We can think of Faversham as the Northern Gateway to the Cinque Ports: Arthur Percival writes – “without its port Faversham would never have emerged as a town.”
In the late 1500’s the City of London imported more wheat from Faversham than from any other port. By the 1680’s the Creek was second only to Newcastle-upon-Tyne for the export of wool. Unlike some other members of the Cinque Ports confederation, Faversham remained open to waterborne traffic. In the 1890’s the basin at the head of the creek was occupied by a shipwright and block and mast-maker.
In our Purifier building the Creek Trust houses the building of wooden boats and a traditional block maker. In the following pages we describe some of the boats built in our Shipwright’s Hall, the skills and trades involved, and we take a look some historic sites that line the creek.
Boats
Boatbuilding