Fishing Boats on Deal Beach
Ramsgate Marina
Standard Quay Faversham
Oyster smacks at Brightlingsea Creek
Each of the Cinque Ports & Ancient towns has towns or Limbs associated with it.
Deal, Ramsgate, Lydd, Tenterden, Faversham, Folkestone, Margate & Brightlingsea are all Cinque Port Limbs.
Deal and Ramsgate are the associated towns - Members or 'Limbs' of Sandwich. Both are still coastal and, today, much bigger towns than their Head Cinque Port
The Official Residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is based at Walmer Castle, very close to the town of Deal. Deal also has its own castle, both were built by Henry VIII.
Lydd is Limb of New Romney, and Tenterden is a Limb of Rye. As can be seen on the maps, the Bay of Romney is now Romney Marsh, and Lydd is no longer on an island.
Tenterden is now quite a few miles inland, but originally, it had its own port of Smallhythe which had its own shipyard and quay.
These three towns are the Limbs of Dover. Margate, like Ramsgate was on an island in medieval times and the area is still called the Isle of Thanet. King Steven, his wife and son are buried at Faversham, a town that still retains its ancient character.
The only town associated with the cinqueports that is not in Kent or Sussex.
Brightlingsea was not taken into the Confederation of the Cinque Ports until after 1353. As a thriving ship-owning port, in becoming a Limb of Sandwich it could contribute to that town’s ship-service quota.
For more information see the Cinque Port Liberty of Brightlingsea Website.
Walmer Castle Official Residence of the Lord Warden
Flag of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
Note that this image shows the particular flag of Admiral Lord Boyce - the badge in the flag's hoist changes with the appointment of a new Lord Warden.
Admiral Lord Boyce was preceded in post by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who used the same flag but with her Royal Cypher as the badge in the hoist.
(Image & text from Wiki Media)
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Information from the Sandwich History Society publications & archives - Deal, Faversham, Brightlingsea & Ramsgate photos on this page from www.geograph.org.uk - copyright John Mavin, Penny Mayes, Adrian Hodge & Nigel Freeman, respectively under the Creative Commons License
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