There’s nothing more British than a pint by the fire in a cosy old pub.

And Americans love this one so much that they make pilgrimages to it.

The Mayflower in Rotherhithe, South East London, is one of the oldest pubs on the River Thames dating back to 1550.

The reason Yanks feel such a connection to it is, of course, because it’s named after the famous ship that took 132 people to explore the Americas in 1620.

The pub’s manager Jamie Gurd explained the link to the voyage to MyLondon.

He said: “The Mayflower ship itself stopped at Plymouth I believe and then stopped here, [at the jetty outside The Mayflower pub] moored up outside.

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“Then the first pilgrims would have come in, maybe had a pint, and then got on the ship and off they went to America.” 

The captain of the ship, Christopher Jones, was also from Rotherhithe and buried in St Mary’s Church across the road from the pub in 1622 when he died.

Jamie said: “That was quite a while ago and the ground was quite boggy then so he would have been returned to the sea since then.” 

What’s more the pub has a quirky Descendants Book – and if you can prove you are a descendant of the passengers or crew of the Mayflower you can sign your name in it.

Jamie said: “People will quite often come in and do a little pilgrimage to their roots.

“They’ll show us that they’re related to someone from the Mayflower, they normally have birth certificates or whatever.

“Then we give them the book, they write a little note and people flick through and they see other people that are related to the same people and it gives them a little bit more about their history.” 

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It’s estimated there are 35 million descendants alive today from the 51 pilgrims who made it to the first Thanksgiving 12 or 16 generations ago.

Another quirky bit of the pub’s history is that it is the only pub in the whole of the UK licensed to sell US and UK stamps – due to it being located just before where people would need to pay tax for bringing goods into London.

Ships and boats would moor up at the pub to avoid the taxes they would have to pay by going past the police peer and unload cargo there.

Jamie said: “They’re more of a souvenir thing now but it’s part of our history, it’s part of the tradition of the pub.

“We still sell the stamps, we sell American and British ones and you can still get a postcard as well.” 

Fans of the pub have been having their say on travel review site Tripadvisor.

One visitor said: “Americans can’t miss this! Charming oldest River Thames pub with great food and service. 

“The pilgrims set sail from this area. So much character in one small, unknown place!

Another American fan enthused: “This restaurant was the only thing on my itinerary for my first night in the UK and all I have to say is that it didn’t disappoint.”

They added: “Upon reflection, I have to say this was one of the most enjoyable meals I have had in four trips of crossing the pond.”

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