The Autobiography of Phineas Pett
with such extraordinary public respect that wrought me much prejudice
in the opinion of the Commissioners, who ever after plotted to ruin
me and to bring me out of favour both with the Lord Admiral and the
King himself.
The 20th day of November, attending at Theobalds to deliver his
Majesty a petition, his Majesty in his princely care of me, by the
means of the honourable Lord High Admiral, had before my coming
bestowed on me for supply of my present relief the making of a knight
baronet,[449] which I afterwards passed under the broad seal of
England for one Francis Radclyffe[450] of Northumberland, a great
recusant,[451] for which I was to have 700_l._, but by reason that
Sir Arnold Herbert[452] (that brought him to me) played not fair play
with me, I lost some 50_l._ of my bargain.
About this time the Commissioners of the Navy had finished two new
ships built by Mr. Burrell at Deptford in his Majesty's Dockyard, and
had procured the King's Majesty to come thither and see them, and
named[453] the one the Happy Entrance, and the other the Reformation.
The 14th day of May in the year 1620, my wife was delivered of her
eleventh child, being the last she had, being a son born at my
house in Chatham. The 25th day after, it was baptized and called
Christopher. Sir Christopher Cleve[454] and his brother-in-law, Mr.
Samuel Heyward, being godfathers, and my good neighbour, Mistress
Legatt, godmother.
The 12th day of June this present year, Sir Robert Mansell being
ordained Lord General of the Fleet for the expedition against the
Pirates of Algiers, by his great importunity with his Majesty I was
commanded to go in hand with building two new pinnaces for that
voyage, whereof the one was to be of burden 120 tons, and the other,
80 tons; for which I did contract with certain merchants of the
city that were appointed Committees for that business, whereof Sir
Thomas Smith, Mr. Burrell, and divers others of my great enemies
were of the quorum; but I, upon some hopes of thanks and reward,
enlarged them to a greater proportion than my contract, making the
one wherein I was myself to serve as Captain in the voyage, of 300
tons, called the Mercury, and the other, called the Spy, of 200 tons,
wherein Captain Edward Giles served; and for that I exceeded the
contract, the unconscionable merchants and Committees cast upon me
all the whole surplusage[455] of the charge, to the value of 700_l._,
notwithstanding I was forced to hasten the business and to keep
extraordinary numbers of workmen at great rates, and in a place where
the provision and materials were nightly stolen and embezzled to my
utter undoing; whereof I never could obtain any recompense, though to
my great expense and charge I made means both to his Majesty and the
Lords of the Council, and had warrant against the Committees, but was
continually overborn by their greatness and malice.
The 16th and 18th days of October, both the pinnaces were launched
at Ratcliff, where they were built, and all expedition was used to
rig and make them ready to set sail; I preparing myself, to my great
charge, to proceed in the voyage and to get the ships to Erith,
because of ice in the river, where we rode till we were cleared
thence by the Committees, which was about the 22nd of December; at
what time Mr. Puniett the pilot came on board me to carry me into the
Downs, and Sir John Ferne,[456] that went passenger with me to the
Fleet; my wife also came then on board of me.
The 27th day of December, we weighed and turned down from Erith into
Tilbury Hope, where we rode till the 29th day, and then weighed, and
anchored at the buoy of the Oaze Edge.[457]
The 30th day of December, I parted with my wife and sent her to
Gravesend in a light horseman that came to the ship with some
provisions.
We set sail from the buoy of the Red Sand[458] the first of January,
being New Year's Day, and anchored in the Gore, where we rode one
day, and thence into the Downs, where we landed our pilot.
We rode in the Downs till the 13th day, and then set sail and were
put into the Needles, and anchored at the Cowes two days; then set
sail, and the 4th of February we made the South Cape.[459] The 8th
day we entered into the Straits of Gibraltar,[460] and the 8th day at
night came to an anchor in Malaga Road.
The 19th day of September, 1621, we arrived in the Downs, and the
20th day at night, I came safe to my house at Chatham, finding my
wife and children all in good health, for which mercy of God I gave
God thanks, as did also my whole family.
All the year 1622 I did nothing but follow the Court with petitions,
to my infinite charge and trouble, and all to little purpose, for
I could never prevail against my adversaries, who detained all my
entertainment for the Algiers voyage, both for myself, son, and
servants; which cost me 300_l._ setting out, and the expense of the
voyage.
I must not forget that in the beginning of the year 1621, before I
was two months out of England, [through] the malice of Mr. Burrell
and some of the rest of the Commissioners for the Navy, that there
were divers master shipwrights of the river of Thames and some
masters of the Trinity House sent down to Chatham to survey the
state of the Prince;[461] amongst which Commissioners was, beside
old Burrell and his son, my fellow,[462] Stevens, Graves,[463]
Dearslye,[464] Bourne,[465] Thomas Brunning of Woodbridge, and
one Chandler,[466] a creature of Mr. Burrell's, and divers
other mariners, who maliciously certified the ship to be merely
unserviceable and not fit to be continued, and what charge soever
should be bestowed upon her would be lost, which they certified under
their hands. But the 24th of February succeeding, by special command
from his Majesty, who well understood their malicious proceedings,
the selfsame surveyors were again sent to Chatham and under their
hands certified that the ship might be made serviceable for a voyage
into Spain with the charge of 300 pounds,[467] to be bestowed upon
her hull and the perfecting her masts, which certificate was returned
under their hands and delivered to his Majesty. Whereupon present
warrant was granted to have the ship docked and fitted for a Spanish
voyage; which was accordingly done, and brought into the dock the 8th
of March, 1623, at Chatham, and was launched the 24th day of the same
month.
