GUERNSEY, a bailiwick, and one of the islands under the dominion of Great
Britain, lying in a part of the English channel called Mount St. Michael's Bay,
on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany, the port being situated in 49° 28 (N.Lat.),
and 2° 33 (W. Lon.), 13 English miles (N.W.) from Jersey, 7 (W.) from Sark,
and 15 (S.W. by S.) from Alderney. It is the most westward of these islands, and
the most distant from the coast of Normandy, being 26
English miles (S.W.) from Cape LaHogue, and 36 (W.by
S.) from Cherbourg. The extreme length, from northeast
to south-west, is about eight miles; the breadth,
from north-west to south-east, nearly six; and the circumference
about thirty. It contains 20,302 inhabitants,
of which number, 11,173 are in the town and parish of
St. Peter's Port, 838 in the parish of St. Sampson,
1215 in the Vale parish, 375 in Torteval parish, 1022 in
St. Saviour's, 611 in the Forest parish, 1093 in St.
Peter's du Bois, 1429 in St. Martin's, 1747 in that of
the Catel, and 799 in St. Andrew's.
Respecting the early history of the island but few
authentic particulars can be collected. Its surface was, in
a state of nature, covered with woods and overrun with
briars, when it was visited by the Romans, about seventeen
years before the birth of Christ, and Octavius
Augustus, then emperor, appointed a governor over it.
It is the generally received opinion, that this is the
island mentioned in Antoninus's Itinerary by the name
of Sarnia; and that Alderney is called in the same
Itinerary, Riduna; Sark, Sarnica; the little islands of
Herm and Jethou, Armia and Sarmia, respectively. The
next mention of Guernsey is about the year 520, when it
was visited by Sampson, Bishop of Dol in Brittany, who is
said to have lauded at what is now called St. Sampson's
harbour, where he built a chapel. His successor in the
bishoprick, Maglorius, prosecuted the work of converting
the inhabitants to Christianity, and built a chapel in
the present parish of the Vale, on a spot still called
St. Magloire, and by the peasantry, by corruption, St.
Maliere. At this period the inhabitants subsisted entirely
by fishing; and Guernsey was reckoned, though
the most distant from France, the most considerable of
these islands, on account of the safety and convenience
of its harbours, and the quantity of fish on its coast)
and in course of time, when the fishery was well established,
most of the religious houses, and many of
the great families in Normandy and Brittany, were
constantly supplied with fish from it. As Christianity
advanced, and the population increased, chapels were
built in different parts of the island, near the seashore,
and the priests that officiated in them were
allowed for their subsistence the tithe of all the fish
that was caught, which custom has continued ever since.
This island, which had anciently formed part of
the province of Neustria, and, with the rest of that
province, was included in the kingdom of France, established
by Pharamond, in 420, became, in like manner,
on the cession of Neustria to the Norman invaders
of France, a part of the duchy of Normandy,
created about the year 892. On the diminution of the
ecclesiastical revenues in Normandy, by Duke Richard,
the number of monks in the abbey of Mount St. Michael,
on the Norman coast, being reduced in proportion
to the reduction of its income, those that were driven
out retiring to Guernsey, founded, in the year 962, an
abbey in that part of the island now called the Close
of the Vale, dedicating it to the same patron saint.
Fishing having hitherto been the only occupation of
the inhabitants, their dwellings were all built close
to the sea-shore; but the monks soon _ prevailed on
them to commence clearing the land and raising corn,
so that, in a few years, the greater part of the Vale was
brought into cultivation. The religious soon became
celebrated for their great piety, not only on the continent,
but in England; they were visited by devout persons
from Normandy, France, and Britain; insomuch that
Guernsey acquired the name of the Holy Island, which
it long retained, and by which it was designated not
only in the papal bulls, but also in the charters and
other acts of the Norman and English sovereigns. The
Danes, in the course of their devastations towards the
close of the tenth century, ravaged the monastery, and
subsequently plundered the defenceless inhabitants of
their corn and cattle. It was to afford means of protection
from these ravages that a spacious castle was
erected on an eminence in the Vale, originally called St.
Michael's castle, or the castle of the Archangel, and now
the Vale castle, which is still well calculated to defend
the mouth of St. Sampson's harbour, where vessels ot
heavy burden find secure shelter. About the year 1030,
when the fleet of Robert, Duke of Normandy, conveying
the forces designed to support the claim of his cousins,
Alfred and Edward, to the English crown, against
Canute, was dispersed by a tempest, the vessel which
contained the duke himself was, together with about
twenty others, carried down the channel as far as
Guernsey, where they would have been dashed upon the
rocks, but for the fishermen, who hastened to their assistance,
and piloted them into a bay on the north side
of the Vale, where they moored in safety. The duke
having landed, he was conducted to the abbey of St. Michael,
and the stormy weather preventing his departure
for some time, afforded him an opportunity of surveying
the island. To reward the abbot for his hospitality, he
gave, to him and his successors, in fee, all the lands
within the Close of the Vale for ever, by the name of
the fief of St. Michael, with leave to extend the same
without the Close of the Vale, towards the north-western
part of the island, whenever settlers could be found to
clear and cultivate the land. And to recompense the
islanders for the succour they had rendered him, he
left engineers and workmen to finish the castle of St.
Michael, and to erect such other fortresses as might be
necessary for protecting them and their property from
the piratical invaders. The duke departed about a fortnight
after his landing, and, in commemoration of the
event, the place where his fleet lay has ever since been
called LAncresse, or the Anchoring-place. In the course
of a few years, the officers and artisans whom the duke
had left, erected two other very strong castles; a part
of one of these, called, from its marshy situation, Le
Chdteau des Marais, still remains in the Town parish,
and, from its walls being mantled with ivy, has acquired
the name of Ivy Castle: the site of the other, called
the castle of Jerbourg, is on a point of land on the
southern coast, now called St. Martin's point, but there
are no remains of the buildings. At the same time
mounds were thrown up on the most elevated parts of
the island, to enable the inhabitants to observe when
ships came in sight: one of these ancient alarm posts,
called La Hougue Hatenas, remains in St. Martin's parish;
and another, called La Hougue Fonque, in St. Saviour's.
Robert, Duke of Normandy, when about to depart for
the crusade, among the other bountiful presents which
he made to the clergy of his duchy, gave tracts of land
in Guernsey to the Bishop of Coutances, the Abbess of
Ca6n, the Bishop of Avranches, the Abbot of Mount St.
Michael, and the Abbot of Blanchelande, by virtue of
which grants, the priory of Lihou, or Lihoumel, and
the abbeys of Normoustier, Blanchelande, La Rue Frerie,
La Croix St. Geffroy, and Caen, were founded in the
island. All these, except the priory of Lihou, were
erected into franc-fiefs, the abbots holding immediately
of the Duke of Normandy; but the priory of Lihou
was an arr&re-fief, or appendage to the abbey of St.
Michael. About the middle of the eleventh century,
Guernsey was infested by a new race of pirates
from the south coast of the bay of Biscay, who built
a castle in the centre of it, called Le Chdteau des Sarrasins,
near the spot where the Catel church now
stands. Duke. William sent a force to their relief, under
the command of his esquire, Sampson DAnneville,
who landed near the castle of the Vale, when a
great number of the pirates was put to the sword,
the remainder, with great difficulty, escaping to their
ships; in reward for this service, Sampson received a
considerable tract of land in the island, by the title of
the fief and seigneurie DAnneville. Other tracts being
bestowed by the same sovereign upon other Norman gentlemen,
the greater part of Guernsey was soon brought
into tillage; and about this period it was divided into ten
parishes. Each free fief had a manorial court for litigating
disputes among the tenants; and the Abbot of St.
Michael, and the Seigneur DAnneville, had droit de haute
justice, or the privilege of judging, condemning, and executing
criminals, so that the civil polity of the island
was completely settled before the Norman Conquest of England.
When the French, in the reign of Edward III., made
themselves masters of these islands, Guernsey remained
in their possession for some time, until it was re-captured
by an English fleet under Reynold de Cobham and Jeffrey
de Harcourt. In the same reign it appears to have been
invaded by one Ivans, a descendant of the ancient Welch
princes, who was sent by the king of France, with a numerous
fleet andanarmyof four thousand men,to reduce these
islands; and who succeeded in capturing Guernsey, after
a spirited resistance: it is said to have been rescued by
the arrival of eighty ships from England, when a conflict
took place, in which five hundred men were killed
on each side. A spot of ground in the New Town, called
La Bataille, is supposed to derive its name from one of
these sanguinary combats; and a very ancient legend
states the invaders to have been Saragozans; to which
assertion a degree of probability attaches, from the
circumstance that Ivans, or Ivan of Wales, an inveterate
enemy of Edward III., had been in the Spanish service,
and that at that time, Henry, King of Castile, was
an enemy to England, in alliance with France. In the
reign of Edward IV., when Sir Richard Harliston,
Vice-admiral of England, having arrived with a squadron
at Guernsey, proceeded thence to re-capture Mont-
Orgueil castle in Jersey, at that time in the power of
the French, the men of Guernsey shared largely in the
victory that followed; and on this occasion the laurel
branch is said to have been first assumed as a crest
to the arms of Guernsey: these services are also recorded
in the preamble of the charter granted to
these islands by Henry VII., in the first year of his
reign. In 1549, Leo Strozzi," admiral of the French
galleys, previously to his attack upon Jersey, made an
attempt upon some English ships at anchor in the road
here, but was driven off by the sailors, assisted by the
inhabitants.
After the decapitation of Charles I., a force was
sent by Cromwell and the parliament to reduce these
islands, when Guernsey was first subdued, after a vigorous
defence; but Castle Cornet held out for the king
a considerable time longer . it appears, however, that
the inhabitants of Guernsey were thought to have displayed
on the whole less zeal for the royal cause than
those of Jersey, since they deemed it expedient, upon
the Restoration, to petition for the royal clemency} in
answer to which petition a general pardon was issued,
wherein several individuals were specified as having
given ample proofs of their loyalty. In the reign of
James II., some Roman Catholic soldiers were quartered
in Guernsey, and a chapel was fitted up for them j»
the town; a popish priest was sent over to say mass;
and a papist was made governor; but no sooner was
the arrival of the Prince and Princess of Orange in
England known here, than a plan was concerted to
secure Castle Cornet, disarm the papists, and confine
the lieutenant-governor. A day was accordingly fixed
on, when, by rotation, the command of the castle would
devolve upon a Protestant officer privy to the design,
who had no sooner entered upon duty than the chief
captain, accompanied by a body of the militia, seized
upon and disarmed all the Popish officers and men in
the town. This being done, a signal was immediately
given to the commandant of the castle, who instantly
summoned the garrison to arms. Being assembled on the
parade, the Protestant soldiers having their muskets
loaded with ball, as previously arranged, stepped out of the
ranks, and, facing about, presented their pieces at the
Roman Catholic soldiers, and so compelled them to lay
down their arms, by which means the fortress was secured
for the new king and queen.
