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 C M S A R E A. 
 
 » » 
 
 THE 
 
 ISLAND OF JERSEY; 
 
 ITS 
 
 HISTORY, CONSTITUTION, GOVERNMENT, LAWS, PECULIAR 
 
 PRIVILEGES, CUSTOMS, MINERALOGY, PRODUCE, 
 
 COMMERCE, AND OTHER STATISTICS; 
 
 * ™ J ~ 
 
 % Cour roimtf ti)f $oiitft, Uto tn* we fottmor ; 
 
 TO^MCH IS ADDKD, ITS 
 
 ANTIQUITIES, 
 
 AND TBI 
 
 BIOGRAPHY OF EMINENT MEN, 
 
 NATIVES OF THE ISLAND. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR T. BAKER, NEW NORTH STREET ; 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO., STATIONERS' COURT ; 
 
 AND THE PRINCIPAL BOOKSELLERS IN SOUTHAMPTON, 
 WEYMOUTH, JERSEY, AND GUERNSEY. 
 
 1840. 
 
nfr 
 
 yji 
 
 RICHARDSON, PRINTKR, TOOK 9 COCRT. 
 
 
?y 
 
 22 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Many works have been written on the small Island of Jersey, from 
 the elaborate histories of Mr. Falle and Mr. Plees,to the unpretending 
 little publications known only in the Island itself ; but not one has 
 yet appeared adapted to the use of the visitor, and at the same time 
 containing so much of its History, Antiquities, Laws, Peculiar Privi- 
 leges, Commerce, and other Statistics, as would claim a place for it 
 above that of " A Guide." The object of the present work is to supply 
 this. Every thing that has been written on the Island has been care- 
 fully examined ; MSS. have been searched, and much valuable infor- 
 mation from private sources has been obtained : if the publication 
 therefore should not fulfil the object intended, it will not be owing to 
 a want of diligent investigation. 
 
 Mr. Falle, the first Historian, did not enter much into the ancient 
 state of the Island : indeed, the most remarkable monument of anti- 
 quity was not known to exist in his time. It was brought to light in 
 1785 ; every particular that is known of this Druid Temple is 
 given in the Chapter on the Antiquities, with a description of others 
 that were either unnoticed, or scarcely mentioned by Mr. Falle. 
 
 The work of Mr. Inglis has certainly a claim to the place which 
 this presumes to occupy ; but it is not to be relied on for historical 
 facts, and he almost repudiates antiquarian research. His object seems 
 to have been merely to give to the public an attractive book, written 
 in a pleasing style. The outline he has drawn may be generally 
 correct, but, like Shakspeare in his Plays, he has filled it up with such 
 particulars as his fancy or his partialities may have dictated. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 There is one feature in the work now presented to the public, which 
 it may be allowable to notice. There has never been published in a 
 connected form, any account of the eminent men who were 
 natives of the Island : the lives of these lie scattered in various works, 
 and in some instances are to be found in books little resorted to. It 
 has been attempted to collect the names of all those who have dis- 
 tinguished themselves, whether in the service of their country, or in 
 literature, and to glean such particulars of their lives and character 
 as may be considered interesting. They are now presented to the 
 reader in a separate Chapter, as the Biography of Jersey. 
 
 It is intended to continue the work on the same plan in reference 
 to the Island of Guernsey ; but the author, having found great diffi- 
 culty in obtaining information for the present work, of persons de- 
 servedly eminent in their native Isle, but of whom no information could 
 be obtained in England, induces him to solicit gentlemen in Guernsey 
 to communicate any particulars they may be in possession of, relative 
 to their ancestors, who would, by their literary attainments, or by 
 having risen to high rank in the service of their country, deserve a 
 place in the intended work. Alderney, and the lesser islands in the 
 Channel, will be included in this work ; and will thus form a second 
 volume to the one now published. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 CHAPTER I.— Sect. I. General and Military History 7 
 
 Sect. II. Ecclesiastical History -.- 40 
 
 CHAPTER II.— Name, Situation, Form and Extent, Appearance, 
 Tides, Highways, Military Roads, Regular and Island Troops, 
 Fortifications 54 
 
 CHAPTER III.— Division, Enclosures, Population, Language, 
 Dress, and Peculiar Customs 64 
 
 CHAPTER IV.— Trade, Commerce, Shipping, Banking, and 
 Manufactures 72 
 
 CHAPTER V.— Agriculture, Soil and Fertility, Produce, Climate, 
 and Air 92 
 
 CHAPTER VI.— Mineralogy 108 
 
 CHAPTER VII.— Assembly of the States, Military Government, 
 Royal Court, its Officers and Jurisdiction 118 
 
