who founded the navy
design and defeated the Danes off Essex and in the Thames estuary. It is for this reason that King Alfred is often. claimed to be the founder of the British navy. During the reign of Edward the Confessor (1004-1066), the maritime institution of the Cinque Ports was established. This was composed of five ports, Dover, Hastings, Romney, Hythe and Sandwich, later Rye and Winchelsea were. added.