The Confederation of Cinque Ports (English pronunciation: /ˌsɪŋk ˈpɔ:ts/) is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex, at the eastern end of the English Channel where the crossing to the continent is narrowest. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial.
The name is Norman French for "five ports" – the five being Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich. They are supported by the two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, whose councils traditionally maintained defence contingents for the realm of England.
Apart from the five ports and the two ancient towns, there are seven other members of the Confederation, which are considered to be Limbs of the other towns. These are Lydd (Limb of New Romney), Folkestone, Faversham and Margate (Limbs of Dover), Deal and Ramsgate (Limbs of Sandwich) and Tenterden (Limb of Rye).
There are in addition some 23 towns, villages and offices which have varying degrees of connection to the ancient Liberties of the Cinque Ports. Pevensey was once a Limb of Hastings, and the coastal confederation and during its mediæval period consisted of a confederation of 42 towns in all.
Contents |
A Royal Charter of 1155 established the ports to maintain ships ready for the Crown in case of need. In return the towns received:-
The leeway given to the Cinque Ports, and the turning of a blind eye to misbehaviour, led to smuggling, though of course common everywhere at this time becoming more or less one of the dominant industries.
A significant factor in the need to maintain the authority of the Cinque Ports by the King was the development of the Royal Navy. With the advance in shipbuilding techniques came a growth in towns such as Bristol and Liverpool and the wider development of ports such as London, Gravesend, Southampton, Chichester, Plymouth and the royal dockyards of Chatham, Portsmouth, Greenwich, Woolwich and Deptford. A further reason for the decline of many older ports may be ascribed to the development of the railway network across Britain, and the increased quantity of overseas trade it could distribute from the new major ports developing from the 18th century.
King Edward I of England granted the citizens of the Cinque Ports special privileges, including the right to bring goods into the country without paying import duties; in return the Ports would supply him with men and ships in time of war. The associated ports, known as 'limbs', were given the same privileges. The five head ports and two antient towns were entitled to send two Members to Parliament. A Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was appointed, and also held the title of Constable of Dover Castle, and whilst this office exists today, it is now a purely honorary title, with an official residence at Walmer Castle. The town of Hastings was the head port of the Cinque Ports in mediæval times.
The towns also had their own system of courts, and the right to send barons to hold the canopy above a new monarch in the coronation ceremony. While this custom no longer continues, the barons still have the right to attend the ceremony.
As time went by and some ports declined or silted up, others were added. Rye and Winchelsea were attached to Hastings as "Antient Towns" in the 12th century, and later became members in their own right.
Lydd, Faversham, Folkestone, Deal, Tenterden, Margate and Ramsgate were all added as "corporate limbs" in the 15th century. Other places associated with the Cinque Ports and sometimes described as "non corporate limbs" included Bekesbourne, Birchington, Brightlingsea, Fordwich, Pevensey, Reculver, Seaford, Stonor and Walmer. At one time there were 23 limbs.
The continuing decline of the confederation of the Cinque Ports may be ascribed to a variety of different circumstances, but they were not so hampered by the raids from the Danes and the French to be removed by the numerous destructive impact of plagues, and survived the politics of the 13th century Plantagenets, and the subsequent War of the Roses.
Although by the 14th century the confederation faced wider challenges from a greater consolidation of national identity in the monarchy and Parliament, the legacy of the Saxon authority remained. Even after the 15th century, the 'antient towns' continued to serve with the supply of transport ships.
During the 15th century, New Romney, once a port of great importance at the mouth of the river Rother (until it became completely blocked by the shifting of sands during the great storm of 1287), was considered the central port in the confederation, and the place of assembly for the Cinque Port Courts, the oldest such authority being vested in the 'Kynges high courte of Shepway', which was being held from at least 1150. It was here that from 1433 The White (1433-1571) and Black (1572-1955) Books of the Cinque Port Courts were kept.
Much of Hastings was in the 13th century washed away by the sea. During a naval campaign of 1339, and again in 1377, the town was raided and burnt by the French, and went into a decline during which it ceased to be a major port. It had no natural sheltered harbour. Attempts were made to build a stone harbour during the reign of Elizabeth I, but the foundations were destroyed by the sea in storms.