 CHAPTER VIII.— Laws and Peculiar Privileges 128 
 
 CHAPTER IX.— Revenue, Coins, and Pecuniary Substitutes 143 
 
 CHAPTER X.— The Town of St. Helier— Approach from the Sea; 
 Surrounding Scenery ; Harbour ; Royal Square ; Court-House ; 
 Market-place ; Price of Provisions ; Fort Regent ; Elizabeth 
 Castle; Ecclesiastical Buildings; Hospital — Poor House, 
 Prison ; Public Library ; Parade ; Theatre and Assembly Room ; 
 Baths, &c 148 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL— The Inhabitants— Physical Peculiarities ; Sketch 
 of general Character ; Vraiking ; Pic-nic Parties ; Amusements ; 
 Theatricals ; Balls and Concerts ; Races : — Other Amusements 
 recommended 160 
 
 CHAPTER XII.— Tour round the Coast 171 
 
 CHAPTER XIII.— Tour through the Island 183 
 
 ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV.— Ancient Name ; Druid Temples; Roman Works; 
 Early Christian Edifiices 195 
 
 CHAPTER XV. — Ancient Privileges — Sanctuary (Perguages) ; 
 Clameur de Haro ; Neutrality 232 
 
 BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI.— Introductory Remarks 251 
 
 Wace, the Anglo-Norman Poet 254 
 
 Philip de Carteret, John Neel, Tehy, Dean Mabon, Laurens 
 
 Baudyn, Dean Bandinel 260—262 
 
 Sir Ph. De Carteret — Sir George Carteret 262 
 
 Dr. Isaac Basire 272 
 
 Henry Jacob 277 
 
 John Poindextre, Esq 279 
 
 Dr. D. Brevint 281 
 
 Dr. John Durel 284 
 
 Philip Dumaresq,, Esq, 287 
 
 Rev. Philip Falle 288 
 
 Rev. Edward D'Auvergne 293 
 
 Philip Le Geyt, Capt. Thomas Durell, Capt. John Durell, 
 
 Capt. George Durell 294—296 
 
 Admiral Philip Durell 296 
 
 Rev. Philip Morant 297 
 
 Dr. David Durell 301 
 
CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 Admiral Kempenfeldt 303 
 
 Rear-Admiral Carteret 305 
 
 Admiral Dumaresq, 306 
 
 Dr. James Bandinel 307 
 
 Rev. Francis Le Couteur 309 
 
 Mr. Jean, the Painter 313 
 
 Rear-Admiral D'Auvergne, Prince of Bouillon .... 313 
 
 Francis John Le Couteur, Esq 319 
 
 Dr. John Lempriere, Drs. John and Edward Dupre, Sir 
 Philip Carteret, Bart., Rev. Edward Valpy, Rev. Dr. Valpy, 
 Thomas Le Breton, Esq. 321—326 
 
 LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 
 Page 
 
 View of the Town, and Elizabeth Castle, Frontispiece. 
 
 Near View of Elizabeth Castle 155 
 
 Cave at Plemont 180 
 
 Noirmont Tower, and St. Aubin's Bay {Vignette) 182 
 
 Mont Orgueil Castle 186 
 
 Poquelaye {Druid Temple) 214 
 
 Plan of the Poquelaye 216 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 I 
 Page 12, line 8, add the word at before Feschamp. 
 
 18, last line, for Court read Count. 
 
 31 — 27, for educed read reduced. 
 
 74 — 2, Potato spirit refers to Guernsey. 
 
 130 — 26, for Ancestor read Testator. 
 
 228 — 12, for which read arts. 
 
 Correct date in page 72 ; Dr. Heylin visited Jersey in 1629, his work 
 was not published till 1656. 
 
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JERSEY, 
 
 NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Sect. I. — General and Military History. 
 
 The origin of small states can seldom be properly ascer- 
 tained. Absorbed in the history of larger territories, they 
 seldom become objects of notice ; and when they have 
 engaged the attention of any early writer, the account 
 transmitted to posterity is generally a tissue of facts and 
 fabulous extravagancies, so interwoven as to render it 
 difficult and frequently impossible to distinguish the 
 truth from the fable. 
 
 Jersey has, in this respect, shared the fate of other mi- 
 nor countries ; it is, therefore, quite uncertain at what 
 time it became peopled, or who were its aborigines. It 
 was, unquestionably, inhabited at an early period : the 
 various monuments of Celtic worship that formerly ex- 
 isted, and some of which still remain, sufficiently attest 
 this; and the Punic, the early Roman, and the Gaulish 
 coins, discovered at different times and places in the 
 Island, corroborate it.* 
 
 * Some years since, a considerable quantity of Celtic coins were 
 discovered in a bank, the falling of which disclosed them. All have a 
 head on one side, and generally a horse on the reverse. Some of them 
 are composed of an impure silver amalgam, but the greater part of 
 copper blended with some other metal. 
 
