Pier Head Lighthouse (Harbour Arm, Folkestone)

The current Pier Head Lighthouse in Folkestone was built between 1897 and 1904 and is Grade II listed. It replaced an earlier, more elaborately designed lighthouse at the end of the pier.

The harbour had been acquired by the South Eastern Railway Company and a new line reached Folkestone in 1843 with the harbour branch line constructed soon afterwards. This provided the Victorians with easier access to Folkestone, which at that time also ran ferry services to France. The original lighthouse was constructed in 1847 to assist the increased number of sea-going traffic entering the harbour. Over the next 50 years, Folkestone was to become one of the most fashionable coastal towns.

After an 1877 storm damaged the original pier (built between 1861-63), it was rebuilt and extended between 1881 and 1883. The pier now stood in deeper water to accommodate larger vessels in low water. A further extension followed in 1897 at which point the current lighthouse was constructed. Despite a 2014 redevelopment of the Folkestone Harbour Arm, many of the original platforms and features of the pier, including the lighthouse remain.

The lighthouse bears an inscription, quoting a poem by Ian Hamilton Finlay, to remind us of the importance of weather to all who work at sea:

’Weather is a Third to Place and Time’.