From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Ed McConnell, 14 September 2017.

The Flower Pot, Maidstone, named pub of the year for Kent by CAMRA.

A Maidstone pub has been named the best in the county for the third time.

The "Flower Pot," which had already been named west Kent’s best drinking spot, was announced as champion by the Campaign for Real Ale in the latest edition of its Good Beer Guide released today.

The Sandling Road free house – which was also named best in Kent in 2010 and 2011 – beat off stiff competition from the "Lanes" micropub in Dover to claim the title and is now officially one of the top 16 pubs in the country.

From left, Ellie Hayward, landlord David Davenport and bar manager Sharon Hayward. Last year the pub won five categories in the Worth a Butchers competition.

Described as a “must visit” when in the county town the pub serves up to 10 different real ales, a selection of ciders and perries and a range of traditional snacks and homemade pizzas.

Landlords David and Julie Davenport took the reins 11 years ago and soon gained a reputation for the quality and selection on offer.

A judging panel assessed the pub based on style, décor, furnishing and cleanliness; service, welcome and offering; community focus and atmosphere; alignment with CAMRA principles and overall impression.

Ian Clennett, chairman of the Maidstone and Mid-Kent Branch of CAMRA, said: “Picking up the Kent Pub of the Year title is further reward for the great job that David, Julie and the team have done.

"Real ale fans know that the "Flower Pot" is a great example of the best of what British pubs have to offer – a warm and welcoming atmosphere, excellent service and a fantastic range of beers - and the judges’ scores reflected this.”

Mr Davenport added: “We’re delighted that Kent CAMRA members have chosen us as Pub of the Year.

"We aim to offer a variety of Real Ales to suit all palates and tastes, and the award is a sign that our approach is popular with our regulars, CAMRA members and drinkers from further afield.”

The "Flower Pot" now advances to super-regional judging, with potential advancement to the final four pubs from which CAMRA’s national pub of the year will be chosen.

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Alan Smith, 1 May 2022.

Congregation of St Faith's Church in Maidstone moves temporarily into the Flower Pot pub.

The congregation of St Faith's Church in Maidstone have left their historic building.

From now on, they will be meeting in The Flowerpot pub in Sandling Road while they wait for their new community centre to be completed.

The Flower Pot pub will become the temporary home for services.

Sunday services will be held on the first and third Sunday at The Flower Pot, and in the months when there is a fifth Sunday, the service will be at the Kenward Trust in Yalding.

Other services will vary, and details should be checked on the church's Facebook page.

Nigel Downes, a member of the Parochial Church Council, said: "After years of planning, we are looking forward to moving into our new community centre which is being built at Ringlestone. It should be completed by the end of this year."

However, Christian service will continue at St Faith's. The building has been sold to The Lighthouse Church movement, a new multi-cultural pentecostal church.

Mr Downes said: "With the sale of the church, it’s hard to take on board how momentous this occasion is."

St Faith's Church ha been sold.

He said: "After so much time and effort the sale has been achieved.

"It has been the wish of the congregation that the church should continue to be a place of Christian worship.

"We are therefore thrilled that the building will still be used for the work of the Lord and we pray the Lord’s blessing on Lighthouse Church as they take over."

The new St Faith's Community Centre, which will be used not just for services but for a range of community benefits, is under construction on the site of the old church hall two and half miles away on the corner of Chatham Road and Moncktons Lane.

The project is being managed by the charity the Ringlestone Community Centre Development Group which was set up in 2013 and has been working towards this aim for the past nine years.

An artist's impression of how the new St Faith's centre will look at Ringlestone.

The new building is costing £1.6m and is being financed using £465,000 from housing developers through Section 106 contributions, £120,000 from grant-funding bodies, £150,000 raised by the congregation and with the rest from the sale of the St Faith's Church and its old vicarage.

The new building will include a main hall to accommodate 110 people, a smaller hall, meeting rooms, a cafe and garden area.

The temporary move of St Faith's to a pub is not the first time worship has been held in some unexpected places.

In 2017, the congregation of the St John the Divine in Chatham similarly found itself homeless while awaiting for their new building to be ready.

Their response was to move into the "Tap n Tin" nightclub in Railway Street, Chatham. Every weekend, after the club's Saturday night revellers moved out, the congregation would move in for Sunday prayers.

In 2013, the Kingsway International Christian Centre moved into the former Scout Centre at Buckmore Park off Maidstone Road, Chatham.

The centre, which included an indoor swimming pool, had been closed since 2007. It was renamed Prayer City by the pentacostal church's founder Nigerian pastor Matthew Ashimolowo.