Hythe, Kent

The small seaside resort and town of Hythe, in the District of Shepway, (derived from ship-way) is one of the five original Cinque Ports on the south coast of Kent, in England. Although it is beside a broad bay on the English Channel, four miles to the west of Folkestone, silting of the coast has removed any sign of its port and harbour.

The castles at Saltwood and Lympne.

Hythe was once of such significance that it was defended by two castles, being respectively known as Saltwood and Lympne. Saltwood derives its name from the village, in its shadow. During the reign of king Canute the manor of Saltwood was granted to the priory of Christ Church in Canterbury, but during the C12th it was was for a while to become the home of Henry d' Essex constable of England.

Related Topics:
Lympne - Canute - Christ Church - Canterbury

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Thomas a Becket had sought from king Henry II, for the Church, the restoration of the castle, as an ecclesiastical palace. Henry instead granted the castle to one of his loyal barons Rranulf de Broc.

Related Topics:
Thomas a Becket - Henry II

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That the castle had been returned to the control of Becket, as archbishop of Canterbury, and remained a church property until the reign of Henry VIII, when Hythe and Saltwood were to be sequestrated to the Crown, leads to the implication that some complicity in the murder of Becket, by the baron Rranulf de Broc was possible. It was during this time at Saltwood, on December the 28th, 1170, four knights plotted the death of Becket, which took place the following day. Hugh de Moreville was one of the four knights that assassinated Thomas-a-Becket, along with Reginald Fitzurse, William de Tracey, and Richard le Breton.

Related Topics:
Henry VIII - Hugh de Moreville - Reginald Fitzurse - William de Tracey - Richard le Breton

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From the moment Hythe came under Crown control the senior official of the town was also to become a bailiff appointed by the Crown, this state of affairs remained (uniquely for a Cinque Port) until 1575 when under a charter given by Elizabeth I, the town regained control of its domestic affairs.

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Curiously, however the last Crown bailiff of Hythe was also to become the first mayor of the town. His name was John Bredgman, a brass inscription baring his name remains in the parish church, dated 1581.

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