The picturesque and historical guide to the island of Jersey

Preface

The following little Work is in Three Parts, with headings to the different Chapters for the facility of reference, a plan, which it is hoped will be found advantageous.

The First Part (from Page 1 to 86^, is an abridged History of Jersey, compiled from the best historians, mixed with original matter, and continued to the present time. The want of a cheap and accessible edition of this kind had long been felt as a desideratum.

The Second Part (from Page 87 to 167), is mostly confined to a Description of the Town of St. Helier, and its contiguous maritime, and military establishments. — The author avails himself of this opportunity to acknowledge the valuable information he has received from his venerable friend, the learned JVJ. de Gerville, the French antiquary of Valognes, on the ecclesiastical antiquities of this Island.

The Third Part (from Page 168 to 254) consists of a Tour, in Six Chapters, to visit the most interesting localities in Jersey. It is an original selection, rather than a compilation from Ouless' Scenic Beauties of Jersey, published a few years ago, the Explanations and Descriptions of which were written by the author of this Work, for which he now solicits the patronage of the Public.

PREFACE.

A certain part of the materials had never appeared before; the rest is a compilation, which, though it has been selected from the best authorities, can have no claims to originality. This always happens, when the novelty of the subject has already been long exhausted, by its previous appearance in numerous publications. It is therefore only by something new in the style, or by some particular arrangement of the matter, that an old subject can be placed in a more striking point of view, and have the merit of being made more interesting to the Reader.

After this candid acknowledgment, it would be superfluous to crowd the following pages with marginal references to the numerous authorities, which it lias been advisable to consult in the course of preparing this Publication.

The strictest impartiality has been observed, throughout, so as to speak of men and things, as if every prejudice had been removed by the distance of some centuries from the actors in those busy scenes ; but at the same time to shrink from no statements! which can be established by facts, and to profess no opinions either inconsistent with the purest loyalty to our Sovereign, or at variance with the warmest attachment of Jerseymen to their native island, or to the well-being and the permanency of its local interests. St. Heller's, Jersey, June J 8, 1847.

Introduction

Situation of the Channel Islands, and of Jersey in particular. — Its proximity to the coast of France. — Its conformation and general appearance. — The fertility of its soil, audits abundant supply of fresh zvater.

In a deep bay on the coast of Normandy, which takes its name from the far-famed monastic and chivalrous Abbey of Mount St. Michael, at an easy distance from the continent, lies a group of small but fertile Islands, which now form the only feeble, but interesting remnant of the ancient Duchy of Normandy, but which ia now better known by the general name of the Channel Islands. These consist of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark, with some smaller ones of little importance. Of all these, Jersey is the largest, the most populous, and the nearest to the coast of France, it has also the most considerable proportion of fruitful and cultivated land. These islands are further highly favoured in point of situation and latitude, lying open on one side to the British Channel, and in one of the mildest por-

A

II INTRODUCTION.

tions of the temperate zone. St. Michael's Bay forms an extensive curve, which recedes to a considerable distance into the French coast, and sweeps on from Cap La Hague in Normandy, to Cape Frehelle in Britany. The whole of that long range of coast is commanded in time of war by the naval forces of Great Britain, which are stationed at those islands.

Jersey lies the most southerly of this group, and as this little work is particularly intended to assist strangers in their excursions there, it will be unnecessary to say any thing further about its sister islands. We may therefore begin by observing, that Jersey is situated in 49 degrees of North latitude, and 2 degrees, 22 minutes, West longitude of London. Geographically speaking, it cannot be denied that it forms a very approximate appendage of the French continent, the nearest points of which, are not at the distance of more than five or six leagues. These are the small fishing towns of Carteret and Portbail, from the latter of which the Jersey markets receive a plentiful supply of provisions. The sea in the intermediate channel is shallow, and as there is a tradition that Jersey, at some distant period, was, by some violent commotion or other, separated from the continent, if such an event did ever happen, it was probably at that place. It is at the eastern end of Jersey, where the sea leaves dry at low water a ridge of low rocks, of sand banks and of shingle, about three miles in length, which is well

INTRODUCTION. Ill

known by the local name of the " Bank du Violet," near the extremity of which, and on a higher rock, Seymour's Tower was built about sixty years ago. It was from that point that it was found, on actual soundings not many years back, that the water in the middle of that channel, is not more than 40 feet at low water, and about 80 feet at full tide. How frail then, yet how extraordinary a barrier is this, which has kept two nations distinct from each other in their manners, their laws, and their religion for almost a thousand years !

