Old St James Church Ruins and White Horse Inn, St James Street, Dover, UK

The ruins of 'Old' St James the Apostle Church, Dover, England, showing the west door entrance to the nave:


(Click this Old St James the Apostle Church text link to see the largest size)

This ancient house of religion was destroyed during World War II and is now a memorial to the people of Dover "who suffered between 1939 and 1945" (see below).

The remains of the north wall of the church's square tower are behind and to the right of the doorway.

On the other side of Hubert Passage to the left of the church is The White Horse Inn, ex-The City of Edinburgh public house. An information board once outside the pub stated:

Said to have been erected in the reign of Edward III (1312-1377). In 1365 the premises was occupied by the Verger of St James' Church which stood next door. With the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the house was no longer connected to the Church.

The houses in the background front onto Castle Hill Road that leads up to Dover Castle.

The photo was taken from St James Street. Running along the bottom is Maison Dieu Road to the left of the junction and Woolcomber Street to the right.

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Old St James the Apostle Church (1)

St James' Church, known locally as 'the Tidy Ruin' was founded in Saxon times and is probably one of the Dover churches mentioned in the Domesday Book:


Georgian Woodcut Engraving of Old St James Church, Dover

Saxon Church and Roman Pharos on Harold's Earthwork, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The East Roman Pharos (on the right: a lighthouse and watchtower) and Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro sit in a shallow depression on top of a huge horseshoe-shaped mound called "Harold's Earthwork":


(Click this St Mary-in-Castro and Pharos text link to see the largest size)

The rampart is rimmed by a the ruins of a low parapet wall, visible either side of the buildings, that was once connected to the composite Norman and Saxon Colton Gate (behind the viewer; alt. Colton Gateway, Colton Tower).

Harold's Earthwork was raised by Henry III (Henry of Winchester, Plantagenet) and lies south of Henry II's Keep, or "Great Tower", out-of-shot to the left (1).

The photo was taken at 5.31 pm on Sunday, 26th of June, 2011.

Click to see all photos of the Pharos and St Mary-in-Castro; also see all Dover Lighthouse and Church photos.

Dover Castle is a Grade I Dover Listed Building and Dover English Heritage site; the Pharos and St Mary-in-Castro have separate Grade I listings.

The following notes are divided into three sections - Pharos and Church, Pharos, Church:

The Norman Keep or Great Tower of Henry II, Dover Castle at Night, Kent, UK

The north-western face of the Keep (or "Great Tower") with the North Tower on the left and the West Tower on the right:


(Click this Dover Castle Keep at Night text link to see the largest size)

The Keep from King's Gate

The East Tower is behind and to the left of the North Tower, the South Tower (Flag Tower) is out of view, although the Union Jack flag can be seen flying above it.

The Keep, once known as the Palace Tower, was designed by Henry II's architect 'Maurice the Engineer' (or mason) and built between 1180 - 1185. It is 83 feet high, just under 100 feet square, and has walls up to 21 feet thick.

Half-way down the Norman great tower on its north-eastern side (ie to the left) is the Forebuilding with its two chapels.

The Keep's largest pair of windows (difficult to spot at first glance - they're in line with the top of the Forebuilding) are those of the second floor:

Night Panorama of Dover Castle overlooking the Seafront and Harbour, Kent, UK

A panoramic view of the south-western face of Dover Castle's Keep (or Great Tower) taken at night on New Years Day, Saturday, 1st of January, 2011:


(Click this Dover Castle & Harbour at Night text link to see the largest size)

The Norman Keep was once known as Palace Tower and "...was designed by Henry II’s architect ‘Maurice the Engineer’ (or mason) and built between 1180 and 1185".

Beneath the Keep are the towers of the Inner Bailey wall, or Inner Curtain Wall. There are two entrances to the Keep-yard: on the left of the inner curtain wall is a flanking tower of King's Gate (King's Gateway), and the twin towers of Palace Gate (Palace Gateway) are on the right.

Constable's Gate
St Mary-in-Castro

Below the Inner Curtain Wall are the towers of the Western Outer Curtain Wall, from left to right: Constable's Tower, Queen Mary's Tower, Peverell's Gateway, Gatton's Tower, Say's Tower (not illuminated), Hurst's Tower, and Fulbert's Tower.

On Harold's Earthwork near top left are the Roman lighthouse, or East Pharos, and Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro (more Dover churches).

