The History of Guernsey and its Bailiwick; with occasional notices of Jersey. (Biographical notices.)

Front matter

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Preface

. In the Introduction to the second edition of his History of Jersey, (1734,) the Rev. Philip Falle, alluding to a brief description of Guernsey in Camden's Britannia, said : " They who are not satisfied with those sketches, must have patience till some gentleman of Guernezey (which cannot want able hands for such service) shall take upon him to illustrate his native country, as I have done mine ; including in his Account Alderney, Sark, &c, which depend on that greater island, as members of the government and jurisdiction of it." Exactly one hundred and twenty years have elapsed since Mr. Falle thus expressed himself; and as his suggestion has hitherto been unheeded, I have been induced to illustrate the annals of my " native country." Mr. Falle's memory is highly reverenced in Jersey, and there it will doubtless be objected to me that I have not treated him with the respect he deserves.

I have indeed animadverted on some passages in his history, because he himself did not hesitate to speak dis paragingly of men, to whom posterity has since done justice, and especially because, according to his own biographer and countryman, he passed through life " in strict conformity with the opinions and the prejudices of his age." That spirit of subservience extended to his work, which has otherwise many merits, and betrayed him into a feeling of hostility against all who differed from him in political opinion, or who were not members of the Church of England, in which he himself had risen, from humble beginnings, to dignity and

PREFACE.

. emolument. Nor is it easy to account for his studied omission of every incident in these islands during the Great Rebel lion ; as, in his first edition, (1694,) he observes, that "he well remembers to have heard certain events, connected with the civil wars, spoken of among his people, when the past evil times were fresh in men's memories." The following work is a sequel of the " Chronicles of Castle Cornet," of which it is both an amplification and an abridg ment — an amplification as regards the general history of the island, and an abridgment as relates to the Osborne correspondence and Chevalier's Diary. Of that correspondence it is necessary that I should repeat here, somewhat in brief, the account which I have given in the Chronicles, of its acci dental discovery, and of the means by which I obtained it.

Having learnt that the lineal descendant of Sir Peter Osborne, of whom repeated mention is made in the text, was the present Sir George Osborn, Bart., of Chicksands Priory, Bedfordshire, I applied to him for such documents relative to the siege of Castle Cornet, during the civil war, as I hoped were in his possession. In reply, soon after his father's death, he informed me that he had as yet met with no papers relative to Sir Peter Osborne and the gallant defence he made ; but when he could put his library and MSS. in order, he thought it probable that he might light on some matter which would elucidate the subject. His letter was dated February 17, 1849, and great was my delight when, on the 5th of April following, I received a large packet of papers, with another letter from Sir George, who wrote : " Your very interesting letter of the 20th ultimo should have met with earlier attention, but that chance led me to an old bureau in quest of some letters relating to Dorothy Osborn,1 (after wards Lady Temple,) and embracing some matter mentioned in Macaulay's Historical Essays, when, to my great gratifi cation, I found a large number of papers relating to Castle Cornet and its defence by my ancestor, Sir Peter Osborne. (1) A daughter of Sir Peter Osborne, and wife of Sir William Temple, the celebrated diplomatist aud statesman.

PREFACE.

. V I have collected those that are most likely to be acceptable to you, and which contain the most matter." But I begged of Sir George Osborn to send me the remainder of these papers, which he very kindly did, the whole exceeding one hundred ; and, at my subsequent request, he further allowed me to make any use of them that I thought proper. The receipt of the Osborne Correspondence made me anxious to peruse Chevalier's Diary, or Chronicle, mentioned also in the text ; having become aware of its existence through the Rev. E. Durell's Notes on Falle's History of Jersey ; and, after much delay and difficulty, I happily succeeded in procuring the loan of it. This Chronicle is written in French, and is extremely rare, never having been printed ; and, not withstanding the prolixity and tautology of the narration, it is now invaluable : indeed, I cannot but express my surprise that the States of Jersey have not caused a digest of it to be published ; because it contains a faithful record of a period of which the natives of that island have ever been, and still are, justly proud.

I have not hesitated to reproduce from Mr. Duncan's History of Guernsey such passages as I supplied to him, and which he so handsomely acknowledged in his preface. But at the time that work was published, (1841,) I knew very little of the early records of the bailiwick, having previously resided both in North and South America for many years, and consequently had no opportunity of consulting docu mentary materials on the subject. It has been my object not only to narrate the political, commercial, and religious annals of the bailiwick, but also to pourtray the great changes effected within two or three generations, in the houses, furniture, hours, modes of com munication, public and private entertainments, &c., of the islanders. In doing so, I may possibly give offence to some, who, in their present affluence, are ashamed to look back on the more primitive and lowly condition of their ancestors, and who will perhaps consider such details as beneath the

PREFACE.

