We left Nottinghamshire in the early morning, and made our way south to the town of Dorking, Surrey, England. This was the home parish of Mayflower passengers William, Alice, Priscilla and Joseph Mullins, as well as Peter Browne. William Mullins was a shoemaker and operated his business out of, and lived at, the four-unit house in Dorking shown below.
On the backside of the Mullins house, where tourists rarely go, is the residential portion of the house, containing three units that are on 350-year leases. The church the Mullins family would have attended is less than a five minute walk away.
At present, the middle unit was the only one not currently leased out, so the property owner was able to show us around inside. When this unit was being renovated, some wall art was uncovered (which an art historian dated to about 1590-1610). This art would almost certainly have been here when Priscilla Mullins was living in the house. The horse is running away, and the art historian felt that there was a red building, perhaps on fire, to the right. Since this wall mural will soon be inside a private residence, this will be one of the last times it will likely be seen in any public capacity, so being here was a real treat. You will also notice in this picture I am holding a piece of wood. This wood was a gift from the Mullins property owner to me: an original but decayed oak plank that was removed from the house during its restoration in 2011-2012.