In daylight, part of the White Cliffs of Dover would be visible below and to the right of the church.

On the seafront in the lower-half of the photo, the Gateway Flats overlook Marine Parade, the beach and harbour, to the Straits of Dover and English Channel beyond.

Above the Gateway Flats on the left are lights from Victoria Park (with its turreted Lodge, or Gatehouse). To the right of the Gateway Flats is part of the Premier Inn.

The photo was taken at 6.43 pm from the Clock Tower end of the Prince of Wales Pier while on an evening cycle ride (1).

Excerpt from "The Port of Dover" (2):

Dover Castle under Snow, Winter 2009, from the Western Heights, Kent, UK

This panoramic view, taken on December 22, 2009, is a 'winter edition' of the autumnal Dover Town and Dover Castle from the Western Heights photo uploaded on November 5th of that year:



Left of centre on the snow-covered skyline is the Norman Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle; further left are three masts (originally four, now reduced to two) of the Second World War early-warning Swingate Chain Home radar station.

Right of centre on the skyline are the Pharos (a 1st Century AD Roman watchtower, or lighthouse) and adjacent Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro.

Just below the skyline towards the right-hand edge of the photo is an end view of the Victorian Officers' Mess (or Officers' New Barracks).

Stretching across the lower half of the photo is the row of large terraced houses of Victoria Park, to the left of which lies the southern entrance to the Zig Zags park; if you know where to look, the West Wall of Old St James Church is also visible (bottom right, in a line under the end houses of Victoria Park).

Within 5 to 150 yards of where this photo was taken from are: Cowgate Cemetery Nature Reserve, the Court's Folly, the 64 Steps, and the Drop Redoubt.

Many of the above-named locations are Victorian.

Filming of the 2009 North Entrance video began here. See:

The Medieval Colton Gateway of Dover Castle, Kent, UK (1)

Colton Tower or Colton Gate (Alt. Coclico ). A Norman tower built on a Saxon or even earlier base:



The entrance though which Roman, Saxon and probably their Iron Age predecessors once entered their respective fortifications.

The replica Victorian-style lamp post in the foreground is a reminder of the many buildings erected, and alterations made, during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The bank on the right leads up to the large horseshoe-shaped Harold's Earthwork upon which the Roman Pharos and Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro are located.

Abridged excerpts from a Victorian account written in 1864:

"It seems that the way of entering by Colton Gate has always remained the same, having afforded access successively to the Roman and Saxon fortress; and visitors, still winding their way up the chalk cutting and under the Octagon Tower, are probably following the footsteps of Roman garrisons, British chiefs, Thanes (Thegns) and Churchmen of Saxon times, the forces of Earl Godwin, and many others of earlier generations, till the Normans made their own approach to their statelier towers and Keep. Passing under the gateway, the space to the left, within the double line of defence, is described as the site of the buildings serving for the primitive residences of the canons of Eadbald's foundation, close to the Church they had to serve.

Rokesley Tower & Canons Gate

From thence, by a zigzag descent to the extreme angle on the cliff, under a tower long called the Canons Gate, they could hold communication with the town."

"...The tower over this (Colton) Gate - a Saxon work at first - has undergone much later alteration; the entrance arch having the character of the time of Edward III., when it was commanded by Lord Burghersh (Robert or Bartholomew de Burghersh), whose coat of arms are borne on the stone shield above."

(Heraldry: "Or (ie tincture of gold), a lion rampant; Gules (red), double tailed.")

More information (including sources used and a Google Earth satellite map) can be found on this photo's original webpage at:

Medieval Colton Gate or Tower, Dover Castle, UK (1)

Also see:

The Colton Gateway, ex-Roman and Saxon entrance to Dover Castle
Colton Gate, the Roman and Saxon Entrance to pre-Norman Dover Castle
The Norman and Saxon Colton Tower, Harold's Earthwork, Dover Castle

A Dover Middle Ages history photo. The English Heritage "Pastscape" entry for Dover Castle states:

"Medieval castle possibly originating as a pre-1066 motte and bailey castle, remodelled during the reign of Henry II (Curtmantle), to became a castle with concentric defences, one of the first examples of its kind in western Europe."

Links to the main Images of Dover website:

All castle photos first appear under the Dover Castle tag.

The castle is one of Dover's Listed Buildings and English Heritage sites.

John Latter / Jorolat

Dover Blog: The Psychology of a Small Town