town by population in Massachusetts.

Find out more about Gosnold at the Historic Jamestowne website.

1. You can find a memorial plaque on the Chapel of the Charnel in St Edmundsbury Cathedral's Churchyard at Bury St Edmunds. It was erected in 2007 as part of the celebrations to commemorate the founding of Jamestown.

2. Buzzards Bay (a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts) was originally named Gosnold's Hope by Captain Bartholomew Gosnold. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism.

3. Gosnold's signature was found by accident in 2007. The Gosnold family sold some land at Great Barton, and the deed survives in the West Suffolk Record Office to this day. It was discovered when research was being undertaken into the family to prepare for the centenary celebrations of the founding of Jamestown and was displayed as part of those celebrations.

4. Gosnold Street at the town's arc shopping centre also pays tribute to the intrepid Bury St Edmunds lawyer and explorer.

5. Gosnold’s widow Mary Gosnold married Jasper Sharpe on 23 May 1615 at Fornham St Martin near Bury St Edmunds. She was buried at St James’ Church, Bury St Edmunds, now St Edmundsbury Cathedral, on 23 October 1665.