Folkestone

The Pier Head Lighthouse was built between 1897 and 1904 as part of the widening and extension of the Outer Pier (the Harbour Arm) to allow larger boats to dock outside the shallow harbour. Since 1843 Folkestone Harbour had belonged to the South East Railway Company for the steam packet business to France.

The Pier Head lighthouse is a simple, pale granite tower two storeys high, raised on a low granite plinth, topped with a metal and glazed lantern and a weather vane. In 2008 it was selected for Grade II listing by Historic England who noted its ‘elegant design’, ‘quality of materials and craftsmanship’, ‘prominent use of polished granite’, and ‘largely intact exterior and setting’.