Welcome to Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
Last week, I shared some of my pictures of Dover Castle in Kent. This week I am sharing my pictures of the Roman lighthouse and the Saxon Church that are both built on the site of Dover Castle.
Roman lighthouse
The Roman lighthouse at Dover Castle is one of two such lighthouses in Dover and one of only three surviving Roman-era lighthouses in the world. This lighthouse is the tallest and most complete standing Roman structure in England and is claimed to be Britain’s oldest standing building. The lighthouse survived after being converted into a belltower for the adjacent church in the Saxon era when a new upper layer was added.
Saxon church – St Mary in Castro
St Mary in Castro or St Mary de Castro is a heavily restored originally Saxon structure which is built next to the Roman lighthouse which became its belltower.
There are records which indicate that this church was build by Eadbald of Kent in the 630s, but this is not a proven fact. The existence of a large, late-Saxon cemetery around the restored church does support this theory. The present Saxon church was built around AD1,000.
If you would like to join in Thursday Doors, you can do so here: https://nofacilities.com/2021/06/03/springfield-rc-cathedral/
roberta-writes.com 
Lovely to see some more of the history I grew up with. The names live on: the organisation for former pupils of my school is called the Old Pharosians. We’re proud of our place in history!
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The Roman lighthouse is fascinating!!
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I agree, the Roman Lighthouse is amazing. The Romans built things to last and one can find evidence of them all over Europe.
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It is truly amazing to see a building survive, even though remodeled and restored, from the first century AD. So many buildings being built these days are given a life-expectancy of less than 100 years. Of course we have very few buildings in this country that go back as far as the 18th century. To even consider the first is mind boggling. Thank you so much for sharing these photos and the information.
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Love this post. I get cerebrally lost in the people who toiled to erect that building.
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It is amazing, isn’t it. I am privileged to have visited it.
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I feel like I could spend a day there, just looking at that. Maybe sketching. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Staci, I think we did spend the good part of a day there. So much to see. You can’t take pictures in the underground hospital but it certainly captures the imagination and mind.
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Back in the 80s, my then-husband and I would travel around this great State of Michigan and venture into some of the oldest sections, These photos remind me of some of the nifty places we saw and how in awe we were of what life must have been like there, then. 🙂 BTW we did this whilst riding ten-speed bicycles over hill and dale.
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Hi Annette, it sounds like you had a lot of fun with your ex-husband. This sounds like a fabulous holiday or bike trip.
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Amazing, Robbie! Nothing they are building today will stand like these structures have. Thank you for sharing!
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No, I don’t suppose they would. I was reading up on the problem of glass buildings with heat retention in the cities and reflection problems. Thanks for visiting, Jan.
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Love this!
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This is a great site to visit, John.
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This is Very interesting Robbie. I have never been.💜
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Robbie – you always give me something exciting to research with every one of your posts. I read the signage that said that the church had a Baskerville Bible. I have never heard of this Bible before so I went scurrying over the internet to find out more information. This is what I found: “Throughout most of its history, the King James Version was protected by a royal privilege that allowed only the king’s printer or the official printers of the universities of Cambridge and Oxford to print its text. John Baskerville (1706–1775), the most meticulous and innovative of the eighteenth-century English typographers, became the printer to the University of Cambridge in 1758….” https://www.smu.edu/Bridwell/SpecialCollectionsandArchives/Exhibitions/Harrison2017/EnglishBibles/00095
Thank you again for a brilliant post, Robbie.
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The age on these places is amazing, and pretty much still standing! We need to re-adopt that style of building. Nice post.
Pat
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those are some old buildings, and it doesn’t surprise me that the lighthouse is still standing!
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Wow, Robbie. I am overwhelmed by the depth of history presented here. It makes me feel small in the grand scheme of things, but also thoroughly in awe of what has come before. What an awesome share!
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I wish I was a spectator to see how this was built back in the day without modern tools.
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Wonderful trip down memory lane, Robbie I am sure these structures will still be standing when I am just a memory so well constructed back then and certainly built to last …Lovely post, Robbie 🙂 x
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Thank you, Carol, These structures are certainly rather amazing and wonderful.
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Beautiful place and pictures, Robbie:)
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Thank you, Denise.
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Oh this really stirs the imagination, Robbie! What stories a Roman lighthouse could tell…
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Yes, I imagine this lighthouse has seen a lot of history and change. Thanks for visiting.
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More beautiful buildings (and their doors of course) (k)
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Hi Kerfe, these ones are particularly old. They are quite amazing.
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Thank you, Robbie, for sharing this! Living in Canada, any structure that old is hard to imagine.
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Such a remarkable history! Enjoyed reading!
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I’m delighted you enjoyed this post.
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Two things I like a lot – lighthouses and doors. I have never seen a lighthouse this old. It’s amazing that it is still standing. Thanks for sharing!
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Such rich history here Robbie – doors and more with the age and richness
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These two buildings are so amazingly old, Yvette. It makes you feel quite awestruck when you look at them.
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It does and I read a few comments and also add that so many buildings today are not built to last.
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Reblogged this on johnrieber and commented:
Love this look at ancient ruins!
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Thanks for sharing, John. I’m so pleased you enjoyed this post.
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Hi, I meant to comment about this at the time, but clearly got distracted. This is very close to where I live! Such a lot of history in one little corner. I’m glad you enjoyed your trip here.
I came back to this post via your current one about your recent hospital experiences. I do hope everyone in your family is well. It’s good to hear that vaccines are getting to everyone albeit slowly!
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