. VI dignity of history. But I should indeed be unworthy of the task I have undertaken, if, regardless of the truth, I had stooped to minister to the vanity or the weaknesses of any class or family, and if I had not attempted to shew the wonderful progress which all these islands, equally with England and France, have made in wealth and civilization since the commencement of the last century. Guernsey especially rose and flourished with the funded system, and is now mainly dependant on its continuance. It will be seen by the Biographical Notices at the close of this volume, that Guernsey, considering its very limited extent and population, produced, in the course of about a century, an unusual number of individuals distinguished in science, literature, and arms. I have given these Memoirs because Biography is not only the handmaid of History, but portrait painting for posterity.

F. B. T. St. Peter-Port, Guernsey, August 15, 1854. N.B. — All letters, &c, with [o] prefixed, were found among Sir Peter Osborne's papers. QUEEN VICTORIA'S VISIT TO ALDERNEY. On Tuesday evening, August 8, 1854, between five and six o'clock, the Queen, with the Prince Consort, the young Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, Prince Arthur, and the Princess Helena, and their suite, arrived within the new breakwater of Alderney, in the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, which was followed by three other steamers, viz. the Dasher, Captain Lefebvre, (of Guernsey,) Black Eagle, and Fairy ; the squadron having left Osborne at eleven o'clock the same day. Colonel Le Mesurier, town major and com manding officer, immediately repaired on board the royal yacht, and was honored with a command to dine with her Majesty the same evening.

Prince Albert, accompanied by the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred, and attended by Major-General the Honorable C. Grey and Colonel the Honorable C. B. Phipps, soon after landed, and the party was received by Colonel Le Mesurier, Judge Gaudion, the jurats, Captain Jervois, R.E., &c. After inspecting the new fortifications and the breakwater, the royal visitors returned to the yacht. On Wednesday morning, August 10, at nine o'clock, Judge Gaudion, accompanied by five of the jurats, the officers of the court, &c, proceeded on board the yacht to present a loyal address from the States of Alderney to the Queen, who, on receiving it, graciously stated that she felt great pleasure in visiting their island. — A company of the royal artillery, and the militia under Major Barbenson, were drawn up on the breakwater ; and at half-past nine o'clock her majesty, with Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, and the Princess Helena, as also their attendants, landed under the usual salute, and amid the enthusiastic cheers of the inhabitants.

The royal party, of whom the two young princes were dressed like sailor boys, walked from the barge to a railway car, in waiting at the top of the slip ; and, on entering it, the car was drawn QUEEN VICTORIA'S VISIT TO ALDERNEY. VIII slowly by two horses along the railway as far as Corblets barracks, where her Majesty alighted and repaired, in another carriage, to Chateau l'Etoc, and thence drove to the Grandes Folies, at Mannez, returning to the said railway, on which she proceeded, as far as the entrance of Braye, where the Queen, Prince Albert, and the three children entered a phæton, and drove to the town of St. Anne, going as far as the church recently erected at the sole cost of the Rev. John Le Mesurier, only surviving son of Lieut. -General Le Mesurier, the last hereditary governor of Alderney.1 Her Majesty entered the said church by the southern gate, and remained there several minutes, expressing her satisfaction of the edifice.

On returning to Braye, the royal party again got into the railway car, and, alighting at the upper extremity of the slip, they walked down to the barges in waiting. The embarkation took place at a quarter to twelve, under a salute and the hearty cheers of the population. At noon, the royal squadron was under weigh : the Fairy went direct to Cowes, while the three other steamers, passing through the Swinge, coasted the south and east sides of the island, and then proceeded through the Race for the Isle of Wight. — Queen Victoria is not only the first sovereign, but probably the first royal personage, who ever landed in Alder ney, and her visit will form a memorable epoch in the history of that island, which, until the commencement of the break water in 1847, was almost separated from the rest of the world.

