Faversham provided ease of access as it lay on one of the great highways of western Christendom. It provided important trading connections with Boulogne and Flanders. By 1300 Faversham was a leading town and the leading port in Kent, shipping grain to London. The London corn mongers hired granaries in Faversham to store grain for up to 21 weeks of the year, before it was shipped to London. In 1295 the crown bought more wheat from Faversham than from anywhere else in England.
In the first half of the 14th century considerable produce was sent to London and thence to other parts of the country. In particular it provided shipping for armies and supplied garrisons, mainly Calais. There were a number of traders and craftsmen: metal workers, leather workers, skinners, cordwainers, hosiers and glovers. Faversham had a long standing reputation as a brewing town. Oyster fishermen engaged in this coastal trade. The merchants also carried wool, cloth, firewood and timber to London.
Faversham’s earliest seal from 1295, depicts a one masted ship.
Tann, The Royal Charters of Faversham including the Magna Carta
Sweetinburgh et al, Welcome to Medieval Faversham
Harrington & Hyde, The Early Books of Faversham c.1251 to 1581