The Cinque Ports are the king's navy in all but name: a league of five head ports in Kent and Sussex (Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, Sandwich) and two ancient towns (Winchelsea and Rye), each with member towns along the coast, whose seamen owe the king ships and crews for a fixed period every year.
In return their freemen, styled barons, are quit of tolls throughout the realm, plead only in their own courts and in the court of Shepway, and share in the great herring fair at Yarmouth, where they claim the right to land and dry nets on the beach (den and strand). Their lords differ: the king at Dover, the count of Eu at Hastings, the archbishop at Hythe and Romney, Christ Church at Sandwich, the abbey of Fecamp at Winchelsea and Rye. In January 1200, with the king fighting across the Channel, their ships carry his men, money and messengers.
Who he is
- Name
- No single head: the portsmen of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich with the ancient towns of Winchelsea and Rye; the king's officer presides at the court of Shepway
- Title
- The barons (freemen) of the head ports and ancient towns
- Since
- The name 'Cinque Ports' is in use by 1135; Winchelsea and Rye are joined as ancient towns by 1190
- Confidence
- medium
The ports' liberties come from separate royal grants to each port in return for ship service: Domesday already records the sea service of Dover, Sandwich and Romney. Henry II's charters to Winchelsea and Rye speak of 'the barons of Hastings and the Cinque Ports'. The first general charter to the ports in common is of 1260, and the fixed quota of 57 ships for 15 days is set out in the charters of the thirteenth century. The brief speaks of charters of 1199 to the ports; we could not confirm their dates or texts in the sources we could reach.
If John's chancery sealed confirmations for the ports before 31 December 1199, they are in force; if not, the ports stand on Henry II's grants. The joint office of constable of Dover and warden of the ports is later in the century.
Overlord
King John
What it holds
- The liberties of the head ports: Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, Sandwich (see the town records)
- The ancient towns of Winchelsea and Rye
- Member towns (limbs): Pevensey, Seaford, Bulverhythe and others with Hastings; Lydd and Old Romney with Romney; West Hythe with Hythe; Folkestone, Faversham and Margate with Dover; Fordwich, Reculver and others with Sandwich (memberships recorded in the thirteenth century)
- Den and strand at Great Yarmouth during the herring fair (emd records for Yarmouth)
- Their own courts, and the court of Shepway at Shepway Cross above Lympne
How it was acquired
Customary liberties for sea service from before the Conquest, confirmed by twelfth-century kings to each port.
Allies and rivals
Great Yarmouth, with which the portsmen quarrel over the herring fair; one another, over trade and the passage; the lords of the ports, over dues.
How things stand that morning
In the king's service, at peace at home.
Wealth
Fishing, the cross-Channel passage, the wine trade, shipbuilding. No figures.
Military
Ship service: Domesday records Dover's 20 ships with 21 men each for 15 days a year, and the same service from Sandwich. The portsmen are the core of any royal fleet in the Channel.
Threats
- Silting harbours (Hythe, Romney, Hastings)
- Feuds with Yarmouth
- A war at sea with France
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- Throughout 1200Ports' ships carry John's crossings: to England in late February and back to Normandy in the spring, and with Isabella in October.Depends on: The king's movements Stopped by: Bad weather or war
Places of note
- Shepway Cross: Meeting place of the court of Shepway
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The confederation and its service are well known; the state of John's confirmations on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
On the map: Each port is drawn as its own town; the confederation has no continuous territory.
Primary sources for England
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond, Jocelin of Brakelond (about 1198 to 1203). An inside account of Bury St Edmunds under Abbot Samson, written while the events were fresh. Read online
- Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of the Princes, Anonymous (Welsh translation of a lost Latin chronicle kept at Strata Florida) (Latin original to about 1282, compiled from contemporary annals; Welsh versions about 1300 and later). The native Welsh record of the year. Read online
- Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
- English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online
- Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
- Images of History, Ralph de Diceto (about 1188 to 1202). A London view of the year from the dean of St Paul's, who knew the justiciar and the bishops personally. Read online
22 more in the sources library for The British Isles.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.