Margate Lighthouse

Margate Lighthouse is located at the end of Margate’s Harbour Arm.

A Harbour Arm was built between 1812 and 1815 with a lighthouse at the end, designed by John Rennie. This replaced an earlier pier damaged during a storm around 1808. The new pier provided a sheltered harbour, particularly from easterly winds and swells. The newly-created harbour also provided more shelter for freight, and Margate grew into a busy port. Shortly after, regular steamboats arrived with Londoners to enjoy the resort.

The Margate Pier Harbour Co. built a 1,100-foot-long pier in 1824, known as the Jarvis Landing Stage, and in 1828, William Edmunds designed a new lighthouse at the end of the pier to replace Rennie’s earlier tower.

However, in 1851, the jetty was damaged during a storm, and work began on building a new one in 1853.

The first iron pier, designed by Eugenius Birch, was opened in 1855 and completed in 1857. The jetty was extended between 1875-8 with a new pier head and pavilion added, but this was struck by a vessel in 1877, causing severe damage.

During the Second World War, the military used the jetty to move troops and supplies.

Unfortunately, Edmunds’ lighthouse was destroyed during a storm in 1953. Following the reconstruction work, a new 66-foot-high hexagonal stone lighthouse designed by W R H Gardner was established in 1955.

The old jetty was closed in 1976 following damage caused during a storm in January 1978.

There is a plaque on the pier that reads, “In commemoration of the landing at Margate Jetty of 46,772 troops of the Allied Forces on the evacuation of Dunkirk in May 1940.”

Margate has a long history as one of England’s oldest seaside resorts. Its popularity grew in the 18th and 19th centuries when the town became a fashionable destination for the wealthy seeking the health benefits of sea bathing, utilising bathing machines. Margate was also one of the first towns to offer deck chairs and donkey rides, which became quintessential elements of the British seaside experience.