During the late war with France this island was
often under serious alarm from threatened invasion;
but the well-regulated militia force, the number of
regular troops generally in barracks, the augmentation
and improvement of the ancient fortifications,
which took place during that period, and the erection
of the new fortress of Fort George, added to the
natural precipitousness of the coast, have rendered it,
in case of future hostilities, almost impregnable. The
force maintained by the island of Guernsey consists of
one troop of cavalry, two battalions of artillery, the secondbeing
composed chiefly of invalids; four regiments of
militia, three of which are light infantry, and the royal
marine corps. These regiments are clothed, equipped,
and disciplined, in the same manner as the regular forces,
but, since the termination of the war, they are only manoeuvred
six times in the course of a year. The natives
are excellent marksmen, and fire not only with more
precision, but with greater effect than the troops of
the line, which is easily accounted for, as they are accustomed
to the use of the fowling-piece from a very
early age, even the peasantry being greatly addicted to
the sports of the field. Tbe superiority of the Guernsey
artillery has long since been acknowledged, and although
the tangent is not in use among them, the eye
being the sole guide in pointing the piece, the islanders
seldom miss their mark. The regular troops amount
to upwards of five thousand, and the native troops to
nearly three thousand; and there are mounted on the
batteries and barracks, in various parts of the island,
two hundred and fifty-five pieces of ordnance, fortyseven
cannonades, and four mortars.
The situation of Guernsey, in the Channel stream,
produces a variety of currents on its coasts, the intricacy
and rapidity of which render the navigation extremely
difficult, except along the southern coast, where there
is good and safe anchorage, in a sandy bottom, at the
distance of a mile and a half from the shore. The
dangerous rocks called the Douore, lie in an exact southwest
direction from this island, at six leagues distance,
iu Lat. from 49° 10 to 49° 16. The form of the
island is nearly triangular, and almost its whole circuit
is indented by small bays and harbours. The
southern coast, from the Hanois to St. Martin's point,
and part of the eastern, from St. Martin's point to
the town, is a continued high rock, or cliff, rising
almost perpendicularly from the sea, to the height of
about two hundred and seventy feet; and, excepting
a few very narrow valleys, the parishes of St. Martin,
the Forest, Torteval, St. Peter of the Wood, a great part
of St. Saviour's, St. Andrew's, the Catel parish, and St.
Peter's Port, are level ground, at nearly that average
height from high water mark. The whole of the Vale and
St. Sampson's parishes, except a few gentle elevations
are low lands, nearly on the level of high water mark
but there is not much marshy ground, nor are they
subject to inundation, even in the winter season.
The low part of the island is particularly fertile; the
elevated portion, excepting nearly half of the parishes
of Torteval and the Forest, is exceedingly good arable
land; and even the steep rocky elevations on the
eastern and southern sides of the island, produce fine
pasturage for sheep down to the water's edge. The
whole island is abundantly watered by rivulets. Its
general formation, geologically considered, will admit of
a very natural division into two parts; the more elevated
part, to the south, consisting almost entirely of gneiss;
and the low ground, or northern portion, of syenite and
hornblend rock. The gneiss preserves nearly an equal
elevation from the eastern shore, near the town, to the
western coast, but its continuity is frequently interrupted
by short and deep ravines running to the south, and
by irregular vallies sloping to the west and north. The
character of the gneiss is much varied by the intrusion
of the strata which usually accompany that rock, but its
general aspect is porphyritic, and, when newly washed
by the gurge, it exhibits most beautiful specimens of
that species of marble.
Vegetables are produced in great variety and of excellent
quality; those grown in the parishes of St.
Sampson and the Vale are preferred. The trees, excepting
the elm, are neither tall nor luxuriant. The
fences in the upper, or southern, part of the island, are
sometimes composed of quickset, and exactly resemble
an English hedge, sometimes of high banks thickly
studded with trees and underwood, and frequently of
walls of hard brown stone, about four or five feet in
height, the workmanship of which is usually very excellent.
In the lower, or northern, division of the island,
the fields are mostly enclosed by dwarf walls of stone
and granite: the materials are rarely embedded in
cement, but generally piled up to the height of about
three feet, or even less, without regard to order or
durability; occasionally, however, the fences even
in the lower parishes are of regular and solid masonry.
The. timber grown in the island is chiefly elm,
which in quality is, probably, not excelled by any in
Europe: the female elm is much used for boat-building,
being, when cut into thin planks, very tough, and
yet so extremely pliable, that it can be formed into almost
any shape. The oak grown here is equal in quality
to English oak, but there is little of it, and it is
seldom allowed to attain a large size: the ash is generally
inferior and but partially grown; there are chesnut
and sycamore trees, but they are not numerous Most
kinds of European fruit grow in profusion; and so
genial is the climate, that myrtles and geraniums nourish
in the open air, and the more hardy species of
orange-tree, the Seville, will bear fruit in winter with
very little shelter. The orchards, chiefly composed of
apple trees, are very productive, and a great quantity
of cider is made and drunk in the island. The fig-tree
attains great luxuriance, and sometimes a remarkable
size. The aloe frequently blossoms here. Thousands of
that beautiful flower, the Guernsey lily, are exported
yearly to England and France, butwill not blow a second
time out of the island; not even in Jersey, although in
a more southern latitude, and better shaded. As snow
seldom lies longer than for one or two days, and the
summer's heat is always tempered by breezes from the
sea, the climate is peculiarly favourable to vegetation,
and its salubrity is attested by the longevity of the
inhabitants. There is neither a wood nor a coppice in
any part of the island. There is no species of common
game; but woodcocks and snipes are tolerably plentiful.
Most of the British song birds are occasionally
seen, but the nightingale is very rarely heard. Fish are
caught in great abundance and variety: among the
most common are mackarel, the ,sea-pike or garpike,
whitings, pollacks, bream, and rock-fish: there are
also turbots, mullets, soles, plaice, and conger-eels,
the last sometimes weighing thirty or forty pounds.
Shell-fish are no less plentiful: among them is the
ormer, or sea-ear (Haliotis Tuberculata), commonly eaten
by the poorer inhabitants, vast numbers of them being
brought to market in the early part of the year, at
which period they are found in the greatest abundance;
they adhere to rocks and moveable stones so firmly, that
it is very difficult to detach them during the ebb-tide,
and in the attempt the hands are sometimes severely
lacerated, but when the tide begins to flow they may be
easily removed. Crabs and lobsters, of an enormous
size, are caught off the coast; some of the former
measure, across the body, three feet in circumference;
the spider crab, which is much smaller, is almost peculiar
to this coast; in shape it resembles the reptile after
which it is named, and is much esteemed by epicures,
as being more delicious than the common crab. Lichens,
in great variety and beauty, are found attached
to the rocks around the island, among which, the
Lichen Roccella is somewhat abundant. The mole,
snake, and toad, are not found in this island, which
is the more remarkable, as they abound in Jersey.
The agriculture of Guernsey is still in a rude state:
the same kind of plough, harrow, and almost every
other implement of husbandry, is in use now that was
employed some centuries ago; yet the lands are clean,
being sedulously cultivated, and, from the great fertility
of the soil, yield most abundant crops. The English
plough is sometimes used, but is not generally found to
suit; the soil, in some places, being so deep, that nothing
but the old Guernsey plough, which penetrates to the
depth of eighteen inches, will turn it up effectually.
The land, however, is subdivided into such small allotments,
that few of the cultivators are able to raise
more than sufficient for their own subsistence, and
the payment of their rents. The want of manure
is chiefly supplied by a species of fucus, which is used
both as fuel and manure. The course of crops practised,
with few exceptions, is of five years. First year,
wheat; second (after sea-weed or ashes have been laid
on the stubble, usually before Christmas, and the land
has received three spring ploughings), barley sown in
April, with clover-seed; third, clover; fourth, after
-once ploughing, wheat again; fifth, after the ground
has been ploughed and harrowed in the autumn, the
couch burnt, and again ploughed and harrowed in Ja-
nuary, parsnips. In this course, the ground is only
nourished by manure the second year; the parsnips,
with the deep ploughing, being expected to answer the
purp.ose of a fallow for the following wheat, which, as
it is here asserted, is in general a more abundant crop
than that after potatoes or turnips with manure. Beans
and peas sometimes accompany parsnips, neither of
them being a separate article of culture. A small quantity
of turnip-seed is occasionally sown after the cloverseed
in the second year, and the turnips are not supposed
to do any injury, if they are removed before
the clover germinates in the following spring: three
good crops of clover are obtained in the course of the
year, the first of which usually grows above three feet in height.
Weeding is here performed three several times,
always with the sarcloir, which is formed of iron, and
is from four to five inches wide at its edge, being inserted,
by means of a straight spike four inches long,
into a short wooden handle, which is curved near the
centre, where it is grasped by the workman, who, when
employed in weeding, places one knee on the ground;
the sarcloir he thrusts under the roots of the weeds,
turns them overj and with the flat side occasionally
strikes the roots, in order to disengage from them the
adhering mould. A strong spade, peculiar to the island,
is also in use, of which the iron part is fourteen inches
long, and eleven inches across, in the widest part; the
edge is semicircular; the sides are narrow towards the
middle, and continue to decrease in widthto within
three inches of the upper part, where it again widens,
and is inserted into a wooden bar joining the handle.
The barley is pulled up by the roots, women and
boys, as well as men, being engaged in the operation;
usually striking it against their shoes, to free the roots
from the mould before it is laid down in rows for the
binder; it is supposed that, by this practice, a greater
bulk of straw is obtained, and that the clover crop derives
considerable benefit from loosening the earth. The
barley is usually consumed in bread, but, in consequence
of the manner in which it is got in, it is found impossible
to effect a complete separation of the gritty substances
carried to the mill with the grain. The culture
of oats is not so general as that of barley. In bringing
new and poor land into cultivation, oats sometimes
form the first crop, and occasionally are substituted for
barley in the ordinary routine of cropping. In the sandy
district, on the south-west of the island, rye is sometimes
raised; it is of good quality, and also made into
bread. Parsnips are not in general use in this island
as human food, but principally consumed in feeding
milch cows, or fattening oxen and hogs: this plant
thrives best in a deep light loam; with clays it does
not agree, but each soil in its turn is destined to receive
it. Spade labour was formerly universal, but of
late years the grande querne, or large plough, has been
introduced, which is usually drawn by four oxen and
six horses; it is preceded by a common plough to open
the furrow: digging would still be preferred if labourers
sufficient could be procured.
