MARKET INN Faversham

DOVER KENT ARCHIVES

Sort file:- Faversham, September, 2025.

Page Updated:- Tuesday, 23 September, 2025.

PUB LIST

PUBLIC HOUSES

Paul Skelton

Earliest 1864+

Market Inn

Open 2020+

43 East Street

Faversham

01795 532529

http://www.marketinnfaversham.co.uk/

https://whatpub.com/market-inn

Above photo circa 1940.

Above photo, circa 1980.

Above photo 2009 by David Anstiss Creative Commons Licence.

Above sign left, 1998, sign right, 2010.

With thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com.

Above sign 2024.

Above photo by Mike Gates, 1953, showing the Sentinals Annual dinner and possibly celebrating the Queen's Coronation.

Shown in the photo are Don Hogben, Nigel Harrison, Pam Curtis, Derek Seager, Stan Downey, Joan Bloom and "Scruffy" Wetherall.

Above photo, showing the Sentinals team from mid 1950s, who won the Canterbury Challenge trophy, afyter playing in the Canterbury league. Their home ground was the rec based at the Market Inn.

L to R:- Joan Dalton (club secretary), Phil Dalton, unknown, Bob Vidler, Erikc Bland (GK), John Hills, Stan Keen, Bill Rogers, Johnny Johnson (Captain holding shield) Barry Grant, ???? Gates, Keith Longley and Stan Downey.

Above photo showing the Carnival 1970s.

Above photo, 1984 showing the Bat and Trap A team winners, people as yet unknown. 5th from left behind man with trophy is licensee Frank Sandford.

The pub, not being in the main Market Place, was actually named after the Victorian Cattle Market which used to be held nearby after the town expanded in the 1860s after the railway arrived.

To date, (2013) the pub still has separate bars for saloon and public, but has been altered several times since its opening, and now boasts an extension where live music is played.

I am told that the beer garden is the biggest for a pub in Faversham and houses no less than two bat and trap pitches.

From the South Eastern Gazette, Tuesday 19 April, 1864.

FAVERSHAM. NEW INN.

Tenders for the new "Market Inn" which is to be built in this town for Messrs. Shepherd and Mares have been received, and of the seven sent, that of Mr. S. Shrubsole, for £797, was accepted.

East Kent Gazette, Saturday 20 April 1867.

Time required for payment.

Spillett v. Willsher.

This was an action brought by Mr. Thomas Spillett, landlord of the "Market Inn," against Mr. George Willsher, relieving-officer, for the recovery of £5. money lent.

Mr. Bathurst appeared for the defendant, who admitted the debt. and offered to pay half the claim in a month, and the rest in July next.

The plaintiff was not satisfied with this. He said he obliged the defendant with the the £5 on a Friday, on the understanding that it was to be paid on the following Friday, and he could not see why he should be kept so long without the money. Besides, He did not believe defendant would be in a better position to pay in a month or in July than he was then.

His Honour made an order for payment in 14 days.

I assume that the premises was built shortly after the above tender was accepted.

Your information, photos, old or new and licensee names and dates is much appreciated.

From the https://www.independent.co.uk By Ewan Somerville, Monday 5 August 2019.

Archaeologists find remains of kings’ feasts at Anglo-Saxon royal manor buried beneath beer garden.

Researchers searching for proof of ancient royal household end 15-year search with surprise findings.

An archaeological search for an ancient royal manor lasting over a decade has reached its climax beneath a beer garden.

A team of scientists launched a hunt for the Anglo-Saxon house 15 years ago, curious to uncover the knowledge it held into how people lived at the time.

Initially there were doubts that the residence, thought to belong to an age-old King of Kent, even existed.

But when the owners of a Kent pub allowed diggers into their beer garden for two weeks in July a “royal rubbish heap” was found under the grass, surfacing items researchers thought were long gone.

“Masses” of wild boar and deer bones, thought to be leftover from royal feasts, were discovered beneath the grass at the Market Inn in Faversham.

Remnants of “grass-tempered” pottery, a unique production method used only in early-Anglo Saxon England, were also found in the rubbish mound alongside possible iron ore, suggesting the site was once used to craft materials.

Dr Pat Reid, who the project for the Faversham Society Archaeological Research Group, was overwhelmed by the ancient findings which could shine new light on this “massively neglected” historical period.

“After spending 15 years looking for proof of the manor, I am absolutely delighted. The whole thing is very exciting,” she said.

“We found an undisturbed rubbish dump with masses and masses of wild boar, deer and cattle bones. These are so-called ‘feasting meats’.

