Faversham

Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British trackway now known as Watling Street, which was used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons.

There has been a settlement at Faversham since pre-Roman times, next to the ancient sea port on Faversham Creek. The Roman name was Durolevum. The modern name is of Old English origin, probably meaning "the metal-worker's village". It was inhabited by the Jutes and mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Favreshant. The town was favoured by King Stephen who established Faversham Abbey, which survived until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. Subsequently, the town became an important seaport and established itself as a centre for brewing, and the Shepherd Neame Brewery, founded in 1698, remains a significant major employer.