 B 
 
8 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 The earliest mention of the Channel Islands is in the 6th 
 book of Caesar's Commentaries," where it is stated that one 
 Ambiorix, having rebelled against the authority of Caesar, 
 in Gaul, was quickly overcome, and his followers put to 
 the sword, the chief fled to the shore and passed over to 
 some islands; these islands are supposed to be Jersey and 
 Guernsey, from the description that is given of their ap- 
 pearance from the land, which corresponds with their 
 general appearance at the present time. 
 
 That part of Montorgueil Castle, in Jersey, called Le 
 Fort de Cesar, the immense earthen rampart near Rosel, 
 and the remaining traces of a camp at Dielament, together 
 with the many Roman coins found in different parts of the 
 Island, prove that it was a place of some consequence 
 under that people : it may however be presumed that Jer- 
 sey was only a military station, though an important one. 
 
 Mezeray, in his History of France, mentions a division 
 of Gaul into provinces, under Octavius Caesar, and a sub- 
 division of Normandy into presidencies. " These ten 
 nations," says another French historian, " together with 
 the inhabitants of the islands lying near them, were 
 known in Celtic Gaul by the name of The League of the 
 eleven Cities." Thus we have historic proof that these 
 Islands were inhabited by the Romans. 
 
 In the fifth century, the Franks, issuing from Germany, 
 spread themselves in every direction. Under their sov- 
 ereigns of the Merovingian and Carlovingian races, they 
 founded an empire which extended from the ocean to the 
 Danube. Its more general division was into East and 
 West France ; the latter called Westria, and afterwards 
 Neustria, which now is Normandy, though far more 
 circumscribed than the ancient Neustria. The islands 
 in its vicinity very naturally constituted a part of the dis- 
 trict. 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 9 
 
 During this period, Sampson, an Englishman and arch- 
 bishop of St. Davids, on some disgust, retired to Brittany, 
 where the Duke of that province gave him the bishopric 
 of Dol, to which Childebert, King of France, added the 
 islands of Jersey and Guernsey, with the other Islands 
 contiguous to them. Sampson landed in Guernsey, in 
 that part which is now called St. Sampson's harbour, and 
 where he built a chapel : his object in visiting the Islands, 
 seems to have been the conversion of the heathen in- 
 habitants to Christianity. He was succeeded by Maglorius : 
 the result of their labours will be given, with more detail, 
 in the ecclesiastical history of the Islands. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Islands, but principally those 
 of Guernsey, in the time of Sampson and Maglorius, sub- 
 sisted chiefly on fish : this Island was reckoned, though 
 the most distant from France, the most considerable of 
 all, on account of the safety and convenience of its har- 
 bours, and the quantity of fish on its coast. In the course 
 of time, when the fishery was well established, many fa- 
 milies of note, convents and other religious houses in Nor- 
 mandy and Brittany, were constantly supplied with fish 
 from Guernsey ; the few necessaries that the inhabitants 
 required were supplied from the ports of Bretagne and 
 Normandy, in exchange for that commodity. As their 
 occupation was fishing, their land was not cultivated ; 
 all their houses and even the churches were built near the 
 shore, to be near the scene of their occupations. 
 
 About A. D. 837, during the reign of Ludovicus Pius, 
 son of Charlemagne, the Normans began to carry on a 
 piratical war, on the western coast of France. ~ By degrees, 
 their ravages became frequent and more extensive, and 
 these Islands were not exempt from their predatory visits ; 
 if they did not suffer in the same degree as their conti- 
 
10 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 nental neighbours, it was more from the poverty of their 
 inhabitants than from their means of resistance. In one 
 of these descents, the Normans murdered St. Helier, a 
 venerable anchoret, whose cell still remains on a rock 
 near Elizabeth Castle. A Norman nobleman, who was 
 present when the horrid act was committed, after the es- 
 tablishment of the Duchy of Normandy, being converted 
 to Christianity, founded an Abbey in St. Helier, in order 
 to atone for the crime. Their incursions continued nearly 
 eighty years : at length Charles the Fourth, surnamed The 
 Simple, concluded a treaty with Hollo, the chieftain of 
 that restless band, A. D. 912. By this agreement he mar- 
 ried the king's daughter, and had Normandy, together 
 with these Islands, ceded to him, as a fief of the crown 
 of France. 
 
 The character of Eollo, as handed down by historians, 
 and as seemingly corroborated by circumstances, does 
 not accord with his being the leader of a banditti ; he is 
 said to have been remarkable for the strictness and impar- 
 tiality with which he administered justice. Whether ori- 
 ginating in his own appointment, or from a veneration for 
 his name, is uncertain ; but a singular custom prevailed, 
 during his lifetime, of appealing to him, however distant 
 he might be, in cases of oppression or encroachment. 
 Ah ! or ha ! is supposed to be the exclamation of a person 
 suffering. Ro ! is an abbreviation of Rol^lo ; so that, on 
 Ha-Ro being pronounced aloud by the aggrieved party, 
 the oppressor was obliged, at his peril, to forbear : in 
 Jersey the cry is Ha-Ro, d Vaide, mon prince ! 
 
