New-York tribune., 1907-10-28
LORD SAVE AND SELE.
Claims the Historic Office of Warden
of the CinQue Ports.

necessary to the duties of the office, claims Of
the new Lord Saye and Sele to the dignity are once
more brought before the public. The lord war
denship of the Cinque Ports. office which dates
from the Roman Emperor Diocletian who placed
that part of the British nearest to the Cont
nent under officer known the Count of the
Sea Coast" conferred by William the Con-
queror after the battle of Hastings upon one of
his principal lieutenants, John Fiennes. to be held
by him, his kinsmen and his heirs forever. The
Lords Fiennes among the barons whose
names figure in the Magma Charta, and were able
TO boast of most illustrious ancestry. since they
We're descended from that Count Of Boulogne who
married Coda. daughter of King Ethelred and Sis
ter of King Edward the Confessor. who were like
wise the forebears of Godfrey de Bouilon, the Cru
sader King Of Jerusalem.
BY the marriage of the Lady Joan de Saye dauGh-
ter of Godfrey. Lord de Saye and High Admiral
of England. to William, Lord of Fiennes. hered-
itary Warden of the Cinque Ports. hereditary Con
stable of Dover Castle and tenth in descent from
John Fiennes the kinsman and companion of Will
lam the Conqueror. the Fiennes family became
possessed of the barony of Saye, 10 which that or
Sele added, and Lady Joans grandson. James
de FienneS. summoned to Parliament IN
1i47 as a baron of the realm. under the title or
Lord Saye and Sole He obtained afresh from
the Crown grant OF the office of Warden or the
Cinque Ports and Governor of Dover Castle for
himself and his heirs forever, and was also 1~ord
High Treasurer of England But happening TO be
q prisoner in the Tower of London when JACK
Cade's mob stormed that stronghold, he was
dragged by the insurgents to CheapSde ana theIe
beheaded. His son, William de F1ennes' the sec
ond Lord Save and Sele, was Vice-Admiral of Eng
land to the great Earl of Warwick. the King
Maker then Lord High Admiral; fought for hlhg
Edward ", and was killed in his service at the
battle of Barnet in l47t. His son, Henry Flennes'
de lure third Lor,. Saye and See. was never sum-
moned to Parliament. and 1t was not until severA
generations later that Richard de Fennes the sew
enth de jure Lord Saye and Sele obtained recoS-
nition of his claim to the barony Of Saye ana SeIe
7 bV
gust 1909 His son in turn who was advanced 10
the dignity OF viscount. took a prominent part IN
the resistance of Parliament TO King Charles J. and
one of his sons, Nathaniel. was Commissioner OF
the Great Seal under Oliver Cromwell ms son.
the second viscount had several sons VINO an
predeceased him without issue. and TWO oauBh'ei
namely Elizabeth and Frances. The latter uo-
scendants became extinct in the second generauoh'
but Elizabeth married John Twisleton' by whoih
she had an only daughter. who married klisihah'
George Twisleton. Her son became de Jure e1eV-
enth Baron Saye and Sele the viscounty haV'ns
meanwhile passed 10 a nephew of the second VS.
count, becoming extinct on the demise Oh 'i'e si
viscount without issue in isl
In the following year the ancient BaTony OF oaye
and Sele which had remained in allegiance since
1914 on the death OF the second viscount, was
claimed by the Hneal descendant OF that peer >
daughter Elizabeth, namely, Thomas Twisleton,
whose claims were allowed by the Commlttee OF
Privileges Of the House Of Lords and who was
summoned to Parliament in the same year as thlr-
teenth Baron of saye and Sele. since then the
barony has been held direct and uninterrupted IN
the male line the fourteenth Lord OF saye ana see
receiving permission from the Crown 10 assume
the name and tho armorial bearings Of the ancient
house Of Fiennes in addition TO those OF Iwls!e-
ton in order TO commemorate his descent there
from
The new lord who has Just succeeded to tho family
honors through the death OF his father, Is tho
eighteenth baron Of his line, IS colonel OF the
Royal Scotch Fusileers. and served with distihc-
ton in that regiment in the zuu war. quarter OK
a century ago.
On the succession Of each Lord saye and Sele 20
the peerage he invariably puts forward claim to
the office Of Lord Warden OF the Cinque Ports
bestowed upon John Fiennes and his heirs forever
by William the Conqueror, and reafirmed by King
Henry VI But this claim has never been conceded
since the decapitation of the first Lord Saye and
Sele the last Of the Lord Wardens Of the House
of F1ennes. by Jack Cade in Cheapside in l45l
RIGHTS TO ALL FLOTsAM AND JETsAM
The Office of Lord Warden IS nowadays purely
one OF great honor and dignity, carrying with II
longer any material advantages 10 speak OF, as
WaImer Castle near Dover, formerly attached TO
the dignity official residence, has ceased to
be available SUCH in consequence of It's unsani-
tary condition since the illness contracted there
by the American born Lady CuTzon-a malddy 10
which She ultimately succumhed. Previously Wal
mer Castle had been occupied. in virtue OF the
possession of tho Office of Lord Warden, by the
late Lord Salisbury, the late Marquis OF Duffern,
the late Lord Granville, Lord Palmerston. by the
Great Duke OF Wellington. by Henry VIII prior to
his accession the throne. by James II while still
Duke Of York and likewise by Engand's famous
Premier BILLY" Pitt. whose eccentric niece. Lady
Hester Stanhope, who subsequently died in Pales-
tine as the wife of Arab sheik. kept house for
him there.
The Lord Wardenshlp OF the Cinque Ports carries
with IT the Constableship of Dover Castle, the
itime jurisdiction Admiral of the Cinque Ports
and the powers of the lord lieutenant OF a county,
its being entitled to appoint justices of the
peace and magistrates The Lord Warden pre-
sides the Portmote Parliament, which is
assembled by his summons at Shepway few
miles west OF Hythe to make bylaws for the
Cnque Ports. TO regulate fisheries. to hear appeals
from the local courts and to give decisions in all
cases of the concealment OF treasure trove, of
treason, sedtion and of coming. The Lord Warden
is moreover the presiding officer OF the Court of
Brotherhood and of the Court of Guestling tho
former being composed of the mayors OF the prin-
cipal towns and ports comprised within the juris-
dicton of the Lord Warden. while the Court of
Guesting includes. in addition to the mayors, the
bahs and other municipal representatives. He is
likewise ofiiciO chairman Of the Dover Harbor
Commission, which virtually controls the colossal
works being carried on by the government at
enormous expense with the view to converting
Dover into immense seaport, capable of fur
nishing accommodation and refuge to England
largest battleships.
The Cinque Ports. Five Ports, were as their
implies. only five in number. namely, Hast
ings. Romney. Hythe Dover and Sandwich. to
which afterward added Winchelsea and Rye,
Folkestone, Deal, Margate Ramsgate and sew
era other smaller places. Until the reign of King
Henry VIII the Cinque Ports required not
only to de for the defence of that portion of
the coast which nearest to France was most
in danger OF foreign attack, but likewise to fur
nish most OF the warships and the sailors neces-
sary for the navy, receiving in return all sorts
of immunites and prerogatlves, enumerated in
charters, some of which date from the days of