A vital link with Whitstable’s shipbuilding and fishing industries
Favourite was built by the Whitstable Shipping Company in 1890, close by her present site in Island Wall, for Pikey Carden, the proprietor of the Fisherman’s Arms, now 34 Island Wall. Her ironwork was made in the forge that is now Shipyard Cottage (see the sketch above).
Favourite is the last of the Oyster Yawls remaining in Whitstable and the only yawl in public ownership. The oyster yawl’s design is well suited to the farming of oysters in the shallow estuary waters off Whitstable. At one stage the oyster trade with London flourished and the Whitstable fleet reached 150 boats. These vessels are quite different to the offshore fishing trawlers and drifters that used to operate out of Ramsgate and Folkestone.
Why preserve Favourite?
The Favourite is evidence of two important industries that made Whitstable: oyster fishing and shipbuilding. The oyster yawls were crewed by many of the famous Whitstable families, including the Strouds, Kemps, Reeves and Rigdens. She is a monument to the history of Whitstable and to the men and women who worked in the shipyards, fishing vessels, sail makers and pubs. Favourite is also a superb, highly visible exhibit of Whitstable’s industrial archaeology and a point of interest to visitors from all over Europe.
What has been done?
Favourite has been moved three times. She was beached after being machine gunned by German aircraft in 1944; she was hauled by tractor into a beach garden in 1953 and finally moved on rollers to the current site in 1978. Thanks are due to the dozens of Whitstable people who removed concrete ballast, cleaned and preserved the hull and constructed supports. To help reconstruction, the lines were taken off by a draughtsman, a marine artist sketched her frames and photographs were taken. Grants have enabled a shipwright to rebuild the bow and stern with traditional materials and methods. The site is now safe, thanks to peppercorn leases with Canterbury City Council and the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company.