As few farmers keep more than one or two horses and
an ox, which would render deep ploughing for parsnips
and potatoes here impracticable, the custom of giving
mutual assistance during the season for that operation
has long prevailed: each farmer fixes a day for what is
termed his " grand plough," inviting his neighbours and
friends, who assemble early in the., morning with their
horses and oxen, and, cheerfully contributing tlir own
manual labour, generally accomplish in the course ot tne
day the ploughing of as much land as is -wanted for the
growth of those vegetables; good fare and the like kindness
in return being the only recompense expected. The
grass lands are very fertile, sometimes producing a ton
of hay per vergee. Five vergees of grass are computed
to be enough for the support of a cow; and the custom
of tethering cattle is general. This practice, as it exists
in Guernsey, is Certainly highly advantageous, since the
fields are regularly eaten through, and, by the time the
cattle have finished a meadow, the grass on which they
commenced is usually forward enough to afford a second
pasture. Few sheep are either bred or fattened in
this island, fat sheep and oxen being generally brought
from England, or France. The cows are highly celebrated,
and the milk which they yield is so peculiarly rich, that it
is not necessary to let it stand to produce cream, the whole
being at once fit for the process of churning. The island
breed of horses is a poor breed, the animals being ill
shaped and usually ill fed. The hogs attain a great size,
and are remarkable for the small proportions of their
limbs and feet. Poultry are scarce and dear in time of
continental war, but during peace the importation from
Normandy and Brittany is considerable. The standard
land-measure of the island is in feet, yards, perches,
vergees, bouves, and carvees; twenty-one square feet
are a perch, and forty perches a vergee; so that two
vergees and a half are rather more than an English statute
acre. Four vergees make a Guernsey and an Irish
acre. The Guernsey vergee is -equal to one thousand
nine hundred and sixty square yards, which, multiplied
by four, makes seven thousand eight- hundred and forty
square yards, being equal to an Irish acre. The denominations
of the measures for corn, as established by
law in the island, are quints, denerels, cabotels, bushels,
and quarters. Five quints make a denerel; three denerels
a cabotel; two cabotels a bushel; and four bushels
a quarter. The English quarter, of eight Winchester
bushels, is equal to ten Guernsey bushels of wheat;
barley and other grain are measured by the same bushel,
but heaped up, whereas wheat is struck. . The lawful
weight is the Rouen pound, being ten ounces one hundred
and sixty sevenths five hundred and thirty-three-thirds
more than the English avoirdupois, the English hundred
weight ,being equal to one hundred and three, sevenninths,
Guernsey. The currency is by law said to be
the money current in Normandy, and thus we see that
accounts are in a great measure still kept in livres,
tournois, sols, and deniers; these livres, however, do
not express the same value in both islands. In Guernsey
fourteen livres, in Jersey twenty-four livres, represent
a pound sterling, but both in the one and the other
the relative value of a pound, in the island currency
compared with a pound in that of England, is regulated
by the exchange, which rises occasionally, in the same
manner as the exchange between England and other
countries. In all the islands the English and French
coins are current, the latter pass for ten pence to every
franc of their nominal value. To the nominal value of
the English coins is added that of the difference acquired
by the exchange in favour of England: thus, a sovereign
will sometimes pass for one pound one shilling
and sometimes for more, even for one pound one shilling and sixpence.
From time immemorial until the Revolution of 1688
the privilege of free trade in time of war, as well as of
peace, between England and France, was enjoyed by
these islanders, having been granted and confirmed by
successive Icings of England and dukes of Normandy,
and even sanctioned by a bull of Pope Sixtus IV., dated
in 1483, which was ordered to be published and observed
in all his dominions by Charles VIII., King of France, by
an ordinance dated in 1486. King William abolished this
neutrality by ah order in council, dated August 8th, 1689;
upon which, this island actively engaged in privateering,
and was very successful in the wars of that and the following
reign; fifteen hundred prizes having been captured by
the privateers of Jersey and Guernsey in those two reigns.
During the whole of the last century, the trade of the
island progressively increased; and the excise duties
in England increasing also, a considerable portion of the
commerce carried on was with persons engaged in the
smuggling trade, until the years 1805 and 1S07, when
the acts of parliament for the better prevention of
smuggling were passed. Before the commencement of
the bonding system, this island may also be said to
have served as a dep6t for storing foreign goods, particularly
wines and spirits, in the same manner as they
are now kept in the warehouses of the London docks and
the bonding ports. Guernsey unites to a central situation
in Europe, a temperate climate well adapted for
the keeping of wines in store; a good harbour, the
entrance to which is never obstructed by ice; the best
vaults in Europe; and a great number of spacious and
substantial warehouses; the wharfage and dues on goods
in transition are very moderate. The carts employed
for the carriage of wine and liquors are of peculiar construction;
the body is very low and strong; at the end
is a tail ladder: a solid iron axle passes under the
body of the cart, which, rising on each side, receives
the nave of a common sized wheel: in front is a capstan
turned by a winch; to the cylinder are fastened
two ropes that, in loading, pass round the barrel, and
draw it up the ladder, which, being then raised and
rendered steady by the same ropes, serves as a back
rail to the cart. These machines will carry two pipes,
and can be unloaded by the carman without any other assistance.
The trading vessels belonging to the merchants of
Guernsey amount to seventy-four sail, and their burden,
by admeasurement, to seven thousand seven hundred
and forty-three tons. The quarries afford employment
to a great number of the inhabitants, a considerable
quantity of granite and stone being exported. From
November 30th, 1828, to November 30th, 1829, there
were shipped five thousand five hundred and eightythree
tons of paving stones, six thousand and seventy
feet of the same, and twelve thousand five hundred and
forty-seven tons of stone chippings. During the same
period, there were exported one hundred and twentynine
cows, one hundred and eighty-one heifers, and
ninety-three calves. From the port of Southampton,
all the British wool allowed by parliament for the
manufactures in Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and Sark,
must be shipped; and when the general exportation
of corn is prohibited in England, a certain quantity,
sufficient, with the produce of the islands, for
the maintenance of the inhabitants, is allowed to be
sent thither. And as the country around Southampton
produces many articles which the islanders
are in need of, a constant trade is carried on, and
passengers find very good accommodation in the
trading vessels, which are large and well-built cutters,
neatly fitted up for the purpose.- they generally perform
the voyage in about twenty hours, and as
there are several employed in this trade from Guernsey,
they are continually sailing to and from the
island. The regular government steam-packets, conveying
the mails, sail from Weymouth to Jersey every
Wednesday and Saturday, taking Guernsey in their
way; but as the distance from London to Southampton
is much shorter, and as steam-vessels regularly
sail from that port during the summer months, the
latter route is generally preferred: a constant communication
is also kept up with the opposite coast of France,
so that, in time of peace, this port and Jersey may be
considered regular thoroughfares for passengers between
England and Normandy and Brittany. During
the late war, a few small smuggling; vessels and privateers
were built here, but the first brig launched was in
October, 1815, and named by Sir John Doyle, then lieutenant-
governor, La Belle Alliance, in memory of the
decisive battle of Waterloo; since that period fortythree
vessels have been built (of the aggregate burden
of seven thousand two hundred and sixty tons), and
twenty-four oyster smacks.
The common law of Guernsey is in substance derived
from the ancient customs of Normandy, upon which the
descent of property is in some measure founded. Real
estates cannot be disposed of by will, but must descend
to the heirs at law, and in default of such, escheat to
the king, or the lord of the manor. The eldest son is
here, as in Jersey, entitled to the principal dwelling, if
not situate within the ancient bounds of the town of
St. Peter's Port. He has also a certain portion of land,
from fourteen to twenty-one perches, according to the
value of the succession attached to the dwelling, as ascertained
by the douzainiers of the parish, at whose
valuation he is also entitled to purchase all the enclosures
of land attached to it, the entrance to which is
open to him from the house without crossing a public
road. As no law exists to prevent the partition of
estates below a prescribed number of vergees, land in
Guernsey is infinitely divisible, but the elder frequently
purchases the shares of the younger partitioners, either
for rent or immediate value. Male descendants have a
peculiar right to what is termed the vingtieme, which
they may either claim or waive at. their discretion. If
claimed, the estate is measured, and one-twentieth set
apart, of which the eldest son first takes his privileged
portion, and the remainder is equally divided among the
males. The residue of the succession is then shared by
the co-heirs, two-thirds being divided among the males,
and one-third among females. If the vingtieme is not
claimed, the whole succession, after deducting the precipat,
as it is termed, to the eldest, is equally shared by
children of both sexes. Among the most remarkable
peculiarities of established usage are the two following:
the children of parents who have lived for years in open
adultery, but afterwards marry, are considered legitimate,
and are entitled to inheritance; an insolvent person is
exonerated from the payment of his debts, on surrendering
upon oath the whole of his property, except his clothes,
bed, and arms, and promising to make good the deficiency,
if he should at any future time have it in his
power so to do. Formerly, the insolvent claiming the
benefit of this law was compelled to wear a green cap,
and to lay aside his girdle,- but these badges of humiliation
have been for some time discontinued. The
contracts in Guernsey are described in a very simple
style, being free from the repetitions that abound in
documents of the same kind in England. The parties
appear before the bailiff, and two of the magistrates of
the royal court, by whom the contract is signed. "When
a conveyance of property is made by a married man, it
is necessary that the wife should appear, and make an
affidavit that she was not acting under undue influence
when she consented to the transfer. All mortgages on
estates are required to be registered by the greffier; and
when a mortgage is paid off, the party has credit given
him for the payment, so that an account current being
kept, to which free access may always be had, the exact
condition of every estate in the island may be known,
and its incumbrances ascertained without difficulty. On
the sale of an estate, the purchaser is only liable to
such obligations and claims as are duly registered. With
respect to the power of the British parliament to make
enactments binding upon the inhabitants, which power
has on various occasions been disputed by the magistrates
of these islands, on the ground that the legislative
authority over them was vested in the King alone, as
Duke of Normandy, it may be observed that, in au
order of council, bearing date May 7th, 1806, it is declared,
that the registering of an act of parliament is
not essential to its operation, and that His Majesty's
subjects in these islands are bound by law to take notice
of an act wherein it is especially named, although
it should not be registered in the royal court there.
The assembly or convention of the states of this
island, which is held only on occasions of great importance,
when the general interest of the island is concerned,
consists of the bailiff, twelve jurats, and procureur
of the royal court, the beneficed clergy, and the
constables and douzainiers of each parish, the total
number being one hundred and seventy-four. The governor,
or lieutenant-governor, whose consent is necessary
to the holding of the states, has a deliberative
voice in the assembly, but no vote; and the bailiff pre
sides as speaker. The principal business of what are
termed the states of election is, the nomination of jurats,
and the appointment of the provost, in which every
member has a distinct vote; but the raising of money
to defray the public expenses is voted by the slates
of deliberation, consisting of the members above specified,
but in which the constables and officers of each
parish have collectively but one vote, so that the total
number of votes in the latter assembly is thus reduced
to thirty-two. Whenever the king's service, or the
exigency of the island, requires the assembly of the
states of deliberation, the bailiff, with the consent of
the governor, or, in his absence, of the lieutenant-governor,
or commander-in-chief for the time being, has a
right to fix a day. for the convention of the states, and
to insert in the writs to be issued for such convention,
the matters to be deliberated upon, without the concurrence
of any of the jurats; but by usage long observed,
the bailiff, prior to issuing such writs, communicates
to the jurats in the royal court his intention of
convening the states, naming the day that he proposes
for the meeting, and the subjects for their consideration.
These writs are prepared by the greffier, signed by the
bailiff, and directed to the constables only, who are to
communicate them to the rector, take the sense of the
douzaine of their parish on the subject, and come prepared
to give their vote accordingly. The taxes imposed
by this assembly, except when they immediately regard
the protection of the island, must receive the sanction
of the king in council. The revenue consists of the
general taxes, the harbour dues, the duties levied yearly
upon licensed victuallers, or retailers of liquors in general,
and the produce of lotteries. No writ from any of
the British courts can extend to this island, except from
the Admiralty court, which was decreed by an order
in council, issued in the course of the late continental
war. It is worthy of remark that although, agreeably
to the numerous charters granted to these islands, the
inhabitants are treated throughout the king's dominions
not as aliens, but as British-born subjects, an Englishman
is here considered an alien, being liable to arrest
for the most trivial sum, even less than sixpence, and his
bail liable to be rejected, though of known sufficiency:
admission to the privileges of the island can only be
granted at the pleasure of the royal court, which, after
long residence, is sometimes, though rarely, conceded.
