The Canons Gate and Rokesley Tower, Western Outer Curtain Wall, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The Canons Gateway, located at the southern end of the Western Outer Curtain Wall, is the vehicular entrance to Dover Castle:


(Click this Canons Gate of Dover Castle text link to see the largest size)

Western Outer Curtain Wall

The bridge entrance is accessible from Canons Gate Road, a turning off of Castle Hill Road not far from the Victoria Park junction. The pedestrian entrance to the castle is via Constable's Gateway to the north.

The tower on the left of the Canons Gate entrance is Rokesley's Tower, a D-type mural tower complete with Garderobe (a medieval latrine, or toilet).

Further to the left, Fulbert's Tower lies 80 yards north of Rokesley's Tower; out of view to the right is the Tudor Bulwark.

The photo was taken at 11.40 am on Easter Sunday, 12th of April, 2009.

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Abridged excerpt from a Georgian book published in 1828 (1)

The following account refers to the original and now demolished "Canon, or Monk's Gate", once located out-of-shot to the right, and to the "New Entrance" - the Canons Gateway shown in the photo:

MS Grand Mistral Cruise Ship at CT1, Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

An early morning view of the MS Grand Mistral berthed alongside CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1) of the Admiralty Pier, part of the Western Docks of Dover Harbour:


(Click this MS Grand Mistral Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

The red-bricked structure to the right of the passenger ship is the Cruise Terminal 1 building, previously Dover Marine Railway Station (partial view) and Dover Western Docks Railway Station. Above the CT1 building are the Western Heights with the stern of the vessel obscuring Shakespeare Cliff (part of the White Cliffs of Dover.

The photo was taken on a cycle ride (1) at 6.22 am, Tuesday the 7th of September, 2010, from near the end of the Prince of Wales Pier. The foreground structure on the left-hand side of the photo is the lighthouse (2) with the roof of the Harbour View Cafe at top-right.

The passenger ship is on a Northern European tour. It has just arrived from IJmuiden, (Holland, Netherlands) and left Dover later in the day for Le Harve (France) before ending its journey at Bilbao (Northern Spain).

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MS Grand Mistral and Ibero Cruises (3) (4)

The MS Grand Mistral is a cruise ship currently sailing for Ibero Cruceros (Ibero Cruises website) and was formerly owned by Festival Cruise Line (Festival Cruises).

MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship just after Daybreak, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

A view of the MS Costa Atlantica reversing towards CT2 (Cruise Terminal 2) on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks, her bow pointing in the direction of the Western Entrance and English Channel beyond:


(Click this MS Costa Atlantica Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

This Dover Harbour photo was taken on a cycle ride (1) at 6.05 am on Tuesday, 7th of September, 2010, from the Prince of Wales Pier whose lighthouse can be seen just left of midships (see all lighthouse photos).

The passenger ship is part-way through a 17 Days Copenhagen to New York Transatlantic Cruise which began on September 4th. Itinerary:

Copenhagen (Denmark), Bremerhaven (Germany), Dover (England), Le Havre (France), Sydney (Cape Breton Island, Canada), Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada), Bar Harbor (Maine, USA), Boston (Massachusetts, USA), Newport (Rhode Island, USA), New York (USA).

The MS Costa Atlantica first called at Dover on Wednesday, 19th of May en route from New York to Copenhagen (Denmark). The ship then spent the summer season on a series of 7-night European Cruises calling at:

Hellesylt (Norway; Technical Call), Geiranger (Norway), Flam (Flåm, Norway), Stavanger (Norway), Oslo (Norway), Warnemünde Germany), before returning to Copenhagen.

A Costa Atlantica video with Italian sub-titles:

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

Unitarian Church Listed Building at Sunrise, Adrian Street, Dover, Kent, UK

A post-sunrise view of the octagonal Georgian (1) Unitarian Church on Adrian Street seen from the A256 York Street central reservation at 6.53 am on Monday, 29th of August, 2011 (2):


(Click this Unitarian Church text link to see the largest size)

The A256 dual carraigeway runs between York Street roundabout to the left, and the Folkestone Road roundabout (fronted on the east by the Dovorian Restaurant and the Golden Lion pub) to the right. Ye Olde Bicycle in the bottom right-hand corner is mine!

