The Pharos Lighthouse - Britain's oldest standing Roman building

[John Latter]

The Roman lighthouse known as the Pharos stands in the grounds of Dover's 12th Century Norman Castle, adjacent to the Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro.

The first view is from the south (click for larger size) and shows 4 levels. The bottom 3 are Roman and the top one is a medieval addition:



Below is the view from the north. There's a small square stone at the bottom left of the center top window which is referred to in the following quote:

The [Pharos] was repaired and cased with flint, according to Lyon, in "the year 1259, when Richard de Grey, of Codnore [alt. Codnor, Derbyshire], was Constable of the Castle; and his arms, cut in a small square stone, were placed on the north side of the tower, and are still remaining there. A barry of six, argent and azure [ie silver/white/blank and blue]."

The Pharos, and the remains of its sister, the Bredenstone (shown below), were built in AD 46.

The Bredenstone:



In the 16th & 17th centuries the East (Castle) Pharos was known as "Caesar's Tower" and the West (Bredenstone) Pharos as "[Julius] Caesar's Altar".

I'm not a religious person but it did fire my imagination as a youngster to think that ordinary Roman soldiers on guard duty at the Pharos and Bredenstone might have been similarly employed in and around Jerusalem a dozen or so years earlier.

"Comments" are welcome but I'm not so sure about "Critique" - I'm a newbie and these are some of my first photos with a K100D

John Latter / Jorolat



Dover Castle