The civil and military powers appear to have been
first disunited in the reign of Edward I., but in Guernsey
the governor continued to appoint the bailiff until the
latter part of the reign of Charles II. This island audits
dependencies were under the same governor as that of
Jersey until the reign of Henry VII., when the two islands
were first divided into distinct governments. Although
the governor has now no civil jurisdiction, his presence
is sometimes required in the royal court, for enacting
certain ordinances which concern the king's service,
the security of the island, and the maintenance of the
public peace: the court is under his immediate protection,
and his authority is to be exerted, if necessary,
in the execution of its decrees. This power likewise
extends to the arrest and imprisonment, with the concurrence
of two jurats, of any inhabitant suspected of
treasonable practices; and every captain and commandant
of a vessel landing passengers on the island,
is obliged, under severe penalties, to make a return of
them to the proper officer, and to see that such persons,
as soon as it may be convenient after their arrival, attend
personally to give an account of themselves. Before
the governor's admission to his office he must produce
his patent or commission before the royal court, and
solemnly swear to maintain the liberties and immunities
of the island. For a long period the governors have
possessed the privilege, granted them by their patents,
of executing the office by means of a deputy, whom they
were formerly accustomed to appoint; but since the
latter part of the reign of Charles II., the lieutenantgovernor
has been nominated by patent from the crown
or the king's sign manual; and when that functionary
has occasion to leave the island, he delegates his authority,
during absence, to the next senior military officer
in command. The governors performing the office by a
deputy, which has now for many years been invariably
the case, take the oath before the privy council in
England; the patents are transmitted with an order of
council certifying such oath to have been taken, and
the commissions are then registered in the royal court
The governor, whose patronage was anciently much
more extensive, has still the presentation to all livings
and schools in the island, and to the offices of greffier,
Serjeant, and king's receiver. The whole of the king's
rental, or dues, has for many years been granted to the
governor, without his being accountable to the Exchequer
for the receipt thereof, but obliging him to pay certain
small allowances to some of the civil officers, &c. The
governor's first duty is the care and custody of the
fortifications, which have of late years been much
enlarged and improved. The principal of these is
Fort George, built on an eminence to the south of the
town, and garrisoned by regular troops; there are
barracks for upwards of five thousand men. It was begun
in 1775, being named after King George III., and it
is of a square figure, quite regular in its construction,
defending the town and harbour of Guernsey: the
barracks contain fourteen or fifteen officers, and from
three to four hundred men. It is constructed for fortyfive
pieces of ordnance; under the ramparts are bombproof
casemates for men and guns. The fort cannot
be enfiladed from any part; there are extensive outworks
in connexion with it which include the house
of the chief engineer, the quarters of the officers of
artillery, the store-keeper's house, and other public
buildings. Of late years the militia has been re-organized,
on an improved plan: every male resident without
distinction, between the ages of sixteen and sixty, able
to bear arms, is enrolled, trained, clothed, and accoutred,
and called out occasionally for exercise and
review; in time of war, all of them, in rotation, are
obliged to mount guard nightly at the different batteries round the island.
The forms of the feudal system have been preserved
to a greater degree in these islands than in
any other part of the British dominions, although few
of the ancient feudal services are exacted, and little
remains of the once extensive power of the feudal courts.
Anciently a court was instituted in each of the fiefs,
for deciding petty broils arising on it; besides which
there was a superior court, composed of a bailiff and
four chevaliers, or knights, who held annual assizes, at,
which the military tenants, or lords of fiefs, attended,
and appeals from the inferior courts were heard. This
kind of judicature continued until the reign of King
John, who, by charter, established twelve jurats instead
of the chevaliers, who immediately checked, and in
course of time effectually abolished, the feudal system.
The sixteen free tenants and the thirteen bordiers still
attend the chief pleas, or opening of the court, on the
first day of the three terms, when by-laws are made
for the internal government of the island. The names
of the free tenants are called over immediately after
those of the bailiff and jurats, but they are not now, as
anciently, consulted with respect to the by-laws and
ordinances, nor are they obliged to attend in person
according to original custom; any one may answer for
them by power of attorney, but if they do not answer
at all, they are subject to a small fine. An entertainment
is on those days provided for the whole court,
including the military tenants and bordiers, at the
governor's expense. The original feudal rents in kind,
eiz., in corn, fowls, loaves of bread, eggs, and other
articles, are still payable to the crown, besides some
trifling sums of money in coin current in the island
at the time of the original grant. When King John
had lost the duchy of Normandy, he rewarded the
loyalty of the islanders, who bravely resisted two
attacks made by the French king, after that monarch
had taken possession of the remainder of the duchy,
by granting them a charter, called the Constitutions
of King John, which formed the basis of the present
constitution of the island,; and established the royal
court. This court consists of a bailiff appointed by
the king, and twelve jurats chosen by the members of
the states, all serving for life, unless discharged by the
king and council: the officers of the court are the king's
procureur, or attorney-general for the island; the comptroller,
whose office is similar to that of solicitor-general,
(these are termed the king's officers); a provost, or
king's sheriff; the greffier, or registrar; and the king's
Serjeant. Since the establishment of the royal court,
instead of the assizes being held annually, as had been
previously the custom, the bailiff and jurats have administered
justice three times a week in, term time, and
once a week during vacations, and even more frequently
when necessary.
There are three terms in the year, commencing on
the first Monday after January 15th, the first Monday
after Easter, and the first Monday after September
29th, and each continuing for six, weeks. On
the first day, or opening of each term, called the chief
plaids, or capital pleas, by-laws or ordinances are made,
which have immediately the effect of law; but such of
them as do not receive the royal approbation have only
the same force as by-laws made by corporations in
England. For the ordinary course of business, four
jurats in rotation attend in each term, during which
there are eight or ten court days for hearing causes in
the first instance, when two jurats, with the bailiff or
his deputy, who must always be present to compose a
court, are sufficient: this court is called Cour Ordinaire,
from which an appeal lies to a court of more jurats,
termed Cour d Appeaux, and from that again to what
is termed the Court of Judgments, where at least seven
jurats must be present. This latter court is held there
times in each term; and if even the bailiff and all the
twelve jurats are in court at the second hearing, an
appeal still lies to the Court of Judgments, where only
a part of them may happen to preside; and from this
court alone appeals, under certain restrictions, are made
to His. Majesty in council. But if at the first hearing
of a cause five jurats be present, appeal can then only
be made directly to the Court of Judgments. The Mo«
bilaire courts are held on Mondays, in which pleas for
moveables or chattels are determined: the parishes
are divided into two districts, called the High and the
Low parishes, and the business of each is-transacted on
alternate Mondays, that for the Low parishes commencing
first. On the Tuesday following the Monday's
court for the Low parishes, judgments or final decrees
are given; and on the Tuesday next after the court for
the High parishes, courts of heritage are held, termed
Plaids d1 Heritage, for determining all suits relative to
inheritance. The Saturdays courts are for the passing
of contracts, admiralty causes, and criminal informations;
the intennediate days, either in or out of term,
being devoted to the hearing of causes in general. But
the Saturdays courts for criminal causes continue from
the chief pleas of Easter to the middle of July; from
Michaelmas to Christmas; and from the 15th of January
to the Saturday before Holy Week. When a prisoner
is charged with a capital offence, the first step taken is
to make out the accusation or indictment, and to take
down his answer in what is called IInterrogatoire, which
is a most essential document to prove the innocence of
the accused when his account is corroborated by the
evidence, but tending on the other hand to the proof
of guilt when that account is controverted and contradicted
by that evidence. The prisoner on the next
Saturday, if in term time, is brought before the court,
where, the accusation being read to him, he pleads
guilty or not guilty, and makes choice of his counsel;
he is then remanded in order that witnesses may be
examined, and a day is appointed for their examination
in support of the prosecution. This examination takes
place before the court, which need not be composed
of more than two jurats, besides the bailiff or chief
magistrate: neither the prisoner, nor his counsel, is
present. The witnesses are introduced one by one, and
sworn, when the greffier, or king's officer, proceeds to
set down their name, age, and deposition. When all the
witnesses of the crown officers have been thus examined,
another day is appointed by the court for what is called the
recollement et confrontation, that is to say, the verification
of the evidence and the confronting of the witnesses and
the prisoner. At the close of this sitting the prisoner
is to state what witnesses he wishes to call forward in
his behalf, and what particular facts he means to prove
by their evidence. A note of this is taken, and another
day appointed for examining them. When all the examinations
have taken place, authenticated copies of the
prisoner's interrogatories, and of the depositions of the
witnesses, are furnished to the prisoner's counsel, in
order that he may prepare his defence. On the day of
trial, the court must be composed of seven or more
jurats, besides the bailiff. The prisoner's interrogatories,
and the depositions of the witnesses in support of the
prosecution and in behalf of the prisoner, are read;
after which the prisoner's counsel (who must be one of
the six advocates licensed by the court, and who is
obliged to give his services gratuitously, if the prisoner
have not the means of feeing him) is allowed to address
the court at as great a length as he may think proper.
The king's procureur then offers his opinion upon
the case, and states what sentence, in his judgment,
ought, to be given: this is technically termed "Les
conclusions du procureur du roi." The king's comptroller
follows much in the same way, and also gives his
conclusions: the bailiff then sums up the evidence in
a charge which he delivers to the jurats; after which
each jurat present, from the eldest to the youngest,
states his individual opinion, and the sentence is decided
by a majority. Should there be an equality of
opinions, the bailiff has a casting vote, and it is he
who communicates the sentence of the court to the
prisoner. It is not neccessary to report the proceedings
to the king before a condemned criminal can
suffer death; the sentence is final and irreversible, except
where it may appear to the court that the criminal,
though found guilty, is a fit subject for royal clemency,
in which case his execution is deferred until His Majesty's
pleasure can be known; all trials are conducted in the
Norman French language.
The royal court-house, as the date on the tympanum
of the pediment of its principal front indicates,
was erected in 1799, but it was altered and embel-
lished in 1821, by John Wilson, Esq., at an expense of
£4100. The building consists of an upper and a lower
court-room; the former is fifty-one feet long, by twentysix
broad, with an elevation of nineteen feet; the latter
twenty-six feet by twenty, and eleven feet high. There is
a spacious greffiers office, in which are deposited copies
of all the deeds and contracts relative to every transaction
in heritage property belonging to the island.  There
are excellent apartments for the private deliberations of
the jurats, committees, &c., communicating with the
upper court-room. Nearly adjoining the court-house
is the new prison for felons and debtors. A debtor
who cannot support himself receives ninepence per
day from the creditors at whose suit he is detained, and
if the gaoler fails to pay him before nine oclock in the
morning, he can claim his discharge.
The ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Guernsey was, with
that of Jersey and the neighbouring islands, subjected to
the Bishop of Coutances by Hollo, the first Duke of Normandy,
and continued so till King John was "dispossessed
of that duchy in 1204, when they were united to the
see of Exeter, but were soon restored to that of Coutances,
to which they remained attached until, in the
reign of Henry VII., they were, by a bull of Pope Alex
ander, annexed to the diocese of Salisbury: they were
afterwards re-attached to Coutances, and formed part of
that bishoprick, till Elizabeth, in 1568, transferred them
to the see of Winchester. At a synod-held in Guernsey
June 20th, 1576, it was agreed that the ecclesiastical
discipline should be strictly presbyterian, which was
rigidly adhered, to till the act of uniformity passed in
England, in the reign of Charles II., the provisions
of which extended to these islands. The Dean presented
by the governor to the Bishop of Winchester;
and approved by the king, entered upon his functions
accordingly, and, in 1664 obtained a commission of
official from the bishop, investing him with the full
power of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the island and
its dependencies. The introduction of the litany and
discipline of the church of England met with considerable
opposition from the clergy and the people; and
even so lately as the year 1755, the dean found it.
necessary to apply for the aid of the magistracy to
enforce it: the use of the surplice is still discontinued;
and although the sacrament of baptism is generally
performed in the church, yet there is not a single font
in the island. The dean holds the ecclesiastical court,
whenever occasion requires it: this court consists of
the dean and beneficed clergy, with a registrar and
apparitor; most of the advocates of the royal court
being proctors. Before the dean, as surrogate to the
bishop, the wills of persons dying in the island are
proved and registered, and from him administrations
are obtained for the proper distribution of the property
of persons dying intestate, copies of which are
regularly transmitted to the consistorial episcopal court
at Winchester; the dean has also the power of granting
special licenses for the solemnization of private
marriages. The ceremony of confirmation, which, according
to the church of England, should precede admission
to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, is
necessarily omitted in these islands, the bishop never
visiting them to perform it: private instruction, competent
age, and the answering of certain interrogatories
at the church in the presence of the congregation, are
considered as ratifying the baptismal vow. The livings
are of small value, from the loss of the great tithes
originally belonging to them, which were first by the
papal authority appropriated to the Norman monasteries,
and at the Reformation seized by the crown. The small
tithes, or share of the greater, allowed by those religious
houses to the incumbents, are still retained, and have
been increased by what are termed novals, or deserts,
namely, the tithe of land since brought into tillage.
Surplice fees were formerly paid, but having been given
up by the Presbyterian ministers, from aversion to the
name, they have not been revived; and the church dues
for baptism, marriage, sacrament, and burial, are so very
trifling that, except in the Town parish, which is populous,
their amount is very small. The tithe of all grain
and flax growing in the island is due to the king, and
that of all apples, pears, cider, honey, calves, colts, pigs,
lambs, geese, and fish, to the rector, but no tithe
whatever is due to either for hay, clover, lucerne, potatoes,
parsnips, or other vegetables. The champart, or
portion of the field reserved by the chief lord, in lieu of
rent, is the twelfth sheaf of the whole crop. The presbyteres,
or parsonage-houses, are kept in repair at the
expense of the respective parishes. The church service
is invariably performed in the French language, excepting
for the garrison, and at the new church of St. James,
The inhabitants are distinguished by several peculiarities
from those of the rest of the British dominions.
The Old Norman language, now gradually approximating
towards the French, is generally spoken by all ranks
of people: scarcely any of the country people speak
English, but many among the higher classes have acquired
a tolerably correct pronunciation of it: their
dress and style of living, particularly among the higher
ranks, are receiving great modifications from an increasing
intercourse with England. Mediocrity of fortune
seems to prevail throughout the island, and a rigid economy is practised.
The island appears to have been divided into parishes
soon after the Norman Conquest of England. For many
years before the militia was organized, each parish had
a captain, or centenier, who trained the men to the use
of arms, and had the care of two pieces of ordnance;
but the office was discontinued when this military force
was formed into regiments and better regulated. The
douzainiers of each parish are twelve of the most respectable
and intelligent inhabitants (the Town and Vale
parishes excepted, the former having twenty and the
latter sixteen), chosen for life by the parishioners, as
their representatives in the assembly of the states on all
public matters, voting individually in the choice of the
jurats, or magistrates, and the sheriff, and giving their
votes collectively, by the constables of their respective
parishes, on other subjects requiring deliberation: they
have also the regulation of all parochial matters. There
are two constables in each parish, chosen annually, who
preside and make part of the corps of the Douzaine: they
may confine offenders both night and day, but must, in all
cases, make their report to the bailiff and to the king's officers
within twenty-four hours: they may also search for
stolen property individually, but are in general accompanied
by one or more of the assistant constables, particularly
in town, in order to render their search more
effectual. They receive the money raised for the public
service from their collectors, for whom they are respon-
sible, and apply it to the purposes intended. It is also
their duty to visit, in the presence of two respectable
persons, all taverns and cellars where liquors are sold,
to see that such articles are wholesome, and upon finding
any that are not so, to destroy them. The curateurs, of
whom there are two in each parish, are officers exercising
all the functions of churchwardens} and the office
of procureur des pauvres, or manager of the poor, in
each parish, is similar to that of an overseer: the poorrates
are-collected by distinct officers, of whom there
are two or more, according to the extent of the parish.
ST-PETER-PORT, or the Town parish, lies about the
middle of the eastern coast. The town has of late years
been much extended in several directions. It seems to
have been formerly confined to the range of houses running
parallel with the sea, from what is called Glatney
to the upper part of Cornet-street. The extent of St.
Peter-Port, along the coast, from the upper part of Cornet-
street to the end of Long-store, is little short of a
mile and a half; and, including the New town and the
Hauteville, it is about three miles in circumference. In
the High-street most of the old houses have been removed,
and the width greatly increased. The town, generally
speaking, is well paved, and some of the streets,
though narrow, have foot-ways. The streets in the Upper
or New town, and the Hauteville, are straight, and
the houses large and well-built, especially Saumarezstreet.
Owing to the improvements that have been effected
in the roads, a great many English carriages are
kept. Among the improvements the widening of Fountain-
street, which is advancing rapidly towards completion,
may be styled the most important. This street,
although the principal road of communication between
the harbour, town, and country, was originally only ten
feet wide, which has been increased to thirty feet, and the
buildings, consisting of dwelling-houses with shops, are
little inferior in appearance to any in the most modern
streets of London, while they surpass them in point of
solidity. Pipes are now being laid down for the introduction
of gas into the town. The assembly-rooms,
built by subscription, in 1780, are situated in the market-
place, and are supported on stone arches j the ballroom
is very extensive; the public meetings are generally
held here. A library was established in 1819, under
the patronage of the Governor, and the Bishop of Winchester
5 in the reading-room are periodical publications,
but no newspapers. The theatre, situated in New-street,
is neatly fitted tip: a company of comedians from
Exeter visit the island, generally in October, and remain
till Christmas. At the top of Smith-street stands Government
House, a neat building, the residence of the
lieutenant-governor. The church of St. James, the new
college, and Castle Carey, which stand in the highest
parts of the town, form very striking objects fromthe
roads and harbour. Castle Carey was erected in 1829,
at a cost of £4000; the style of its architecture is
castellated English j it is two stories in height, exclusively
of the basement and centre tower, or turret, and
is one of the greatest ornaments to the island; it is
situated near a small public park, called the New Ground,
but has very little land attached to it, whence it has been
denominated Castle-Lackland. There are upwards of
thirty handsome villas in the immediate vicinity of the
town, substantially built of native granite since 1815;
and "within the last ten years upwards of four hundred
houses have been erected in the town, at an expense of
£200,000. Doyle's column, erected in honour of Sir
John Doyle, stands on the heights between the bays of
Fermain and Moulin-street: it is about one hundred
feet high from the base to the top, and two hundred
and fifty feet from the level of the sea, and is ascended
by a winding staircase; the gallery is surrounded by an
iron balustrade.
The new town stands so high that, from the level of
the market-place, the side of the ravine is ascended by
a flight of a hundred and forty-five steps, to the top of
what is called Mount Gibel, the Moorish name Gebal
being supposed to have been given to it by the Sarragozans,
who-invaded the island in the time of Edward III.,
and since corrupted into Gibel, with the addition of the
French word Mont About a quarter of a mile from
this spot are the public walks, or New Ground. This
plot of land, containing about eight English acres, was
purchased by the parish more than half a century ago,
and one-half of it laid out in groves; the other, which
is a smooth lawn, is set apart as a military parade. The
vegetable market is held under the assembly-rooms, and
in the open square adjoining. The principal market
day is Saturday. There is a space assigned in the
market-place for pork and veal, from each of the ten
parishes, which is sold to the public by the farmers, on
Friday and Saturday: all the weights are of brass,
and marked to prevent imposition. Fish, fruit, and vegetables
of excellent quality, are exposed for sale every
day in the week. The butchers market-place was constructed
in 1822; adjoining it a new fish market has
recently been erected, which is not excelled by any in the
United Kingdom, with the exception of that of Liverpool;
it is one hundred and ninety-eight feet in length,
twenty-two feet wide, and twenty-eight feet in elevation,
entirely covered over, and lighted in a very tasteful manner
by seven octagonal skylights, beneath which there
are Venetian blinds for the purpose of ventilating the
building. The fish tables, forty in number, are all of
polished marble, each being supplied with fine spring
water. The total cost of Fountain-street and the fish
market will amount to £57,216. An extensive slaughterhouse
has been erected near the beach, in which all the
cattle are killed: this edifice, which is of blue granite,
is so judiciously constructed, as to prevent any annoyance
arising from it to the town, the filth being conveyed
to the beach through a pipe, and washed away
by the tide at high water.
The living is a rectory, rated in the king's books at
£ 12, and in the patronage of the Governor. The church,
dedicated to St. Peter in 1312, is of more elaborate architecture
thanany other in the island: it consists of a nave,
two aisles, and a chancel, with a tower in the centre,
surmounted by a low spire. The porch on the northern
side is very handsome: the pillars which support the
arched roof are of granite, and on the walls are several
beautiful marble monuments of modern date: it has lately
undergone a thorough repair, under the direction of Mr.
