The Wardens of the Coast, originally called the Keepers of the Coast or Keepers of the Sea, were officials appointed in the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On 1 ...

and placed under the jurisdiction of one of the regional admiralties of England, those of the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. On behalf of the

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

they were responsible for the direction and co-ordination of the King’s fleet, the equipping of boats and processing payments to sailors and the superintendence of the Sea Guard Militia assigned to each coastal maritime county during the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The most notable of these were the Warden of the Cinque Ports (1226–1267), later called

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...

and Constable of Dover Castle (1267–present), and the Wardens of the Marches (1297–1603). By the beginning of the 16th century they were replaced by the vice-admiralties of the coast.Rodger, N.A.M. pp.131-142.

Source

{{Reflist Royal Navy appointments