The confederation ofCinque Ports (/sɪŋkpɔːrts/sink ports)[1] is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly inKent andSussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) inEssex.[2] The name isOld French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to the original five members (Hastings,New Romney,Hythe,Dover andSandwich). At its peak in the Late Middle Ages, the confederation included over 40 members. There is now a total of 14 members: five "head ports", two "ancient towns" and seven "limbs".[3]
The confederation was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. The ports lie on the western shore of theEnglish Channel, where the crossing to the European continent is narrowest.
Inhabitants of the Cinque Ports are calledPortsmen.
The origins of the confederation are obscure, but are believed to lie in the lateAnglo-Saxon period, and specifically in the reign ofEdward the Confessor (1042–1066).[4][5] Certain south-eastern ports were granted the local profits of justice in return for providing ships.[6] The ship service of Romney, Dover and Sandwich (but not the confederation itself) is noted inDomesday Book (1086).[7][8][9] By 1135, the term Cinque Ports had come into use; and in 1155 aroyal charter established the ports to maintain ships ready forthe Crown in case of need. The earliest general charter granting liberties to the ports in common dates from 1260.[10] Their liberties are also mentioned in theMagna Carta of 1297 (clause 9).[11] The chief obligation laid on the ports, as a corporate duty, was to provide 57 ships for 15 days' service to the king annually, each port fulfilling a proportion of the whole duty.[12]
It is sometimes said that the rationale behind the granting of privileges, and their maintenance and extension over several centuries, was the need for the Crown to have a guaranteed supply of men and ships in time of war, and that the Cinque Ports therefore played an important role in the development of theRoyal Navy.[13][14][15][16]N. A. M. Rodger questions whether the arrangement was ever intended to raise any genuinely effective naval provision, and shows that the Cinque Ports did not contribute to English strength at sea significantly more than other English ports of similar size. He argues rather that the original privileges may have been granted by Edward the Confessor out of a need to purchase the loyalty of a group of potentially troublesome ports that were of strategic importance to the control of cross-Channel traffic.[17] Notwithstanding this, in the 13th and 14th centuries the ports did play a significant role in the defence of the realm, although their importance declined thereafter.[18][14][15][19][20]
The original five ports were:
In medieval documents, Hastings sometimes appears to be given precedence among the ports (for example, the charters granted to Rye and Winchelsea byHenry II in 1155 refer to "The Barons of Hastings and the Cinque Ports"); but this usage probably arose simply from geographical convenience, with the ports being conventionally listed in order from west to east.[21][22]
By 1190, two further towns had joined the confederation, originally to assist Hastings in her provision of ships.[23] In time they grew in prosperity, and by the 14th century were recognised as having the same "head port" status as the original five ports. In deference to the literal meaning of "Cinque Ports", however, these two additional members were always distinguished under the title of the "Ancient Towns" (often spelled "Antient Towns").[24] The confederation is therefore sometimes referred to as "The five Cinque Ports and two Ancient Towns".[25] The Ancient Towns were:
Over the years, a number of further towns and ports joined the confederation as detached "Limbs" or "Members" (the terms are used interchangeably) of the seven head ports: they took a share in the burden of ship service, and a share in the privileges of the confederation. The limbs were often distinguished as either "corporate limbs", whose status was confirmed byroyal charter, and which enjoyed a considerable degree of self-government, or "non-corporate limbs", which were more heavily dependent on, and governed by, their head port.[26][27]
The corporate limbs were:[28][29]
Non-corporate limbs have at various dates included:[2][30][31][3][27]
Many of the historic members of the confederation have now either ceased to exist as a result of coastal change, or have shrunk or lost status for other reasons. The following are the current limbs of the confederation:[3]
In return for their ship service, the towns received various privileges, including:[2]
This means that in effect they were granted a degree of self-government, legal jurisdiction, and financial advantage.[35] In many respects, the confederation was considered to hold a status equivalent to that of ashire.[36][37]
From an early date (the 13th century) representatives of the ports sat inParliament.[38] The practice had beenregularised by the end of the 14th century, with the five head ports and two ancient towns, and one corporate limb (Seaford), each being entitled to send twoMembers to Parliament.[12][39]
Many of the Portsmen were fishermen, and in pursuit ofherring sailed annually to the Norfolk coast, where they claimed rights of "den and strand" on the sandbank at the mouth of theRiver Yare. The settlement there gradually developed into the town ofYarmouth. The ports therefore became closely involved in the regulation of the annual autumn Herring Fair at Yarmouth, and this was probably the main incentive for the individual ports to work together collectively in confederation.[40][41][42]
ALord Warden of the Cinque Ports was appointed, an office frequently, and by the end of the 13th century permanently, combined with that ofConstable of Dover Castle.[43] The joint office survives to the present day, but is now a purely honorary title, with an official residence atWalmer Castle.
