Folkestone Lighthouse was built as part of the outer pier extension between 1897 and 1904. It replaced an earlier elaborate lighthouse at the end of the pier.
Since Roman times, ships have landed on the shore at Folkestone at East Wear Bay.
The Pent Stream flows into the inner harbour, but as the shingle beach moved, it became less safe for ships to land here.
In 1804, permission was granted to build a harbour. In 1807, an Act of Parliament was passed to provide anchorage for warships during the Napoleonic wars.
William Jessop and a team, including Thomas Telford, built the west pier in 1810. Another pier was completed in 1820.
The Folkestone Harbour Company was declared bankrupt in 1842, and the harbour became derelict for a while. The South Eastern Railway Company purchased it to develop Folkestone as a port for steam packets to France. The new railway line reached Folkestone in 1843, and the harbour branch line was constructed soon afterwards.
The resort grew over the next 50 years and became a fashionable coastal town.
As trade increased a pier was built in a south eastern direction from the horn between 1861-3. This pier was damaged in a storm in January 1877. It was later rebuilt and extended between 1881 and 1883 into deeper water so that vessels drawing 15 feet could use the pier at low water.
In January 1897, the enlarged pier was further extended by Coode, Son and Matthews.
By 2001, the lighthouse was in poor condition with rusty ironwork and smashed lantern panes. In 2010, restoration work was carried out by John Ridley.
In 2014 Folkestone Harbour Arm was redeveloped, and many of the original platforms and features remain, including the former signal box, which is now a cafe. During this restoration, Folkestone Lighthouse saw the replacement of railings, windows and doors. The lighthouse was also rewired, and the weathervane was restored. At the same time, planning permission was granted to use it as a cafe/bar. Further renovation work was carried out in 2016. The middle floor of the lighthouse was replaced with a mesh framework, allowing visitors to look up the tower.
Folkestone Lighthouse is now a champagne bar, mainly open at weekends.
On the lighthouse is the inscription ‘Weather is a Third to Place and Time’. This is part of a poem by Scottish artist/poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, reminding us how important the weather is to all who work at sea. The work was commissioned for the 2014 Folkestone Triennial.
Varne Lightvessel and Dover Harbour lighthouses can also be seen from the pier.
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