The other French ports in the neighbourhood of Jersey, are Granville, at the distance of 10 leagues, and those of St. Malo and Cherbourg, at the distance of about 12 leagues each ; the latter of which has of late years become a formidable naval establishment, which in case of any future war with France, would require to be watched by Great Britain with particular vigilance.

In reckoning the distances to the nearest British possessions, they are as follows : —

To Guernsey, about seven leagues.

To Alderney, about ten leagues.

To Weymouth, about twenty-five leagues.

To the Isle of Wight, about thirty leagues ; and

To Southampton, about forty leagues.

The form of the Island is that of an irregular parallogram, running from South-east to North-west. Its greatest length is about twelve miles, and the average breadth may be estimated at full five miles,

3Y INTRODUCTION.

but in no part does it exceed seven miles. It has been ascertained by a recent survey, that its surface contains from 39,000 to 40,000 acres. From this total must of course be deducted some tracts of sandy downs and rocky coasts, with a few other waste lands only adapted to the growth of wood or furze.

The appearance of Jersey is that of an inclined plane towards the South. The same conformation is also observable with some exceptions of high and rugged tracts of coast on its western and eastern boundaries. Part of the eastern coast, commencing at Mount Orgueil, and the whole of the northern shore as far as l'Etac, in St. Ouen's parish, form, with but few interruptions, a range of cliffs rising abruptly from the sea to the height of from 200 to 300 feet. This natural defence renders the island in those places nearly inaccessible. The internal rocks are in general mere naked ridges, forming here and there promontories projecting into the sea, a circumstance which adds to the rapidity of the tides and currents, and varies their courses. In several places the rocks are loosely blended with other stony substances, or are in a state of great disintegration. Hence the violence of the tides has formed some deep inlets, and scooped out several caverns, where occasionally, in such confined situations, the water rises to the perpendicular height of 40 or 50 feet, whence the spray is dashed about in every possible direction. It is at a narrow interval from these rugged

INTRODUCTION. V

cliffs that the land begins to decline towards the southern coast, which in several places is nearly on a level with the sea. The slip of table land, which runs parallel between the northern and southern coasts, and from which the waters flow towards either, is on an average not above a mile wide. In this respect, Jersey displays a striking contrast with Guernsey, the southern boundary of which shoots up into high rocks from the water, and declines towards the north. It is principally owing to this difference of position, that there is such a marked variety in the nature of the soil, and in the temperature of the atmosphere in the two islands, which considering the small distance between them, would otherwise be inexplicable.

In general the strata of the rocks run from North to South, thus following the form of the island ; but those layers are usually more inclined than the declination of the surface. No part of the island rises to an elevation of more than from two to three hundred feet, the highest localities of which are tracts of table land, gradually sloping towards the sea, particularly on the southern coast. Those elevated parts are at small distances from each other, and intersected by deep, and in general by narrow vales, which run from North to South. The sides of those vales are bounded by steep and sometimes even craggy declivities; but more frequently they are planted with timber, or thickly set with furze and brushwood.

VI INTRODUCTION.

Those slopes are generally too steep to be cultivated to advantage, and are therefore left in their unproductive state. At the highest elevation of those slopes begins the table land, to which they seem to serve as embankments to prevent it from falling into those vales. Under this point of view, the country presents as it were an appearance of hills, which had been truncated and compressed, to form the irregular surface of that table land. These numerous vales have copious rivulets of water, which run through them, when they again receive the accession of an infinite number of tributary streams, which flow into them from a thousand springs. On which account there is not perhaps any spot in the world which is more bountifully supplied with fresh water. The comparatively long course of those rivulets is particularly advantageous to so small an island, as it enables it to have a greater number of water-mills, than it would have been possible to erect under different circumstances.

A thousand springs gush from th' adjacent hiils,

And pour their waters thro' embow'ring groves, And grass}- meads, in fertilising rills ;

"While as the eye along the landscape roves, With rapid glance, a living picture moves.

Of happiness in each secluded vale, Where dwells a num'rous race, where labour proves,

That frugal food and pleasure shall not fail, While health is in the clime, and coolness in the gale.

Notes on Falle's History, p. 373,

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF JERSEY.

CHAPTEE I.

Origin of the name of Jersey. — Its occupation by the Celts and the Druids. — The conquest and government of the Romans. — Its ancient connection icith France. — Co7iversion of the hiliabitants. — Canonisation of Saints. — The Islanders become a distinct people. — Invasions of the Normans, and their ravages on the coasts of France.

A short sketch of the historical recollections of the Island of Jersey may not be unacceptable, the more so as they become dim and uncertain, in proportion as they recede into the darkness of distant ages.

