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Faversham, this bustling market town, on the banks of a navigable creek, and titled ‘The King’s Port’, provided the Royal Navy with both ships and gunpowder for Trafalgar.
Partridge Lane leads to Faversham Creek, a tidal inlet beside which the town developed. In Roman times there was a big, sheltered harbour between here and the sea, 3 km away. Cinque PortBy the 13th Century the town had joined the Confederation of Cinque Ports, formed to provide England with a navy when invasion threatened. In the 16th Century the Creek was deepened so that sea-going vessels could reach the town centre. Trade thrived with ports like Calais (part of England till 1558), Dunkirk, Ostend, Flushing and Brielle.
By the early 20th Century the Creek was teeming with coastal sailing barges. Some can still be seen at Standard Quay. No longer a commercial port, Faversham now welcomes leisure vessels.
A communal warehouse built alongside the creek c 1450 serves as Sea Cadet HQ and is named ‘Hazard’ after the ship the town supplied to fight the Spanish Armada in 1588. |