Behind the church on the left are part of the Western Heights hills (below the Drop Redoubt and above Cowgate Cemetery).

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Abridged from the Dover Unitarian Church website (3)

The Unitarian & Free Christian Church in Dover has been Unitarian since 1828. Freedom of belief and the form of worship was unanimously agreed by the membership in 1916 and this liberal tradition is upheld today.

We meet as a group of friends seeking truth, freedom and tolerance in rational worship and fellowship on the first and third Sunday of every month at 3pm.

Dover Castle Keep

The Church was founded in 1643 by a dissenting group who refused to subscribe to unreasonable beliefs. They were persecuted and some were imprisoned in Dover Castle.

In the early 1800's these 'General Baptists' became Unitarian (asserting the Oneness of God). They questioned belief in a Trinity and considered the religion of Jesus (Love God and your neighbour) more important than a religion about Jesus. They rejected Original Sin, the Virgin Birth, and the condemnation of non-believers.

The first Sunday school in the town of Dover opened at this church in 1803. The present Chapel, built in 1820, is a grade II Listed building and participates each year in Heritage Open Days.

MV Minerva Cruise Ship passing in front of Dover Castle, Inner Harbour, Kent, UK

The MV Minerva photographed from the Turret on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks at 4.02 pm on Wednesday, 28th July, 2010:


(Click this MS Minerva cruise ship text link to see the largest size)

MS Minerva & Castle (1)

The MS Minerva had previously been berthed at Cruise Terminal 1 on the Admiralty Pier (out-of-shot to the left). The passenger ship has completed the 180 degree turn shown half-a-minute earlier in the MS Minerva & Dover Castle (1) photo and is now heading for the Western Entrance of Dover Harbour and the English Channel beyond.

The Minerva had arrived from Copenhagen (Denmark) earlier in the day at the end of a 15-night, "Treasures of the Baltic" cruise and is leaving port at the start of a 15-night, "Sagas of Fire & Ice" cruise.

Itinerary (schedule): Kirkwall (Orkney Islands, Scotland), Lerwick (Shetland Islands, Scotland), Helmaey (Vestmannaeyjar Islands, Iceland), Reykjavik (Iceland), Grundarfjordur (Grundarfjörður, Iceland), Isafjordur (Ísafjörður, Iceland), Akureyri (Iceland), Thorshavn (Torshavn, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, Denmark), and Edinburgh (Scotland).

A video from Swan Hellenic featuring the MV Minerva:

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:

MS Saga Pearl II Cruise Ship and DHB Dauntless Tug, Western Docks, Dover, Kent, UK

An early morning view of the MS Saga Pearl II in the last minutes of berthing alongside Cruise Terminal (CT3) of the Admiralty Pier in the Western Docks of Dover Harbour:


(Click this MS Saga Pearl II Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

The photo was taken on a cycle ride (1) at 6.57 am on Saturday, 29th of May, 2010, from near the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier (western side).

The lighthouse in the photo is the Admiralty Pier Light. It was built in 1908, has a cast iron tower 72 feet high, and flashes a white light every 7.5 seconds when operational (see all lighthouse photos).

On the left is the Dover Harbour Board tug, DHB Dauntless. Behind the tug is the Western Entrance. On the far side of the English Channel the cliffs of France can be seen as a hazy line on the horizon.

The Saga Pearl II had to berth at CT3 (the furthest from shore) because CT1 and CT2 were already occupied by the MS Braemar and the MS Eurodam cruise ships, respectively. A busy day in the Port of Dover!

The MS Saga Pearl II is shown returning from a round-trip 15-night "Gems of the Baltic" cruise that had began in Dover on Friday, 14th of May, 2010.