John Wilson; the pews are all new, and made of Dutch
wainscot. The garrison service, and the evening service,
are performed in the English language. There are
two. chapels of ease, one called Trinity chapel, situated
in County Mansell, built in 1768, and in which the service
is performed in French; the other, situated in Manorstreet,
is called Bethell chapel: it was built in 1791, and
purchased, by an order from His Majesty's Council, in
1796, as a chapel to St. Peter-Port. St. James church
was built by subscription, expressly for the performance
of the church service in English. The government is vested
in elders, and the minister is paid by the congregation;
it is nevertheless subject to the jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Winchester, and contains one thousand three
hundred and thirty-four sittings, four hundred of which
are free. There are places of worship for Baptists, the
Society of Friends, two for English Independents, three
for French Independents, and one each for French Methodists,
Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists, and
Unitarians; and there is a Roman Catholic chapel,
the congregation of which consists exclusively of Irish
and French. The free grammar school, founded by
Queen Elizabeth, has lately been rebuilt, at an expense
of £ 12,000. It is called "The Royal College of Elizabeth,"
and is a fine and imposing pile of building, in the
later style of English architecture, one hundred and
seventy-seven feet in length from north to south, and
sixty-six feet wide from east to west. It consists of a
public hall, fifty-four feet by twenty-seven, and twentytwo
feet and a half in elevation; seven school-rooms
of lofty dimensions, each thirty-four feet by twenty-two
and a half; a library, and spacious accommodation for
the principal and his boarders. The centre tower, which
contains the library, is one hundred feet high, with four
side towers of sixty feet each. The corner stone was
laid the 19th of October, 1826, and the edifice was
finished in 1830, after a design by Mr. John Wilson, architect
to the States. From the centre tower ther? is a
very extensive view of the sea, of the adjacent islands,
and the coast of France, as well as of the surrounding
country. The institution is endowed with certain lands
and rents, which, with the school-house, gardens, and
meadow, adjoining, are estimated to produce to the master
upwards of £300 per annum; the mastership is in
the presentation of the Governor; every boy born in the
island is entitled to admission, and, including the
boarders, most of whom are English boys, there are upwards
of one hundred and fifty scholars. In 1636,
Charles I., at the request of Archbishop Laud, endowed,
with an estate comprising houses in London and lands
in Buckinghamshire, which had escheated to the crown,
a fellowship in each of the colleges of Jesus, Exeter
and Pembroke, in the University of Oxford, for natives
of Jersey or Guernsey, who have also the benefit
of five scholarships, founded by Dr. Morley, Bishop
of Winchester, in 1654, in Pembroke College, three
for Jersey, and two for Guernsey. The town hospital
was erected in 1741 and 1742, in consequence of a
general meeting of the parishioners to take into consideration
the state of the poor. Until then, the
poor of the parish had been periodically relieved by
pecuniary donations, arising from certain rents appropriated
or bequeathed for that purpose, and from
sundry collections at the church doors, aided, as they
had been of late.years, by the proceeds of a general rate
The rents above-mentioned were transferred to the new
institution, and the whole placed under the management
of a treasurer and other gentlemen annually chosen by
the parishioners. This institution combines the objects
of an hospital and a workhouse, or .house of industry
and, though, originally designed for parishioners only, has
generally amongst its inmates a number of strangers
who, owing-to bodily infirmity, or some other substantial
reason, cannot be removed to their own parish or
country: it serves also as a temporary asylum for
such sick strangers as are under the care of the constables,
and due attention is rendered them until they
are thought in a proper state to quit the island. The
arrangements throughout are excellent, the inmates
receiving every attention and comfort their situation
requires; spinning, weaving, and various other branches
of industry are carried on. There is a Magdalene ward,
in which females of loose morals are kept, and who are
not allowed to have any communication with the other
inmates; persons afflicted with mental derangement have
also separate apartments. The female children, whose
number exceeds fifty, are educated, until the age of fourteen,
under the personal inspection and daily attendance
of some of the principal ladies of the island, after which
they are received as servants in respectable families: the
boys are educated until of the same age, when they are
apprenticed. The building, which was consider&bly improved
and enlarged in the years 1809 and 1810, is very
commodious, with an open space of ground in front,
a court-yard behind, and two gardens nearly adjoining,
A National school for boys and girls has also been
established in the town, in which about one hundred
and forty boys and eighty girls are educated.
In 1274, the inhabitants represented to the justices
of assize sent from England to the island, that a stone
pier projecting into the sea, between the town and Castle
Cornet, would be very useful to commerce; in consequence
of which, in +.he following year, an order was
obtained from Edward I., whereby the governorand the
principal inhabitants were authorised to build a pier,
and to levy, for the term of three years only, a small
duty on ships coming to the island, towards defraying
the expense. In violation of this order, however,
the duty was not only raised by the governor for
the term of three years, but was continued by him after
that term, and by his successors, without their commencing
the work for which it was levied, until the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, when the commissioners sent
to the island, placed the power of collecting the petty
custom in the hands of the bailiff and jurats, and ordered
them to lay it out under the inspection of the governor,
by which means the soxith pier was begun about
1570. Sir Thomas Leighton, who governed the island
in 1580 and for forty years after, was a great benefactor
to the work, as was also Amice de Carteret, who was
lieutenant-governor and bailiff of the island in 1608.
The northern end of the pier was begun in the reign of
Queen Anne, when the islanders suffering considerably
by the storms, for want of a pier to the east and north
of the harbour, made voluntary contributions for the
erection of the north pier; and the whole work has
been improved from time to time: it extends to the
eastward about four hundred and sixty feet, curving inwards
at the extremities, which leave an opening about
eighty feet wide. The length of the south pier is seven
hundred and fifty-seven feet; and they form a spacious
basin, into which vessels of considerable burden can
enter at high water. Castle Cornet, a fortress by which
the harbour is defended, stands on a rock a little to the
south-east of the pier: it is of very remote antiquity,
and is supposed to have been originally constructed
by the Romans. When the island was invaded by the
French, in the reign of Edward I, this castle fell into
their hands, and they kept possession of it for some
time. It is so well defended by batteries on all sides,
that, though accessible from the town at the ebbing
of every spring tide, when the intervening sands are
left quite dry, it has often been successfully defended.
In the reign of Charles I. it withstood a long and
vigorous siege, being held for the king by Sir Peter
Osbofne, the lieutenant-governor, in opposition to the
town, then under the influence of the parliament, who
had vested the government of the island in the twelve
jurats; the castle being closely blockaded, and their provisions
exhausted, the garrison at length surrendered on
honourable terms. A dreadful accident happened here
oh the 29th of December, 1672, from lightning communicating
with the magazine, which blew up with a tremendous
explosion, destroying a great part of the castle,
and in particular some handsome new buildings, then
recently erected at considerable expense by the governor,
Viscount Hatton, who, together with his family
and some other persons, was residing at the time in a
part of the castle thrown down by the shock; several
persons were killed, among whom were Lady Hatton,
wife of the governor, and the Dowager Lady Hatton,
llis mother. Formerly the governors made this castle
their place of residence, but it has ceased to be so for
many years, and is placed in the care of a guard of
soldiers and certain officers; it is an isolated castle, very
ancient, and of a triangular form; in spring tides, at low
water, it may be reached on foot. There are embrazures
pierced for seventy-six pieces of ordnance; it commands
the several channels of entrance to the town,
and looks into St. Peter's Port.
ST-SAMPSONS parish lies at the north-eastern extremity
of the island. All the land in it was in the
possession of the Duke of Normandy, until William the
Conqueror rewarded Sampson d Anneville with about
one-fourth of the island, including a part of this parish,
then erected into a fief, or royalty, still called the fief
d Anneville; this fief, which appears to have been the
first grant to a layman in the island, is the noblest tenure
in it; the lord of the seigniory ranking next after the
clergy, and being so cited in the king's courts, which he
is obliged by his tenure to attend three times a year, -viz.
at the chief pleas, or opening of the terms; he is also
bound, when the king comes to the island, to attend him
as his esquire during his stay. The lord holds a court
yearly at Michaelmas, composed of a seneschal, three
vavasors, or judges, a clerk, orgreffier, and a provost: the
tenants thus assembled annually choose a provost from
among themselves, to collect the lord's chief rents. The
living is a rectory, annexed to the vicarage of the Vale
parish, rated in the king's books at £5. The church,
a low edifice without either tower or spire, is chiefly remarkable
for its antiquity, having been consecrated in the
year 1111, and is the oldest church in the island. There
is a place of worship for French Methodists. In order
to facilitate the exportation of the granite from the
north of the island, the harbour of St, Sampson has
been rendered secure and convenient by a new breakwater
and quay.
The VALE parish, lying at the northern extremity of
the island, was formerly divided into two parts, at what
is called the Braye du Val, by an irruption of the sea,
which is supposed to have taken place about the year
1204; in consequence of which a bridge was erected
to afford a communication with the part thus separated
from the main land; but the sea flowing from the
other extremity at the Vale church, and preventing all
intercourse with the north-west, a causeway of large
stones, called the Devil's bridge, or Pont du Val, was
raised, for the purpose of crossing the Braye at low
water, and the sea continued to flow over a large tract
of land every tide, until, by the exertions of the lieutenant-
governor, Sir John Doyle, this land was recovered
by shutting out the sea by another bridge near
the Vale church, by which eight hundred and fourteen
vergees have been brought into tillage. That
portion of the land which fell to the share of the
crown was sold for £5000, which sum was appropriated
towards defraying the expense of the new military
roads across the island. In the Close of the Vale,
not far from the spot where the church now stands, the
fugitive monks from the Benedictine abbey of Mount
St. Michael, in Normandy, about the year 962, erected a
monastery, which was likewise dedicated to St. Michael,
thus forming the first regular settlement in the island,
and soon brought the whole Close of the Vale into
cultivation. The abbot, it appears, had no regular
grant of the lands from the Duke of Normandy, but
assumed a property in them for the maintenance of the
monastery, until the year 1032, when Robert, Duke of
Normandy, father of the Conqueror, granted them to
the monks by the name of the fief St. Michael, which
grant the Conqueror confirmed in 1061, the fief at that
time including one-fourth of the cultivated part of the
island. This fief has belonged to the crown ever since
the dissolution of religious houses; and the court,
which consists of a seneschal, eleven vavasors, three
provosts, a greffier, and a Serjeant, is held thrice a year,
viz., on the day following each of the chief pleas of the
royal court. A ceremony anciently observed at this
court, of perambulating the king's highways in the
island, has of late years been revived. The chevauchee,
or cavalcade, consisting of the lieutenant-governor and
the officers of his staff, with the officers and members
of the court, together with the officers of the royal
court, all mounted on horseback, (the bailiff also has
a right to demand a horse and servant, although he
has never enforced his privilege,) the horses being
decorated with ribands, and led by footmen termed
peons, dressed in white jackets and trousers, bound and
ornamented with rose-coloured ribands, wearing black
velvet caps, and carrying gilt-headed spears, proceed
from the court-room at the Vale along the high road
through the Town, St. Martin's, the Forest, St. Peter's in
the Wood, and Torteval, to Plein Mont; whence, after
partaking of some refreshment in a marqude provided
for the purpose, they pursue their route through St.
Saviour's, the King's mills, more commonly known as
the Grand Moulin, and the lower part of the Catel
parish, to the place from which they set out; an officer
termed porte-lance carrying a spear erect, measuring
eleven feet eight inches, elevated from the stirrup on
which it rested to the height of about fourteen feet
from the ground to the point: if the spear come in
contact with the boughs of trees, or other projections
overhanging the road, or such road is considered not in
good repair and of the width of the spear's length, the
owners of the adjoining lands, who are by custom bound
to keep the roads in repair, are subject to fines; the
lands on one side being bound to maintain a good footpath,
and those on the other a good horse or carriage
road. The peons, who are generally the best looking
young men of the island, dressed in white and decorated
with ribband, &c., volunteering their services, have
the privilege of saluting every woman they meet, without
distinction. The Castle of St. Michael, now called Vale
Castle, standing on an eminence on the eastern side
of the parish, was commenced towards the close of the
tenth century, to shelter the inhabitants from the ravages
of the pirates that continually infested the island, and
carried off the corn and cattle. It was many years in
building, and three centuries after was large enough to
contain both the people and their cattle, when, in case
of alarm, they shut themselves up for protection. Little
more of the structure remains than the outer walls,
in which are some flanking towers and the old portal.
Buildings have been erected within, them as barracks
for a few soldiers, and upon its mouldering ramparts,
the most ancient pieces of masonry now on the island,
are a few pieces of ordnance. The quantity of land in
this parish is four thousand three hundred vergees.