 It is reported that the Clameur de Haro was employ- 
 ed at the funeral of William the Conqueror at Caen, 
 where he was buried. A Norman, who had not been 
 compensated for a part of the ground -on which the 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 11 
 
 monastery stood in which William was to be buried, 
 uttered the word as the royal corpse was brought into it : 
 such was the regard paid to the appeal that the man was 
 compensated ere it was interred.* 
 
 Hollo died in 917; he has been compared to his great 
 contemporary, King Alfred. The Icelandic Chronicles 
 described him as one of the most renowned chiefs of the 
 Normans. The French historians mention him as the 
 greatest politician, the most humane prince of his time, 
 religious, wise, liberal, eloquent, and indefatigable ; of 
 a noble figure, and majestic mien. William the Con- 
 queror was descended from him in the seventh degree. 
 
 During the time that England was ravaged by the Danes, 
 these Islands did not escape their incursions: according 
 to some insular MSS. in Guernsey, they landed on that 
 Island and plundered the inhabitants, carrying off their 
 corn and cattle. It was at this time that Vale Castle was 
 built for their protection and security, and when finished 
 was large enough to contain all the inhabitants with their 
 cattle and effects ; it was then called St. Michael's Castle, 
 or the Castle of the Archangel. Little more than the 
 
 * This Clameur d' Haro still subsists, in practice; but the complai- 
 nant must make the appeal before two witnesses ; and should it be made 
 without a substantial reason, the appellant may be fined by the court. 
 
 " De Haro." 
 
 ' ' Notre vieille chronique nous en fournit un exemple memorable, en la 
 " personne d'un pauvre homme, de la ville de Caen* II arreta, en 
 " vertu d'un Haro, la pompe funebre de Guillaume le conquerant, qui 
 " lui avoit ote un champ de terre, jusqu'a ce qu'on lui eut fait raison 
 " de cette usurpation. Et'en l'annee 1418, la ville de Rouen etant as- 
 " siegee par Henri, Roi d'Angleterre, un pretre fut depute pour lui 
 " faire cette harangue, et au Due de Bourgogne: Tres excellent 
 " prince, et seigneur, il m'est enjoint de crier contre vous le grand 
 " Haro, qui signifie V oppression qu'ils ont des Anglois; comme ra- 
 " porte Monstrelet." 
 
 Coutumes de Normandie, par Basnage. 
 B 3 
 
12 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 outer wall of the original building now remains, and it has 
 of late years been converted into barracks. 
 
 Duke Robert, who succeeded to the Dukedom of Nor- 
 mandy in 1028, greatly enlarged its defences. He had 
 prepared a considerable force to invade England, during 
 the reign of Canute, to support the claims of his cousins 
 to the crown of that kingdom : he had embarked his forces 
 Feschamp, intending a descent on the Sussex coast, but 
 the day after he set sail he was driven by a storm into 
 Guernsey, and would have been cast on the rocks of 
 that dangerous coast, had not the fishermen ventured out 
 in their boats to his relief, and brought them into a bay on 
 the north side of the Castle, where they rode in safety. 
 The Abbot of St. Michael received him with all the respect 
 due to a sovereign ; on which account he added to the 
 domains of the abbey, and granted it many immunities, 
 as will be hereafter noticed. He also left engineers on the 
 Island, and. skilful men, who added two other castles, 
 which are now gone to decay. 
 
 The immunities granted to the Abbey of St. Michael 
 proved of great service to the Island. The Abbot by 
 Robert's grant being confirmed proprietor of a consider- 
 able portion of land within and round the vale, portioned 
 it out to such of the inhabitants as would clear it, and 
 thus prepare it for tillage, and he encouraged the inhabi- 
 tants of Normandy to emigrate for the same purpose. The 
 Abbot had also the power to establish a feudal Court, to 
 decide all cases in the Island, whether civil or criminal. 
 This seems to have been the first regular jurisdiction of 
 any kind established in Guernsey. Duke Robert died in 
 1035. 
 
 William, an illegitimate son of Robert, succeeded to the 
 dukedom, and the improved state of the Island tempted 
 
GENERAL AXD MILITARY HISTORY. 13 
 
 pirates from the coast of France to invade and commit 
 their ravages on it : they must for a time have had mili- 
 tary possession, for they built a castle near the centre of 
 the Island ; but application having been made to William 
 for assistance, he sent a body of troops under Sampson 
 D'Anneville, who relieved the inhabitants and put the 
 pirates to the sword : to reward this service William 
 granted to D'Anneville a large portion of land — one half 
 of the Island being divided between him and the Abbot of 
 St. Michael : he at the same time granted other portions 
 to some of his nobles, and reserved the remainder to him- 
 self, which he let out in fiefs or manors, and appointed 
 a person to manage and receive the rents. Thus was 
 Guernsey brought into general cultivation in the eleventh 
 century, and about this time divided into parishes as it 
 is at present. 
 
