City in southwest of England, in the county of Devon. It is 1,826 km away from Santiago de Compostela.
Plymouth began as a fishing village and in the 13th century the prior turned the village into a town by starting a market there. The city found wealth and had a national strategic importance for the establishment of British naval dominance in the colonization of the New World.
The Mayflower -in Spanish translated as “ Flor de Mayo”- was the ship that sailed from Plymouth to the New World in 1620. The Mayflower transported the first English Separatists, a group of 102 people, known today as The Pilgrims who hoped to start a new life on the other side of the Atlantic.
Plymouth
Port of Departure
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Plymouth, with his natural harbour and open access to the Atlantic Ocean, was one of the only two ports with licence from the Crown to carry pilgrims going to Santiago de Compostella by sea, from this port parted to Galicia 57% of the ships with license.
The Barbican is the name given to the west and north sides of the old harbour area of Plymouth. Two or three streets still preserve some of the architecture of an old fishing port. For centuries, the Barbican was home to Plymouth fish market.
The pilgrims often wore a sign indicating their destination. Those going to Santiago de Compostella wore a scallop shell, this eventually became a general symbol of pilgrimage.
Medieval Pilgrimage in A Coruña