Faversham, United Kingdom

There is archaeological evidence to suggest that Faversham was a summer capital for the kings of Kent. The King's Field Treasure indicates that a significant burial site was located in the south-west of the town during the late sixth and early seventh centuries. The cemetery was located roughly between Stone Street to the north, London Road to the south, the Mall to the east and St Ann's Road and Upper St Ann's Road to the west. The site was uncovered during the construction of the Chatham–Dover railway line in 1858. Artefacts from King's Field are now dispersed among several collections, notably the British Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford alongside other British collections. Excavations beneath the Market Inn in 2018–19 unearthed a probable sunken-featured building (SFB), which provides evidence for contemporaneous settlement to the east of the King's Field burial site. This is the first secure archaeological evidence of early medieval settlement in Faversham.

The presence of Frankish pottery at the Market Inn settlement, together with Frankish-style grave goods at King's Field, suggests close connections between early medieval Faversham and the broader Merovingian world. The marriage of Æthelberht of Kent to the Frankish princess Bertha of Kent (great-granddaughter of Clovis I) provides a broader historical context for the close ties between the early medieval Kingdom of Kent and Francia, though the exact nature of this relationship is debated. Faversham was held in royal demesne in 811, and is further cited in a charter granted by Coenwulf, the King of Mercia. Coenwulf described the town as 'the King's little town of Fefresham', while it was recorded in the Domesday Book as Favreshant. The town had established itself as a seaport by the Middle Ages, and became part of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports in the 13th century, providing a vessel to Dover. The Gough Map of Britain, printed in 1360, shows the Swale as an important shipping channel for trade.

The manor was recorded as Terra Regis, meaning it was part of the ancient royal estates. King Stephen gave it to his chief lieutenant, William of Ypres, but soon made him swap it with Lillechurch (now Higham) so that the manor of Faversham could form part of the endowment of Faversham Abbey. Stephen established the abbey in 1148, and is buried there with his consort Matilda of Boulogne, and his son, Eustace, the Count of Boulogne. Stephen favoured the town because of the abbey, and so it was historically important during his reign. King John tried to give the church to Simon of Wells in 1201, but it was owned by the monks of St Augustine's Abbey at Canterbury, who appealed to Rome and the request was denied. Abbey Street was constructed about this time in order to provide an appropriate approach to the abbey from the town. It still houses timber-framed buildings and has been described as "the finest medieval street in south-east England".

Thomas Culpeper was granted Faversham Abbey by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. Most of the abbey was demolished, and the remains of Stephen were rumoured to have been thrown into Faversham Creek. An excavation of the abbey in 1964 uncovered the empty graves. The entrance gates survived the demolition and lasted until the mid-18th century, but otherwise only a small section of outer wall survived. The abbey's masonry was taken to Calais to reinforce defence of the town, then in British possession, against the French army. In 1539, the ground upon which the abbey had stood, along with nearby land, passed to Sir Thomas Cheney, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Among the few surviving buildings of Faversham Abbey are the two barns at Abbey Farm. Minor Barn was built about 1425; Major Barn, the larger of the two, dates from 1476. Next to the barns is the Abbey Farmhouse, part of which dates from the 14th century. The Abbey Guest house, on the east side of the Abbey's Outer Gateway, has survived as Arden's House. This house, now a private residence in Abbey Street, was the location of the murder of Thomas Arden in 1551. The Faversham Almshouses were founded and endowed by Thomas Manfield in 1614, with additional houses built by Henry Wright in 1823.

The poor quality of roads in the Middle Ages meant travel by sea was an important transport corridor. Richard Tylman (or Tillman), mayor in 1581, expanded the port at Faversham, building two wharfs. He became a key figure in exporting corn, wheat and malt to London from the town.