 On the conquest of England, by William, Duke of Nor- 
 mandy, these Islands came under her dominion, and 
 have remained so since that period, notwithstanding 
 the many efforts that have been made by the French 
 to wrest them from it: they have, as Mr. Falle the 
 historian of Jersey has observed, " the preference in 
 point of antiquity to most others of their Majesties'* 
 subjects, Ireland not being subdued till the reign of 
 Henry II. ; nor Wales till that of Edward I. ; nor Scot- 
 land till the begining of this last century, to say nothing 
 of foreign plantations, which are yet most of them of 
 a later date.' ' . * 
 
 Though, in England, the laws, customs, manners, and 
 
 even the language, underwent a material alteration at the 
 
 Conquest, no change occurred in Jersey, or neighbouring 
 
 islands, in any of the foregoing respects. Under Henry 
 
 * Falle wrote during the reign of William and Mary, 
 
14 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the First all of them were finally annexed to the kingdom 
 of England as a part of Normandy. 
 
 The intestine troubles by which England was agitated, 
 during the reign of King John, enabled the French to 
 invade and subdue Normandy. Twice also they attempted 
 these Islands, but were repulsed. The king himself came 
 over, and encouraged his loyal subjects to defend his 
 and their patrimony.* He added to the defences on the 
 island, and strengthened the existing fortifications at 
 Grosnez and Mont Orgueil. He gave to Jerseyf a body of 
 constitutions : this code is the foundation of all its fran- 
 chises and immunities; and has been the basis of all sub- 
 sequent charters, down to the present time : these are very 
 numerous, and have been granted by different English mo- 
 narchs, from Henry the Third to Charles the Second. Since 
 the latter reign no new charter has been given. ; but orders 
 from the sovereign in council, have, at sundry times, been 
 issued to a similar effect. This code may, with strict pro" 
 priety, be called the Magna Charta of Jersey; and was 
 granted prior to the charter extorted from him by the 
 barons. 
 
 John having freed the Islands from their dependence on 
 Normandy, determined that all matters of appeal, hitherto 
 carried before the Duke's Exchequer in Normandy, should 
 be referred to himself and council in England : this is at 
 present the last appeal that the inhabitants have from their 
 
 * It has been a matter of surprise to some historians, that John suf- 
 fered his Norman possessions to be wrested from him with so little op- 
 position, and exerted himself so strenuously on behalf of these islands ; 
 but they must have overlooked the circumstance, that he had them 
 granted to him when Earl of Mortaigne, by his brother Richard I., 
 which readily accounts for his partiality ; and it is related that he se- 
 veral times visited the islands, after he became seated on the throne 
 of England. 
 
 f Called in the deed Gerese. 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 15 
 
 superior Court, in the respective Islands: these now 
 became more closely connected with England than ever; 
 from Britain they looked for protection: Normans and 
 Frenchmen became equally their aversion, and in suc- 
 ceeding reigns, frequently attempted their subjugation. 
 
 During the reign of Henry III. nothing relating to ge- 
 neral history is recorded of the Islands, but it must not 
 be left unnoticed, that Jersey produced a celebrated naval 
 commander at this time, Philip D'Aubigny, who com- 
 manded the British fleet. When Louis, King of France, 
 after a fruitless attempt to oppose the right of Henry, 
 was returning with his forces, D'Aubigny met his fleet, 
 and routed it with considerable loss. 
 
 While these Islands constituted a portion of Normandy, 
 several gentlemen had estates in both : but when the se- 
 paration took place, they were required to relinquish their 
 allegiance to one or the other of the two contending 
 kings, and to quit his dominions. The consequence of 
 this requisition was the abandonment of such estates as 
 lay within the territories of the monarch whose sovereign- 
 ty they disavowed. This, though a necessary alternative, 
 was rendered an act of flagrant injustice, the owners not 
 being permitted to sell the property abandoned. The 
 greater part of the landholders declared in favour of that 
 sovereign in whose domains they had the largest posses- 
 sions : but the Seigneur de St. Ouen, of the name and fa- 
 mily of Carteret, remaining fixed in his allegiance to 
 England, was deprived -of his lordship of Carteret and 
 other estates in Normandy, which were much more valua- 
 ble than his property in Jersey. 
 
 During the war between Edward I. and Louis IX. of 
 France, the island of Guernsey was invaded, and the 
 French obtained possession of Castle Cornet, but were 
 
16 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 speedily repulsed : Edward rewarded those who had sig- 
 nalized themselves on this occasion, and provided for 
 the widows and orphans of those who had fallen. 
 
 In 1234, in compliance with a requisition from the in- 
 habitants of Guernsey, an order was issued for the erec- 
 tion of a Pier, and a duty granted on ships coming to the 
 Island, to defray the expense : although the dues were 
 collected, the pier was not began till the reign of Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 Edward I. presented Jersey and Guernsey with a seal, 
 which is still affixed to all important public acts. 
 
