St. Mary the Virgin Church is probably best known to Americans as the parish church of Elizabeth Tilley Howland and the plaque to her memory there. Often overlooked is the fact that it was not only the parish church of her parents, "Mayflower" passengers John and Joan Hurst Tilley, but also Pilgrims Edward and Ann Cooper Tilley (Elizabeth's uncle and aunt), John Dunham, Jr., a son of later arrival (between 1628 and 1632) John Dunham and Susan Kaino/Cainehoe, John Masterson who never made it to Plymouth from Leiden, and our Pilgrim Henry Samson.
The article has just been posted on http://www.pilgrimhenrysamsonkindred.org and can be seen by going to that site's "Articles" page and then selecting the above title. A link will take you to a virtual tour of St. Mary's with its massive 15th century tower and a recording of the change ringing of its bells.
This article contains a listing of the Samson and Tilley siblings baptized in St. Mary's, all of whom remained behind, including Elizabeth's brother Robert who married Mary Hawkins and has a descendant in Bedfordshire that joined the Mayflower Society in 1999. Joan Hurst Tilley's daughter by her first marriage to Thomas Rogers (not the "Mayflower" passenger of that name) was also baptized in St. Mary's.
Thus St. Mary the Virgin Church is closely tied with the Samson, Tilley and Howland families and their descendants.
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