Description
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Talk/Panel Discussion, Walks & Tours and Networking
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Tickets from £15.00 - £50.00
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Adults and young people aged 12+ if accompanied by an adult
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Friday 26th and Saturday 27th June 2026
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Multiple start times (see ticket info)
Cinque Ports Conference
Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June 2026
Tickets £30 for one day or £50 for both days - includes a buffet lunch and refreshments.
A major two-day conference looking at the history of the Cinque Ports from the 13th century to the present day, hosted in the medieval splendour of Dover’s Maison Dieu. Including short talks by academics, historians and archaeologists exploring the role of the Cinque Ports in the defence of England, their governance and administration and the lives of those living in the Cinque Ports towns.
Delegates may also join special tours of the Maison Dieu and other historic sites nearby, as well as viewing displays of Cinque Ports artefacts and documents and finding out about the role of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports today. Full programme listed below.
Cinque Ports Conference - Evening reception
Friday 26 June, 6.30 to 8pm
Tickets £15 - includes a welcome drink and canapes
Join the mayors and officials of the Confederation of Cinque Ports for canapes and drinks in the Neo-gothic splendour of the Maison Dieu's recently restored Connaught Hall, as we celebrate the end of the first day of the Cinque Ports Conference and the Confederation's long association with this magnificent building. Relax and chat to guests as we listen to live music. The evening will include short speeches by Dover representatives and David Page, Speaker of the Cinque Ports and Mayor of Winchelsea, who will be accompanied by the Admiralty Sergeant, carrying the Cinque Ports silver oar. Cinque Ports banners and items of memorabilia will be on display.
Event organised by the Kent Archaeological Society Maritime Kent Group, the Confederation of Cinque Ports, the Maison Dieu, Dover District Council, Dover Town Council and Dover Museum. Including speakers from the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University, the University of Southampton and Kings College, London.
Full programme:
Friday 26th June
Timetable
9.30 Doors open
9.30 – 10.00 Registration and coffee
10 - 10.20 Welcome
10.20 - 11.30 Session 1 -
Administration of the Cinque Ports
2 papers, plus questions
Justin Croft – The custumals of the Cinque Ports c. 1290-1500
Sheila Sweetinburgh – Maintaining authority: the role of church and hospital in the Cinque Ports
11.30 Coffee
11.50 - 1pm Session 2 -
Administration of the Cinque Ports
2 papers, plus questions
Rob Blackmore – Title: Maritime Predation and the Cinque Ports, 1450‒1640
Craig Lambert – The Cinque Ports, c.1320-c.1630: The Myth of Decline
1pm - 2pm
Lunch
Buffet
lunch
2pm – 3pm Session 3 -
Tours
Maison Dieu Highlights tours
3pm - 4.10pm Session 4 - Defence and the Royal Navy
2 papers, plus questions
Susan Rose – ‘That we bee maysteres of the narowe see’ Did the successful implementation of this policy by English medieval monarchs depend on the ships of the Cinque Ports?
Chris Ware – `The Wealth Safety and Strength of this Kingdome is soe much concerned’ - Articles of War, 1661
4.10pm - 4.30pm Coffee
4.30pm - 5.40pm Session 5 - Defence and the Royal Navy
2 papers, plus questions
Andrew Lambert – Dover and the Duke: Shaping Grand Strategy, 1815-1914
Andy Plumbly – The Naval Brewhouse at Dover - a well-kept secret
5.40pm -
6.00pm
Closing
remarks and response
6.30pm – 8.00pm Evening Reception (ticket cost £15.00)
Speeches and live music.
Welcome drink and canapes included.
Saturday 27th
June Timetable
9.30 Doors open
9.30 – 10.00 Registration and coffee
10 - 10.20 Welcome
10.20 - 11.30 Session 1 –
Cinque Ports Maritime Communities
2 papers, plus questions
Gillian Draper – ‘ People and Places : the Cinque Ports, London and other connections’
Claire Bartram – “We are both friends to Dover Harbour”: Scripting Performances of Community in late Elizabethan Dover
11.30 Coffee
11.50 - 1pm Session 2 –
Cinque Ports Maritime Communities
2 papers, plus questions
David Carpenter – Hubert de Burgh castellan of Dover, earl of Kent and saviour of England
James Lloyd - "The Runaway Armorial of the Constables of Dover"
1pm - 2pm
Lunch
Buffet
lunch
2pm – 3pm Session 3 -
Tours
Maison Dieu Highlights tours
3pm - 4.10pm Session 4 – Cinque Ports Maritime
Communities
Daisy Turnbull – A wreck! A wreck!’, 19th-century Coastal Cultures of the Cinque Ports and their Shipwreck Shore
Jon Iveson – The early modern history of Dover harbour
4.10pm to
4.50pm
Closing
remarks and response
Offers
Promotions
Tickets/Times
| Ticket | Event time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Cinque Port Conference, 26 June - Single day ticket
Cinque Port Conference, 26 June - Single day ticket Includes tea / coffee and lunch |
09:30 - 18:00 | £30.00 |
|
Cinque Port Conference, 27 June - Single day ticket
Cinque Port Conference, 27 June - Single day ticket Includes tea / coffee and lunch |
09:30 - 17:00 | £30.00 |
|
Cinque Port Conference, 26 and 27 June - two days
Cinque Port Conference 26 and 27 June - two days Includes tea / coffee and lunch for both days |
09:30 - 18:00 | £50.00 |
|
Cinque Port Conference, 26 June - evening reception ticket
Cinque Port Conference evening reception 26 June ticket Includes a welcome drink and canapés |
18:30 - 20:00 | £15.00 |
Location
Address
Dover Town Hall, Biggin Street, CT16 1DL
Organiser
Maison Dieu
More from Maison Dieu Dover Town Hall
Venue
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