 The close alliance that subsisted between the kings of 
 England and France, during the reign of the weak but 
 virtuous Edward II., kept the Islands from foreign attack, 
 but they suffered from the mal-administration of affairs. 
 Judges of assize were sent over from England, who wan- 
 tonly distressed the inhabitants, by a flagrant violation of 
 their most valuable rights :* but, on a petition from the 
 two chief islands, during the reign of Edward III. an ef- 
 fectual stop was put to those abuses. 
 
 Edward III. claiming the crown of France by right of 
 his mother, again involved the two kingdoms in war. 
 The French made a descent on England; Southampton 
 was sacked and plundered, and it is related that the islands 
 of Jersey and Guernsey were invaded. Hugh Queriel, ad- 
 miral of France, took possession of Castle Cornet, in 
 Guernsey, and held possession of it three years. There is 
 no authentic account of Jersey having at this time been 
 attacked, and it is certain it was not taken, for we find 
 the inhabitants raising a contribution, which amounted to 
 
 * The Courts of Westminster assumed a right, which neither the 
 Charter nor the constitution gave them, issuing quo warratitos, com- 
 pelling attendance at Westminster. 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 17 
 
 6400 marks, to assist in the recovery of Guernsey ; the 
 Island was recovered by Reynold of Cobham and Geoffrey 
 de Harcourt : many Jerseymen of note lost their lives on 
 the occasion. It has been stated that Guernsey was also 
 again taken in 1372, but this statement seems not to rest 
 on so good a foundation as the former. The only account 
 that exists of the fact is an extract from a MS. and an 
 old legend. 
 
 In a subsequent invasion, commanded by the famous 
 Bertrand de Guesclin, constable of France, the castle of 
 Mont Orgueil in Jersey was attacked : the siege lasted se- 
 veral months, and the Castle was on the point of surrender- 
 ing, when the siege was raised, by the appearance of an 
 English fleet, dispatched to its relief. Guernsey was at the 
 same time subject to an attack, but it seems only to have 
 been for the sake of plunder.* 
 
 Richard II. succeeding to the throne on the death of his 
 grandfather, Edward III., found the nation at peace, a 
 truce having been made with France : this was afterwar ds 
 renewed for twenty-five years, and it afforded the Islands 
 a long season of tranquillity. Richard gave a charter to 
 the islanders, granting them the same immunities as his 
 Majesty's subjects in England, " provided they would 
 well and faithfully behave themselves for ever." 
 
 The French again invaded Jersey, during the reign 
 of Henry the Fourth. They ravaged the open country, 
 yet could not make any impression on the castle; which, 
 
 * These islands must always have been considered an important ap- 
 pendage to the English Monarchy, for it was stipulated in the treaty 
 which seded Normandy to France, "that those islands which he (Henry 
 III.) possessed on the coast of France, should be his as before ;" and 
 in the treaty of Bretagne, in 1360, Edward III. had inserted an es- 
 pecial clause for the reservation of his title and possession, in like man- 
 ner. 
 
18 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 it is said, from this period, received the name of the castle 
 of Mont Orgueil. They were in this expedition under 
 the command of Penhock, Admiral of Brittany, 
 
 But where force was unavailing, treachery succeeded. 
 During the eventful reign of Henry VI., commenced the 
 civil wars between the white and red roses; or, more pro- 
 perly speaking, between the houses of York and Lancas- 
 ter. Margaret of Anjou, Henry's queen, went over to 
 France, with a view of obtaining assistance from Lewis XI. 
 The intriguing monarch, not daring openly to espouse her 
 cause, yet desiring to profit by her misfortunes, connived 
 at her treating with one of his courtiers; this was a no- 
 bleman, named Pierre de Breze, Compte de Maulevrier, 
 et de la Serenne. He agreed to raise a body of troops, 
 and make a descent on England, on condition of having 
 these Islands made over to him and his heirs, to be held 
 independently of the English crown. Accordingly he 
 sailed to Britain with 2000 men, and sent one Surdeval, a 
 Norman gentleman, to take possession of Mont Orgueil 
 castle. This fortress, the English commander, who was 
 of the Lancastrian party, had secret orders to deliver up ; 
 but to prevent any appearance of collusion, it was concert- 
 ed, that the governor should be surprised in his bed. 
 The deep-laid scheme succeeded. The count arrived after- 
 wards, styling himself, in all public acts, Pierre de 
 Breze, Compte de Maulevrier, &c, lord of the islands of 
 Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and the others adjoining: 
 but as a proof that he was merely an agent for the politic 
 monarch, he added to his other titles, those of coun- 
 sellor and chamberlain of our sovereign lord the king of 
 France. 
 
