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Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

{{Short description|Ceremonial post in the United Kingdom}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{more footnotes needed|date=October 2012}}

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Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is the name of a ceremonial post in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but it may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinque Ports, a group of five (cinque in Norman French) port towns on the southeast coast of England formed to collectively supply ships for The Crown in the absence of a formal navy at that time. Today, the post is a sinecure and an honorary title, and fourteen towns belong to the Cinque Ports confederation. The title is one of the higher honours bestowed by the Sovereign; it has often been held by members of the Royal Family or by prime ministers, especially those who were influential in defending Britain in times of war.

The Lord Warden was solely responsible for the return of all writs to the Crown, along with the collection of taxes and the arrest of criminals. His court was held in St James's church, near Dover Castle, and there he exercised jurisdiction broadly equivalent to that of Chancery. He also had a "lieutenant's powers of muster". The Constableship of Dover Castle, later added (1267) to the warden's office, enabled him to keep a garrison and administrative staff, including the clerk and the lieutenant of the castle.

The coat of arms of the Cinque Ports first appeared in 1305, second amongst the earliest-known English heraldic emblems, predating even the coat of arms of the City of London. The coat of arms of the Cinque Ports displays three ships' hulls and three lions passant guardant conjoined to these hulls, all in gold. These may originally have been Gules three lions passant gardant in pale Or (for England) dimidiating Gules three ships' hulks in pale Or. The coat of arms of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports is set out on a red and blue background, and it traditionally represents the fourteen "corporate" members.

Creation and appointment of the Lord Warden

The creation and appointment of the Lord Warden, once among the most powerful appointments of the realm, by the Sovereign was instituted principally after the portsmen sided with the Earl of Leicester against King Henry III, in the Second Barons' War, and was intended to provide some central authority over the Cinque Ports, which were essentially otherwise independent of the King's sheriffs. It was combined from 1267 with the office of Constable of Dover Castle. However, from 1708 Walmer Castle at Deal was to be preferred as the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The Lord Warden also holds the office of Admiral of the Cinque Ports with a maritime jurisdiction extending to the middle of the English Channel, from Redcliffe near Seaford, in Sussex to the shore underneath the Naze Tower, encompassing Brightlingsea in Essex,Cinque Ports Act 1821. c76 (Regnal 1 & 2 Geo IV) Sect. 18 Boundaries & Jurisdiction of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports the only Cinque Port north of the Thames. In earlier centuries the northern limit was taken as the Shoe Beacon in Essex.

The courts of Brodhull and Guestling were established to protect the privileges of the Cinque Ports by the portsmen themselves. From the 15th century these courts had been largely replaced by the Lord Warden's Court at Dover. From the 16th century the principal business of the courts was the installation of the Lord Warden and the court is now only occasionally summoned. The office continued to be a powerful one. In 1550 the Mayor and Jurats of Dover refused to accept a Royal Writ because it was not accompanied by a letter of attendance from the Lord Warden. The member ports' parliamentary representatives were appointed by the Lord Warden at first; despite an act passed in 1689 to curb this influence, it continued until the 19th century.Note 2, Page 121,Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)

At the installation of a new Lord Warden, the Speaker of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports instructs the Lord Warden: "to undertake the duties of the Ancient and Honourable Office and to uphold the Franchises, Liberties, Customs and Usages of the port."

The office of Speaker has traditionally rotated between the affiliate townships every year dating from at least 1550. Inaugurations are begun on 21 May, and membership is ordained through a longstanding maritime tradition of a principle of the prevailing winds coming from west to east.

A unique uniform is specified for the Lord Warden (though Admiral of the Fleet Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce, whose term ended with his death in 2022, wore his naval uniform in preference). The uniform is very similar to a pre-1956-pattern Admiral's uniform (complete with cocked hat) trimmed in red and with Cinque Ports insignia.Dress and Insignia worn at HM Court, Lord Chamberlain's Office, 1937 Sir Robert Menzies's uniform ([http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139313837/view pictured]), which he wore as Lord Warden from 1966 to 1978, is preserved at the National Library of Australia.

