Business name : Bradwell Quay Yacht Club

We are pleased to welcome people who want to know who we are and what we do, as well of course visiting yachtsmen and their crews. No pressure involved, just come along to the Clubhouse at the weekend or to an advertised event to meet us . If after a few visits you like what you see then you can apply for membership and attend on a permanent basis . Our aim is to promote and advance the enjoyment of sailing and in our case that of cruising as we do not have a junior or dinghy section. Club races are part of our activity for those who feel the need to hone their skill to a higher level. A social programme during the winter months involved talks and lectures often by members giving insight into the sailing activity. Communication with members who live remote or are not able to visit the clubs as frequently as others is via the in-house produced magazine MAINSHEET where contributions are continually welcome/needed.

The original name of Bradwell Creek, the stretch of water between the mainland and Pewet Island, was thought to be Hacflet, taking its name from the Old English haca and fleot and thought to refer to ‘the creek with the angular bend’. In the Domesday Book (1086), there is a reference to Hacflet later Hacke-fleta, -flete and Acflet in 1185 and Okflet in 1195. By 1285 it is referred to as quay in Bradwelle called Hokflete. The Domesday Book gives an indication of the landscape and settlement of the Bradwell- onSea area at the very end of the Saxon period. At the time of Edward the Confessor 4 manors are recorded, Effescestra, Hacflet, Dona and Duna. Hacflet which was held by Alfward consisted of 2 hides and 30 acres of both arable and pasture land. Some glebe land was included in this manor, as well as a fishery. A hide was thought to be about 100 acres and enough to maintain a household, whilst glebe land is owned by the church. So quite a significant settlement at this time. A fishery is recorded in the Domesday Book as belonging to Hacflete manor; This may be the fish trap recorded off Pewett Island. The four manors mentioned in the Domesday Book gained new landowners in 1086; Hacflet was gifted to Odo, the warrior Bishop of Bayeaux and held by a man-at-arms. The number of smallholders increases from 4 to 10 and the value of the manor also increases greatly, possibly due to increased productivity and the importance of the quay to trade. It is possible to partially reconstruct the medieval landscape of Bradwell-on-Sea by using a variety of sources from the historic records. It would seem the Church held 40 acres as glebe.