Bradinge Hauen wase begged fyrst of all of Kinge James by one Mr. John Gibb, beinge a groom of his bedchamber, and the man that Kinge James trusted to carrie a reprieve to Winchester for my Lorde Chobham and Sir Walter rawley when they weare on the skaffold to bee executed. This Gibb wase putt on to beg itt of Kinge James by Sir Bevis Thelwell, who wase then one of ye pages of ye bedchawmber. Sir Bevis wase a gentleman's sonn in Wales, bownd apprentis to a mercier in Cheapsyde, and aftorwardes executed that trade till Kinge James came into England; then he gaue up, and pourchased to be one of ye pages of ye bedchawnber, where beinge an understandinge man, and knowinge how to handle ye Scottes, did in yt infancy gain a fair estate by gettinge ye Scottes to beg for themselves that which he fyrst fownd owt for them; and then himselve bwying of them with readie money under halfe ye value. He wase a verie bowlde fellowe, and one that Kinge James verie well affected. Aftor he hadd begged it, Sir Bevis woold give him nothinge for itt untill ye hauen wase cleared; for ye gentlemen of ye Island whose landes joyned to ye haven, challenged itt as belonginge to them. Kinge James wase woonderful earnest in ye bwysnes, bothe becawse itt concerned his olde servant, and olso becawse itt woold be a leadinge case for ye fens in Lincolnshyre. Aftor ye verdict went in ye chequor agaynst the gentlemen, then Sir Bevis woold give nothinge for itt till he coold see that itt wase made feasible to be inned from ye seae, whereupon Sir Hugh Myddleton (whoe wase a goldsmyth in London) wase called in to assist and undertake ye woorke, and Dutchmen weare browght owt of ye Lowe Counteries, and they began to inn the hauen abowght ye 20th of December, 1620. Then, when it wase inned, Kinge James compelled Thelwell and Myddleton to give Gibb (whom ye Kinge called Fathor) £2000. Aftorwardes Sir Hugh Myddleton, lyke a craftie ffox and subtel cytison, putt itt off wholely to Sir Bevis Thelwell, betwixte whome aftorwardes there wase a greate swyte in ye Chauncery; but Sir Bevis did injoy itt soome 8 yeares, and bestowed mutch money in bwylding of a barn, mill, fencinge of itt, and manie other necessarie woorkes. The nature of the grownd aftor itt wase inned wase not answerable to what wase expected, for olmost ye moietie of itt next to ye seae wase a lyght runninge sande and of little woorth. The beste of it wase down at ye further ende next to Bradinge, my marish, and Knyghte's tenement in Byndbridge. I counte that there weare 200 akers that might be woorth 6s. 8d. ye aker, and all ye reste 2s. 6d. ye aker; the totall of ye hauen wase 706 akers. Sir Hugh Myddleton before he sowlde tryed all kindes of experiments in itt; he sowed wheate, barley, oates, cabbadge seed, and last of all, rape seed, which proved ye beste, but all ye others came to nowghte. The greate inconvenionce wase, in itt ye seae browght so mutch sand and ooaze and seaeweed that choaked up the passage of ye fresch to go owt; insomutch that I am of opynion that if ye seae had not broake in, Sir Bevis coold hardlie haue kept itt; for ther woold haue been no current for the fresch to go owt; for ye easterne tydes browght so mutch sand that ye fresch wase not of fforce to drive itt awaie, so that in tyme itt woold have lain to ye seae, or else ye fresch woold haue drowned ye whoole countery. Im my opynion itt is not good medling with a hauen soe neare ye mayne ocean. The countery (I meane ye comon people) wase verie mutch agaynst the inninge of itt, as owte of theyr slender capacitie thinkynge by a little fyshinge and fowlinge there woold accrue moore benefit then by pasturage; but this I am sure of, it caused aftor the fyrst three yeres, a greate deale moore healthe in these partes then wase evor before; and another thing is remarkable - that wheras wee thowght itt woold have improved owre marishes, certainlye they weare the woorse for itt, and rotted sheep whych before had fatted theyre. The cawse of ye laste breache wase by reason of a wet tyme when the hauen was ful of fresch, and then a high springe tyde, when boath the waters met underneathe in the loose sand. On ye 8th of March, 1630, one Andrewe Ripley, that wase putt in to looke to Bradinge Haven by Sir Bevis Thelwell, came in poste to my howse in Nuport, to informe mee that ye seae had made a breache in ye sayde hauen neare to the easternmoste ende. I demaunded of him what chardge myght be to stop it owte, he told mee he thowght abowght 40 shillinges, wherupon I bid him goe thither and get woorkmen agaynst ye nexte daye morninge and some cartes, and I woold paye them theyr wages; but ye seae ye nexte daye came soe forciblie in that there wase noe medling with it, and Ripley went up presentlie to London to Sir Bevis Thelwell himselfe, to have him come downe and take soome furthor cowrse; but within four dayes aftor the seae had wone soe mutch on ye hauen, and made ye breache soe wide and deepe, that on ye 15th of March when I came thither to see itt, I knewe not well what to judge of itt, for wheras at ye fyrst £5 woold have stoped it owt, nowe I thinke £200 will not doe itt, and what will be ye evente of itt tyme will tell. Sir Bevis on ye newes of this breache came into owre Island on ye 17th of March, 1630, and browght with him a letter from my Lorde Conwaye to mee and Sir Edward Dennys, desieringe us to cawse my Ladie Woorseley on behalfe of her sonn, to make up ye breache whych had hapened in her grownd throwgh theyr neglecte. Shee retourned us an awnsor that shee thowght that ye lawe woold not compell her into itt, and therfore desiered to bee excused, whych awnsor wee retourned to my Lorde. What ye evente will bee I knowe not, but itt seemeth to mee not reasonable that shee shoold suffer for not complyinge with this requeste. If hee had not inned ye hauen this accident coolde nevor haue hapened, therfore hee givinge ye cawse, that shee shoolde applie ye cure I understande not. Butt this I am sure, that Sir Bevis thinketh to recover of her and her sonn, all his chardges, whych hee nowe sweareth everie waye to bee £2000. For my parte I woold wisch noe ffrynd of mine to have anie hande in ye seconde inninge of itt. Trulye all ye bettor sorte of ye Island weare verie sorrye for Sir Bevis Thelwell, and the commoner sorte weare as glad; as to say trulye of Sir Bevis hee did ye countery manie good offices, and wase readie at all tymes to doe his beste for the public and everyone. It coste at ye fyrst takinge of itt in £4000, then they gaue £2000 to Mr. John Gibb for itt, whoe had begged itt of Kinge James; afterwardes in bwyldinge ye barne and dwellinge howse, and water mill, with ye ditchinge and quickesettinge, and makinge all ye partitions itt coolde not have coste lesse then £200 moore; soe in the total itt stoode them from the tyme they began to take itt in, until ye 8th of Marche, a losse of £7000.