Faversham & Oare Creeks, off the East Swale in the lower part of the Thames Estuary, have a maritime history going back to before Roman times. The town flourished as a port until the last century, including a famous former small shipbuilding yard, James Pollock Sons & Co Ltd (whose archive is held partly by the National Maritime Museum and partly by the Faversham Society) and today provides a vivid example of how merchant sail and coastal fisheries developed up to the modern era as part of an historic town.

Faversham’s special features today include the retention of creekside buildings, warehouses, boatyards and quaysides which continue to attract shallow draught historic vessels and provide a working example of a small port in an attractive historic environment for visitors. The Faversham and Oare Heritage Harbour Group is an alliance of organisations with an interest in restoring and regenerating the Creeks led by the Faversham Creek Trust  , with the primary aims of safeguarding, developing and promoting the historic port. The Trust was started in 2011 by a group of local residents with the aim of regenerating the town’s maritime economy and in particular campaigning with other organisations to call for a replacement opening bridge across the creek; this would once again allow boats to navigate up into the Basin, the head of the tidal waters, and restore Faversham Creek as a fully working waterway, also creating attractions for visitors. The Trust has developed a training scheme for shipwrights, supported traditional boatbuilding skills, and refurbished the Purifier building at the head of the creek to act as a training centre, a workshop, and a focus for community activities, such as Cinque Ports Rowing – a community skiff building and rowing club, and relating to the town’s maritime heritage as a Cinque Port Limb.