The living is a vicarage, with the rectory of St. Sampson's
annexed, rated in the king's books at £6. 13. 4.,
and in the patronage of the Governor. The church,
dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, was consecrated
in 1117: it consists of a nave and aisle, with
a low tower at one end, surmounted by a spire. There
is a place of worship for French Methodists.
The parish of TORTEVAL lies at the western extremity
of the island, and contains about one thousand
three hundred and seventy vergees. The living is a
rectory, with that of Forest parish united to it, rated in
the king's books at £5, and in the patronage of the
Governor. The church, dedicated to St. Philip, was
erected by the States, at an expense of £3000, in 1817;
it contains three hundred and fifty sittings. The body
of the building is sixty feet long by thirty broad, being
vaulted with a pointed arch, which covers the entire area.
The building is of the most permanent description, its
walls being of granite, roofed with brick-work and coated
externally with a thick covering of Roman cement.
The tower and spire, as well as the buttresses of the
side walls, are circular: the spire is one hundred and
twenty feet high. There is an agreeable simplicity, combined
with a permanency in the appearance of this structure,
seldom surpassed in a country church; the pews
and doors constitute the only wood-work employed in
its construction. It was consecrated by Dr. Fisher Bishop
of Salisbury, on the 5th of August, 1818. A little to
the west of the signal post at Prevote" point, at the foot
of a rocky steep, is a natural cavern, called La Cave
Maine: it is very singularly formed, about two hundred
feet long, and forty or fifty wide; the vaulted
roof rises from six or eight to fifty or sixty feet in
height; the bottom is rough and uneven, the whole
being formed by granitic points in a vertical direction
like most of the rocky cliffs throughout the island.
ST-SAVIOURS parish lies on the western side of the
island, but the exact quantity of land within its limits
has not been ascertained. The living is a rectory
rated in the king's books at £10, and in the patronage
of the Governor. The church, consecrated in
1154, is a commodious building, standing in a lofty
and picturesque situation, and consisting of a nave and
side aisle, with a handsome tower at one end, surmounted
by a very low spire. The ancient chapel of St;
Apoline still remains entire, and is now used as a barn;
the interior of the roof is circular, and formed of stone.
There is a place of worship for French Methodists.
The priory of Lihou, or Lihoumel, which stood on a small
island to the south-west, communicating with the main
land at low-water, is said to have been built in 1114;
part of one of the walls is remaining; in the rock
are two natural baths, hollowed out by the continued
friction of stones washed round by the eddy of the sea:
the islet is uninhabited, but contains a great number
of rabbits.
The FOREST parish lies near the middle of the southern
coast. The living is a rectory, united to that of
Torteval parish, rated in the king's books at £7. The
church, dedicated to St. Margaret, was consecrated in
1163; it is a mean building with a tiled roof, consisting
of a nave and aisles, with a low tower and spire
in the centre. There is a place of worship for French
Methodists.
ST-PETER of the WOOD lies on the south-west
side of the island, and contains two thousand seven
hundred vergees. The living is a rectory, rated in
the king's books at £11, and in the patronage of the
Governor. The church, consecrated June 29th, 1167,
is one of the best in the island in point of architecture;
it stands in a picturesque situation on the declivity
of Deeper valley, and consists of a nave and
aisles, with a well-proportioned tower at one end. There
is a place of worship for French Methodists.
ST-MARTINS parish lies at the south-eastern extremity
of the island, and contains about three thousand
six hundred and fourteen vergees. Besides the king's
fief, which extends into this parish, that of Sausmarez
is the most considerable, and has been in the possession
of the. family of that name from time immemorial.
Amongst other services to which the tenants of this fief
are liable, they are bound to bring the seignior all his
fuel and provisions, and, when required, to provide a
proper vessel to convey; him to and from Jersey. The
court, which was formerly held thrice a year, at the
chief pleas of the royal court, is now, at the will of
the seignior, held but once, at Michaelmas. It appears
that the command of the castle of Jerbourg was, by
Edward III., vested in Matthew de Sausmarez, at
that time lord of this fief, and his heirs male, who
continued to be castellans as long as the fortifications
existed. Of this ancient castle no vestige remains,
a signal post has been erected near the spot where it
stood, and a small barrack has of late years been built on
this commanding and naturally strong position, which,
from the deep parallel ditches on the north and south
sides of the promontory, is thought to have been fortified
by the Romans. The living is a rectory, rated in the
king's books at £11. 13.4., and in the patronage of the
Governor. The church, consecrated in 1199, consists of
a nave and aisle, with a low central tower surmounted
by a spire. There is a place of worship for French Methodists.
The parish of ST-MARY-DE-CASTRO, generally
called by corruption the Catel parish, lies near the
centre of the island, and contains about five thousand
four hundred and thirty vergees. The poor
house, for all the country parishes, stands within it,
and is conducted on a plan similar to that of the Town
parish. The Vason bay, which bounds part of the parish
to the westward, is conjectured, from the remains
which have been dug up under the sands, to have been
anciently forest or woodland. The principal feudal
court in this parish is that of the fief Le Compte, a great
part of which and its dependencies is included within
its limits; this court, consisting of a seneschal, eight
vavasors, a procureur fiscal, three provosts, a greffier,
Serjeant, and receiver, is held thrice a year, viz., on the
second day following the chief pleas of the royal court:
the escheats of persons dying without heirs, forfeitures
upon condemnation to death, or upon banishment for
seven years, called in French une mort civille, vareck or
shipwreck found upon the fief, and other rights, appertain
to the lord, which, with the change of property by
death or alienation, now form the chief business of this
and the other fief courts in the island. The living is a
rectory, rated in the king's books at £ 10, and in the patronage
of the Governor. The church, built on the site
of the old castle erected by the piratical invaders about
the middle of the eleventh century, and called the
Chateau du Sarrazin, or Grand Geoffrey, was consecrated
in 1203; it consists of a nave and aisle, with a low central
tower surmounted by a spire. A small remnant of
the ancient chapel of St. George stands near the house
which is called by that name.
ST-ANDREWS parish lies towards the southern extremity
of the island, and is the only one which is not
at any point contiguous to the sea; it contains about
two thousand five hundred vergees of land. The minister
of this parish holds a field by the service of saying
the Lord's Prayer when the seignior of the fief of
St. Helena holds his court. The living is a rectory,
rated in the king's books at £6. 13. 4., and in the patronage
of the Governor. The church, consecrated in
1204, consists of a nave and aisle, with a neat tower at
one end. There are places of worship for French Independents
and Wesleyan Methodists.
The remains of. five Druidical temples can. be distinctly
traced in Guernsey; one of them is situated on
a rocky ridge between the points of land formerly
occupied by Le Re"e, and Richmond barracks, at the
western extremity of the island; another near Norman
point, on the north-east, consists of one large slab of
granite, sixteen feet long, eight feet broad, and three
feet thick, forming an inclined plane, and supported on
rude masses of stone; and three others on LAncresse
common. The island of Lihou, which, like Castle Cornet
in St. Peter's Port, is connected with Guernsey at
low water, is situated to the north of Rocquaine bay,
and is the property of Eleazar le Marchant, Esq., lieutenant-
bailiff of Guernsey. .Guernsey gives the inferior
title of baron to the family of Finch, Earls of Aylesford.
The island of ALDERNEY, which is dependent on,
and under the jurisdiction of, the states of Guernsey, is
situated 6 leagues (N. E.) from that island, and 7 miles
(W.) from Cape La Hogue in Normandy, from which it
is separated by a- strait, called by the French " Raz
Slanchard," and by the English the Race of Alderney,
and contains 1151 inhabitants. This island, named in old
English records Aurney, Aureney,and Aurigny, by which
last name it is still designated by the French geographers,
is supposed to have been the Riduna of Antoninus;
but little of its history is known prior to the time of
Henry III. in the fourth year of whose reign an act
of parliament was passed, by which it appears that one
moiety of the island belonged to that monarch, and the
other moiety to the Bishop of Coutances. From an
extent of the crown, made in the fourth year of the
reign of James I., the whole of the island was the property
of the king, who was entitled to the amends, or
fines, and the perquisites of the court; to the treizitmes,
or thirteenths, upon the sale of lands; and to the
wrecks, and other princely rights and royalties; but it
was subsequently granted in fee-farm to successive tenants.
George III., by letters patent under the great seal,
bearing date December 14th, 1763, in consideration of the
surrender of the former lease, or patent, which had then
become vested in John le Mesurier, Esq., and for other
considerations therein specified, granted the island to
the said John le Mesurier, his executors, administrators,
and assigns, for ninety-nine years, witli a proviso for
resuming the lease at any time, upon payment to the
lessee of such amount of money as should have been
disbursed in improving the mansion-house, called the
Governor's house, and the other premises, to be ascertained
by six or more of the privy council. In this
grant were included the advowson of the church and
chapel, with power to levy duties upon all vessels
coming into the port or harbour of the island, in
the same proportion as they are levied in the harbour
of St. Peter's Port in Guernsey. The rights and property
of the island were purchased by government from
J. le Mesurier, Esq., of Pool, who was the last governor.
The approach to the island, particularly in stormy
weather, is dangerous, from the rapidity and diversity of
the currents,-which at spring tides rush in contrary directions,
with a velocity of six miles an hour, and from
the numerous rocks by which it is surrounded; these
rocks were fatal to Prince Henry, son of Henry I., who
was wrecked here on his return from Normandy, in
1119; and, in 1744, to the Victory man of war, which
was lost with the whole crew, consisting of one thousand
one hundred men: the French fleet, notwithstanding,
escaped through this passage after its defeat at La
Hogue, in 1692. Between the north-west side of Alderney
and the small island of Burhou is the passage of
" Le Singe," which, though narrow, and, like the other,
subject to violent agitation, has depth of water sufficient
for the largest ships of war. About a mile and
a half to the west is the precipitous rock Ortac, rising
abruptly to the height of one hundred feet, apparently
of porphyry, and forming one of the highest
in a chain which stretches in this direction from Burhou.
At the distance of seven miles, in the same direction,
are the Caskets, a cluster of rocks rising to a
height from the water of from twenty-five to thirty
fathoms, and, including a few detached to the westward,
about one mile in circumference: on the south-west
side is a naturally-formed harbour, in which a frigate
may shelter as in a dock; steps are cut in the rock, and
conveniences are provided for hauling up boats: there is
also a smaller and less compact harbour on the northeast
side. On these rocks three lighthouses have been
recently erected, and furnished with revolving reflectors:
they are in a triangular position, the two southernmost,
fifty feet asunder, in a direction east and west, and the
third, one hundred and fifty feet to the north of the
former, is on the most elevated part of the rock, twenty
feet above the others, and sixty feet above the level of
high water mark; the lights in clear weather may be
seen at the distance of four leagues. The island, which
is four miles in length, one mile and a half in breadth,
atid nearly ten miles in circumference, shelves considerably
to the north-east, and is intersected by deep vallies:
the whole of the southern and eastern parts, from La
Pendante to La Clanque, is bounded by cliffs varying in
elevation from one hundred to two hundred feet, and
presenting picturesque and striking scenery; the northern
and eastern sides are terminated with lower cliffs,
alternating with small bays and flat shores. The bay
of Bray is remarkably fine, affording good anchorage
to vessels, and at low water the sands are very extensive;
Longy bay is also commodious; and Craby
harbour, in which at spring tides the water rises to
the height of twenty-five feet, affords every facility
for a wet dock. The east side of the island consists
chiefly of reddish sand-stone, and the west side
principally of porphyry, neither of which rocks are
found in large masses in any of the other islands
of the group. About one half of the land is in cultivation;
the remainder consists of common and furze
land, affording good pasturage for sheep, but insufficient
for cattle. The soil, though light and sandy, is ingeneral
good, and the system of agriculture similar to that
at Guernsey. The general appearance of the land is
bare; few trees and no thorn hedges are to be seen,
the enclosures being formed by walls of-loose stones,
and furze banks. Of the Alderney breed of cows,
which has taken its name from this island, Jersey
and Guernsey furnish by far the greater number for
exportation, this island but very few. The town is
situated nearly in the centre of the island, and, with
the exception of the Governor's house, contains few
buildings worthy of notice; it is partially paved, and
well supplied with water; there is a good road to Bray
harbour, and another to Longy bay, where was an ancient
nunnery, subsequently used as barracks during the
war, and since the peace, converted into an hospital,
and depot for military stores. The pier, near which are
several houses, is of rude construction, with only one
projecting arm, affording shelter to vessels only from the
north-east.