 The inhabitants were enraged at this declaration : and 
 all the court's endeavours to appease their discontent were 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 19 
 
 unavailing. In the space of six years, he could not re- 
 duce more than as many parishes. The other six, influ- 
 enced by Philip de Carteret, Seigneur de St. Ouen, an 
 ancestor of the late Lord Carteret, defied the count's 
 power, and thwarted his measures. 
 
 Gros-nez Castle was, at that time, a place of some 
 strength : this De Carteret held as a post of defence for 
 England against the French and Normans. 
 
 Under Edward the Fourth, Sir Richard Harliston, vice- 
 admiral of England, arriving at Guernsey, with a squad- 
 ron, De Carteret applied to him for assistance : Harliston 
 came over to Jersey privately ; and having concerted mea- 
 sures with De Carteret, the inhabitants were directed to 
 assemble on a night appointed, and they approached the 
 fortress of Mont-Orgueil under cover of the darkness, 
 without being discovered ; the fortress was thus suddenly, 
 and by a simultaneous effort, blockaded both by sea and 
 land. After a short, though spirited, resistance, it surren- 
 dered, before any account, even of its being besieged, 
 reached Normandy. 
 
 Jerseymen on a former occasion assisted their fellow 
 Islanders of Guernsey, to deliver them from the French, 
 so, on this occasion, the latter joined the troops of Sir 
 Richard Harliston ; and contributed greatly to the success 
 of the expedition. At a subsequent time, when a new 
 charter was granted to Guernsey, this was recorded in the 
 preamble ; and thus remains as an authentic testimony of 
 their courage and patriotism. 
 
 After the reduction of Mont-Orgueil Castle, Harliston 
 was appointed Governor of Jersey : in this post he conti- 
 nued nearly sixteen years, during which time he added a 
 tower to the castle. He conducted himself so much to the 
 satisfaction of the Inhabitants, that he acquired general 
 
 c 
 
20 THE CHANNBL ISLANDS. 
 
 esteem; but, unfortunately, he was induced to believe, that 
 the person known in the annals of England by the name 
 of Perkin Warbeck, was really the duke of York, younger 
 son of Edward the Fourth. Upon this persuasion he 
 quitted the Island, and went over to the duchess of Bur- 
 gundy, in Flanders : but on the failure of Warbeck's en- 
 terprise, Sir Richard, not daring to return, remained at 
 the court of that princess until his death, when his body 
 was honourably interred at her expense. 
 
 Sir Richard Harliston was succeeded by Matthew Baker, 
 but he was a man of a very different character. He rigor- 
 ously oppressed the inhabitants ; until, in consequence of 
 his tyrannical conduct, he was superseded. 
 
 Baker's arbitrary measures induced Henry the Seventh 
 to issue an order, withholding from him, and every future 
 governor, the privilege of appointing any dean, or bailiff, 
 in the Island : this he reserved to himself. He forbade 
 any governor from interfering with either the ecclesiasti- 
 cal, or civil, court : and required that all disputes, in which 
 the governor might be interested, should be cognizable 
 only by the King in council. 
 
 Henry the Seventh, when earl of Richmond, and while 
 escaping from his pursuers, landed in Jersey ; where he 
 remained concealed for a time, after which he passed over 
 to the continent. This gave him an opportunity of mak- 
 ing himself acquainted with the government and public 
 administration of the Island, which appeared to him de- 
 fective. When he mounted the throne, he endeavoured to 
 remedy the evils ; and as John framed a constitution for 
 the Island, Henry issued ordinances, comprised in thirty- 
 three articles : these, with occasional alterations, continued 
 in foice until they were superseded by a code of laws, in 1771. 
 
 The feudal system prevailed in Jersey, and even with 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 21 
 
 greater rigour than in England, or on the continent. 
 Every Seigneur was, in his district, a little sovereign ; or 
 more properly a little tyrant, exercising the power of life 
 and death over his vassals : in so small an island, all the 
 evils of the feudal system prevailed, with none of its ad- 
 vantages. Thus, as the population of a country must in 
 a great measure depend on the manner in which justice is 
 administered, Jersey, so cruelly treated, lost by degrees 
 its inhabitants — an island so favoured by nature, was be- 
 coming a mere desert. 
 
 From an early period, the kings of England had endea- 
 voured to correct this abuse of power ; but all their exer- 
 tions were fruitless, and the people still sunk under the 
 rod of oppression. Henry the Seventh, despairing of pro- 
 ducing by forcible means any beneficial effect, or of in- 
 spiring the Seigneurs with a sense of justice and humanity, 
 had recourse to the bishop of Rome to assist him in the 
 accomplishment of his purpose. He applied to Pope 
 Sixtus the Fourth, stating the miserable condition of his 
 Jersey subjects ; and representing how much the Seig- 
 neurs themselves injured each other by their private quar- 
 rels. The Pope issued a bull, excommunicating those 
 who should continue these intestine commotions. Fear 
 operated where force had proved ineffectual. Those men, 
 whom neither the royal authority, nor the strong arm of 
 power, could restrain, were intimidated by the threat of 
 papal excommunication. 
 