The name of Jersey itself is involved in obscurity. The most common opinion is, that it is of a Roman origin, and that its present Latin name of Ceesarea, is merely derived from the adjective of Caesar, which has since been corrupted into Jersey. The subjection of Gaul to the Romans lasted for four centuries and-ahalf ; and it is probable that during that long period, some of the Cgesars might have been attracted to this favoured spot ; but it is very unlikely that a place then of so little importance, should have been visited by Julius Ceesar, who was the first Roman emperor, and

2 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP JERSEY.

the conqueror of Gaul, to whom the building of Mount Orgueil Castle is commonly attributed. Indeed, tradition seems to have been fond to assign exclusively to Julius, whatever had been done by any other of the Caesars. The name of Ceesarea is however very ancient, from its being mentioned as an island of the British Ocean, in the Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, who reigned 150 years after Christ. It> results from this that Jersey was already an island, and that if it had ever been severed from the continent, it must have been at a period of very remote antiquity. It is however certain, from the remains of Roman entrenchments, from the occasional finding of medals, and from the vicinity of the island to the Roman colony at Coutances, that it had been occupied by that people ; but in the absence of positive proofs, conjecture and probability may be allowed, however imperfectly, to supply their place. We, therefore, assume that the rule of that people continued, till they were themselves expelled from Gaul by the invasion of the northern barbarians.

As to the period which preceded the Roman conquest, little can be said about the state of the island. Like the rest of the neighbouring countries it had been under the influence of the superstition of the Diuids from the various cromlehs or religious memorials of those enthusiasts, which have been discovered here. It was during their ascendancy, that the Castle of Mount Orgueil was first erected ; for the present buildings seem to be Norman. A post so impregnable then, was not likely to have been neglected. The druidical worship, however, continued long after the establishment of the Romans, nor did it disappear from the

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF JERSEY. d

land till the propagation of Christianity, had prospered on the ruins of those odious rites. It is therefore for those different reasons, I am inclined to believe, that the name of Jersey is not of a Roman, but of a Celtic origin ; and that it is derived from " Caer," a rock, and " ey," an island, from which a Roman would naturally write Csesarea, though it would correspond better with the rocky cliffs, which line so large a part of its coasts.

It may be further mentioned in this place, that some of the earlier writers sometimes refer to Jersey under the name of Augia, as if it had already been so known under the dominion of the Celts, and before the coming of the Romans. Whether they were correct in using that name, it is now impossible to ascertain, and indeed it would be superfluous to inquire.

The first period of the history of this island is that which existed under the administration of the Druids and the Celts, which ended in the conquest of Gaul by Julius Ceesar, a little before the Christian era. The particulars of those times are so much involved in fables, that they may be continually disputed, or what is still more discouraging, that although some of the facts may be true, they are totally void of interest to the general reader.

The government of the Romans lasted till the subversion of their empire in Gaul. During those four centuries, Gaul became comparatively civilized. Roman colonies were founded and flourished, while the old superstitions of the country gradually disappeared with the propagation of Christianity. This, however, was the general effect of Roman administration at large, but it is impossible to say how far those multiplied benefits extended to all the remoter provinces, or to the island of Jersey, which was then poor, unimportant, and with a scanty population. It has indeed preserved no vestige of the residence of the Romans, except some mouldering encampments, and a few solitary medals of some of the emperors, which have occasionally been found. Even tradition is silent, whether the commanding fortress of Gorey, or Mount Orgueil, was ever a Roman station.

After those conquerors had been expelled from our shores, the Francs, a nation of barbarians, who had issued from the wilds of Germany became in their turn the conquerors of our soil, and founded an empire, which has since been known as the French monarchy. That warlike nation breaking out of their native recesses, spread themselves like an inundation far and wide. Under the two first dynasties of the kings of France, their empire gradually increased, till it comprised all the countries, which are included between the Danube and the ocean. That immense tract was divided into eastern and western France, part of the latter of which constituted the country of Neustria, whose lower province, at a subsequent period, was ceded to the Normans, and assumed their name. The ancient Neustria was a maritime province, of which the Channel Islands had been considered as parcels, and consequently during those ages, they were integral dependencies of the great kingdom of France. The duchy of Normandy, which succeeded, was also a maritime tract, but much smaller than the ancient Neustria.

