The Mayflower is a historic riverside pub at 117 Rotherhithe Street, SE16 4NF, beside the Thames and close to Rotherhithe Overground station. It is one of London’s most atmospheric historic pubs, with a nautical interior, low beams, a riverside terrace and a wooden jetty overlooking the water.
 
Its fame comes from its connection with the Mayflower voyage of 1620. The ship was captained and part-owned by Christopher Jones, a Rotherhithe mariner, and it is traditionally said to have moored near the pub before carrying the Pilgrims to America. At low tide, visitors can see the nearby landing steps and foreshore associated with the ship’s departure. However, the Pilgrims did not literally board the ship from the pub itself, and the exact relationship between the present building and the ship’s mooring place is partly a matter of local tradition, but is a nice thing to believe.
 
The pub has had several names. It was originally known as the Shippe Inn, with a history commonly traced to around 1780, and later became the Spread Eagle and Crown. It was badly damaged during the Second World War; the roof and upper floor were subsequently rebuilt or refurbished in the 1950s. The present “old-world” interior largely reflects that post-war reconstruction rather than surviving unchanged from the sixteenth century. It really is a lovely interior and its terrace overlooking the Thames is one of my favourite spots.
 
Interesting facts...
The pub maintains a particularly strong connection with descendants of the Mayflower passengers. Visitors who can demonstrate descent from one of the Pilgrims may ask to see and sign the pub’s Mayflower Descendants Book. It is also widely described as the only British pub licensed to sell both American and British postage stamps