New Romney is now about a mile and a half from the seafront. It was originally a harbour town at the mouth of the River Rother. The Rother estuary was always difficult to navigate, with many shallow channels and sandbanks. In the latter part of the thirteenth century a series of severe storms weakened the coastal defences of Romney Marsh, and the Great Storm of 1287 almost destroyed the town. The harbour and town were filled with sand, silt, mud and debris, and the River Rother changed course, now running out into the sea near Rye, Sussex. New Romney ceased to be a port.
Hythe is still on the coast. However, although it is beside a broad bay, its natural harbour has been removed by centuries of silting.
Dover is still a major port.
Sandwich is now two miles from the sea and no longer a port.
Ongoing changes in the coastline along the south east coast, from the Thames estuary to Hastings and the Isle of Wight inevitably reduced the significance of a number of the Cinque port towns as port authorities. However, ship building and repair, fishing, piloting, off shore rescue and sometimes even 'wrecking' continued to play a large part in the activities of the local community.
By the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the Cinque Ports had effectively ceased to be of any real significance, and were absorbed into the general administration of the Realm. Local Government reforms and Acts of Parliament passed during the 19th and 20th Centuries (notably the Great Reform Act of 1832), have eroded the administrative and judicial powers of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, when New Romney and Winchelsea were disenfrachised from Parliament, with representation provided through their Counties alone, while Hythe and Rye's representation was halved.
In 1985, HMS Illustrious established an affiliation with the Cinque Ports. In 2005, the affiliation was changed to HMS Kent.
| This article or section may contain previously unpublished synthesis of published material that conveys ideas not attributable to the original sources. See the talk page for details. (February 2009) |
The Confederation of Cinque Ports (English pronunciation: /ˌsɪŋk ˈpɔərts/ sink ports) is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex, at the eastern end of the English Channel where the crossing to the continent is narrowest. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial.
The name is Norman French for "five ports" – the five being Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich. They are supported by the two antient towns of Rye and Winchelsea, whose councils traditionally maintained defence contingents for the realm of England.
Apart from the five ports and the two antient towns, there are seven other members of the Confederation, which are considered to be Limbs of the other towns. These are Lydd (Limb of New Romney), Folkestone, Faversham and Margate (Limbs of Dover), Deal and Ramsgate (Limbs of Sandwich) and Tenterden (Limb of Rye).
There are in addition some 23 towns, villages and offices which have varying degrees of connection to the ancient Liberties of the Cinque Ports. Pevensey was once a Limb of Hastings, and the coastal confederation during its mediæval period consisted of a confederation of 42 towns in all.[clarification needed]
Contents |
A Royal Charter of 1155 established the ports to maintain ships ready for the Crown in case of need. In return the towns received:-
The leeway given to the Cinque Ports, and the turning of a blind eye to misbehaviour, led to smuggling, though of course common everywhere at this time becoming more or less one of the dominant industries.
A significant factor in the need to maintain the authority of the Cinque Ports by the King was the development of the Royal Navy. With the advance in shipbuilding techniques came a growth in towns such as Bristol and Liverpool and the wider development of ports such as London, Gravesend, Southampton, Chichester, Plymouth and the royal dockyards of Chatham, Portsmouth, Greenwich, Woolwich and Deptford. A further reason for the decline of many older ports may be ascribed to the development of the railway network across Britain, and the increased quantity of overseas trade it could distribute from the new major ports developing from the 18th century.
King Edward I of England granted the citizens of the Cinque Ports special privileges, including the right to bring goods into the country without paying import duties; in return the Ports would supply him with men and ships in time of war. The associated ports, known as 'limbs', were given the same privileges. The five head ports and two antient towns were entitled to send two Members to Parliament. A Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was appointed, and also held the title of Constable of Dover Castle, and whilst this office exists today, it is now a purely honorary title, with an official residence at Walmer Castle. The town of Hastings was the head port of the Cinque Ports in mediæval times.
The towns also had their own system of courts, and the right to send barons to hold the canopy above a new monarch in the coronation ceremony. While this custom no longer continues, the barons still have the right to attend the ceremony.