“The king would stop over at the manor and entertain guests with huge feasts, and this is where the bones would end up.

“There is nothing better for an archaeologist than a rubbish dump. Tidy people who recycle and sweep up leave us nothing.”

A team of 20 volunteers from the research group conducted the excavation between 13 July and 28 July and celebrated following the findings.

Archaeologists landed in a Kent beer garden after 15 years of searching for an ancient royal manor.

Faversham has often been on the radar of historians, with records tracing the area back to a pre-Roman settlement.

It has a strong connection with royalty, known as the King’s Town, and several royal charters including the Magna Carta have in previous centuries granted the town permission to govern itself independently to the rest of the country.

David and Sue Potts, managers at The Market Inn, were taken aback by the centuries-old secrets lying beneath a seemingly inconspicuous place for the community to gather.

“I knew that these guys had been looking for Saxon finds in Faversham for a while, in particular the so-called Kings Manor,” Mr Potts said.

“I suspected there might be some evidence of human activity near the pub, but I don’t think anybody expected anything on this scale.”

For Dr Reid, the pub remaining open during the dig provided a highlight as the research mission concluded.

“It is really lovely that the find is in the pub garden,” she said. “It means we can get the public involved. We love that community feel and it’s wonderful to have the children watching.”

Researchers now hope to clean the remains ready for preservation at Faversham Museum.

From a Facebook post accessed 17 June 2024.

Tomorrow is a big day for the Market Inn, Faversham as long-serving licensees David and Suzanne Pott will bid it a fond farewell.

A couple who will retire this week after almost 20 years running the same Shepherd Neame pub, say they will miss there always being someone to talk to – “no matter what side of the bar you’re on.”

David and Suzanne Pott took over the Market Inn in East Street, Faversham, on September 1, 2005, and never wanted to leave… that is, until retirement finally beckoned.

David, 69, and Suzanne, 64, will hand over the keys of the pub tomorrow (Tuesday, June 18), but with heavy hearts.

“It is a lifestyle and we have thoroughly enjoyed it over the years,” said Suzanne. “There’s never been a reason to leave. There are times when you’ve had enough, but it is a good pub. But it is time to retire now. We will definitely miss it.”

“I will miss the social side,” said David. “No matter what side of the bar you’re on, there’s always someone to talk to.”

He added: “We used to open at 10.30am and there was a queue outside the door to get in! It is also quite nice standing and looking out from the bar. It’s a nice view.”

The pub has, and will continue to be, a haven for social get togethers, from bat and trap games (there is a well-used pitch in the back garden) to local bands performing live, and a range of clubs with something for everyone.

The social club was started back in 1962 and still holds monthly events, raising funds for charity, as does the men’s-only Winkle Club. It also hosts the Faversham Blind Club’s fortnightly meetings.

It has been a haven for live music since the couple had a stage put in, and another outside. Starting small, they now have a strong music following, with local bands appearing regularly, such as The Pepper Set and the Leigh Highwood Band. There’s even an open mic ukelele night.

Their contribution to the Faversham Hop Festival has also become something of a mini festival in its own right, thanks to the pub’s reputation for live music.

Fame on the small screen came in 2011 in the shape of four days of filming for gritty Channel 4 thriller Southcliffe, while the pub also made its mark on history by revealing an early Anglo Saxon site in the beer garden in 2019.

Charity fundraising included collecting enough for a total of four sponsored Guide Dog puppies, while awards have ranged from Faversham in Bloom winners for their hanging baskets, to Shepherd Neame’s Community Pub of the Year in 2009.

Family-friendly and dog-friendly, the pub has never done food and while its popularity could be down to many things, Suzanne says: “Some people just come here because it’s The Market. It is what it is.”

Above the bar are a selection of meerkats, bought by regulars and paying homage to the pub’s nickname of the ‘Meerkat Inn’.

The couple, who also ran the "Beaver Inn" in Ashford for two years before coming to Faversham, plan to move to Spain for their retirement.

Greg Wallis, Director of Tenanted Pub Operations, said: “David and Suzanne have been hard working licensees for us for many years, and this was recognised at our annual awards ceremony in May, when they received an Outstanding Contribution award.

“We wish them a very happy retirement.”

They will be handing over the reins to Tim and Lacey Stowell, who are already Shepherd Neame licensees at the "Bear" in Market Place, Faversham, and plan to run both.

LICENSEE LIST

SPILLETT George 1867+

SPILLETT Thomas 1871+ (age 33 in 1871)