A Royal Port is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

that has been granted a 'royal' designation by a monarch. In England, historically this designation allowed the port to receive certain goods and collect certain associated taxes.

History

During the medieval era's

manorial system Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, ...

, Royal Ports were the direct property of the King, who would issue the port with special rights, customs and privileges, usually via a charter. Only those designated as royal ports could receive goods such as wine, and collect the associated royal tax on the imported goods on behalf of the king. These tolls or "

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

" on imported or exported goods formed one of the oldest prerogatives enjoyed by Kings of England. The king would appoint Royal Port Reeves to collect the tolls. Ports that did not hold Royal status are historically called franchise ports. The Kings of England designated Royal Ports in Ireland, such as

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, as part of their

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

. Perhaps one of the most famous examples would be linked to the Waterford Charter Roll, which resulted in the re-designation of Waterford as a Royal Port. Waterford had been designated as a royal port by Henry II, however nearby New Ross became a competing Port. In a bid to gain favour with Edward III over New Ross, the Roll was drawn up in a pictorial and colourful style showing that the city had had relationships with kings going back centuries. The king was persuaded by the Roll and reinstated Waterford's monopoly as a royal port. Some were planned to deliberately compete with franchise ports not owned by the King. For example, Liverpool, was founded to compete with the port of Chester. King John wanted to turn Liverpool into a Royal Port as it offered a natural sheltered harbour, close to royal estates from which supplies could be withdrawn for military purposes as part of his conquest of Ireland.

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

may have been equally well suited for this, but it was a

county palatine In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating t ...

for the Earl's of Chester and therefore returned no profits to the crown. Often Royal Ports formed parts of confederations that granted them additional rights and privileges, such as

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...

which was part of the

Cinque Ports The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

which formed part of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. The framework for customs in the Royal Ports was set by the

exchequer In the Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''Transaction account, current account'' (i.e., mon ...

from as early as 1275. By 1347 the customs system, as it was to operate in the royal ports throughout the later Middle Ages was completed (excluding subsidies of tunnage on wine and poundage on general merchandise, which would be grafted on to the customs from about the middle of the fourteenth century).

References

{{Reflist Customs services English royalty Place names with royal patronage, List of UK

History

See also

References