Just two miles north east of the city of Canterbury, Fordwich is famously known as England’s “smallest town”, with a population of under 400 people according to a 2021 census.
Fordwich is easily accessible by train from south east London via Canterbury West, with a taxi or bus ride taking just 10 minutes.
Located on the banks of the River Stour, Fordwich was once a bustling medieval port and the main landing port from France to rebuild Canterbury Cathedral in the 12th century
Its prosperity earned it a charter from King Henry II in 1184, granting it official town status – one it still proudly holds today.
The town lost that status briefly in 1880, but regained it in 1974, becoming again a fully-fledged town with its own mayor and council.
With an area of just 1.81 square kilometres, Fordwich may be small but packed with history.
The town features a number of historic, listed buildings including Fordwich Town Hall, a preserved timber-framed Tudor building dating back to 1544.
The building is also famously known as one of the smallest and oldest working town halls in England with Shakespeare’s troupe, the King’s Men, believed to have performed there in 1605.
Another one of the town’s historic buildings is its local church – the Church of St Mary the Virgin – a riverside church featuring a mix of Norman and medieval architecture.
Today the church features box pews, 17th-century wall paintings, and the mysterious Fordwich Stone – a carved limestone shrine thought to have once held the relics of St Augustine of Canterbury.
For pubs, the town is home to two local pubs including The Fordwich Arms, a Michelin-starred gastropub run by husband-and-wife team Daniel and Natasha Smith, which serves British cuisine made with local Kentish produce.
A few doors down, the George & Dragon provides a more traditional pub setting with an open fire and riverside views.
The pub even featured in the 1944 film A Canterbury Tale — and, if locals are to be believed, is home to a resident ghost known as the “Lady in the Green Hat”.
Being so close to the river, Fordwich is also a prime base if you fancy talking a riverside walk along the Stour Trail, which runs two miles from the town to the larger city of Canterbury, which is packed with things to see and do.
