“From the source of the Westbrook to the Sea”

16th to 19th September in St Mary of Charity

An interactive exhibition celebrating the contemporary, cultural, built, industrial and natural heritage of our waterway.

Our Creek and the chalk streams that run through the town define its topography and account for the ancient settlements which grew into Faversham. The route of the Westbrook from Painters Forstal to Stonebridge Pond, Faversham Creek to The Swale will be displayed in maps down the central aisle of the church.

As Dr Pat Reid reminded us back in 2012, the “Westbrook stream, small but powerful and fed from reliable chalk springs, has long been seen by historians as being by far the most important factor in the development of Faversham.” Matthew Hatchwell points out that “the Westbrook and Cooksditch are just two of the dozen or more streams that flow from the underground chalk of the North Kent Downs into this section of the Thames Estuary.” Chalk streams are globally rare “they are frequently referred to as England’s equivalent of tropical rainforests.”

All those with an interest in the waterway that runs through the heart of Faversham are invited to join by exhibiting alongside the maps in a celebration of “the contemporary, cultural, built, industrial and natural heritage of our waterway.”

Download poster