As time went by and some ports declined or silted up, others were added. Rye and Winchelsea were attached to Hastings as "Antient Towns" in the 12th century, and later became members in their own right.
Lydd, Faversham, Folkestone, Deal, Tenterden, Margate and Ramsgate were all added as "corporate limbs" in the 15th century. Other places associated with the Cinque Ports and sometimes described as "non corporate limbs" included Bekesbourne, Birchington, Brightlingsea, Fordwich, Pevensey, Reculver, Seaford, Stonor and Walmer. At one time there were 23 limbs.
The continuing decline of the confederation of the Cinque Ports may be ascribed to a variety of different circumstances, but they were not so hampered by the raids from the Danes and the French to be removed by the numerous destructive impact of plagues, and survived the politics of the 13th century Plantagenets, and the subsequent War of the Roses.
Although by the 14th century the confederation faced wider challenges from a greater consolidation of national identity in the monarchy and Parliament, the legacy of the Saxon authority remained. Even after the 15th century, the 'antient towns' continued to serve with the supply of transport ships.
During the 15th century, New Romney, once a port of great importance at the mouth of the river Rother (until it became completely blocked by the shifting of sands during the great storm of 1287), was considered the central port in the confederation, and the place of assembly for the Cinque Port Courts, the oldest such authority being vested in the 'Kynges high courte of Shepway', which was being held from at least 1150. It was here that from 1433 The White (1433–1571) and Black (1572-1955) Books of the Cinque Port Courts were kept.
Much of Hastings was in the 13th century washed away by the sea. During a naval campaign of 1339, and again in 1377, the town was raided and burnt by the French, and went into a decline during which it ceased to be a major port. It had no natural sheltered harbour. Attempts were made to build a stone harbour during the reign of Elizabeth I, but the foundations were destroyed by the sea in storms.
New Romney is now about a mile and a half from the seafront. It was originally a harbour town at the mouth of the River Rother. The Rother estuary was always difficult to navigate, with many shallow channels and sandbanks. In the latter part of the thirteenth century a series of severe storms weakened the coastal defences of Romney Marsh, and the Great Storm of 1287 almost destroyed the town. The harbour and town were filled with sand, silt, mud and debris, and the River Rother changed course, now running out into the sea near Rye, Sussex. New Romney ceased to be a port.
Hythe is still on the coast. However, although it is beside a broad bay, its natural harbour has been removed by centuries of silting.
Dover is still a major port.
Sandwich is now 3 km (2 miles) from the sea and no longer a port.
Ongoing changes in the coastline along the south east coast, from the Thames estuary to Hastings and the Isle of Wight inevitably reduced the significance of a number of the Cinque port towns as port authorities. However, ship building and repair, fishing, piloting, off shore rescue and sometimes even 'wrecking' continued to play a large part in the activities of the local community.
By the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the Cinque Ports had effectively ceased to be of any real significance, and were absorbed into the general administration of the Realm. Local Government reforms and Acts of Parliament passed during the 19th and 20th Centuries (notably the Great Reform Act of 1832), have eroded the administrative and judicial powers of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, when New Romney and Winchelsea were disenfrachised from Parliament, with representation provided through their Counties alone, while Hythe and Rye's representation was halved.
In 1985, HMS Illustrious established an affiliation with the Cinque Ports. In 2005, the affiliation was changed to HMS Kent.
