Cinque Ports facts for kids

The Cinque Ports and their 'limbs'

The Cinque Ports is a group of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex, England. This group was first created for military defense and trade. Today, their role is mostly ceremonial, meaning it's about traditions and special events. A special document called a Royal Charter officially formed these ports in 1155.

These towns are located at the eastern end of the English Channel. This is the narrowest part of the sea crossing to mainland Europe. The name "Cinque Ports" comes from Norman French and means "five ports."

The original five ports were:

• Hastings
• New Romney
• Hythe
• Dover
• Sandwich

However, Rye later became one of the main Cinque Ports. It was originally a smaller town connected to New Romney. New Romney was damaged by storms and became filled with silt (mud and sand). Today, Romney is about a mile from the sea, separated by a large pebble beach called Dungeness.

Coat of arms of Hastings. The heraldic emblem of the Cinque Ports shows the front half of a lion joined to the back of a ship. You can see this symbol on the coats of arms of several towns and on the flag of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

What are the Cinque Ports?

The Federation of Cinque Ports also includes other towns along the coast. These towns are known as "limbs" of the Cinque Ports. They supported the main ports in their duties.

Some of these "limbs" include:

• Lydd (a limb of New Romney)
• Folkestone (a limb of Dover)
• Faversham (a limb of Dover)
• Margate (a limb of Dover)
• Deal (a limb of Sandwich)
• Ramsgate (a limb of Sandwich)
• Brightlingsea (a limb of Sandwich)
• Tenterden (a limb of Rye)

How the Ports Supported Each Other

The Federation was also supported by two other towns. One was Rye, which we mentioned earlier. The other was Winchelsea, located a few miles inland from the coast. These towns once helped provide groups of soldiers, called militias. These militias were used to defend the area when needed.

Images for kids

• 

  This is the common seal of the barons of Hythe.

• 

  This is the common seal of the barons of Hastings. You can see two flags flying from the ship. One shows the Plantagenet arms (three lions). The other seems to show three ships. These symbols are combined in the arms of the Cinque Ports.

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  The Cinque Ports arms at Ramsgate Port.

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  The Cinque Ports arms at Strand Gate, Rye.

See also

In Spanish: Alianza de los Cinco Puertos para niños