The period of that ancient French sovereignty extends over a duration of almost five hundred years, or

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF JERSEY.

from the foundation of that kingdom about the year 420 to the cession of the province of Neustria to the Normans in 912. The transactions of those times are meagre and scanty, or refer to men and actions, which have long ceased to be interesting, and whose effects have no influence on the present state of society. Those events were the wars, and the degeneracy of the first dynasty of the French sovereigns, the invasion of the Saracens, the wars and the establishments of Charlemagne, and the subsequent declension, and final ruin of his family. These were indeed great historical events, but their consequences have passed away, till they have become in the present state of society to be no more, than the shadows of an empty dream. Moreover, every history of this kind belonging to the general efforts of a great country, cannot with propriety be referred to, as being the local history of any particular district. Therefore, the annals of the Channel Islands, and of the neighbouring parts of the continent, may be dispatched in a few words. In the first place, the various elements of the population, whether Celtic, Roman, or French, were melted into one general mass, from which arose a new language and a new nation, which now constitutes the modern French. The amalgamation of the usages of the ancient natives, of different countries with the Romans, who conquered them, have in like manner occasioned the origin of the several nations of modern Europe, till every section of its large families, have become proud of their nationality, and by means of progressive improvements and variations, have still further widened the lines of separation. This is more particularly striking in the case of the Frenchman, the Spaniard?

b HISTORICAL SKETCH OF JERSEY.

and the Italian, who though originally sprung from the same stock, have since spread themselves out into distinct nations. Hence, under this point of view the Channel Islands were strictly French, and constituted a small part of that monarchy during the first five hundred years of its existence, a long period indeed in the course of human generations, and' more than sufficient to impress the indelible traces of a national character. This will account for many of the laws, and other local peculiarities of the inhabitants of those islands, and why French has been retained, notwithstanding their change of religion and of political circumstances, as their vernacular language.

It is to this period of French connection, that we must refer the complete conversion of the natives to the Christian faith. It is well known that the Roman Empire was Christian at the time of its destruction, unless it might have been in some of its remote and yet half civilized provinces. When, therefore, one reads of the successful labours of the missionaries, who came from Wales into Armorica, since Britany, and into the neighbouring districts, it must be generally understood that, their exertions were directed to eradicate the remnants of the druidical, and of other pagan superstitions from the country, and to convert that part of the population, which consisted of the hordes of northern barbarians, who had settled in their conquests. Be that however as it may, it is evident that the general propagation of Christianity, the formation of dioceses, the building of churches, and the establishment of a regular priesthood are referable to this period.

Most of the churches in the Channel Islands have retained the names of their patron saints, whose career was either very obscure, or at most but locally known. Many of them had been the founders of their own churches, who after having spent holy and usefullives in the service of their respective congregations, were considered by them as beings of a superior order, to whose tutelary guidance they might commit their worldly and spiritual concerns. It would seem as if every church then enjoyed the right of canonisation, and that it is to circumstance that we must attribute the great number of saints, whose origin is unknown, and whose names have never been canonised. It is not commonly known that the canonisation of saints is not to be found in the early ages of the church, and that the first instance of it in the Romish Church, happened in the year 923, in the case of St. Uldric. At present that church does not canonise any one till a hundred years after the death.

Another effect of that early connection with France, is that it has left some indelible marks on the national character of the inhabitants, such as on their laws, their language, and their habits, which sufficiently prove that they are not of a British origin, but that they have been so much modified through a long series of changes and variations, that their protracted connection with the Normans, and subsequently with the English, has rendered them a distinct people, in every respect essentially different from the two powerful neighbours, who almost enclose their narrow limits on every side.

The latter part of this period was productive of the most extraordinary events. The Normans, a northern nation as their name imports, and who seem to have been the same people as the Danes, who so long ravaged England, extended their piracies to the coasts of France, and rendered them the scenes of their havoc and desolation. Their incursions began under Louis I., the son of Charlemagne, and lasted about eightyyears, or to 912. The success of those invaders had the effect of increasing their numbers, and rendering their incursions more frequent, and more formidable. Their track was marked with the most frightful horrors, and with scenes of the bitterest distress. It belongs, however, to the history of France to expatiate upon those calamities, which are but incidentally mentioned in this place, so far as they affected the Channel Islands, and the adjoining continental province of Neustria. The weak successors of Charlemagne, were unable to resist effectually the violence of those invaders ; but it was in the reign of his grandson, Charles the Bald, that matters grew infinitely worse, the whole of which was spent in endeavouring to oppose a barrier to their ravages. By means of their light vessels they ascended the rivers, and penetrated into the heart of the country, where they plundered, and burned the towns, and shed such torrents of human blood, that the ruin and devastation, which followed in their course, could hardly find a parallel in history. Those pagans were gross and brutal idolaters, and strongly addicted to all the superstitions of their god Odin. It was this which made them wreak their rage, particularly upon churches, monasteries, and religious persons; and indeed everything that was Christian, was exposed to their wanton and unmitigated barbarity. There were no places in the neighbourhood more exposed to the predatory incursions of those barbarians than the Channel Islands, near which they necessarily had to pass, as they ranged along the coasts of the Continent.