Barons of the Cinque Ports

All freemen of the ports, termed "portsmen", were deemed in the age of feudalism to be barons, and thus members of the baronage entitled to attend the king's parliament.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} Termed "Barons of the Cinque Ports", they reflected an early concept that military service at sea constituted land tenure per baroniam making them quasi feudal barons. The early 14th-century treatise Modus Tenendi Parliamentum stated the Barons of the Cinque Ports to hold a place of precedence below the lay magnates but above the representatives of the shires and boroughs. Writs of summons to Parliament were sent to the warden following which representative barons of the Cinque Ports were selected to attend parliament. Thus the warden's duty in this respect was similar to that of the sheriff who received the writs for distribution to the barons in the shires. The warden and barons often experienced clashes of jurisdiction.Roskell, J.S. History of Parliament, House of Commons 1386–1421, Stroud, 1992, vol.1, p.751, Cinque Ports 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 a Coronation, and is solely honorary in nature.

The History of the Castle, Town, and Port of Dover

List of Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports

The first authoritative list of Cinque Ports Confederation Members was produced in 1293 when Stephen of Pencester was Warden. The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is appointed for life, but in the earliest of records this was not the case. The office of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports has been traced from the year 1226 from the appointment of William de Averanch, although he was not the first incumbent of this office. The longest term of office was that of William Brook, Lord Cobham, who presided at the court for 40 years.

=Constable of Dover Castle=

Source: [http://cinqueports.org/lord-warden-officials/list-of-lord-wardens/ The Cinque Ports]

Technically Vacant from 1082-1084 as Odo became imprisoned.

=Keeper of the Coast=

=Lord Warden and Constable of Dover Castle (since 1267)=

==14th century==

==15th century==

==16th century==

==17th century==

==18th century==

==19th century==

==20th century==

| issue = 27772

| date = 7 March 1905

| page = 1843

}}

==21st century==

  • Admiral of the Fleet Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce 2004–2022{{London Gazette |issue=57496 |date=15 December 2004 |page=15732 |nolink=yes}}{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4434875.stm | title=Ports' Lord Warden is installed | work=BBC News | date=12 April 2005 | access-date=14 September 2015}} (installed April 2005)
  • Admiral Sir George Zambellas 2024–present{{cite web |title=Appointment of Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/appointment-of-lord-warden-and-admiral-of-the-cinque-ports |website=gov.uk |access-date=21 May 2024}}{{London Gazette |issue=64443 |date=25 June 2024 |page=12350 |nolink=yes}}

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{cite book |last=Body |first=Edward |date=1992 |title=The Cinque Ports and Lords Warden: a history in verse and prose |location=Larkfield |publisher=Kent Messenger |isbn=0-900893-13-3 }}
  • {{cite book |last=Brentnall |first=Margaret |date=1972 |title=The Cinque Ports and Romney Marsh |location=London |publisher=Gifford |isbn=0-7071-0223-5 }}
  • {{ODNBweb |title=Wardens of the Cinque Ports in the Oxford DNB |edition=online |date=2005 |id=95275 }}

External links

  • [http://www.cinqueports.org/ Official Confederation of the Cinque Ports]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20040603192133/http://www.villagenet.co.uk/history/1155-cinqueports.html Cinque Ports 1155–1500]
  • [http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-cinq.html Flags of the World Website (at Main Mirror)]
  • [http://www.eastkent.freeuk.com/cinque/index.htm Additional listing from www.eastkent]
  • [http://www.historicalportraits.com/Artworkimages/z1094.JPG Portrait of Sir Winston Churchill in uniform as Lord Warden, 1956.]

{{Governors and Constables in England and Wales}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord Warden Of The Cinque Ports}}

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Category:Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom

Cinque Ports