Her Majesty and Prince Albert particularly noticed several Alderney women, attired in the ancient costume of the island — the well known bonnet and bedgown; and they commended the small Alderney cows, some of which were purposely placed within their view. (1) This church, having been designed by his parents, was erected by Mr. Le Mesurier, in fulfilment of their purpose : it was commenced in 1847, and consecrated August 21, 1850. The Queen made some inquiries relative to the Rev. J. Le Mesurier : she was told that he did not reside in Alderney, but in England ; and, on being informed of his motive for building the church, her Majesty said : "A very noble act on his part." THE HISTORY OF GUERNSEY AND ITS BAILIWICK. ♦

Chapter I

This work will probably appear, at first sight, one of supere rogation, because Dicey, Berry, Jacob, and Duncan, have in turn published a History of Guernsey ; although the first and third were under other titles ; and of an island so limited in extent and population, it will be thought that nothing more remains to be written.1 But our researches have supplied us with many materials, with which these authors were evidently unacquainted or had overlooked ; and, in point of size, Guernsey exceeds the celebrated island of Ithaca, which, lying on the western coast of Greece, is very rocky and mountainous, and only twenty-five miles in cir cumference. And yet Ithaca was part of the kingdom, and long the residence, of Ulysses, whose adventures on his return to it from the Trojan war form the subject of Homer's Odyssey.

Small as Guernsey is, she is not barren in interest ing historical incidents ; and both Jersey and herself have records peculiarly their own, as well as a language, laws, and institutions ; because they were in a manner isolated from the rest of the world until towards the close of the last century, or rather, until the extension to them of steam navigation, in 1824, removed the barrier which had so long checked the intercourse with England and other countries. Notwithstanding the removal of this barrier, the natives, especially in the country parishes, yet retain a distinct national character ; and as the continental Normans were incor porated with France 650 years since, the islanders may be (1) "Though Hollingshead, and Speed, and especially Mr. Camden, in his Britannia, have each attempted a description of all these islaDds, they have done it so briefly, and from such imperfect memoirs, that they can give but little satisfaction to an inquisitive reader.

Doctor Heylin is he who has wrote the fullest concerning them." — Falle's Pre face, 1694. U said to be the last remnant of that warlike people. There exists in all civilized communities, even the smallest, a natural desire to be fully acquainted with not only their own annals and statistics, but those of their immediate neighbours ; and we believe it to be the general opinion in the island that another History of Guernsey is wanting. The bailiwick of Guernsey consists of eight islands, of which all, with the exception of the rocky islet of Burhou, are inhabited ; viz. Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,1 Herm, Jethou, Lihou, and Brechou, or Isle des Marchands, near Sark. Cas tle Cornet and the Casket rocks are also peopled. By the last census, taken in 1851, the population of the bailiwick was 33,646 souls ; viz. Guernsey, 29,732 souls,2 or 1,238 per square mile ; Alderney,3 3,333 souls ; and Sark, 581 souls.

Burhou, which is separated from Alderney by the impetuous Swinge, is interesting to the naturalist, as it is the haunt of the stormy petrel, the bird better known to British seamen as " Mother Carey's Chicken" — the only other spots in the British Isles wdiere it is said to be found being the Scilly Isles and the Calf of Man. Burhou, Brechou, Jethou, Lihou, Brehon, and other similar names, are of Celtic origin. Guernsey is one of the Anglo-Norman or Channel Isles, which are all situate in the bay of Mont St. Michel, and on the coast, and in sight, of the "Cotentin,"4 a district of Lower Normandy, deriving its name from the city of Coutances, — the Constantia of the Romans. Guernsey is the second of these islands in extent and importance, Jersey being the first, and is about thirty miles in circumference, including the windings of the coast ; nine miles in length ; and five miles in breadth, with an area of a little above 24 square miles, or 15,560 English acres.

The land is elevated to the South, and shelves to the North, and some of the bays and sea views are of great beauty. In old charts, Guernsey appears as two islands, the northern, or smaller, with the Close of the Vale, (1) Captain Carteret, in his voyage round the world, (1/66-0,) discovered a cluster of islands in the South Seas, to which he gave the general name of Queen Charlotte's Islands, distinguishing four of them by the names of New Jersey, New Guernsey, New Alderney, and New Sark: they are situated in lat. 11° 10' S., long. l64°43'£. Captain, afterwards Admiral, Carteret, was a native of Jersey, and a scientific officer. (2) In the town of St. Peter- Port 17,047, and in the nine country parishes 12,685 souls, exclusive of the garrison at Fort George, not enumerated. (3) Previous to tbe commencement, in February, 1847, of the naval harbour of observa tion in Alderney, its population was scarcely 1,000 souls : by the census of 1841, it was 1,038 souls.

