Queenborough, Market town in Queenborough, England

Queenborough is a small seafaring town on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, where the rivers Swale, Medway and Thames flow into the sea. Its street plan and many brick buildings still follow the layout of an 18th-century port, with a creek running past a working yachting harbour and a railway station a short walk from the water.

Edward III replaced the earlier fishing hamlet of Bynnee with a fortified town and a castle in the 1360s, renaming it after Queen Philippa and granting a royal charter. The castle was pulled down in 1650, and the town later slid into decline before a burst of Victorian industry, brought by the railway in 1860, helped it recover.

A Saturday market now runs on the harbour quay, filling the waterfront with local produce, goods and crafts. Nearby, the Guildhall Museum fills two rooms with photographs, objects and displays that visitors can see during a short talk and a look inside the old council chamber.

The easiest way to get a feel for the town is to walk through its conservation area, where most streets are short and easy to follow on foot. The harbour quay and the area around the creek stay busy in the warmer months, while the railway station gives direct access for day trips.

Just off the mouth of the Swale lies Deadman’s Island, a salt marsh where bodies from old prison ships were buried. In 1967, the town also paired itself with Brielle in the Netherlands, a friendly twist after Dutch forces captured Queenborough three centuries earlier.