Robert Hunt –
Vicar of Reculver and Jamestown’s first Chaplain
Here we plan to celebrate the connection between Hoath and Jamestown, Virginia made by Robert Hunt in 1607.
Robert Hunt (c. 1568-1608), clergyman of the Church of England, was Chaplain of the expedition that founded Jamestown, Virginia.
Serving as Vicar of the parish of Reculver in Kent from 1594 to 1602, Robert Hunt moved in 1602 to the assignment at All Saints Church at Old Heathfield in East Sussex. There, with the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury and at the recommendation of Richard Hakluyt ( his friend and the first minister of the Virginia Company), Robert Hunt accepted the appointment as the first pastor for the settlers on their first colonization campaign of North America.
On April 26th 1607, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery landed in Virginia Beach and there Robert Hunt called for three days of prayer and fasting. On April 29th, he planted a cross, claimed the land for king and country and dedicated the New World to God.
In the meantime, check out these useful sites for more on Robert Hunt and the Jamestown landings
The official Jamestown 400th anniversary website
the official education curriculum website of “America’s 400th Anniversary” marking the founding of the first permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown in Virginia in 1607.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/colo/Jthanout/RHunt.html
a biography of Robert Hunt on the US’s National Park Service website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hunt_%28chaplain%29
a biography of Robert Hunt on wikipedia, the web’s free encyclopedia
http://www.jamestowne.org/rhunt.htm
more on Robert Hunt on the Jamestown Society’s website
The Assembly 2007 – One nation under God
The Assembly 2007 runs from April 26th – 29th in Virginia Beach in America and is centered around the commemoration of the Jamestown first landing 400 years ago.
Download Robert Hunt’s biography (PDF)
from the “First Landing” website
Books about the Jamestown landings:
“Love and Hate in Jamestown” by David A. Price.
ISBN 978-0571220991
This hardcover was published by Faber & Faber in 2004, with a paperback following in 2005.
Synopsis:
Drawing on period letters and papers, David Price unravels a tale of courage and cowardice, tragedy and costly triumph. He explores the crucial role of Pocahontas, a figure obscured by centuries of legend; and he paints indelible portraits both of the aged Indian monarch Powhatan and of Captain Smith, whose resourcefulness saved the colony from starvation and death.
“A Land As God Made It” – Jamestown and the birth of America” by James P. P. Horn
ISBN 978-0465030941
This hardcover book was published by Basic Books Inc.,U.S. in Oct 2005.
Synopsis:
Chronicles the experiences of the first English settlers to permanently colonize the future United States, and explains how Jamestown set the precedent for North American slavery, Native American conflicts, and representative government.
Both books and many more on the subject are readily and cheaply available new or second hand on amazon.
First Landing – the movie!
“First Landing” is a new American TV movie which unearths the untold story of Reverend Robert Hunt’s incredible sacrifice as expedition chaplain of the Virginia Company’s awe inspiring voyage to the New World – a groundbreaking trip that would result in America’s first permanent English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia.The story follows Hunt’s struggle to leave his young family in order to make the arduous journey by sea in 1606.
It’s set to air in the US on ABC Family Channel on April 26th & 27th, 2007 – the 400th anniversary of the Landing at Cape Henry.
Download the movie’s press release (PDF)
This shrine is dedicated to the memory of the Reverend Robert Hunt (1568-1608), the first Anglican minister of the colony. It was erected by the “Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia” to commemorate the earliest celebration of the Holy Communion in the first Permanent English Settlement in America.