Domesday Book›Kent›Faversham
Kent · Local History

The History of Faversham

A place in Kent with a history you can trace through the records: its entry in the 1086 Domesday Book, the archaeological finds and scheduled monuments around it, and the nearest Roman sites and battlefields. Everything below is drawn from the historical record.

In 1086, Faversham was held by King William.

The record

What the Domesday Book records for Faversham

When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Faversham in 1086, they recorded a manor held by King William. Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, it was held by King Edward.

The settlement was assessed at 7 hides for tax. There was land for 17 ploughs, with 26 plough teams at work (2 in the lord's demesne and 24 held by the villagers). The recorded population was 75 heads of household: 30 villagers, 40 smallholders and 5 slaves. These are heads of household, so the settlement's true population was several times larger. Its recorded resources included meadow (2 acres), woodland (100 swine render) and 1 mill. The manor was valued at 80 pounds in 1086, up from 59.75 pounds in 1066.

The record in full
Held in 1086 by
King William
Held in 1066 by
King Edward
Value in 1086
80 pounds (59.75 pounds in 1066)
Taxable assessment
7 hides
Ploughland
land for 17 ploughs
Ploughs at work
26
Recorded population
30 villagers, 40 smallholders, 5 slaves
Meadow
2 acres
Woodland
100 swine render
Mills
1

The Domesday Book was the great survey of England ordered by William the Conqueror in 1085 and completed in 1086, the oldest surviving public record in the country. How the survey worked →

Faversham was one of the settlements recorded in Kent in the 1086 survey. Kent in the Domesday survey →

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Faversham

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Faversham's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Explore further

Villages near Faversham

Perry
~0.6 miles
Ospringe
~0.9 miles
Preston
~0.9 miles
Oare
~1.4 miles
Macknade
~1.4 miles
Luddenham
~1.8 miles
other Buckland
~2.5 miles
Graveney
~2.6 miles
Boughton
~2.6 miles
Harty
~3.1 miles
Historical context

Notable places nearby

Canterbury
Roman town · ~8.5 miles
Rochester
Roman town · ~17.5 miles
Protected heritage

Scheduled monuments near Faversham

The site of St Saviour's Abbey, including the remains of an Iron Age farmstead and Faversham Roman villa
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
Chart gunpowder mills
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 miles
The Maison Dieu, a late C15 to early C16 building incorporating part of a medieval hospital
Scheduled monument · ~0.9 miles
Oare gunpowder works
Scheduled monument · ~1 miles
A Romano-British mausoleum, an associated Romano-British building and a parish church at Stone-by-Faversham
Scheduled monument · ~1.5 miles
Archaeology

Archaeological finds near Faversham

176 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Faversham, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:

Roman: 56Post medieval: 55Medieval: 35Early medieval: 9Iron age: 8Mesolithic: 4Bronze age: 3Neolithic: 3
Landscape

The ground beneath Faversham

The bedrock beneath Faversham is White Chalk Subgroup (Maastrichtian).

Common questions

Questions about Faversham

Was Faversham in the Domesday Book?+
Yes. Faversham was recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as a settlement in the historic county of Kent.
Who held Faversham in 1086?+
In 1086, Faversham was held by King William.
Who held Faversham before the Norman Conquest?+
Before the Conquest in 1066, Faversham was held by King Edward.
What was Faversham worth in the Domesday Book?+
In 1086, Faversham was valued at 80 pounds. The 1066 value was 59.75 pounds, showing a rise.
How many people lived in Faversham in 1086?+
The 1086 survey recorded 75 people in Faversham: 30 villagers, 40 smallholders and 5 slaves.
What land did Faversham have in 1086?+
The Domesday Book records Faversham as having land for 17 ploughs, 2 acres of meadow, 100 swine render of woodland.
Where is Faversham today?+
Faversham is a settlement in the historic county of Kent, England.
Aubrey Research

Discover Faversham's Complete Historical Record

Aubrey's full report for this location includes every Domesday manor, the complete record of medieval lordship, archaeological context, and the story of how this settlement evolved from 1086 to the present day.

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