Cinque Ports: Difference between revisions
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Formally, in [[Kent]] there are five 'Head Ports' making up the Confederation of the [[Cinque Ports]]. The primary Corporate Members are represented by the ports of [[Hastings|Hastings]], [[Romney|New Romney]] [[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]], [[Dover, England|Dover]], and [[Sandwich, England|Sandwich]]. They are supported by the two 'ancient towns' of [[Rye]] and [[Winchelsea]], whose councils have held a long standing tradition of maintaining defence contingents for the realm of England. Edward the king 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. |
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Five towns originally comprised the '''Cinque Ports''' on the [[Kent]] and [[Sussex]] coast. These were [[Sandwich, England|Sandwich]], [[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]], [[Dover, England|Dover]], [[Romney]] and [[Hastings]]. A Royal Charter of [[1155]] established the ports to maintain ships ready for the Crown in case of need. In return the towns received: |
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The town of Hastings was the head port of the Cinque Ports in medieval times. The seven other members of the Cinque Ports Confederation are called 'Limbs' of the Cinque Ports. These are [[Lydd]] (Limb of New Romney), [[Folkestone]], [[Faversham]] and [[Margate, Kent|Margate]] (Limbs of Dover), [[Deal, Kent|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. |
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A Royal Charter of [[1155]] established the ports to maintain ships ready for the Crown in case of need. In return the towns received: |
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:"Exemption from tax and tallage, Right of soc and sac, |
:"Exemption from tax and tallage, Right of soc and sac, |
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Revision as of 00:53, 3 October 2004
Formally, in
The town of Hastings was the head port of the Cinque Ports in medieval times. The seven other members of the Cinque Ports Confederation are called 'Limbs' of the Cinque Ports. These are
A Royal Charter of 1155 established the ports to maintain ships ready for the Crown in case of need. In return the towns received:
- "Exemption from tax and tallage, Right of soc and sac,
- tol and team, blodwit and fledwit, pillory and tumbril,
- infrangentheof and outfrangentheof, mundbryce,
- waives and strays, flotsam and jetsamand ligan"
- (Exemption from tax and tolls; self-government;
- permission to levy tolls, punish those who shed blood or flee justice, punish minor offences,
- detain and execute criminals both inside and outside the port's jurisdiction, and punish breaches of the peace;
- and possession of lost goods that remain unclaimed after a year, goods thrown overboard, and floating wreckage.)
In other words, the authorities would turn a blind eye to ships and sailors from these ports. This led to smuggling becoming a major local industry.
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.
.Other places associated with the Cinque Ports and sometimes described as "limbs" included
.In 1985 HMS Illustrious established an affiliation with the Cinque Ports.
During the 15th Century the town 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.
The continuing decline of the confederation of the Cinque Ports may be ascribed to a variety of different circumstance, but they were not so hampered by the raids from the
Although by the
A significant factor in the need to maintain the authority of the Cinque ports by the King was the development of the
Ongoing changes in the coastline along the south east coast, from the
Exemption from Taxation and the right to levy tolls, the authority to detain and execute felons both inside and outside the Ports jurisdiction, power to claim wreckage off the shore or goods thrown overboard, were privileges granted to the Cinque ports, along with the right of assembly as a Guild, which gave the confederation the authority to act in such matters.
However 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 have further eroded the administrative and judicial powers of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports.
See also Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.