About The Purifier Building

This 19th century brick building was part of the town Gas Works, and had various uses including metering the gas when it came out of the ‘purifiers’ on the adjacent wharf. Part of the pipework can still be seen in the tiled floor in the Arthur Percival Room, at the southern end of the building.

The building was in a dreadful state of decay after many decades of neglect when the Trust took it on, at a peppercorn rent, from the then-owners, the Co-op. With the help of many volunteers, many loads of pigeon droppings were removed, the roofs restored, and it was all brought back into use. The eastern wing is now used by a block-maker, and the main arm of the building houses the workshop of a boat-builder, the Shipwrights’ Hall, and the Arthur Percival Room. That was named in honour of the late founder of the Faversham Society who was so instrumental in recording the unique history of the creek and the town, and alerting the community to the architectural and maritime treasures it possesses. His history of the creek can be found here…