About the 17th of this month of February, I attended at Theobalds
the very morning that the Prince's Highness and the Lord Duke of
Buckingham took leave of the King to take their journey for Spain,
being carried so privately that few knew of their intent. At their
taking horse I kissed both their hands and they only gave me an
item[468] that I should shortly come to sea in the Prince.
After the Prince and the rest of the Fleet were all fitted and
prepared to set sail from their moorings, the St. George fell down to
Gillingham with the Antelope, being both appointed to go before to
Santander with the jewels and other provisions. The noble gentleman,
my honoured friend, Sir Francis Steward,[469] commanding in her, whom
my eldest son, John Pett, attended as one of his retinue in that
journey, and Captain Thomas Love[470] commanded in the Antelope.
The 2nd of May being on a Friday, the Prince removed from her
moorings to St. Mary Creek, where she anchored. Thither came down
from London many of the Commissioners of the Navy, with Sir Thomas
Smith and the Lord Brooke,[471] who all plotted together to have
hindered me from going the voyage which the King had commanded me
unto, but their malicious practices were prevented and their purposes
frustrated.
The 17th day of May I took leave of his Majesty in the park at
Greenwich and kissed his hand, with many expressions of his favour,
which was not very pleasing to Sir John Coke, then there present.
The 20th of May, the Prince set sail from St. Mary Creek and anchored
at Queenborough; the 21st day we set sail from Queenborough and
anchored at Whitaker;[472] 23rd day anchored [at the] Gunfleet;
24th day anchored short [of the] North Foreland; 25th day we came
and anchored in the Downs, where we rode till the 28th day of June,
having three several times proffered to go on, but were still put
room[473] again; but the 28th day, being Saturday, we weighed and
got as high as Fairlight,[474] where we anchored all the flood and
so plyed to windward all the ebbs, being fair weather. On Tuesday
after, being the first of July, we came to anchor in Stokes Bay by
Portsmouth. The 20th day of August, his Majesty, then lying in the
New Forest at Beaulieu[475] House, embarked himself and train and
came on board the Prince, then riding in Stokes Bay, accompanied with
Marquis Hamilton,[476] the Lord Chamberlain,[477] Holderness,[478]
Kellie,[479] Carlisle,[480] Montgomery,[481] and divers other
attendants, who all dined on board the Prince; our Admiral, the Earl
of Rutland,[482] being absent at London. His Majesty was very well
pleased, and after dinner, again embarking in the barge, lay hovering
in the midst of the Fleet till all the ships had discharged their
great ordnance, and then returned on shore at Calshot Castle.
In the interim of our stay in Stokes Bay I procured leave of the
Admiral to go to London, and the 2nd day of August, being Saturday, I
met my wife at Lambeth with my son Richard. There we lay that night,
and the next day took oars to Kingston, where we lay till Tuesday
following, on which day I went to Hampton Court to take leave of my
honoured lord and good master, the Earl of Nottingham, who then lay
there in his old lodgings, which was the last time I ever saw him,
being the fifth of August. The next day I took leave of my wife and
friends at Kingston; she returned home, and myself to Portsmouth on
board the Prince again.
The 24th day of August, being Sunday and Bartholomew's day, we set
sail out of Stokes Bay in the afternoon; the 25th day, the wind
taking us short[483] put us into the grass[484] at Weymouth, where
we rode till the 26th at night; and thence setting sail with the
wind easterly, on the 28th day, being Thursday, we came to anchor in
Plymouth Sound.
The 2nd day of September, being Tuesday, in the morning betimes
we set out of Plymouth Sound, and by contrary winds we beat it up
till, the 9th day following, being Tuesday, we made the Cape of
Ortegal[485] bearing south-west of us. The 10th day we lay becalmed,
and the 11th day about 2 of the clock in the forenoon we came to an
anchor in the river of Santander.
The 12th day, it pleased God, the Prince and all his train came to
Santander and presently took his barge, being there ready attending
for him, and came on board the Prince, accompanied with all the
Spaniards that attended him thither, where we all joyfully received
him. After some stay on board, his Highness resolving to lie at
Santander Town that night, where provision was made to entertain him
and his train, he took his barge to go back; whereinto we, being
overjoyed with his safe arrival, forgot to send either master, pilot,
or mariner to conduct him to the town, being a dangerous rocky way,
and the tide of ebb bent,[486] which runneth there with a very swift
stream; which had likely to have proved a very dangerous accident,
for that at the instant of embarking there arose a very great tempest
of rain and wind and darkness withal, so that the barge could not
possibly row ahead[487] the tide, whereby she was in great danger to
have been driven to sea out of the harbour's mouth, to the utter loss
of all in her, had not God in mercy prevented it by the vigilant care
of the captain and officers of the Defiance, Sir Sackvill Trevor[488]
being the commander,[489] who seeing the danger they were in, veered
out casks and buoys with lights fastened unto them, by small warps,