New stone compass rose in Sandwich to commemorate the Cinque Ports

Carrie Horwood from Cat's Eye Carving

A new stone compass rose has been installed on Sandwich Quay thanks to £10,000 of government funding. 

The compass commemorates the five Cinque Ports, which for hundreds of years provided ships and sailors to defend England’s coast against invaders. 

Sandwich and Dover were two of these major ports, alongside Hythe, New Romney and Hastings. 

The compass has been created to help educate people about the role they played and their importance in keeping Britain safe. An information board will sit alongside it. 

The sculpture, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, was made by local sculptor Carrie Horwood at Cat’s Eye Carving, who has also created a grotesque for the Maison Dieu. 

She has carved arrows and distances to the other four Cinque Ports and the design has been finished with edging to match the new Guildhall forecourt.  

The compass, which was the idea of local business owner John van der Dol, will be officially launched next month and will be maintained by Sandwich Town Council. 

Christopher Townend, DDC’s Head of Place and Growth, said: “We’re delighted to include this new sculpture as another part of Sandwich’s heritage and tourism offering. 

“We welcome thousands of visitors to Sandwich each year, many of whom have a keen interest in its history. They can now find out more about the important role it played as one of the five Cinque Ports.”