The confederation had its own system of assemblies and common courts:
All Freemen of the ports, termed "Portsmen", were deemed in the age offeudalism to bebarons, and thus members of thebaronage entitled to attend the king's parliament – a privilege granted in 1322 in recognition of their earlier support of the Despensers,father andson.[62] Termed "Barons of the Cinque Ports", they reflected an early concept that military service at sea constituted land tenureper baroniam making themquasifeudal barons. The early-14th-century treatiseModus Tenendi Parliamentum stated the Barons of the Cinque Ports to hold a place of precedence below the lay magnates (Lords Temporal) but above the representatives of theshires andboroughs (Knights of the Shire andburgesses). During the deposition ofEdward II, the chronicles made a specific point of noting the presence of the Barons in the embassy of deposition – "praecipue de portubus ... barones des Portez" ("especially the [Cinque] Ports ... the barones of the Ports").[63]Writs of summons to parliament were sent to the warden following whichrepresentative barons of the Cinque Ports were selected to attend parliament. Thus the warden's duty in this respect was similar to that of thesheriff who received the writs for distribution to the barons in theshires. The existence of common (i.e. communal)seals of the barons of the individual ports (see illustration) suggests they formed acorporation as the seal was designed to be affixed to charters and legal documents which would bind them as a single body.[64] This no doubt related to their privileges asmonopolies. The warden and barons often experienced clashes of jurisdiction.[12]
In the 21st century the title "Baron of the Cinque Ports" is now reserved for Freemen elected by the Mayor, Jurats and Common Council of the Ports to attend acoronation and is solely honorary in nature. "Sincetime immemorial", the barons had held the right to hold a canopy above the monarch during the procession on foot betweenWestminster Hall andWestminster Abbey. This procession was discontinued after theCoronation of George IV in 1821, but for theCoronation of Edward VII in 1902 the barons were found a new role. They were to process inside the abbey as far as thechoir and there receive the banners of the monarch's realms, a function which they have repeated at all the 20th-century coronations.[65] For theCoronation of Charles III and Camilla in 2023, fourteen barons joined the congregation in the abbey, representing the original five ports, the two ancient towns and the seven limbs.[66]
The continuing decline of the confederation of the Cinque Ports may be ascribed to a variety of different circumstances. While they survived the raids from theDanes and theFrench, the numerous destructive impact of plagues, and the politics of the 13th-centuryPlantagenets and the subsequentWar of the Roses, natural causes such as the silting of harbours and the withdrawal of the sea did much to undermine them.[67][68] The rise ofSouthampton, and the need for larger ships than could be crewed by the 21-man service of the ports, also contributed to the decline.
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 theSaxon authority remained. Even after the 15th century, the Ancient 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 theSouth England flood of February 1287), was considered the central port in the confederation, and the place of assembly for the courts of Shepway and Brodhull.
Much ofHastings was washed away by the sea in the 13th century. 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 theRiver Rother. The Rotherestuary 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 ofRomney Marsh, and the South England flood of February 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 (1.9 mi) from the sea and no longer a port.
Ongoing changes in the coastline along the south east coast, from theThames estuary to Hastings and theIsle 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 QueenElizabeth I, the Cinque Ports had effectively ceased to be of any great significance, and were absorbed into the general administration of the realm. Queen Elizabeth I sanctioned the first nationallottery that was held in 1569 in an effort to raise funds for the crumbling Cinque Ports.[69] Nevertheless, in 1689 the Cinque ports were among those specifically called following theGlorious Revolution to elect representatives to attend theConvention Parliament which enacted the EnglishBill of Rights.[70]
With the advance in shipbuilding techniques came a growth in towns such asBristol andLiverpool and the wider development of ports such asLondon,Gravesend,Southampton,Chichester,Plymouth and the royal dockyards ofChatham,Portsmouth,Greenwich,Woolwich andDeptford. A further reason for the decline of many older ports may be ascribed[citation needed] to the development of thecanal,turnpike andrailway networks across Britain, and the increased quantity of overseas trade these could distribute from the new major ports developing from the 18th century.
