New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1901-08-20
THE CINQUE PORTS.
PICTURESQUE OLD SANDWICH. WITH ITS
MEMORIES OF THE GRABBING OF
A NAVE-THE LORD WAR
DENSHIP.


g~;roue Ports where the British navy was
r-sdled lies almost midway between the North
and the South Forelands Although eightvsix
miles from London. in pre-Norman times it was
one Of the two ports Of entry for the Thames
stonor being the other. Thanet was then an
island separated from the mainland Of Kent by
e broad estuary. the Wantsun which offered a
safe tnshore passage from the lower Thames to
the straits Of Dover. The Romans built fort
resses at each end OF the Wantsum for the pro-
tection o. this inshore route; but before they
LEFT Britain the estuary had shrunk into broad
and shallow river, the Stour. secured daily by
the tides from the North Sea and the English
Channel. The river still navigable when
the Saxons and the Jutes followed the Romans
into Kent and ST. Augustine landed in Thanet:
nut as time went on the volume Of tidal water
required for keeping the passage open was grad
uaIly excluded, the marsh lands were drained
Of. and the famous little island was connected
midway with the mainland. AS Thanet ceased
N be insular the towns on the Wantsum were
deserted by their fishermen and sailors, and the
ancient Roman stronghold OF Rutupiae was
abandoned TO ruin Sandwich and Stonor. being
IN the edge Of a shallow bay were rival outposts
n London but both were the mercy Of the
eastward drift which gradually filed up the bay
with sand and single. stonor was the first 10
be cut of from the sea. and shrank back by slow
carne the rendezvous Of royal fleets and the head
n. the Confederation OF the Cirque Ports and
.ha Two Ancient Towns; but the tides with their
p-hrling single and sand. were ine1Orable- The
bsv was slowly filled up with the burden Of the
tides. and the mouth Of the Stour was driven
ont decade after decade toward the North Fore
land Sandwich to-day is separated by sandy
waste Of two miles from the coast line, and the
river. after tortUous dribble Of nine miles,
-rr~arTT Qnz 7a7-T ne
cliffs Of Thanet.
v-bva Dover has remained the most pros
,srogs Of the seven ancient towns Of the Con
fade-acv. Sandwich is the quaintest and the
rnosr medieval Hastings and Hythe are now
frankly modern. Romney has beautiful OLD
Norman church and a quaint inn. but does not
differ essentially from hundreds Of secluded VII
Isres in England Winchelsea hasa picturesque
beauty which attracts artists year after year.
hut kas lost the characteristic aspects OF an
-io,ljrv Rive has been cut of from the sea, but
has clunE 10 the he'd of q sluggish stream ana
in its isolation has an Old World air of singu-
lar nsthos. Sandwich with its three Norman
towers and TWO old gateways. has also pensive
melancholy Of its own and its environment sug-
gets al once the decadenCe Of its fortunes ana
TIE glories Of its maritime history. The erun-
bling town walls have been removed WITHIN
few years and a promenade has taken their
place with sloping hanks, stretches Of turf ana
cluraps Of shrubbery. and in the market place
some OF the old Flemish houses have been sup
PLANTED with modern structures. The town.
however. has not yet been completely spoiled Tor
lovers OF quaint roof lines and mural orna-
rnentation. There is q maze OF narrow, wind
ing alleys and apart from the market place,
few Of the houses new, and many Of them
bear in carved oak the characteristic device Of
the Cirque Ports-the half lion and the half
beat There are few medieval mansions of old
time merchants Of the prosperous period Of the
Confederacy. Most Of the houses were built for
Flemish weavers, who came 10 England during
the reign Of Elizabeth 10 lead quiet lives and TO
read their Bibles with Protestant eyes. These
dwellings are neither large nor pretentious, but
the doorways crow stepped gables and roofs
are quaint and picturesque. snd here and there
antique carving is 10 be seen. The interiors are
even more interesting than the exteriors. One
OF the best is an old cottage near the beautiful
Fishers Gate, where the ceilings are curiously
designed and carved. and where the fireplace
and staircase are examples Of medieval hand-
craft
The Importance Of this maritime stronghold
IS indicated by the three large churches. now
far in excess Of the religious needs Of the
Eicinage One is ST. Clements, possibly with
Saxon foundations but certainly with OF the
most beautiful Norman towers il Kent. An
other is ST Peters with lofty stone tower
surmounted by curious bulb. The third is
81. Mays which has survived the wreckage
caused ~ the fall Of the steepIe 80 years ago.
The charities Of the old town were common
surste with these splendid churches. The Hos
pitaI Of ST Bartholomew's dates from the
twelfth century with g cluster Of buildings, old
and new. and St Johns from the fourteenth
century. with comparatively new structure on
the old foundations. Prosaic and unromantic
as are the simple dwellings Of the Flemish ex-
lies whom Queen Elizabeth encouraged to set
lie In Kent, there are traces in the churches
and uonastic hospitals Of the wealth and
artistic taste which prevailed IN this prosperous
town from the eleventh TO the fifteenth century
The story Of arrested development is taken in
a. & glance from the bridge over the Stour in
'front.' OF the Ba-bican, with its Tudor watch
tower and gateway The river is a thin, slug
gsh brook and a small barge IS tied up at the
gray and across the marshes a sail is 10 be
seen where tiny craft Is working its way
WARD along one Of the many bends Of the Stour
toward Pegwen Bay. Sandwich, which once
guarded the fnshore passage TO the Thames and
Nlh the help OF the other Cirque Ports created
highlands sea kingdom, is now desolate and
9'one TWO miles inland Her commerce has
s'Ae sno her maritime energy is only echo
from the stored past
/" "en one pauses in the market place Of Sand
-eA 70 admire that vagsry Of heraldry the
1,ee split lions and the three sterns Of ancient
e1'-ess. boldly carved in a mediseval doorway.
= is 10 see something identified with the earliest
ava uniform II Britain. The seanen of the
clhque Ports and the Two Ancient Towns car
--ea lnese arms in a badge worn on a white
- "a -,