The civil jurisdiction is exercised by a judge and six
jurats, the former of whom is nominated by the governor,
and the latter elected by the commonalty: they hold their
several appointments for life, unless removed for misbehaviour,
or malversation in office; and, with the king's
officers, viz., the king's procureur, or attorney-general;
the king's comptroller, or solicitor-general; and the
greffier, or registrar, who is also nominated by the governor,
compose the court, the decision of which, however,
is not necessarily definitive, being subject to an
appeal to the royal court at Guernsey, and from that
to the king in council. In all criminal cases the
court of Alderney has only the power of receiving evidence,
which is transmitted to the superior court of
Guernsey, where judgment is pronounced, and the sentence
of the law executed. The entire jurisprudence
of the island is similar to that of Guernsey, as appears
by the order of the royal commissioners sent
to the island by Queen Elizabeth, in 1585. The
judge and six jurats, together with the douzainiers
being twelve men chosen by the commonalty for their
representatives, compose the assembly of the states of
the island, wherein all ordinances for its government are
proposed. But the douzainiers have only a deliberative
voice, and no vote, the judge and jurats alone deciding
upon the expediency of any proposed measure. The
governor, or his lieutenant, must be present at each
assembly, but has no vote in it. The public acts were
first registered at Alderney in 1617, and the first contract
was enrolled in the year 1666. The privileges of
the charter are inherited by birth, or obtained by servitude.
It is not known at what time the church was
built: it is an ancient edifice, not entitled to architectural
notice; the tower was added to it in 1767, and a
chapel near it was erected in 1763. From the year
1591 to 1607, Alderney was without an officiating
minister; during that period, baptisms and marriages
were solemnized at Guernsey, and registered in the
parish of St. Saviour. There is a place of worship for
Wesleyan Methodists. A school for boys, and another
for girls, were founded by J. Le Mesurier, Esq., the last
governor: the building was erected in 1790, and th
institution has funded property to the amount of £400
three per cent, consols. The general hospital was erected
in 1789, for the reception of patients, and is supported by
subscription. The remains of the ancient nunnery have
been converted into an hospital, substantially built of
sand-stone, and surrounded by a strong wall; and there
still exists part of a castle begun by the Earl of Essex, in
the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but never finished, the ruinous
foundations of which yet bear that favourite's name.
The islet of Burhou, lying to the westward, is not inhabited,
bxit is used by the governor as a rabbit-warren.
The little island of SARK, or SERK, which lies
about six miles eastward of Guernsey, is also one
of its dependencies, and under its immediate jurisdiction:
the population, according to the census of
1821, was 488. At one part, called the Coupte, it
is nearly divided into two portions, connected only
by a high and narrow ridge not many yards wide.
It was early noted for the ancient convent of St.
Maglorius, a British Christian, who, fleeing with many
others from the persecutions of the Pagan Saxons into
Armorica, was made Bishop of Dol, and first
planted Christianity in these islands, about the year
565. Queen Elizabeth granted it in fee-farm, by letters
patent under the great seal, dated in 1565, to Hilary de
Carteret, Esq., by the twentieth part of a knight's fee.
The surface of Sark is a table land, rising a little towards
the west, but having no declivity to the sea at any part,
except a trifling descent at the northern extremity.
The surrounding cliffs, from two to three hundred feet
in height, are so very abrupt on the western side, that
the largest ship may approach very near them without
danger; but the eastern shore is beset with rocks
running far out into the sea. The- rocky scenery is
very grand and picturesque; that of the Port du
Moulin in particular, the descent to which is through
a narrow pass, uncommonly wild and romantic.
Such is the natural strength of the island, that although
there are five landing-places, yet/ except at
what is called the Creux, where a tunnel was cut through
the rock in 1588, by one of the De Carterets, scarcely
any entrance is to be found without the difficulty of
climbing. The landing-place nearest to Guernsey is that
of Havre Gossetin, which is formed between the land
and the little Isle des Marchands on the western
side. The high ridge, or isthmus, which joins the
main island to the smaller portion of it, called Petit
Sark, is about one hundred yards long, with a precipice
immediately overhanging the sea on the eastern
side; the passage on the western being in some places
only three or four feet wide, and over broken rocks of
terrific appearance. To the south of Petit Sark is an
isolated rock, called Etat, much resembling in 'shape
the Mew-stone at Plymouth; and on the coast is a
funnel, two hundred feet deep, and one hundred feet in
diameter at the surface, called Creux Terrible, similar in
appearance to the Bullev of Buchan, or Tol Pedn, Penwith,
near which is a spring of water, of which the
specific gravity is one-eighth less than that of any other
water found in the island. There are also numerous
picturesque caverns excavated in the cliffs along the
sea-shore. The sky is usually serene, and the air remarkably
salubrious; and the soil, which is extremely
fertile, affords every necessary article of produce for
the inhabitants, particularly apples, from which excellent
cider is made, also turnips, parsnips, potatoes, and
other vegetables, together with most kinds of grain. The
grass is very sweet, and the mutton fine. Milk and
butter are produced in sufficient quantities for the consumption
of the inhabitants. Rabbits are also very abundant,
and sea fish in great variety. The only branch of
manufacture is the knitting of stockings, gloves, and
waistcoats, called Guernsey jackets, which affords employment
to many of the inhabitants: these are exported
to Bristol and some other western ports of
England, and various articles of domestic consumption
brought back in return. The island, with the exception
of the land held by the seignior, is divided into forty
copyhold tenements, which are held under him on payment
of a moderate rent. The inhabitants are principally
employed in agriculture and in fishing, and dredging
for oysters for the London market. A feudal court
is held three times in the year, for the purpose of enacting
by-laws for regulating the affairs of the island,
which are in force when carried by a majority of the
forty tenants, and confirmed by the consent of the
seignior. The executive power is vested in a seneschal,
who has cognizance of civil cases, and from whose decision
an appeal lies to the Royal court at Guernsey.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter, was erected in 1820,
arid consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester in 1829.
The monastery, founded by St. Maglorius, was existing
in the reign of Edward III., but it has long since
gone to decay. In 1719, an earthen pot, bound with an
iron hoop, was discovered, containing eighteen Gallic
coins of silver gilt, which were engraved by Vertue in 1725.
The island of HERM, 3 miles (N. E.) from Guernsey,
in the jurisdiction of which it is included, is about
six miles in circumference, and, in 1821, contained 28
inhabitants. Since that time the population has been
materially augmented by the erection of numerous
houses for the accommodation of workmen employed in
the quarries of granite with which the island abounds.
Its appearance is diversified with hills and dales, and
though upon a smaller scale than other islands of the
group, it is little inferior to them in the picturesque beauty
of its scenery. The northern beach, from which it rises
to a considerable elevation, is extensive, and equal in
the smoothness and firmness of its sands to Worthing
or Weymouth. The bay of Belvoir, on the eastern
side of the island, is seated at the base of a winding
and sequestered vale embosomed in hills of gradual
ascent and pleasing undulation, and is the favourite
retreat, during the summer, of the ladies of Guernsey,
who resort to this romantic spot to collect the curious
and beautiful shells which are peculiar to it. The air
is mild and salubrious, and the soil is fertile, and of
an average depth of three feet in that part of the island
which is devoted to agriculture. The artificial grasses
so much esteemed in England are indigenous to the
soil, which yields in abundance wheat, barley, oats,
lucerne, turnips, and every variety of agricultural produce.
There are not less than thirty-three springs of
pure water, which afford abundant facilities of irrigating
the land in dry seasons. The principal feature
in the island are its inexhaustible quarries of gra-
nite, the qualities of which have been found by experiment
to be superior to any hitherto discovered.
Twelve cubic feet of Herm granite are equal in weight
to thirteen cubic feet of that of Aberdeen, a proof
of its greater solidity; but its chief excellence consists
in its wearing down rough and uniform in surface,
when laid down in carriage roads, and thus affording a
safer footing for horses: it can be raised from the quarries
in blocks of any size and form, of which some have
been raised exceeding one hundred tons in weight. The
road leading to the East and West India docks in
London was laid with this granite, under the direction
of Mr. James Walker, civil engineer; and on this
great thoroughfare, which is traversed by the heaviest
laden wagons in the kingdom, its excellent qualities
of durability and resistance to friction have been fully
demonstrated: it has been also laid down in Cheapside;
this source of wealth was entirely neglected till the property
of the island passed into the possession of the
late Hon. John Lindsey, brother of the late Earl of
Balcarras, who, having died before he had carried into
operation his plans for working these quarries, Jonathan
Duncan, Esq., son of the late governor of Bombay, who
became proprietor of the island, by marriage with the
daughter of Mr. Lindsey, carried that gentleman's plans
into full operation on a more extended scale. Mr. Duncan,
at a vast expense, constructed a harbour, in which
vessels of two hundred and fifty tons burden might, under
the protection of an excellent pier, load during the
most boisterous weather, in perfect safety} also an iron
rail-way from the quarries to the pier, from which six
hundred tons per day may be shipped with the greatest
ease. He built houses for four hundred workmen,
an inn, a brewery, a bakehouse, and several forges
for making the various implements used in the quarries.
There are some masses of stone at the northern extremity
of the island, which are supposed, but upon
no real authority, to be Druidical remains; and there
are portions of an ancient building, thought to have
been a chapel belonging to a hermitage existing here
in the sixth century. In forming the gardens of the
mansion-house, some coffins and skeletons were discovered,
which were, probably, the remains of some refugees,
who, during the religious persecutions in the reign
of Charles IX. of France, are imagined to have found
an asylum in the island.
The island of JETHOU, separated from Herm by a
narrow strait, and, like the former, a mass of granite,
with little or no appearance of cultivation, is about a
mile in circumference, and contains only nine inhabitants.
The distances and bearings of the following points have
carefully been ascertained by authorities on the spot.
The Caskets are six leagues from Castle Cornet, bearing
N. by E. S. E. from the most northern point of the island.
Alderney is six and a half leagues from Castle
Cornet, bearing N. E. by N. E. from the same point.
Cape la Hogue is nine leagues from the same point, and
its bearing N. E. by E. S. E. Gros-nez point, Jersey, is six
leagues from Castle Cornet, bearing S. E. by E. f S.