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Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the
Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...
in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British trackway which was used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, and known as Watling Street. The name is of
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
origin, meaning "the metal-worker's village". There has been a settlement at Faversham since pre-Roman times, next to the ancient sea port on Faversham Creek. It was inhabited by the Saxons and mentioned in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086 as ''Favreshant''. The town was favoured by King Stephen who established Faversham Abbey, which survived until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. Subsequently, the town became an important seaport and established itself as a centre for brewing, and the Shepherd Neame Brewery, founded in 1698, remains a significant major employer. The town was also the centre of the explosives industry between the 17th and early 20th century, before a decline following an accident in 1916 which killed over 100 workers. This coincided with a revival of the shipping industry in the town. Faversham has a number of landmarks, with several historic churches including St Mary of Charity, Faversham Parish Church, the Maison Dieu and Faversham Recreation Ground. Faversham Market has been established for over 900 years and is still based in the town centre. There are good road and rail links, including a
Southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
service to the High Speed 1 line at Ebbsfleet International and London.


Name

The name ''Faversham'', first attested in 811 as ''Fefresham'', derives from
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
. The second element is the Old English word ''hām'' ('settlement'), which is common in place-names. The first element, however, is unique. It has been inferred to derive from an otherwise lost Old English word *''fæfere'' ('smith'), which in turn derived from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''faber'' ('craftsman, smith'). Thus the name once meant 'smith's homestead'. Given its Latin derivation, however, the name may have referred specifically to Roman smiths.


History


Early history

Faversham was established as a settlement before the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
conquest. The Romans established several towns in Kent including Faversham, with traffic through the Saxon Shore ports of Reculver, Richborough, Dover and
Lympne Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Lymp ...
converging on Canterbury before heading up Watling Street to London. The town was less than from Canterbury, and consequently Faversham had become established on this road network by 50 AD following the initial conquest by Claudius in 43 AD. Numerous remains of Roman buildings have been discovered in and around Faversham, including under St Mary of Charity Church where coins and urns were discovered during reconstruction of the western tower in 1794. In 2013, the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman theatre, able to accommodate some 12,000 people, were discovered at a hillside near the town. The cockpit-style outdoor auditorium, the first of its kind found in Britain, was a style the Romans used elsewhere in their empire on the Continent. There is archaeological evidence to suggest that Faversham was a summer capital for the Saxon kings of Kent. It was held in
royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...
demesne in 811, and is further cited in a charter granted by Coenwulf, the King of Mercia. Coenwulf described the town as 'the King's little town of Fefresham', while it was recorded in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as ''Favreshant''. The town had established itself as a seaport by the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, and became part of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports in the 13th century, providing a vessel to Dover. The
Gough Map The Gough Map or Bodleian Map is a Late Medieval map of the island of Great Britain. Its precise dates of production and authorship are unknown. It is named after Richard Gough, who bequeathed the map to the Bodleian Library in 1809. He acqui ...
of Britain, printed in 1360, shows the Swale as an important shipping channel for trade.


Middle Ages

The manor was recorded as ''Terra Regis'', meaning it was part of the ancient royal estates. King Stephen gave it to his chief lieutenant, William of Ypres, but soon made him swap it with Lillechurch (now Higham) so that the manor of Faversham could form part of the endowment of Faversham Abbey. Stephen established the abbey in 1148, and is buried there with his consort Matilda of Boulogne, and his son, Eustace, the Earl of Boulogne. Stephen favoured the town because of the abbey, and so it was historically important during his reign. King John tried to give the church to
Simon of Wells Simon of Wells (died 1207) was a medieval Bishop of Chichester. Life Simon was the son of Robert and was in the household of Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1194.Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 7: Bath and Well ...
in 1201, but it was owned by the monks of St Augustine's Abbey at Canterbury, who appealed to Rome and denied the request. Abbey Street was constructed around this time in order to provide an appropriate approach to the abbey from the town. It still houses timber-framed buildings and has been described as "the finest medieval street in southeast England". Thomas Culpeper was granted Faversham Abbey by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. Most of the abbey was demolished, and the remains of Stephen were rumoured to have been thrown into Faversham Creek. An excavation of the abbey in 1964 uncovered the empty graves. The entrance gates survived the demolition and lasted until the mid-18th century, but otherwise only a small section of outer wall survived. The abbey's masonry was taken to Calais to reinforce defence of the town, then in British possession, against the French army. In 1539, the ground upon which the abbey had stood, along with nearby land, passed to Sir Thomas Cheney, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Among the few surviving buildings of Faversham Abbey are the two barns at Abbey Farm. Minor Barn was built around 1425, its construction was overseen by the Right Honourable George Wall, a member of the notable Wall Family; Major Barn, the larger of the two, dates from 1476. Next to the barns is the Abbey Farmhouse, part of which dates from the 14th century. The Abbey Guest house, on the east side of the Abbey's Outer Gateway, has survived as Arden's House. This house, now a private residence in Abbey Street, was the location of the murder of
Thomas Arden Thomas Arden (1508–1550) was Mayor of Faversham, Kent, England. He was murdered by his wife, Alice, and her lover, Richard Moseby. This would inspire the Elizabethan play, ''Arden of Faversham'', which in turn was the basis of the opera '' Ard ...
in 1551. The Faversham Almshouses were founded and endowed by Thomas Manfield in 1614, with additional houses being built by Henry Wright in 1823. Due to the poor quality of roads in the Middle Ages, travel by sea was an important transport corridor. Richard Tylman (or Tillman), mayor in 1581, expanded the port at Faversham, building two wharfs. He became a key figure in exporting corn, wheat and malt to London from the town. Several notable people in the Middle Ages had origins in Faversham. Haymo of Faversham was born in Faversham and later moved to Paris to join the
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
s, becoming the "Aristotelian of Aristotelians". Simon of Faversham was born in the town around the middle of the 13th century and later became
Chancellor of the University of Oxford This is a list of chancellors of the University of Oxford in England by year of appointment. __TOC__ Chronological list See also * List of vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford * List of University of Oxford people * List of chanc ...
in 1304. The notorious
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
Jack Ward is believed to have been born in Faversham around 1553. John Wilson, lutenist and teacher was born in Faversham in 1595 who was the principal composer for the King's Men and a professor of music at Oxford. There is now a plaque at the site of the house in Abbey Street where he was born.


Explosives industry

A gunpowder plant had been established around 1573 in Faversham. The town had a stream which could be dammed at intervals to provide power for watermills. It became known as the Home Works in the 18th century and was nationalised in 1759. By the 19th century, the site stretched for around a mile along the waterfront. A second explosive works was established at Oare to the northwest of town in the late 17th century, with the Marsh Works following in 1786. Towards the end of the 19th century, two new factories were built alongside the Swale to manage production of TNT and cordite. Faversham developed six explosive factories, and from 1874 to 1919, the town was the centre of the explosives industry in the UK. The first production of guncotton took place in the Marsh Works in 1847. Due to a lack of experience with production methods, an explosion took place soon after work started, with several fatalities. On Sunday 2 April 1916, an explosion occurred at one of the Swale factories in Uplees after sparks from a chimney ignited the works containing around 150 tonnes of high explosives. The incident killed over 100 people, which led to decline of the explosives industry in the town. Later accounts suggested that had the incident not happened on a Sunday, there would have been many more casualties. All three gunpowder factories closed in 1934 due to the impending threat of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Production was moved to Ardeer in Ayrshire, Scotland, and the munition industry around Faversham is now extinct. The town is now a harbour and market community; old sail-powered Thames barges are repaired, rebuilt and moored along the creekside.


Industrial Revolution and beyond

Kent is the centre of hop-growing in England, being centred on nearby Canterbury and Faversham has been the home of several breweries. The Shepherd Neame Brewery was officially founded in 1698, though brewing activities in Faversham pre-date this. The brewery claims to be the oldest in Britain and continues to be family-owned. The Rigden brewery was founded in the early 18th century by Edward Rigden. It subsequently merged with the Canterbury-based George Beer in 1922 to become George Beer & Rigden before being purchased by the Maidstone based Fremlin's. Whitbread bought out Fremlin's in 1967, and closed the Faversham brewery in 1990. The site is now a Tesco superstore. Shepherd Neame remains a significant regional brewer despite a decline in consumption of traditional bitter beer, producing around 230,000 barrels a year. It now also makes India Pale Ale under licence. Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Neame, recipient of the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...
, was born in Faversham and a memorial to him was placed in the town centre in 2014. A shipyard was established in Faversham by James Pollock & Sons (Shipbuilders) in 1916 at the request of Lord Fisher, the First Lord of The Admiralty, for manufacturing
barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...
s for landing craft. Faversham already had a tradition of shipbuilding, and it soon became a major contributor to markets throughout the world, producing vessels such as the Molliette and the Violette, both constructed of concrete. Over 1200 ships were built and launched from Faversham between 1916 and 1969. Faversham Market is still held in the town centre. It is now the oldest street market in Kent, dating back over 900 years. Monthly markets are also held in Preston Street and Court Street. Having been an important thoroughfare since the 12th century, Abbey Street went into decline around the start of the 20th. Some buildings on the street adjoining Quay Lane were demolished in 1892 and much of the entire street was intended for demolition as recently as the 1950s, until intervention from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Local people began a determined fight to restore and preserve the area.


Archaeology

In May 2019, the Kent Archaeological Field School uncovered a 150 ft-long by 50 ft-wide Roman building at Abbey Farm. According to Dr Paul Wilkinson, the building contained broken stone walls covering huge amounts of box flue tiles, which were used to direct hot air up the indoor walls, glazed
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...
floors, an untouched underfloor with
hypocaust A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...
heating, and tons of ceramic roof tiles. Although the plaster painted from these walls was mostly white, plaster walls coloured with green, red and yellow panels were found in the hot sauna room on the north side of the building. In 2009 Faversham Community Archaeology Research Group uncovered evidence of the town's medieval tannery in the back gardens of Tanner Street. Evidence of Anglo-Saxon occupation was discovered during the Hunt the Saxons project between 2005 and 2007 and a high-status rubbish pit excavated in the "Searching for the Kings Manor" project in 2017-2019.


Government

A charter was granted to the
Mayor of Faversham The following were among the mayors of Faversham, Kent, England: Pre 21st Century *1438 Simonis Orwell *1465 Willelmus Norton *1480 Edward Thomasson hompson*1535 Richard Colwell *1550: Thomas Arden, who was murdered by his wife, Alice Arden ...
, Jurats and Freemen of the Town of Faversham in 1546, and regranted 1685; the town council was established under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The parliamentary constituency of Faversham was created for the 1885 general election and replaced by the new constituencies of Sittingbourne and Sheppey and Faversham and Mid Kent at the 1997 general election. The town has been represented by a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
from the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
other than between 1945 and 1970. Since 2015, the constituency's MP has been Conservative
Helen Whately Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (''née'' Lightwood; born 23 June 1976) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Social Care since October 2022, and previously from 2020 to 2021. She also served as Exchequer Secretary to the Trea ...
. Faversham is within the Swale local government district. The town contains the four electoral wards of Abbey, Davington Priory, St Ann's and Watling. Faversham was a large ancient parish, which included rural areas and surrounding villages. It became a civil parish in 1866, but in 1894 was divided into Faversham Within and Faversham Without. In 1935 the civil parish of Faversham was recreated and absorbed the civil parishes of Faversham Within, Davington, Preston Within, North Preston Without and South Preston Without, and parts of the civil parishes of Faversham Without, Luddenham and
Ospringe Ospringe is a village and area of Faversham in the English county of Kent. It is also the name of a civil parish, which since 1935 has not included the village of Ospringe. The village lies on the Roman road Watling Street (nowadays the A2 r ...
(including the village of Ospringe). The Arms of Faversham Town Council, which holds its meetings at Faversham Guildhall, is based on the Royal Arms of England, alluding to the town's regal history.


Geography

Faversham is roughly equidistant between Sittingbourne and
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
. It lies south east of London, east of Maidstone, and north from
Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom *Ashford, Kent, a town **B ...
. Nearby villages include Oare across Oare Creek to the north, Luddenham, Mockbeggar and
Ospringe Ospringe is a village and area of Faversham in the English county of Kent. It is also the name of a civil parish, which since 1935 has not included the village of Ospringe. The village lies on the Roman road Watling Street (nowadays the A2 r ...
. Geographically, Faversham sits at a boundary between marshland to the north and a mixture of brick earth, gravel and chalk to the south which leads into the
North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills ...
. Faversham Creek connects the town to the Swale that separates mainland Kent from the
Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...
. The surrounding area is part of the South Swale Nature Reserve, popular with wildfowl and wading birds. The coastline around Faversham is a by-product of the changes to sea level around Britain since the end of the last ice age. During
Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
and into the first millennium, the Faversham coast was a large
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
with Oare and Graveney being peninsulas. Land reclamation during the Middle Ages, which closed the River Wantsum and connected the Isle of Thanet to mainland Kent, resulted in less tidal waters reaching Faversham. This led to the gradual silting up of estuaries; Faversham Creek and its tributaries have been reduced from to . To stop the creek silting up completely and making navigation impossible, a number of sluices have been installed since the 16th century. Faversham formerly held the weather record for the highest ever UK temperature (in 2003) at . This was the first time the recorded temperature had ever exceeded reliably in the UK. This record had stood for nearly 16 years, but was beaten by 0.2 °C (0.4 °F) with a temperature of recorded in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden on 25 July 2019. Faversham still holds the record for the highest maximum temperature in the UK for August with the previous record in 2003. The absolute minimum temperature of was set in January 1966. At the 2011 UK census, Faversham had a population of 19,316, an increase of 1,606 from the 2001 census. The population figures were split into Abbey (6,084), Davington Priory (2,593), St Ann's (5,268) and Watling (5,371). 9,770 people were employed within the town, split into retail (1,416), education (1,239), health and social work (1,200), construction (836) and manufacturing (692). 17,868 of the town's residents were born in England.


Culture

'' Arden of Feversham'' is a play about the murder of Thomas Arden written around 1590, possibly by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
or Canterbury-born Christopher Marlowe. It gives its name to the modern Arden Theatre in the town, Local theatre groups perform in the theatre as part of the
Canterbury Festival The Canterbury Festival is Kent's international festival of the arts. It takes place in Canterbury (England) and surrounding towns and villages (including Faversham, Whitstable and Margate) each October/November and includes performances of a vari ...
each autumn. The Royal Cinema is based near the town square. It opened in 1936 and is now Grade II listed. It is one of only two
mock Tudor Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
cinemas to survive in the UK. The Faversham Society was established in 1962, and is one of the oldest civic societies in the UK. It owns and manages the Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre as its headquarters. The Centre hosts a large museum depicting the town's history and culture and hosts the town's Visitor Information Centre, including a bookshop. The Maison Dieu ('House of God'), located on the A2 to the southwest of the town centre, is a hospital, monastery, hostel, retirement home and Royal lodge commissioned by Henry III in 1234 and now in the care of
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
. It is now managed by the Maison Dieu Trust and closely associated to the Faversham Society as a museum of
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
artefacts from the surrounding area.
Davington Priory Davington Priory was a priory on the north Kent coast of England. It sits on Davington Hill, now a northern suburb of Faversham but then an isolated rural location. History A Benedictine nunnery was built at Davington in 1153. It managed to av ...
lies to the northwest of the town centre and was founded in the mid 12th century. It is currently owned and occupied by musician and activist Bob Geldof. Brogdale Farm, to the south of the town centre, has hosted the DEFRA National Fruit Collection since 1954. It has over 2,040 varieties of apple, 502 of pear, 350 of plum, 322 of cherry and smaller collections of bush fruits, nuts and grapes, all grown in of orchards. The farm hosts a number of fruit festivals throughout the year, guided tours and activities for schools. It also hosts the 9-inch Faversham miniature railway which runs through the orchards. In 2011 it was discovered that the town owns an original version of Magna Carta, potentially worth about £20m, rather than a copy worth only £10,000. In 2015, the copy went on display to the public at the town's Alexander Centre – the first time it had been on display for 715 years. The 2021 Tamil Film ''
Jagame Thandhiram ''Jagame Thandhiram'' () is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by YNOT Studios and Reliance Entertainment. The film stars Dhanush, James Cosmo, Joju George, Aishwarya Lekshmi a ...
'' starring Dhanush was partly filmed in Faversham, including the Iron Wharf.


Community facilities

Faversham Recreation Ground (locally known as Faversham Rec, or simply The Rec) is to the east of the town centre. It was established in 1860 by a local solicitor, Henry Wreight, who bequeathed his £70,000 estate, including two almshouses housing 70 people, to the town in order that locals would have an area to enjoy. The rec has been preserved and is now run by the town's Municipal Charities. A bandstand was added towards the end of the 19th century, and sporting events began to be held on the rec. A week-long party was held to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, which drew praise from Princess Andrei of Russia, then living near Faversham. A 50-year extension on the lease, signed in 2010, confirmed its continued use by the public. The Oare Gunpowder Works, scene of the 1916 explosion, is now a country park and nature reserve open to the public free of charge. The Oare Marshes are an important reserve for birds. There is an information centre near the site of the former Harty ferry over the Swale to the
Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...
. Remains of the process houses and other mill leats have been conserved, and various trails are signposted. An early 20th century electric-powered gunpowder mill which was transferred to Ardeer in 1934 has been repatriated to the country park and is on display. The 18th-century works bell has also been repatriated and is on display at Faversham's Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre. Stonebridge Pond, on the site of the original Chart Mills, was donated to Swale Borough Council in the early 1980s. It is now a haven for wading birds.


Landmarks

Faversham Stone Chapel (in
Norton, Buckland and Stone Norton, Buckland and Stone is a small rural civil parish east of Teynham and west of the centre of Faversham in the borough of Swale, Kent, England. It is bypassed by the M2 to the south and traverses the historic A2, on the route of the R ...
) is the remains of the Church of Our Lady of Elwarton, an ancient monument managed by The Faversham Society. It was originally used for pagan rituals in pre-Roman Britain, and is the only remaining evidence in Britain of a church incorporating a pagan shrine. The building was converted into a church around AD601 when
Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...
encouraged pagan buildings to be converted rather than destroyed. The church has not seen service since the 16th century and was reported as "being in a state of disrepair" and unused since the Reformation. Although Faversham Abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII the nearby St Mary of Charity, Faversham Parish Church remains, and has been a Grade I listed building since 1950. The church was established in 1147 by King Stephen and Queen Matilda, with a distinctive spire added around 1794 – 97 that can be easily seen from many places around the town. The interior was
restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...
in the mid-19th century by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, who redesigned the nave and transepts and added a stone encasing to the spire. The church reputedly contains the remains of King Stephen, which were recovered from Faversham Creek after the dissolution of the abbey. The church holds an altar dedicated to Saints
Crispin and Crispinian Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of cobblers, curriers, tanners, and leather workers. They were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October 285 or 286. History Born ...
, who reportedly fled to Faversham in the 3rd century. St Catherine's Church dates from the Norman period and was extensively
restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...
in the 1860s. The nearby Ospringe Church, to the southwest of town, dates from Norman Britain, aside from a replacement tower built in 1866. The National Shrine of Saint Jude is a Roman Catholic shrine in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It was established in 1955 and regularly attracts Catholic pilgrims. The Grade II listed St John the Evangelist church on Upper Brents was built in 1881 by Kirk and Son of Sleaford, It was founded by Mrs Hall of Syndale House, Faversham, the widow of a gunpowder manufacturer. The historic central area, especially the part-pedestrian parts between the station and the creek, attracts visitors, who can learn about the town's history and features at the Fleur-de-Lis centre, which provides tourist information and houses a museum. There is still a regular market several days each week in the market square where the Guildhall stands. Nearby streets feature old pubs, almshouses, shops and a growing collection of art galleries and restaurants. Faversham Cottage Hospital opened in 1887. It was extended in 1922 and included a
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
memorial, which was unveiled by Vice Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas. The memorial was later adapted to commemorate
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
casualties. In 2014, the memorial became Grade II listed. Faversham Cemetery opened in 1898. The chapel was designed by Edwin Pover. 73 victims of the 1916 gunpowder explosion are buried in the cemetery, where they are commemorated by the Grade II* listed Faversham Munitions Explosion Memorial. Also interred at the cemetery is the Irish novelist Kate O'Brien.


Transport

Faversham is close to the A2 road, a historically important route from London to Canterbury and the Channel ports. The route began as an ancient trackway which the Romans later paved and marked as ' (Second Route) on the Antonine Itinerary. The Anglo-Saxons named it ''Wæcelinga Stræt'' ( Watling Street) and it was marked as such by Matthew Paris in his ''Schema Britannie'' in 1250. The road continued to be an important thoroughfare, and is shown next to Faversham on Philip Symonson's map of Kent published in 1596. The A2 road still carries traffic between Sittingbourne and Canterbury, though London bound traffic now takes the M2 motorway. The A299 Thanet Way provides access to the Isle of Thanet and the A251 Ashford Road is a local road to
Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom *Ashford, Kent, a town **B ...
. The Mall is one of the main roads to the town centre from the A2. It was built in the late 18th century as a dignified approach road, and attracted development of villas along its length. Faversham railway station opened in 1858. It was completely rebuilt in 1898 and is listed Grade II. A former goods shed built as part of the original railway works is also Grade II listed.
Southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
services travel to London, terminating at either Victoria or St Pancras. In the other direction, trains travel either to Dover Priory (via Canterbury East) or to Ramsgate (via Margate). Since 2009 services via High Speed 1 services have linked Faversham to Ebbsfleet International,
Stratford International Stratford International is a National Rail station in Stratford and a separate Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station nearby, located in East Village in London. Despite its name, no international services stop at the station; plans for it to ...
and London St Pancras. The town is served by a number of buses. Arriva Southern Counties runs service 333 to Sittingbourne and
Stagecoach in East Kent Stagecoach South East is the trading name of East Kent Road Car Company Limited, a bus operator based in Canterbury providing services in Kent and East Sussex in the south east of England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group. History Stage ...
operates routes 3,3X,3A,3B to
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
, and route 666 to
Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom *Ashford, Kent, a town **B ...
. Regent also runs service 638 to Whitstable and 660 to Stalisfield Green and Graveney. National Cycle Route 1 passes through the town, en route from Whitstable to Sittingbourne. Swale Borough Council have expressed concern over the lack of bus and cycle facilities in the town, when compared to road and rail, and there is a particular lack of public transport to nearby rural areas.


Education

There has been a school in Faversham since the twelfth century. Archival evidence has shown this had become a
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
by 1420. In 1526, John Cole, chaplain to Henry VII and Henry VIII and Warden of All Souls College, Oxford, established a new grammar school on the estate of Ewell Farm. The property fell into disuse after the dissolution of the abbey, and a replacement grammar school was not established until 1587. The Wreights School, a commercial school, was founded in 1856, while a corresponding girls' school, The Gibbs School was established in 1883. The two boys' schools were amalgamated in 1920, forming Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School. The current school dates from 1967, when the boys and girls schools were merged, forming the first co-educational grammar school in Kent. The Abbey School is a Business and Enterprise Academy formed in September 1983 by the amalgamation of the Ethelbert Road Boys School and Lady Capel School for Girls. It has over 1000 pupils and is located in the south of the town, beside the A2 London Road.


Sport

Faversham Town F.C. Faversham Town Football Club is a football club based in Faversham, Kent, England. Nicknamed the 'Lilywhites' due to their white strip, they are currently members of the and play at Salters Lane. History The club was established in 1884 and w ...
were formed in 1884 and compete in Division One South of the Isthmian League. They have a 2000-capacity stadium to the south of the town and are the only team besides the England national football team to wear the 3 lions badge. The King George V playing fields are all that remain of the Mount Field, which in 1876 hosted a first-class match between Kent and Hampshire County Cricket Club.


Cultural references

Author Russell Hoban repurposes Faversham as "Fathers Ham" in his 1980, post apocalyptic novel '' Riddley Walker''.


See also

* Buckland-by-Faversham, a parish to the south-west of Faversham. * Hazebrouck, a French town twinned with Faversham.


References

Citations Sources * * * * * * *


Further reading

*''The Great Explosion at Faversham'' by Arthur Percival :*Also reprinted in *''The Faversham Gunpowder Industry and its Development'', by Arthur Percival (Faversham Papers No 4) *''Oare Gunpowder Works'', by Wayne Cocroft (Faversham Papers No 39) *''Gunpowder Manufacture at Faversham: Oare and Marsh Factories'', by Edward Patterson (Faversham Papers No 42) *''Faversham Gunpowder Personnel Register 1573–1840'', by Raymond Godfrey & Arthur Percival (Faversham Papers No 84) *''Faversham Explosives Personnel Register 1841–1934'', by John Breeze (2008)


External links

*
Faversham Town Council websiteThe Faversham WebsiteThe Faversham Society
Civic Society website with information about the Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre, Chart Gunpowder Mill and Maison Dieu

{{Authority control Cinque ports Borough of Swale Market towns in Kent Towns in Kent Civil parishes in Kent