This will be Market Square Group’s third Food and Drink Festival in Tenterden following our successful launch in 2017. Our food festivals are designed to promote the cultural identity of the local area against a regional, national and international backdrop, showcasing food and drink products and associated attractions to create a quality community event and provide visitors with an entertaining and memorable experience.

Children’s rides, a programme of live music and craft beer bar all adds up to a tasty offer.

Tenterden is proud of its association with William Caxton, the 15th century pioneer of printing who is thought to have been born in or near the town. Indeed, one of the local pubs at the end of High Street is called the Caxton Arms. There is some debate as to whether Caxton was actually a native of Tenterden – a more widely accepted view is that he was born somewhere in the Kentish Weald.

In the medieval period what is now Romney Marsh was largely under water, and seagoing ships docked at Smallhythe, just to the south of Tenterden. Wood from the Kentish Weald was used to build ships, and Tenterden was incorporated into the powerful Cinque Ports as a limb of Rye. That meant that Tenterden was exempt from regular taxation, was largely self-governing, and was entitled to have a representative at royal coronations. This association with the Cinque Ports is remembered in the town crest, which incorporates the Cinque Ports coat of arms.

The Tenterden Heritage Trail takes in the museums, the historic churches, the Elizabethan, Georgian and Victorian buildings and Town Hall that preserve Tenterden’s heritage and make it such a visitor attraction. The town is also home to The Kent and East Sussex Railway where you can climb aboard one of its beautifully restored carriages and enjoy a trip through the picturesque Rother Valley to Bodiam Castle.

Download the Event Flyer PDF (TBA)