I joined the Society when I moved to Faversham in 2016, and quickly became involved as a volunteer - taking Board minutes and helping out with the Society’s campaigns, including our opposition to the proposed Cleve Hill solar power station. I became a Board member in June 2019, and as well as continuing to take minutes, I am getting more actively involved in the Society’s work. My particular areas of interest are our campaigns, promoting the cultural heritage of Faversham to residents and visitors alike, and ensuring the Society is in a sustainable position to continue its vital work for the future. 

Jonathan is a conservation architect and leads on the maintenance of Faversham's historic buildings.

I have lived in Faversham since 1977, in the same half square mile. When I graduated the only work I could find in adult education was in Kent. If I had not found, and fallen in love with, Faversham, I would have moved back north. I did move to Leeds and Manchester, but only for work, commuting weekly by rail. In 2014 Arthur Percival asked me to consider joining the Board, and after 37 years of having enjoyed the benefits of the Faversham Society’s work conserving the best of Faversham I could not see how I could reasonably decline. I was elected to the Board in April 2014 and to the Chair in June 2016. With close to 1,000 members and 250 volunteers there is much to do to keep the many activities of the Society going. Faversham is facing as much change now as it did with the coming of the railway and we are heavily involved with the planning of infrastructure, housing and traffic management. 

Find out more about my activities in Faversham and internationally ....

I joined the Society as a volunteer in 2017 and since this time have been overseeing our use of social media, and looking at ways we can use this most effectively.  I joined the Board in June 2019 and, with a background in the charitable sector, am excited to now have more involvement.  I will be part of the Publications, Education, Talks and Events Committee whilst continuing to work with all committees on any publicity needs that could be supported through social media.

I have been a member of the Society for the past 25 years and on retirement, some 11 years ago, decided to volunteer for the Society firstly in the VIC then in the curators office.  I joined the Board of Trustees in 2010 and am currently the Chair of the General Purposes Committee which meets monthly.  My duties involve the paying of all invoices, ordering of stationery/cleaning materials, testing of the fire alarm systems, general health and safety and a plethora of other duties too numerous to mention.

As a retired civil engineer and specialist in transport research, he has a particular interest in how Faversham will cope with the growing pressure of housing development, and in the highway authority’s strategy for protecting and enhancing the Town’s heritage in the face of the travel demand that it will generate.  In pursuing this and other related themes, he has co-organized and presented material at four members’ meetings on transport matters in the area, is managing a project for measuring traffic pollution at various sites around the Town, and continues to engage with our local authorities at a technical level to ensure the Society is well placed to make its case.  He also supports collaboration with the Creek Trust to promote replacement of the swing bridge as the key step towards renewing the Town’s waterway as a commercial, recreational and environmental resource.