Chapter II

Martyrdom of St. Helier. — The cession of Neustria, the es-* tablishment and conversion of the Normans. — The Government and character of Rotto. — The Norma?is become a separate nation. — The Clamour or Invocation of the name of Haro. — Small political value of the Channel Islands then. — The descendants of Rollo still on the throne of England.

As Jersey had long before been converted to Christianity, it was there that the Pagan Normans left a signal instance of their ferocity. There lived then here a holy man, who had long been distinguished for the piety, and the austerity of his life. The name of that meek recluse was Helier, whose little solitary cell, which he had chosen for his retreat from the world, is still to be seen on a rock near Elizabeth Castle, and still retains, after so many ages, its primitive name of the Hermitage.

They put this holy man to death under those aggravated circumstances of cruelty, which gained him the reputation of a martyr and a saint. The anniversary of his martyrdom, according to the ecclesiastical calendar of the Cathedral of Coutances, happens on the 17th of July. The island itself became famous in after times, on account of this undaunted, and devoted man ; and still more so, when after a long interval, a Norman nobleman, of the posterity of those who had murdered him there, founded an abbey on the spot, which had been hallowed by his martyrdom, and dedicated it to his memory, by calling it the Abbev of St. Helier. It was then, also, that on the neighbouring shore, and in the sight of the Hermitage, was laid the first foundation of the town of St. Helier, which has in the present age become a large, commercial, and important sea-port.

After the Normans, as above stated, had continued a predatory kind of warfare for about eighty years, the king of France, Charles the Simple, finding that all his efforts to repel those merciless invaders, were unavailing, sought to make a compromise with them, and by making a cession of some part of the kingdom, to save the rest. Rollo, who was afterwards so celebrated, was then the leader of the Normans. The Archbishop of Rouen was sent to him with the overtures of a treaty. The emphatical words of the prelate on that occasion, have been preserved by the contemporary historians. " Will you, mighty Chieftain," said he, " be at war with the French, as long as you live ?" " What will become of you, should death surprise you ?" " Do you think that you are a God ?" " Are you not a mortal man ?" " Remember what you are, and will be, and by whom you must one day be judged." After this solemn exordium, he proposed the terms of an accommodation, by which part of Neustria, containing all the fine tract of country, which extends 200 miles in length along the British sea, with a corresponding breadth, should be ceded to Rollo, and his successors for ever, to hold by fealty and homage to the crown of France, under the title and dignity of Dukes. It was further proposed to Rollo, that if he would embrace Christianity, the King of France would bestow his daughter Gilla upon him in marriage, as a pledge of sincere amity, and of perpetual peace between the two nations. The proposals were accepted, and the treaty was ratified by an interview between the two princes. Rollo was baptized, and his authority and influence, induced his followers to follow his example.

Those events happened in 912, when the Channel Islands were thus irrevocably severed from the French monarchy. Many vestiges of that ancient connection have remained, and though they may have been weakened or diminished during a long succession of ages, enough has however continued to establish a distant approximation to French habits. The Normans soon coalesced with the general mass of natives into a powerful and independent nation, the rival of France, and the principalcheck to all its schemes of aggrandisement. It is therefore at that period, that the Channel Islands may be said to have begun their new and permanent era, which may be still divided into two periods, the former of which continued as long as continental Normandy existed, as a great and powerful state, till through the incapacity and misrule of King John, it was subjugated by France. It had been separated from it for about 300 years, half of which had elapsed since William had by conquest ascended the English throne. The latter period of the Normans is from 1204 to the present day, when the great mass of their duchy has been merged again in the French monarchy, and with their national independence, they have also lost their national character. Hence, it may be said, and that too with the proud conviction of truth, that the only remnant of that enterprising people cannot now be discovered anywhere, except in the Channel Islands. This short account of the early history of those noted Islands may not be unacceptable to the general reader of this little work, and it may also correct the notions of a few individuals, who might perhaps pretend, that the present brave and loyal inhabitants, are but a race of half foreigners, and little more than the population of some conquered territory, recently incorporated into the empire. It is a striking feature in the history of the Normans, that as soon as they had obtained a territorial settlement, the greater part of them immediately embraced Christianity, and in time became the most zealous supporters of that beneficent religion, by their munificence in the erection of churches, and by the large endowments, which they bestowed on religious houses.