The Cinque Port connection

From about the time of Edward the Confessor the Confederation of Cinque Ports was in being. The Head Ports were Hastings, Dover, Romney, Hythe and Sandwich; later Rye and Winchelsea were added. Strangely, without any written authority, these Ports brought smaller nearby ports and villages into association with them. That is how Margate became connected as a limb of the Town and Port of Dover. The present Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle is Admiral the Lord Boyce, GCB,OBE,DL. He was appointed to the post by the Queen, upon the advice of the Prime Minister. He was installed in office at a session of the Grand Court of Shepway, held in Dover on Tuesday 12th April 2005.

The post is generally bestowed in recognition of distinguished service to the nation and to the commonwealth. Previous holders of this title have included William Pitt, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, and Sir Robert Menzies. The only woman to have held this title was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, from 1978 until her death in 2002.