[[File:|thumb|Coat of arms of Hastings]]
The distinctive heraldic emblem of the Cinque Ports is the front half of a lion joined to the back of a ship, seen in the coats of arms of several towns, and also in the heraldic banner (flag) of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. This was originally created by heraldic dimidiation.[1]
CINQUE PORTS, the name of an ancient jurisdiction in the south of England, which is still maintained with considerable modifications and diminished authority. As the name implies, the ports originally constituting the body were only five in number - Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich; but to these were afterwards added the "ancient towns" of Winchelsea and Rye with the same privileges, and a good many other places, both corporate and non-corporate, which, with the title of limb or member, held a subordinate position. To Hastings were attached the corporate_ members of Pevensey and Seaford, and the non-corporate members of Bulvarhythe, Petit Iham (Yham or Higham), Hydney, Bekesbourn, Northeye and Grenche or Grange; to Romney, Lydd, and Old Romney, Dengemarsh, Orwaldstone, and Bromehill or Promehill; to Dover, Folkestone and Faversham, and Margate, St John's, Goresend (now Birchington), Birchington Wood (now Woodchurch), St Peter's, Kingsdown and Ringwould; to Sandwich, Fordwich and Deal, and Walmer, Ramsgate, Reculver, Stonor (Estanor), Sarre (or Serre) and `Brightlingsea (in Essex). To Rye was attached the corporate member of Tenterden, and to a Hythe the non-corporate member of West Hythe. The jurisdiction thus extends along the coast from Seaford in Sussex to Birchington near Margate in Kent; and it also includes a number of inland districts, at a considerable distance from the ports with which they are connected. The non-incorporated members are within the municipal jurisdiction of the ports to which they are attached; but the corporate members are as free within their own liberties as the individual ports themselves.
The incorporation of the Cinque Ports had its origin in the necessity for some means of defence along the southern seaboard of England, and in the lack of any regular navy. Up to the reign of Henry VII. they had to furnish the crown with nearly all the ships and men that were needful for the state; and for a long time after they were required to give large assistance to the permanent fleet. The oldest charter now on record is one belonging to the 6th year of Edward I.; and it refers to previous documents of the time of Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror. In return for their services the ports enjoyed extensive privileges. From the Conquest or even earlier they had, besides various lesser rights - (1) exemption from tax and tallage; (2) soc and sac, or full cognizance of all criminal and civil cases within their liberties; (3) tol and team, or the right of receiving toll and the right of compelling the person in whose hands stolen property was found to name the person from whom he received it; (4) blodwit and fledwit, or the right to punish shedders of blood and those who were seized in an attempt to escape from justice; (5) pillory and tumbrel; (6) infangentheof and r L outfangentheof, or power to imprison and execute felons; (7) mundbryce (the breaking into or violation of a man's mund or property in order to erect banks or dikes as a defence against the sea); (8) waives and strays, or the right to appropriate lost property or cattle not claimed within a year and a day; (9) the right to seize all flotsam, jetsam, or ligan, or, in other words, whatever of value was cast ashore by the sea; (10) the privilege of being a gild with power to impose taxes for the common weal; and (11) the right of assembling in portmote or parliament at Shepway or Shepway Cross, a few miles west of Hythe (but afterwards at Dover), the parliament being empowered to make by-laws for the Cinque Ports, to regulate the Yarmouth fishery, to hear appeals from the local courts, and to give decision in all cases of treason, sedition, illegal coining or concealment of treasure trove. The ordinary business of the ports was conducted in two courts known respectively as the court of brotherhood and the court of brotherhood and guestling, - the former being composed of the mayors of the seven principal towns and a number of jurats and freemen from each, and the latter including in addition the mayors, bailiffs and other representatives of the corporate members. The court of brotherhood was formerly called the brotheryeeld, brodall or brodhull; and the name guestling seems to owe its origin to the fact that the officials of the "members" were at first in the position of invited guests.
The highest office in connexion with the Cinque Ports is that of the lord warden, who also acts as governor of Dover Castle, and has a maritime jurisdiction (vide infra) as admiral of the ports. His power was formerly of great extent, but he has now practically no important duty to exercise except that of chairman of the Dover harbour board. The emoluments of the office are confined to certain insignificant admiralty droits. The patronage attached to the office consists of the right to appoint the judge of the Cinque Ports admiralty court, the registrar of the Cinque Ports and the marshal of the court; the right of appointing salvage commissioners at each Cinque Port and the appointment of a deputy to act as chairman of the Dover harbour board in the absence of the lord warden. Walmer Castle was for long the official residence of the lord warden, but has, since the resignation of Lord Curzon in 1903, ceased to be so used, and those portions of it which are of historic interest are now open to the public. George, prince of Wales (lord warden, 1903-1907), was the first lord warden of royal blood since the office was held by George, prince of Denmark, consort of Queen Anne.
