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She managed to bridge the gap between the Old and the New World and will be forever remembered in Gravesend, a place far from her home but which became her final resting place.
Next week will mark the 400th anniversary of Pocahontas’ arrival and death in the town.
Preparations, including workshops, have been underway for months on Pocahontas 400, a project commemorating the landmark, which brought such an influential young woman to be forever associated with Kent.
The centrepiece of the celebrations will be a huge parade on Tuesday, March 21, when the streets of Gravesend will come to life with hundreds of colourful feathers, held aloft by local schoolchildren and members of community groups. There are also events running through to April and ones this weekend.
Many of the giant feathers have been created at workshops held in the town in the lead-up to the anniversary as part of the project, which received funding from Arts Council England Grants for the Arts. They are similar to those decorating Native American headdresses.
The parade will wind its way through the town, starting by St Andrew’s, to St George’s Church, where Pocahontas was buried, passing Town Pier Square, the High Street and Old Town Hall. Organiser Gravesham Council has also commissioned a Peace Tree to be made by Kent artist Jo Dyer, from Animate Arts.
She was asked to create the sculptural tree – complete with a bird perched on top, created by sculptor Stephen Larking – entirely from recycled paper and cardboard, also symbolising the rich industrial heritage of paper-making in Gravesend and peace and friendship between Gravesend and Pocahontas’s homeland of Virginia in America.
The tree will be unveiled at the parade when one part of the artwork will be handed over to a delegation from Virginia.
Pocahontas Exhibition
Working with individuals who are deaf, partially sighted, blind or with learning difficulties, local artist Wendy Daws looked at the life and death of Pocahontas in a series of creative sessions. The resulting work is on display at the Blake Gallery in the civic centre until Thursday, April 13.
Take a tour of the church and learn about its links with Pocahontas on Sunday, March 19 at 2pm. At 2.30pm, David Givens, from Jamestown Settlement in Virginia, will give a lecture, Uncovering the Past of Jamestown. At 4pm, he will give a second, Pochontas and Her People. From Monday, March 20 to Sunday, March 26, Pocahontas’ burial register will be on display at certain times during the week.
From Tuesday, March 21 to Wednesday, March 23, at 7.30pm each night, young playwright Kieran Knowles will be giving readings from a new play, Gravesend, inspired by the true story of Pocahontas.
Past Pleasures Ltd will stage a family re-enactment day with costumed characters and music for the celebrations, to run through the day on Saturday, April 8. A location and exact times are still to be confirmed.
Starting by St Andrew’s on Tuesday, March 21 at 1.30pm, it will feature community groups, schoolchildren and local dignitaries, and will proceed to St George’s Church, where the status of Pocahontas stands, passing Town Pier Square, the High Street and Old Town Hall.
For details of all events, go to visitgravesend.co.uk/whats-on/pocahontas-400
The favourite daughter of Chief Powhatan of Algonquian-speaking Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia, she met the first English settlers in Jamestown, including John Smith, in 1607. In 1613, she was baptised and took the name Rebecca, marrying John Rolfe in 1614 in Jamestown.
She and a party which included her infant son Thomas, husband John, who was Secretary of the Virginia Colony, and around 10 native Indians, set sail for London in 1617. She was just 21 when she set sail for home, having fallen gravely ill. As the party reached Gravesend, her condition worsened and she was brought ashore, and died. She was buried in the chancel at St George’s Church on March 21, 1617.
