Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (Latin: Dominus Custos Quinque Portuum) 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 ( sink 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 14 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 is first recorded in 1305 (and is probably a few years older), predating even the arms of the City of London. The arms comprise a shield divided per pale (vertically), depicting on the dexter side (viewer's left) three gold half lions passant gardant on a red field; and on the sinister side (viewer's right) three gold half ships' hulls on a blue field. These arms are also flown as an heraldic banner (flag); and (with additional elements indicating the individual office-holder) form the basis of the banner of the Lord Warden.
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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, 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.
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 those appointed to the office in the 21st century have, as retired admirals, worn naval uniform instead). 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. Sir Winston Churchill's uniform (pictured) is preserved at Chartwell; Sir Robert Menzies's uniform (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. 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. 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.
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: The Cinque Ports
Leopoldus de Bertie? (Early 11th-century) Under Æthelred the Unready?
Godwine, Earl of Wessex 1045–1053
Harold Godwine, Earl of Wessex (King Harold II) 1053–1066
Bertram Ashburnham (Constable of Dover Castle) 1066
William de Peverell 1066 (Unconfirmed?)
Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent 1066–1082
Technically Vacant from 1082-1084 as Odo became imprisoned.
John de Fiennes 1084–1085
James de Fiennes (son of John) 1085–1111
John de Fiennes (son of James) 1111–1138
Walkelin de Magminot 1138
Prince Eustace of Boulogne (son of King Stephen) 1138–1153
Walkelin de Magminot 1153–1154
Robert Fitz-Bernard 1154–1169
Hugo de Mara 1169–1187
Alan de Valeines (or Valoines) 1187–1190
Matthew de Clere 1190–1195
William de Wrotham 1195–1201
Thomas Basset, Lord Hedendon 1201–1202
Keeper of the Coast
Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, 1066–1084
Henry of Essex c.1150–1154
Henry de Sandwich 1154–1189
Simon de Sandwich 1154–1189
Alan de Fienes 1154–1189
James de Fienes 1189–1199
Matthew de Clere 1189–1199
William Devereux 1189–1199
William Longchamp 1189–1199
William de Wrotham 1189–1199
Thomas Bassett 1199–1216
William de Huntingfield 1199–1216
William de Sarum 1199–1216
Geoffrey FitzPiers 1199–1216
William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey 1204–1206 and 1214
Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent 1215–1220
Geoffery de Lucy 1224 (and 1230)
William d'Avranches 1226–1227
Robert de Auberville 1228
Peter de Rivaux 1232–1234
Lord de Segrove
Walerand Teutonicus 1235
Hamo de Crevecoeur 1235
Lord Warden and Constable of Dover Castle (since 1267)
Sir Stephen de Pencester 1267–1271 (then at intervals until 1298, for a total of 32 years)
Sir Simon de Creye 1275
Robert de Burghersh, 1st Baron Burghersh 1299–1306
Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham 1307
Robert de Kendall 1307
Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham 1315
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere 1320
Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester 1320
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent 1321
Sir John Peche 1323
Ralph Basset, 2nd Baron Basset of Drayton 1325
Bartholomew de Burghersh, 1st Baron Burghersh 1327
William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon 1330
Bartholomew de Burghersh, 1st Baron Burghersh 1348
Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March 1355
John Beauchamp, 3rd Baron Beauchamp 1359
Sir Robert de Herle 1361
Baron Spigurnell 1364
Sir Richard de Pembrugge 1370