Faversham was an ancient royal demesnes whose origins can be traced back to the 6th century. The place name is said to be derived from faefersham, `the village of the smith', the word coming from the Latin, faber. By the early 9th century, the town was clearly being divided up and in the 10th century Faversham was once again an important royal centre, at which Athelstan held a council in 930. It seems that Faversham was not quite a town at the Norman Conquest, but by 1066AD it had a market worth £4. Once Faversham had received King Stephen's royal abbey in 1147 it became a major town and Cinque Port limb of Dover. (1) TR 0160 6144. Faversham. (2) A charter of Edward I ratifying the customs of Faversham from the time of Edward the Confessor granted between 1042 and 1066. In 1252 Henry II granted by charter his barons of Faversham sake and soke and other privileges. (3) From the mid 16th century onwards, Faversham became an important centre for gunpowder manufacture, in the 17th-18th centuries being owned by the Crown. The industry finally shut down or moved to Ardeer in Scotalnd in 1934, but has left it's mark upon the town in many ways. (4)

<1> AS Towns in S Eng 1984 plan 28-32 (J Haslam) (OS Card Reference). SKE37388.

<2> OS 1:10000 1976 (OS Card Reference). SKE48161.

<3> Beresford, M.W. & Finberg, H.P.R. English Md Boroughs. 1973, 128 (OS Card Reference). SKE37632.

<4> A. Percival, Faversham Society, 2008, Gunpowder industry (Verbal communication). SKE13298.