The Cinque Port of Brightlingsea had another fantastic Blessing of the Waters on Sunday 15^th June 2025. It is an historic & hugely enjoyable custom!

At 11.15am the C17 Brewers Arms kindly opened up as the Reception for the event as mayors & other dignitaries began to arrive, welcomed by  the Cinque Port Deputy’s red robed Assistants & Black robed officers, & the Cinque Port Deputy & Lady Deputy Iain Werngren & Oonagh Werngren MBE & Town Mayor Cllr Chis Paveley. At Noon the Town Crier rang his bell & called on the Procession to assemble, & declaring Brightlingsea’s Blessing of the Waters to be “an ancient tradition of Beating the Bounds on land & water”.

The Procession of over 80 people was appropriately led by the Colchester Waits with the Curate, the Waits in Medieval dress play medieval instruments & were traditional accompanists to civic processions. The dignitaries included the Bishop of Colchester, Lord Lieutenant of Essex, the High Sheriff of Essex, Vice Chair of ECC, Cinque Port Mayors of, our Head Port of Sandwich,  Hythe, Margate, Faversham & Deputy Mayor of Fordwich, the coastal Essex Mayoral group included Deputy Mayor of Colchester, Mayors of Harwich, Maldon, Wivenhoe & West Mersea, plus other councillors.

As the Procession entered the Harbour precincts at the Brightlingsea’s Cinque Port Wreck-house it was met by the Chair of Harbour Commissioners Andrew Scott & the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports’ Droit-gatherer Roger Tabor, who escorted it onto the Hard. Brightlingsea Vicar Rev Caroline Beckett led the service. The Bishop Blessed the Water first in a brass bowl, then used that water to bless the boats on the Hard.  The dignitaries & others made their way onto the official boats, which this year were Smacks Pioneer CK18, Maria CK21, ADC CK431, & Bawley Blackbird, plus Working Boats Barge Sietske, Plausible, Trinity, Pep, Harbour Ferry, launch Trilogy, Yacht Capella, 2 RHIBs. The flotilla was accompanied by numerous other craft, including Triton, Gigs, Essex Marine Police, yachts, cruisers, dinghies.

They left the Hard to the sound of the “Din”. The flotilla gathered around Pioneer when she hove to off Bateman’s Tower. The Bishop laid the Willow Cross, then the Deputy made his “Challenge” which was followed by the toast of “Gang-ho”. According to the Liberty’s Historian in 1542 the then Cinque Port Deputy left provision in his will for the “drynkyng” at Brightlingsea’s Beating of the Bounds, today the current Deputy kindly furnishes it.