THE home of legendary pilgrim ship captain Christopher Jones is being opened as the "jewel in the crown" of Harwich's tourist attractions for the voyage's 400th anniversary.

Tendring Council has revealed it will lease the house in King's Head Street, which has been restored to how it would have looked when Captain Jones lived there.

It will then be opened as a visitor attraction in the hope it will help draw in tourists including Americans expected to travel to the UK especially for the anniversary year in 2020.

Christopher Jones, who was captain of the Mayflower Ship as it took the pilgrims to America in 1620, lived with his mother Sybil and father, also Christopher, at the King’s Head Street home.

His first wife, Sara Twitt, lived in the house opposite, which is now the Alma Inn.

She and their only child died within ten years of their marriage.

Jones went on to marry Josian Gray, herself a widow, and had eight children - four of which were born while they lived in Harwich.

Tendring Council has said it will now carry out work on the house to make it accessible to visitors and is hoping to developing the inside, such as adding exhibits, while the Harwich Society will manage the attraction.

The council and Harwich are part of the Mayflower 400 Compact, an international consortium of destinations working together to promote tourism related to the historical voyage.

Mick Skeels, Tendring's leisure boss, said the house was a key part of Harwich’s visitor offer.

He said: “Harwich is already a brilliant place to visit with lots of attractions such as the Ha’Penny Pier and Redoubt Fort, among countless others.

“But with the surge of interest expected around the Mayflower 400 celebrations, Historic Harwich – home of The Mayflower – has so much more to offer people, especially those looking to follow in the footsteps of the Pilgrims.

“At the heart of that is Captain Christopher Jones’ house, and for visitors to be able to walk around his home will surely make this the jewel in the crown of the tourist offer.”

With a huge surge of interest in the USA and elsewhere in The Mayflower story, travel operators are marketing tours of Harwich and other relevant destinations for the year 2020 and beyond.

There is also interest from the Netherlands, with Leiden and Rotterdam among the Mayflower 400 Compact members, because the Pilgrims lived there before the voyage to escape religious persecution in England.

The arrival of The Mayflower is celebrated every year with Thanksgiving and millions of Americans can trace their roots back to the sailing.

A year of Mayflower anniversary events will kick off in November 2019 with an Illuminate Festival.