シェルドウィッチ周辺のアトラクション＆必見スポット - トップ20

Lovely little village and the cafe is great

In the 12th century a highway was laid out as a grand approach to the Abbey which had survived Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries to become a residential area popular with anyone who owed their livelihood to the Creek, whether as merchant, craftsman or seaman. Toward the end of the 19th century its middle-class residents started moving to new houses elsewhere in the town, and many of its properties became tenanted. The new occupiers were often much poorer than their predecessors. Landlords neglected the properties and so the street came to look 'down-at-heel'. Determination to build a 'brave new world' after the end of the Second World War encouraged local councils to sweep away houses that lacked modern amenities. Most of those in Abbey Street qualified, but they were also historic buildings of importance. After intervention by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, an ingenious pioneering scheme launched by Faversham Borough Council in the late 1950s saved them from the fate that overtook many of their counterparts elsewhere. Apart from Arden's House (No 80), none of the properties is of outstanding national importance, and so they were not eligible for historic building repair grants. However, collectively they are of national importance, and so the first 'town scheme' was introduced to make them eligible. Most of them were bought by the council under slum-clearance powers, and their occupants re-housed elsewhere. However, instead of being demolished the properties in Abbey Street were sold to sympathetic owners who covenanted with the council to restore them under the supervision of an architect with experience of historic building care. To cover its costs, the council made a slight profit on each - buying the smaller houses for about £250 each and then selling them for about £300. In other historic towns, streets were being brutally widened, but in Abbey Street the carriageway was actually narrowed - the first in the UK - to reduce traffic nuisance. At the same time, the street was planted with trees. Abbey Street is sometimes said to be the finest medieval street in southeast England. It is certainly a wonderful "gallery" of old buildings, mainly timber-framed. As already noted, the ace in the pack is Arden's House, one of the few surviving buildings of Faversham Abbey, and possibly its guesthouse. With 81 (Arden's Cottage), it originally formed a big "open courtyard" house. It dates from around 1450-1500, with remains of the Abbey outer gatehouse of c 1200, which spanned the street here.

I’d avoid the tea and scones and go straight for the local ale or larger on a hot day!

A pub a cafe and afew local Shops fill the square, best visited late summer

Little bit off piste. The Cobra and Little Worm trails

St Thomas the Apostle Church or 'Harty Church' is a quaint grade II listed building dating back to around the 11th or 12th Century. It's a basic church in a remote setting and has no electricity.

The Crab and Winkle Way is a charming 7.6-mile cycle ride between Canterbury and the harbour in Whitstable. Along the way you’ll enjoy ancient broadleaved woodland and fine views. When you reach Whitstable you can try local seafood and stroll along the seafront.

Famed for being the most remote church in Kent, St Thomas the Apostle doesn't even have electricity. The long road across the marshes and oil lamp lighting give it an old world feel. It dates back to the 11th or 12th century and is open to visitors and for mass on the last Sunday of the month at midday.