I have been to ... Sandwich, Kent

Sue does a considerable amount of sewing and dressmaking, and buys a lot of the material she uses from a market stall holder who visits various markets in Kent. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the stall holder has moved most of his sales online, but he has now resumed running his market stall twice each week in the centre of Sandwich, Kent.

Yesterday we drove to Sandwich so that Sue could visit her favourite material stall, and we used the opportunity to have a day out. (When we got back, I realised that this was the longest drive I had done since March!)

We parked in the Quay Car Park near the famous barbican and toll bridge over the River Stour.

The River Stour, looking towards the toll bridge. The bridge is a swing bridge that pivots to allow small boats to pass through.

The barbican at the town end of the toll bridge.

The barbican as seen from the town side.

From there, we walked along the narrow medieval streets ...

The local Masonic Hall.

The Pellicane House in the High Street is an important Grade II* listed townhouse. The original house was built during the fifteenth century, and it was altered and remodelled during the seventeenth century. It is currently on sale for £1,100,000.

St Peter's Church, Sandwich. It is thought that is was built on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon church.

St Peter's Church was rebuilt by Carmelite monks in 1216 after the original building had been destroyed during a French raid on Sandwich. It was rebuilt again in during the 1660s by Dutch refugees after the central tower collapsed and destroyed much of the south aisle late on the evening of Sunday, 13th October 1661.

... to the Guildhall, which is situated in the centre of the oldest part of the town, and which is the location of the Wednesday market.

The wonderfully named 'No Name Shop' on the corner of No Name Street! The courtyard in front of the Guildhall can be seen in the distance.

A view of New Street, Sandwich.

Another view of New Street, this time from the corner of Moat Sole.

The street layout of the centre of Sandwich is very definitely medieval, and although many of the buildings were remodelled or rebuilt during the Georgian and Victorian eras, the town still has a distinctly medieval feel to it.

We finished our visit to Sandwich with lunch in an Italian restaurant called ‘Luigi’s’. Although the entrance looked small and a bit off putting, once you had gone upstairs, you discovered that it was a light and airy restaurant that served good food in large portions! We ate the two-course, set-priced lunch, which with drinks and a few extras cost us less than £30.00, including a tip.

---

Sandwich is one of the original Cinque Ports. These were Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich, and by the time of the Norman Conquest they had been granted the local 'profits of justice' in return for providing ships for the king in time of war. In exchange for providing fifty-seven ships for fifteen days' annual service to the king, the Cinque Ports were:

• Given exemption from tax and tolls
• Given self-government
• Given permission to levy tolls
• Granted the right to punish those who shed blood or fled justice
• Granted the right to punish minor offences
• Granted the right to detain and execute criminals both inside and outside the port's jurisdiction
• Granted the right to punish breaches of the peace
• Given possession of lost goods that remain unclaimed after a year
• Given possession of goods that had been thrown overboard
• Given possession of any floating wreckage

The original five towns were later joined by Rye and Winchelsea, and the Cinque Ports were the centre of a confederation that included seven ‘limbs’ (the towns of Lydd, Folkestone, Faversham, Margate, Deal, Ramsgate, and Tenterden) and twenty-three associated small towns and villages.

The importance of the Cinque Ports declined over the years, and by the middle of the sixteenth century they no longer enjoyed their former privileges. The role of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, who had been the monarch’s representative during the period of the Cinque Ports’ prominence, became a ceremonial one. Amongst those who have held this honour are:

• William Pitt the Younger (1792-1806)
• Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1829-1852): He died at Walmer Castle, the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
• Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1860-1865)
• Sir Winston Churchill (1941-1965)
• Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1978-2002): To date, she is the only female to have held the post of a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports