“A wealth of secrets in these timbered streets.”
The ancient waterside towns of Faversham and Sandwich in Kent have links with royalty, invaders and settlers.
“AS THE TIDE edges higher in Faversham Creek, a little egret probes the mud for invertebrates, and cattle graze the banks. Among the yachts lining the quayside are old Thames barges, their red sails furled around towering masts, while the church spire stands sentinel over the town behind. The landscape here is flat and stark, but atmospheric, particularly now in winter, when the few trees are silhouetted against big skies of scudding clouds. Although the Romans settled in the vicinity following the invasion of Britain in AD43, the town of ‘Fefresham’ gets its first mention in a 9th century charter as ‘the king’s little town’. But it was from the 1400s to the turn of the 20th century that the market town of Faversham in Kent flourished, owing its prosperity to the creek and the industry that it spawned.”
On a sunny day back in August, Faversham Town Guide, Antony Millet of The Faversham Society, took a socially distanced walk around the town with journalist Caroline Rees from The Landscape Magazine. During her trip to Kent, Caroline also visited the nearby medieval town of Sandwich and you can read her fascinating article (published in the January 2021 edition of The Landscape Magazine) on these two market towns in Kent.
Photography: Alamy; Caroline Rees; Geograph; istock; Shutterstock Illustration: Steven Hall.
If you are a journalist, blogger or photographer who has been inspired by this article to write your own stories and capture your own images of Faversham and share future ‘in print’ articles with us on our website, then do get in touch. As a destination where support and help is available to journalists looking to develop stories we will be happy to help you - please get in touch via email:
claire.windridge@favershamtowncouncil.gov.uk or tourismsupport@swale.gov.uk.
