The Sheffield Patent, dated January 1, 1623 is a land grant from Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave of England to Robert Cushman and Edward Winslow and their associates. It granted them the use of Cape Ann and the neighboring bay and islands, allocating 500 acres (2 km2) for public buildings and 30 acres (120,000 m2) for private use for each settler arriving within the next 70 years.