Historical notes on the Cinque Ports and plans for the installation ceremony

End Date
31 December 1966
Notes
The National Library of Australia is using this item to test handwritten text recognition in Trove
Physical Context
MS 4936-Papers of Sir Robert Menzies/Class. Original Consignment/Series 29/File 3
View Finding Aid

Text

THE CINQXJlü PORTS AND SIR ROBERT MENZIES  

Th Historie Office of Lord Uarden  

Sir Robert Menai es was appointed Lord Larden of the Cinque  

Ports last year, and he is now sailing with us to Lover where ho is  

to be installed ceremonially* No doubt most of us know that this is  

some sort of honour bestowed mainly upon elder statesmen but what we  

should realise is that it is a, unique honour, and one that is essentially  

Naval in origin. It is given to only the most distinguished men, and Sir  

Robert Manzi os, the first Lord Warden appointed from overseas, is no  

exception to the rule* He follows such men as William Pitt, the Duke of  

Wellington, Lord Palmerston and Sir Winston Churchill, to mention only  

few of the famous men who have held the post in the last 700 years.  

The Cinque Ports  

The Cinque Ports, so named because there were originally  

five of them namely Lover, Hastings, Hythe, Romney and Sandwich  

formed confederation whose duty it was to provide the King with fleet  

when called upon. Its origin goes back nearly 1000 years, to before  

William the Conqueror, although it was not known as the Cinque Ports  

until much later. In the 12 th Century Winch el sea and Rye were added,  

and in order to keep the neme ”Cinque Ports” these laete additions were  

called the ”Ancient Towns”, end the full title became ”the Cinque Ports  

and the Ancient Towns”. Thirty other towns and villages were associated  

with the confederation, and helped by providing men and money. They were  

known as ”Limbs ” of the seven ”Head Ports”. Many of these ”Limbs” no  

longer exist, but Lead, Ramsgate, Paversham, Folkestone, Margate, Lydd  

and Tent erden still survive.  

Naturally the ports did not supply fleet for nothing.  

They enjoyed many valua-ble privileges such as tax exemption, free a,ccess  

to markets, their own Court of Justice presided over by the Lord Warden,  

and all the freeman of the Ports were called ”Barons” with places of  

honour at Coronations. They aiso had the right to land and sell their  

catches of fish on tho boa,ch at Yarmouth, valuable concession much  

resented by the natives. They claimed another distinction which sounds  

strange todays for severed centuries ships from other ports (even './est  

Countryilleni) had to dip their topsails when passing Cinque Port or a.  

Cinque Port ship.  

The Cinque Ports won many battles over the years, including  

the Battle of South Foreland in 1217 and the Battle of Sluys in 1340.  

However as the Ports became less prosperous, mainly due to the silting up  

of their harbours, they were less able to fulfil their duties, and in 1583  

they could supply only five ships to meet the Armada the West Countrymen  

had taken over their job with vengeance.  

Today only Lover of the original seven remains port, and  

some of the ·others arc* well inland.  

The Ships  

The type of ship provided by the Ports in their heyday  

deserves mention. They were generally fishing boats of some 20 to 30  

tons with single square rigged mast in the centre. For battle, they  

were fitted with ”castles” fore and aft with smaller castle mounted  

at the masthead. Fighting was simple affair the earn was to get  

alongside and board and capture the enemy. Their weapons were the sword  

and the longbow the cannon and the ”line of battle” ships were to come  

later when the Ports were on the decline.  

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