(4) The Cotentin forms a peninsula in the North of Dep. de la Manche, its northern extremity being Cape La Hague, and its southern near Mont St. Michel. ( Clos du Valle,) being separated from the main land at high water by a narrow channel, which was closed in 1803, ■ and of which the eastern end was in St. Sampson's harbour, and the western in Grand Havre, near the Vale church. The island is divided into ten parishes, which, with Alderney and Sark, constitute the twelve parishes of the deanery of Guernsey, in the diocese of Winchester. The nearest part of England is the Start Point, distant 57 nautic, or 66 statute, miles ; and of France, Cape Flamanville, distant 24 nautic, or 28 statute, miles. From St. Peter-Port, the only town, which is in latitude 49° 33' N., and in longitude 2° 40' W. of Greenwich, the islands and sea ports named bear and are distant in English statute miles as follows, viz. Jersey, the nearest point, S.E. 19^ miles, and the pier of St. Helier, 29 miles ; Alderney, N.E. 21 miles, and the Caskets, N.N.E. 20 miles; Sark, E. 1\ miles, and Herm, E.N.E. 3 j miles; Weymouth, N. J E. 75 miles ; the Needles, N.N.E. \ E. 90 miles; Southampton, N.N.E. J E. 113 miles; Plymouth, N. W. I W. 92 miles ; and Falmouth, W.N.W. 120 miles ; Cherbourg, E. by N. 42 miles ; St. Malo, S.S.E. 61 miles ; and Granville, S.E. 62 miles.

The average depth of water in the neighbourhood of the islands is 35, and seldom exceeds 40, fathoms. The tide in Guernsey rises about 32 feet. Alderney is in circumference nearly twelve miles, being in length from East to West scarcely four miles, and in breadth about lh mile. It is distant from the Casket rocks nearly seven miles, and from Cape La Hague, in Normandy, ten miles, all statute. The strait which divides Alderney from Cape La Hague is called by the French, Le Ras de Blanchard, and by the English, the Race of Alderney, the tide runningthrough at the rate of six knots an hour. The harbour of the Braye, where a naval station is now in progress, is on the North side of the island ; and the old pier there, which was built in 1736, was but a rude structure, with one projecting arm. The only town, called St. Anne's, is placed on a hill, about half a mile from Braye harbour : in 1830, it consisted of 255 houses, and contained 973 inhabitants, the trade of Alderney being at that time, and up to 1846, in a state of utter j>rostration ; but, since the commencement of the naval station already mentioned, St. Anne's has risen like a Phœnix from its ashes, and the population has more than trebled.

The island shelves to the N.E., and is intersected by deep (1) The policy of closing the passage may well be questioned, as it appears to us that it might easily have been deepened and converted into one long wet dock, with quays, by means of a gate at each end. valleys, with a plain or table land ; but it is almost destitute of trees, shrubs, and hedges. The rock scenery is, however, very fine, and the air is remarkably bracing and salubrious. When we visited Alderney in 1846, it struck us that the lower classes not only spoke English with more fluency, and with a better accent, but that in appearance they were more English, than the peasantry of the other Anglo-Norman islands — a peculiarity probably arising from the former living chiefly in the town, and from the comparatively large English garrison during the last war.

Sark is rather more than three miles in length, with an average breadth of about one mile, and is about nine miles in circumference. It is divided into two unequal portions, called Great and Little Sark, which are connected by the Coupee, a very singular and lofty narrow ridge, or natural bridge, of about 300 feet long. Sark is a table land with a few valleys, and has no declivity towards the sea, excepting a trifling one at the northern extremity. Although there are five landing places, there is no harbour where ships can he, and only one beach where boats and other small vessels can be wintered. Altogether, Sark is a very remarkable spot, and, with its caverns, its steep and variegated rocks, its pictu resque valleys and dells, its creux terrible, and its beautiful cliff and distant island scenery, it is perhaps the most romantic and interesting island of the group, although its geometrical area is only about three square miles.

There is a border village in Scotland called Sark, near a river of the same name. Herm. — The name of this islet, which contains about 400 English acres, denotes, in old French, land deserted or uncul tivated, and from the same root is evidently derived the French word ermite, and the English hermit.1 In the sixth century, during the time of St. Magloire, a small chapel was erected in Herm, which Camden states belonged to the Fran ciscan order of monks, and part of the walls are still standing. Brother Claude Panton, hermit in the island of Herm, and his brother saints, are said, in the " Dedicace des Eglises," to have been present at the consecration of St. Sampson's church, Guernsey, in 1111. Herm and Jethou, together with Sark, not only shelter the roadstead of St. Peter-Port from about N.N.E. to E.S.E., but add considerably to the beauty of the sea view as seen from Guernsey.