The court of admiralty for the Cinque Ports exercises a co-ordinate but not exclusive admiralty jurisdiction over persons and things found within the territory of the Cinque Ports. The limits of its jurisdiction were declared at an inquisition taken at the court of admiralty, held by the seaside at Dover in 1682, to extend from Shore Beacon in Essex to Redcliff, near Seaford, in Sussex; and with regard to salvage, they comprise all the sea between Seaford in Sussex to a point five miles off Cape Grisnez on the coast of France, and the coast of Essex. An older inquisition of 1526 is given by R.G. Marsden in his Select Pleas of the Court of Admiralty, II. xxx. The court is an ancient one. The judge sits as the official and commissary of the lord warden, just as the judge of the high court of admiralty sat as the official and commissary of the lord high admiral. And, as the office of lord warden is more ancient than the office of lord high admiral (The Lord Warden v. King in his office of Admiralty, 1831, 2 Hagg. Admy. Rep. 438), it is probable that the Cinque Ports court is the more ancient of the two.
The jurisdiction of the court has been, except in one matter of mere antiquarian curiosity, unaffected by statute. It exercises only, therefore, such jurisdiction as the high court of admiralty exercised, apart from restraining statutes of 1389 and 1391 and enabling statutes of 1840 and 1861. Cases of collision have been tried in it (the "Vivid," 1 Asp. Maritime Law Cases, 601). But salvage cases (the "Clarisse," Swabey, 129; the "Marie," Law. Rep. 7 P.D. 203) are the principal cases now tried. It has no prize jurisdiction. The one case in which jurisdiction has been given to it by statute is to enforce forfeitures under the statute of 1538.
Dr (afterwards the Right Hon. Robert Joseph) Phillimore succeeded his father as judge of the court from 1855 to 1875, being succeeded by Mr Arthur Cohen, K.C. As Sir R. Phillimore was also the last judge of the high court of admiralty, from 1867 (the date of his appointment to the high court) to 1875, the two offices were, probably for the first time in history, held by the same person. Dr Phillimore's patent had a grant of the "place or office of judge official and commissary of the court of admiralty of the Cinque Ports, and their members and appurtenances, and to be assistant to my lieutenant of Dover castle in all such affairs and business concerning the said court of admiralty wherein yourself and assistance shall be requisite and necessary." Of old the court sat sometimes at Sandwich, sometimes at other ports. But the regular place for the sitting of the court has for a long time been, and still is, the aisle of St James's church, Dover. For convenience the judge often sits at the royal courts of justice. The office of marshal in the high court is represented in this court by a serjeant, who also bears a silver oar. There is a registrar, as in the high court. The appeal is to the king in council, and is heard by the judicial committee of the privy council. The court can hear appeals from the Cinque Ports salvage commissioners, such appeals being final (Cinque Ports Act 1821). Actions may be transferred to it, and appeals made to it, from the county courts in all cases arising within the jurisdiction of the Cinque Ports as defined by that act. At the solemn installation of the lord warden the judge as the next principal officer installs him.
The Cinque Ports from the earliest times claimed to be exempt from the jurisdiction of the admiral of England. Their early charters do not, like those of Bristol and other seaports, express this exemption in terms. It seems to have been derived from the general words of the charters which preserve their liberties and privileges.
The lord warden's claim to prize was raised in, but not finally decided by, the high court of admiralty in the "Ooster Ems," 1 C. Rob. 284, 1783.
See S. Jeake, Charters of the Cinque Ports (1728); Boys, Sandwich and Cinque Ports; Knocker, Grand Court of Shepway (1862); M. Burrows, Cinque Ports (1895); F. M. Hueffer, Cinque Ports (1900); Indices of the Great White and Black Books of the Cinque Ports (1905).
|
<< Cinque Cento |
Cintra >> |
Categories: CIN-CLA | History of England and Wales
   | Cinque Ports' official site - Historic Confederation of Maritime Towns in South-East England |
| | Extensive historical information on Romney Marsh and the Cinque Port towns - Romney Marsh, Kent |
| | Cinque Ports 1155-1500 - Cinque Ports 1155 to 1500 - VillageNet History |
|
|
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
