The Roman Pharos is a Grade I listed building in the Dover local planning authority area, England. First listed on 7 March 1974. A AD 46 (original); mediaeval alterations (top storey and battlements) Tower.
The Roman Pharos
- WRENN ID
- watchful-oriel-starling
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Dover
- Constituency
- Dover and Deal MP: Mike Tapp (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 7 March 1974
- Type
- Tower
- Period
- AD 46 (original); mediaeval alterations (top storey and battlements)
- OS grid reference
- TR 326 418
- Coordinates
- 51.12836, 1.32301
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Roman Pharos is a Grade I listed building, constructed around AD 46 under the Emperor Claudius. It served to guide the Roman fleet to the port of Richborough. In medieval times, it was repurposed as a belfry for the Church of St Mary Sub-Castro. The structure has four storeys, three of which are Roman, while the top storey and remnants of battlements are medieval. It features an octagonal tower with originally vertical stepped walls that rise in tiers, each set back within the last, although these walls have been almost smoothed over time. The building is made of rubble, with a facing of green sandstone and tufa, and includes a double course of brick set in hard pink mortar at intervals of seven courses. The round-headed windows have small recessed spy-holes inside them.
Local climate
The Roman Pharos receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 59% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 84% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 8 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 94% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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