[4] He was previously also occupied on the fortifications around Berwick before James VI and I ascended the throne of England, rendering them redundant.

[4] Burrell was directed by Sir William Bowyer to make estimates for repairing the bridge in June 1607, after damage attributed to an underwater earthquake.

Bowyer involved two Aldermen of Berwick and wrote to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury of his distrust of Burrell, because of the historic corruption and abuse in the military works.

The Captain of Berwick, Sir William Bowyer, was unsatisfied with this progress, and a proposal was made for a bridge with seven stone arches over the deepest part of the river and the rest built of wood.

[4][7] Neile contracted Burrell and the leading mason Lancelot Bramston to finish the bridge at a cost of £1,750, and installed John Johnson of Newcastle as supervisor.

[4] The bridge was completed by September 1621 except for the parapets and paving, but a flood in October 1621 swept away some masonry and the wooden centring.