Local government reforms and Acts of Parliament passed during the 19th and 20th centuries (notably theReform Act 1832) have eroded the administrative and judicial powers of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, when New Romney and Winchelsea were disenfranchised from Parliament, with representation provided through their counties alone, while Hythe and Rye's representation was halved.
In 1985,HMSIllustrious established an affiliation with the Cinque Ports. In 2005, the affiliation was changed toHMSKent.
The early history of the confederation is poorly documented, and can generally be traced only through incidental mentions in the charters granted to individual ports, or in other external records. One important early document, first compiled in the 13th century, but which survives only in the form of later and variant copies, is the so-called "Domesday of the Ports", a list of the then-members of the confederation and the services they owed.[71]
The confederation's activities are much better documented from 1432 onwards, when minutes of the proceedings of the Brotherhood and Guestling began to be taken consistently. Meetings are documented in two books, known respectively as the "White Book" (covering the years 1432 to 1571, although the earliest portion, to 1485, comprises a transcript made in 1560) and the "Black Book" (covering the years 1572 to 1955). The White and Black Books were held at New Romney until 1960, when they were transferred to the Kent Archives Office (now theKent History and Library Centre) inMaidstone. A comprehensivecalendar of the two books was published in 1966.[72]
The traditionalcoat of arms of the confederation is a shield dividedper pale (vertically), depicting on thedexter side (viewer's left) three gold halflions passant gardant on a red field; and on thesinister side (viewer's right) three gold half ships' hulls on a blue field. These arms are also flown as an heraldicbanner (flag), and form the basis of the banner of theLord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The earliest certain evidence for the use of the arms is on acommon seal of Dover dating from 1305, but they also appear on the common seal of Hastings which may be a few years earlier. They are thought to have been first introduced inc.1297.[73]
There has long been an assumption that the arms were created through a process of heraldicdimidiation – that is to say, by combining half of theroyal arms of England (the three lions) with half of an unidentified coat of arms depicting three ships.[74] However, none of the earliest representations of the arms (all on seals) show the vertical partition of the field, suggesting that it was originally of only one colour. It therefore appears more likely that, while certainly alluding to the royal arms, the arms of the Cinque Ports were devised from the outset as a design depicting three half-lion-half-ships, probably on a red field; and that only at a later date, probably in the mid-14th century, was the field partitioned into two colours.[75]
There has historically been some confusion as to whether the three ships should be depicted as gold ("or") or silver ("argent"): both variants are found in reputable heraldic sources from the late middle ages to the 19th century.[76] The modern consensus is to depict them as gold in the confederation arms, although silver ships appear in some of the derivative arms borne by individual member ports.
The traditional arms and banner may only officially and lawfully be displayed by representatives of the confederation itself, or by thelocal authorities for its member ports. However, in 2017 the Cinque Ports Authority registered with theUK Flag Registry a flag of three gold ships' hulls on a blue field as a "regional" or "community" flag, which may be flown by anyone who wishes to express identity with the Cinque Ports.[77]
Several of the member ports have their own coats of arms, which in some cases are modified or derivative versions of the confederation arms. Thus, Sandwich bears arms identical to those of the confederation, but with the three ships' hulls silver.[78] Hastings bears a variant on which the central half-lion-half-ship is replaced by a full lion, and the two ships' hulls are silver.[79] Deal bears a version of the confederation arms differenced by achief on which the Lord Warden's "oar of Admiralty" appears.[80] New Romney bears three gold lions on a blue field.[81] Others incorporate elements from the confederation arms, or otherwise allude to them.Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, never a member of the confederation but closely associated with it through its herring fishery and fair, bears a variant on which the three half-ships are replaced by three fishes' tails.[82]
.svg)
| Cinque Ports Act 1811 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to facilitate the Execution of Justice within The Cinque Ports. |
| Citation | 51 Geo. 3. c. 36 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 25 May 1811 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Statute Law Revision Act 1888 |
| Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1977 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Cinque Ports Acts 1811 to 1872 is thecollective title of the following acts:[83]
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