(1) "Herm, Hermes, ou Ermes. La coutume du Bourbonnais, Art. 331, dit que les terres ttermes et vacans sont au seigneur justicier. Ell entend par Iii les terres en friche que ne sont occupies par personne. On trouve le mot Henna employe de la meme maniere dans la loi 4, C, de censibns, et dans une soule de chartes. V. le Glossaire du droit Francais, au mot Ermes (G. D.C) ."—Repertoire Universel et Raisonnt' dc Jurisprudence par M. Merlin. The other three islands need not detain us, as they are too small to require further notice here. Of the history of Guernsey, which, unlike that of the sister island of Jersey, has never yet appeared from the pen of a native, nothing authentic or documentary, with perhaps two or three exceptions, can be found anterior to the eleventh cen tury ; and its meagre annals previous to that period are based chiefly on conjecture, with scarcely a ray of tradition.

If there ever were any early written chronicles, they were pro bably lost or destroyed during the incursions, ravages, and massacres, of the North-men. The Rev. Doctor Ubele, vicar of Alderney, now deceased, sought to establish, by a learned disquisition in Berry's History, that these islands were visited by the Phœnicians1 in the course of their traffic with Britain ; but is it not quite as likely that such traffic has been mistaken, from a similarity of names, for that of the Veneti, or Venetians, a people inhabiting part of modern Britany, and mentioned by Cæsar as trading with Britain ? The existence of cromlechs,2 (commonly known as Druid's Altars,) of Maen hirs, or detached upright stones, and of other Celtic remains, proves that Guernsey was inhabited long before the Christian era, having doubtless been first peopled from the adjacent continent of Gaul, when it was yet immersed in the grossest superstition and barbarism ; and celts,3 &c, continue to be occasionally discovered to this day.4 Cromlechs, &c, have also been found in Herm, but none in Jethou.

The remains of a stone circle at Little Sark — the quantity of fragments of (1) The Phœnicians planted several colonies in tbe Mediterranean, particularly Car thage, and possessed a powerful fleet ; their capital cities were Sidon and Tyre ; [" Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are tbe honourable of the earth." — Isaiah xxiii. 8.] and, being subdued by Alexander, 332 years B.C., they remained tributary to his successors and to the Romans. Ezekiel xxvii. contains a very interesting record of the commerce and navigation of the Tynans, but we much doubt the latter having ever extended to Britain. In her tempestuous seas, sails of " fine linen, with broidered work from Egypt," would have been of little service. • (2) "The true form of a cromlech, or chamber of long triangular area with the only entrance at the apex, is seen in the magnificent examples of Gavr' lnnis, in the Morbihan, those on the coast of Normandy, and in the Channel Islands." — Dr. Lukis.

(3) By " celt " is meant a wedge-shaped instrument, formed of various kinds of hard stone. It has a cutting edge, regularly sharpened on botli sides, and it is rounded and pointed at the opposite end. About one hundred of these are yet preserved in Guernsey, found in different localities, but chiefly in or near places once occupied by the Celtic tribes. The above are made of quartz, chert, flint, or agate, serpentine, greenstone, porphyry, jasper, granular-porphyry, and granite. Those of indurated steatite and acti noliteschist often resemble the Indian jade hatchets. They vary in size from one inch to twelve or thirteen in length. As this instrument, which is found in every country, differs so little in shape, its general adoption bespeaks a similar design and origin. Antiquaries are not agreed as to its original use, or the manner of its being made serviceable.

(4) Frederick C Lukis, Esq., Grange Road, has with great industry and research made a collection of these Celtic remains, which does him the highest credit as an antiquarian and a geologist, and to which every Guernseyman, who has it in his power, should con tribute, in the hope that the collection will long be preserved entire. pottery — several stone celts, known, as in Guernsey, by the name of coins de foudre — the stone disc, or amulet, called rouette des fetaux — all attest that Sark was occupied in very early times, although it has no cromlechs. The primeval or Pagan ages are divided by antiquarians into three periods, viz. first, the stone ; secondly, the bronze ; and, thirdly, the iron ; each betokening a different degree of civilization : ' and Guernsey has many remnants of the first period, which belongs to a time before all authentic history, to a people who lived precariously by fishing and hunting upon the sea coasts, or along the large rivers of Europe.