Ospringe, near Faversham: Village Guide & Local Businesses

Ospringe sits just south-west of the market town of Faversham, within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in east Kent. The village strings itself tightly along the old Roman road of Watling Street — now the A2 — which is known locally as Ospringe Street. It's the sort of place where the character reveals itself in the detail: jumbled peg-tiled roofs, brick chimney stacks and clay chimney pots line the snaking road, giving the village a quietly historic feel that rewards a slower look.

The name is thought to come from a fresh spring that once rose near where the Church of St Peter and St Paul now stands, and the village appears in ancient records as 'Ospringes'. By the Domesday Book of 1086 it belonged to Odo, Earl of Kent, and King John himself stayed in the manor of Ospringe in October 1214 and again in 1215 during the First Barons' War. In 1935, the village and Ospringe Street became part of the Borough of Faversham.

Ospringe's landmarks make it a genuinely rewarding short visit. The timber-framed Maison Dieu, or 'House of God', was commissioned by Henry III in 1234 as a hospital, monastery, hostel and royal lodge beside Watling Street, complete with a king's chamber for the monarch's use. Today it houses a small museum at 2 Water Lane, in the care of English Heritage and managed by the Faversham Society, open Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from 2–5pm between Good Friday and the end of October.

The Grade II* listed parish church of St Peter and St Paul lies half a mile south of the village, with a Norman doorway in the north chancel wall, a Norman font, 13th-century arches and Victorian stained glass by Clayton & Bell and Thomas Willement. Nearby, Queen Court — once held by successive Queens of England — remains a working farm with a 15th-century Wealden farmhouse and two great timber-framed barns, while the remains of Roman buildings and the ruined Stone Chapel lie close by. For refreshment, the 18th-century Ship Inn, with its Kentish vertical tile hanging and colourful clay roof, is the village's remaining pub.

Ospringe is largely residential in character these days, and its local businesses reflect the practical, everyday needs of a settled community. Drivers are well served by the garages here, with ALL TYRES FAVERSHAM and MOT's Only among them, while a good spread of trades keeps homes and gardens in order — Emrola Electrical Contractors, Kite & Key Electrical, Eno Plumbing and Heating, PH Plastering, HN Exterior Cleaning, Edmund Jackson Garden Design and SEC Ltd all appear on this page.

Rounding out the local mix are Wyards Print Works for professional printing, the shop Tiddly Pomme at Brogdale, and Happy Endings Rescue for pet services. Between a walk along the historic street, a look at the Maison Dieu and these nearby businesses, Ospringe offers a small but characterful corner of the Faversham area worth getting to know.