Catriona, the parish administrator and my helpful guide, stands under the spire and gives a sense of scale.
Towards Goodnestone and Graveney. The Queen Elizabeth Grammar School is on the left.
Faversham Abbey was founded in 1148 by King Stephen and Queen Matilda. The site was north east of the town and is now the the playing fields of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School. The abbey was dissolved and demolished in 1538 by King Henry VIII. However, you can still see the outer gateway, part of the Abbey guest house, now known as Arden's House. This house was the location of the infamous murder of Thomas Arden in 1551, as told in the play Arden of Faversham.
The historic buildings of Abbey Street and Luddenham in the distance. Built in the 12th century as a fitting approach to the Abbey, it had survived Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries but was almost demolished in the 1950s as it had fallen into decline and its buildings (all timber framed) were thought to be lacking in modern amenities. Thankfully the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings was created to save the street and its buildings, the carriageway was narrowed and the street was planted with trees.
Looking along Church Street to the Creek Creative Art & Design Studios, housed in what was the bottling plant of Rigden’s Brewery. The brewery’s main building and its chimney stack can be seen on the left. A tunnel connects the two buildings underneath the street and was used to transport the bottles from one site to another. Beyond that is Davington Hill and Priory.
A sign of times past, when Faversham had a pub on just about every corner. The George was situated on The Mall, just the other side of the railway line.
Towards the town centre, you can see the octagonal cupola of Faversham’s Guildhall, another iconic building and focal point. Town council meetings are held here but it was originally built by the people of the community and surrounding parishes as a market hall. It has an open ground-floor arcade which has sheltered market traders and customers, since 1574.
The roofs and red brick of Rigden’s Brewery, which was founded in the early 1700s by Edward Rigden. In 1922 it merged with George Beer of Canterbury and was then acquired by Fremlins in 1948 until it came under the control of Whitbread in 1968. The Brewery closed in 1990 and today the building is in use as a restaurant and supermarket.
Looking towards the railway station. I've applied a tilt-shift effect to this panorama. I like the way this focuses the eye and draws you in to look at the detail.