Saturday the 16th of August will see Pharos Lodge 6967 hosting the 77th Federation of School lodges, Annual Festival, for 2025 in Dover.
This is a great honour as it has never before been hosted in East Kent Province. It is also the Pharos Lodges 75th Anniversary – being consecrated in 1950.
The Main programme for the day is:
From 12.00 pm Registration / Tea / Coffee & biscuits in the Grand Marquee, Holiday Inn, Whitfield.
From 1.30 pm Transfer to Dover Grammar School for Boys.
2.15 – 3.00 pm FSL Annual Business Meeting – Dover Grammar School for Boys School Hall.
3.15 – 4.45 pm Lodge Meeting – the School Hall.
Featuring a talk by WBro Mike Webb (former Town Centre Manager and former Town Clerk). He will be taking a quirky look at the history of Dover and the town’s Mayors since the 11th century, plus outlining the connections between the Lodge and the Grammar School.
4.45 – 5.30 pm Return to Holiday Inn, Whitfield. A self-paying bar will be open.
(Time for Ladies to change at their hotel or Holiday Inn, if required)
5:30 – 6:30 pm Reception – preprandial drinks in the Grand Marquee, Holiday Inn,
6:30 pm Festival Banquet
9:00 pm “Happy have we met”
There is a full accompanying programme available for our guests and visitors:
2.00 pm Assemble at Holiday Inn, Whitfield for transport to Crabble Corn Mill, River.
2.30 pm (Cream Tea and Live Music).
2.45 – 4.45pm Presentation and optional guided Tour of Mill, followed by light refreshments with entertainment from the Dover Ukulele Players.
5.00 pm Return to Holiday Inn.
5.30 pm Join main programme (time for changing at your hotel if required – alternatively, a room for changing, etc., will be available at Holiday Inn.
An application form to join us may be downloaded click here:
A Brief History of Pharos Lodge:
The Pharos in Dover Castle dates from the second Roman Invasion of Britain and was erected about A. D. 43, which establishes it as the oldest existing building in the country. It served as a beacon or lighthouse for Roman shipping entering Dover from the Continent as Dover was then, as now, the most convenient port in Britain for that purpose.
Two of these structures were built by the Romans to mark the entrance to the harbour at Dover, which was at the mouth of the River Dour, situated roughly where the Market Square now stands and where the public house known as The Roman Quay is situated.
The Pharos in Dover Castle was the eastern beacon and the other was situated on the Western Heights to the west of the harbour. This latter building no longer exists but traces of it remain and are known as the Bredenstone.
All the Founders of the Lodge were either Old Boys or past and present members of the staff of Dover Grammar School for Boys. For many years The Pharos has been the name used for the School magazine and an artist’s impression of the building has been incorporated on the front cover since 1913. The Old Boy’s Association has been known for many years as the “Old Pharosians”.
The original function of the Pharos and the School motto Fiat Lux and all that both imply have a significant Masonic meaning and the Founders of the Lodge felt justified in adopting both for the Lodge.
The membership of the Lodge was restricted to former pupils or staff of the Dover Grammar for Boys until 1993 when it was decided that in order to safeguard the future of the Lodge membership would be opened to everyone who met the high standards of moral conduct laid down by the Founders.
A brief history of the school:
The Dover County School, as it was originally known, was established in 1905 as part of the development of state secondary education initiated by the Education Act 1902 (the ‘Balfour Act’). It operated from premises in Ladywell under its first headteacher, Mr Fred Whitehouse. He also had oversight of what was initially the Girls’ Department of the school at nearby premises on Priory Hill. His aspiration was to create a co-educational school but the Kent Education Committee (KEC) insisted on separate County Schools for Girls and Boys and the last girl left the co-educational sixth form in 1912. The County School for Boys moved into new buildings on Frith Road in October 1916 but soon outgrew the site, so junior boys had to be educated at Priory Hill . The inconvenience of operating over split sites persuaded KEC to agree to building new premises on an elevated site with plenty of land for playing fields at Astor Avenue. The first sod was cut in March 1924 and the school moved to the new buildings on 17 September 1931. The Duke of Kent formally opened the buildings on 9 December that year.
2005 – New Millennium
In the first 98 years of the school it had had five headteachers. In the following 15, four. The present head, Phil Horstrup, took up post in September 2018 .
2022 – Dover Grammar School for Boys (DGSB) Today
In July 2022, DGSB moved to a brand new school building, built on what was the old top field. The new building boasts excellent facilities, more space and lots of light. After 90 years of serving Dover, the old building was demolished and made into landscaped gardens for the students to learn in and enjoy.
A flyer for the day can be printed here to share with others