Cinque ports

The Confederation of Cinque Ports (/sɪŋk pɔərts/) is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest. The name is Norman French, meaning "five ports". They were:

However, Rye, originally a subsidiary of New Romney, changed to become one of the Cinque Ports once New Romney was damaged by storms and silted up.

Other towns also contribute to the confederation, including two Antient (see e.g.) Towns, and seven Limbs.

The five ports are supported by the two so-called "Antient Towns" of Rye and Winchelsea, whose councils traditionally maintained defence contingents for the realm of England.

Apart from the five ports and the two Antient Towns, there are eight other members of the Confederation, which are considered to be Limbs of the other towns. These are:

There are in addition some 23 towns, villages and offices which have varying degrees of connection to the ancient Liberties of the Cinque Ports.

The coastal confederation during its mediaeval period consisted of a confederation of 42 towns and villages in all. These include:

A Royal Charter of 1155 established the ports to maintain ships ready for the Crown in case of need. The chief obligation laid upon the ports, as a corporate duty, was to provide 57 ships for 15 days' service to the king annually, each port fulfilling a proportion of the whole duty. In return the towns received the following privileges:

"Exemption from tax and tallage, right of soc and sac, tol and team, blodwit (the right to punish shedders of blood) and fledwit (the right to punish those who were seized in an attempt to escape from justice), pillory and tumbril, infangentheof and outfangentheof, mundbryce (the breaking into or violation of a man's mund or property in order to erect banks or dikes as a defence against the sea), and , flotsam and jetsam and ligan"

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