Rotterdam.

A historic Delfshaven church links medieval Rotterdam, the Reformation and the English Separatists who departed for America from this district.

The church gives Delfshaven’s old harbour a direct connection to the Pilgrim migration story. A Catholic church was consecrated here in 1417, then adapted for Protestant worship during the Reformation and substantially rebuilt in 1761. Inside, the carved pulpit, brass lectern and choir glass reward attention beyond the transatlantic association.

• The bell-shaped gable created during the major rebuilding of 1761
• A richly carved eighteenth-century pulpit with its church-council enclosure
• The cracked bell cast in 1464 and displayed inside the church

Check the church’s event and visitor programme before travelling; access is not continuous.

Pair the interior with a walk around Delfshaven’s historic harbour.

Set aside time for the pulpit, lectern and choir windows rather than stopping only at the façade.