Itinerary: Copenhagen (Denmark, via the Kiel Canal), Travemünde (Travemunde, Germany), Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), St. Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), Visby (Sweden), Klaipeda (Lithuania), Glydnia (Poland), Rønne (Ronne, Denmark), and then back to Dover.

The Saga Pearl II left port again later in the evening. The following day (May 30th) Captain David Warden-Owen recorded the following (abridged) (2):

MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and Neptune Catamaran, Western Docks, Dover, Kent, UK

A post-sunrise view of the MS Saga Ruby berthed at CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1) on the Admiralty Pier of Dover Harbour's Western Docks:


(Click this MS Saga Ruby cruise ship text link to see the largest size)

Usually the cruise ships reverse into position so that their bows point towards the Western Entrance and English Channel (to the left).

However, like the MS Saga Pearl II, the MS Saga Ruby is small enough to turn around in the Inner Harbour with room to spare when the times comes to leave.

This Dover Harbour photo was taken on a cycle ride (1) at 6.07 am on Tuesday, 24th of August 2010, from a point between the central Porthole Shelters (to the right) and the lighthouse (to the left) on the Prince of Wales Pier.

Western Docks at Night

Half-an-hour earlier, the MS Saga Ruby had been photographed from St Martin's Battery, a Victorian and World War II coastal artillery position on top of the Western Heights overlooking the harbour. See Night Panorama of the Western Docks in Dover Harbour.

Beyond the passenger ship on the right of the photo is Shakespeare Cliff of King Lear fame and part of the White Cliffs of Dover.

At bottom-left is the Neptune catamaran, a charter boat powered by twin Caterpillar diesel engines and available for angling, diving, and commercial work. The skipper is David Batchelor: more information on the Neptune website.

The MS Saga Ruby has just completed the "Treasures of the Anglo-Celtic Isles" cruise that called at various ports in England, Scotland, Wales, Nothern Ireland, and Eire (Ireland).

Full itinerary (2): Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Portree, Greenock (Glasgow), Belfast, Holyhead (Wales), Dublin, Cork, Falmouth, Guernsey (Channel Islands).

Later in the day, the MS Saga Ruby left Dover for Leith in Scotland where Captain Steve Angove reported (3):

Clock Tower, First Lifeboat Station, and Lord Warden House, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

In the foreground on the left are the Clock Tower and a single-storey structure that was Dover's first Lifeboat Station:


(Click this Clock Tower text link to see the largest size)

Waterloo Crescent
Fairbairn Tubular Crane
Lord Warden House

These two listed buildings (see below) are situated on the seafront esplanade at the landward end of the Prince of Wales Pier (out-of-shot to the left) close to the Georgian Waterloo Crescent, the popular Sue's Seafood Stall, the non-tidal Wellington Dock (with its tubular swan-necked Fairbairn Crane), the King Charles II Commemorative Walk - and not forgetting the pebble-strewn beach, of course!

A building on the other side of the Clock Tower contains showers, wash-rooms, and a launderette for the use of people with yachts and boats berthed in Dover Marina.

Part of a tug belonging to Dover Harbour Board, the DHB Dauntless, can be seen near the bottom right-hand corner on higher magnifications. The tug is berthed in the Tug Haven on the far side of the Tidal Harbour (no sign of the sister-tug, DHB Doughty, though).

Beyond the Tug Haven is the large white Lord Warden House, also a listed building. This was once the Lord Warden Hotel where Louis Bleriot had breakfast after the first cross-channel aeroplane flight on Sunday, 25th July, 1909.

The building became the Royal Navy's HMS Wasp shore station durating World War II and is located at the landward end of the Admiralty Pier (where the cruise ships berth).

This post-sunrise photo was taken at 6.33 am on Monday, 22nd of August, 2011, while on a morning cycle ride (1) along the seafront.

The Victorian Clock Tower, built in 1876-1877 to the designs of George Devey (architect, 1820-1886), was renovated in 2010. However, the flagpole flying the Union Jack flag (the Union Flag), and topped by a weather vane, wasn't restored until sometime after April, 2011.

Also in 2010, a news report said that a proposal to move the Clock Tower had been put on hold (2):