Dover
Lock and Key of the Kingdom

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

Queen Elizabeth I visited Dover on 14 July 1573 on her progress through Kent. The procession to Dover from Folkestone must have presented a marvellous and glittering cavalcade to any observer. The Queen was accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, each with their own entourage.

The procession was so long that as the tail of it was going up Folkestone Hill, leaving Folkestone, the head was descending the Western Heights down through Cowgate into Queen Street. There were about 1,000 important people on horseback and a similar number of two wheeled wagons each drawn by six horses. It is likely that the Queen stayed at Dover Castle before proceeding on to Sandwich. Before she left she was presented with a richly enamelled gold cup bearing the Cinque Ports arms.

It was during Elizabeth’s reign that the Cinque Ports performed their final service in the naval defence of their country. In late July 1588 England was threatened with invasion by the Spanish Armada and the Cinque Ports were ordered to send five ships and one pinnace, but actually provided two ships and one pinnace. Dover equipped the ‘Elizabeth’, a ship of 120 tons, with 70 men and supplies for fifty days. These vessels, with eighteen from the east-coast towns, formed the auxiliary squadron to the Channel squadron, and were posted to Dover. This small squadron took part in the action off Gravelines (near Calais) on 29 July. Five fire ships had been prepared in Dover Harbour but were not used as Sir Francis Drake gave some of his own ships to use instead to save time. By the next day the Spanish fleet had been broken by the English attack and was being scattered by the prevailing westerly wind.