Ports from sixteen to three, and the Municipal Reform Act has broken up the ancient organisation of the ports, and assimilated their internal arrangements to those of other English Municipalities. The ancient Courts of Shepway and Brotherhood and Guestling are still occasionally held, but their powers scarcely extend beyond matters of form. The Lord Warden's jurisdiction, in relation to civil suits and proceedings, was abolished in 1835. His official residence is Walmer Castle, a structure of Henry VIII.'s time, and here, as Warden, the Duke of Wellington lived every autumn from 1829 till his death there in 1852." Chambers' Ency. Ref. Burrows' Cinque Ports (1888).
In dealing with "Hastings of By-gone Days" it is proper that we should hear what the earlier chroniclers have to say of this ancient community which have contributed so much to our maritime supremacy and formed the cradle of those adventurous mariners of Hastings, and a race of hardy fishermen who place their services at the disposal of King and country whenever needed and called upon.
"From its earliest recorded history a hardy and daring race of mariners hailed from the Port of Hastings." Saxon Chronicle, 1050.
"A little before that, the men of 'Hastinga-Ceastre' and there-abouts, won two of his (Sweyn's) ships with their ships, and slew all the men, and brought the ships to Sandwich to the King." In this account we find the first mention of the mariners of Hastings as a distinct body in the King's service. Dawson.
Jeake's Charters of the Cinque Ports is the recognised authority on this subject, and from which the following extracts are taken. The author, Samuel Jeake, senior, was born at Rye in 1623, was Town Clerk for eleven years ; he lived in Mermaid Street, his house is preserved, and a tablet is placed upon it.
In his book the following appears : -" Advertisement. This Book was wrote in 1678, and had then the Approbation of the Lord Chief Justice North ; but the Author soon after dying, it was not printed, and perhaps never had been, if the late Lord Chief Baron Gilbert had not seen the MSS. and thought it would be useful to the World. No considerable alterations have happened in the Limits of the Ports since that time, except the Incorporation of Deal." It was published in 1728. The original in Latin, is translated into English, and the two are set side by side.
"The records, charters, and proceedings of the Cinque Ports are kept at New Romney, in a book called the Black Book, access to which is somewhat difficult. From this Jeake drew his materials for his very elaborate and valuable History of the Cinque Ports, written in the early part of the last century, a very scarce tract at this time, and rarely, indeed, now to be met with." Moss, 1824.
The Mariners of Hastings are again mentioned by Henry of Huntingdon, 1088 "When the Duke Robert of Normandy (elder brother of William II.) was preparing a powerful army in Normandy -
