“ The court is an ancient one. The judge sits as the official and commissary of the lord warden, just as the judge of the high court of admiralty sat as the official and commissary of the lord high admiral. And, as the office of lord warden is more ancient than the office of lord high admiral (The Lord Warden v. King in his office of Admiralty, 1831, 2 Hagg. Admy. Rep. 438) , it is probable that the Cinque Ports court is the more ancient of the two.
The jurisdiction of the court has been, except in one matter of mere antiquarian curiosity, unaffected by statute. ”