 From that time, the Seigneurs have completely changed 
 their conduct; formerly they were unfeeling tyrants, now 
 they have become the protectors of the people, and the 
 support of the Island ; and their authority has been ex- 
 erted for the public benefit and welfare of the inhabitants. 
 
 During the long reign of Henry the Eighth, these Islands 
 
22 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 were undisturbed by foreign invasion, but about the year 
 1518, Jersey, and especially the town of St. Halier, was 
 visited by the plague, so that the Court and the market 
 were removed to Grouville. Henry granted four charters 
 to Guernsey, but principally in confirmation of former 
 grants. 
 
 In the short but promising reign of Edward the Sixth, 
 the French took possession of Sercq, which had been for 
 some time uninhabited : this they fortified, as a point from 
 which to make a future attack. The first attempt was on 
 Guernsey : they were, at first, successful ; but were, ulti- 
 mately, repulsed. They were not, however, discouraged, 
 but afterwards attempted the conquest of Jersey : they 
 anchored in Boulay bay, and there disembarked ; but were 
 driven back to their fleet with the loss of a thousand men. 
 Against this attack, the Islanders had the timely assistance 
 of a body of troops dispatched from England. 
 
 During the reign of Queen Mary, Sercq was recaptured. 
 In the Chron. MSS. de Jersey, it is said to have been 
 surprised by a company of Flemings, subjects of king 
 Philip, the husband of Mary. These men, arriving in 
 night, and finding the Island unguarded, mastered it 
 without resistance : but Sir Walter Releigh, who was for 
 some time governor of Jersey, says that it was taken by 
 stratagem. 
 
 He relates that the captain of a small vessel came to the 
 Island, and asked permission to bury a corpse : after the 
 precaution of searching the people who were to come on 
 shore with the coffin, lest they should have arms conceal- 
 ed about their persons, this was granted. The coffin, in- 
 stead of containing a corpse, was filled with arms ; and 
 while in the church, with the feigned purpose of burying 
 the dead, the coffin was opened, they armed themselves 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 23 
 
 with its contents, by which means they overpowered the 
 inhabitants, and regained possession of the Island. 
 
 The whole reign of Elizabeth, was a season of peace 
 with France, and Jersey remained in a state of tranquil- 
 lity. That princess rendered Castle Cornet, in Guernsey, 
 one of the strongest places in her dominion ; and she 
 caused that fortress to be erected, in Jersey, which is 
 called by her name, for the protection of the sister Is- 
 land :* the construction of the present pier in Guernsey, 
 which has been so long postponed, was begun during her 
 reign. 
 
 To recompense the De Carteret family, the Queen gave 
 to Helier de Carteret, Seigneur de St. Ouen, the island of 
 Sercq, to people and cultivate it. Notwithstanding many 
 difficulties and obstructions, that retarded his progress, 
 he finally accomplished this object; and Her Majesty 
 testified her satisfaction by establishing Sercq as a fief en 
 haubert.\ 
 
 Previously to this period America had been discovered 
 by Columbus and Vespucius. That part of it which is 
 more immediately connected with Jersey, is the island of 
 Newfoundland. As the great but unfortunate Sir Walter 
 Raleigh was, towards the latter part of Elizabeth's reign, 
 governor of the Island, and became so instrumental in 
 the colonization of America, it is highly probable that he 
 was the first who suggested to the inhabitants of Jersey, 
 the advantage to be derived from that source of national 
 wealth. 
 
 The reign of James the First was a season of peace ; and 
 it was by a commission issued by him, under the great 
 
 * The bells of the churches, leaving only one for each church, were 
 sold to pay part of the expense, 
 f i.e. a fief, holding from the crown alone, by knight's service. 
 
 c 3 
 
24 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 seal, that the canons and constitutions, forming the ec- 
 clesiastical law of Jersey and Guernsey, were framed ; and 
 an estimate of the revenue of the crown in the Channel 
 Islands, was made by them under this commission. 
 
 Under Charles the First, the islands of Jersey and 
 Guernsey were again menaced by the French ; but defen- 
 sive measures were adopted, by which the threatened blow 
 was averted. That monarch was extremely desirous of 
 freeing Jersey from the repeated attacks of its neighbour- 
 ing enemies. With this view, he added, at his own ex- 
 pense, the lower ward of Elizabeth Castle, and encreased 
 the other defences of the Island. 
 
 In the great rebellion, which terminated in the exe- 
 cution of the King, Jersey produced a gentleman, who, 
 through a great variety of the most trying exigencies, pre- 
 served for his sovereign an unshaken loyalty. This was 
 Captain George Carteret, comptroller of the navy, an of- 
 ficer of high reputation, who was afterwards knighted by 
 His Majesty for his eminent services. The parliament 
 having appointed the earl of Warwick to be admiral, no- 
 minated Carteret as vice-admiral : this post he refused to 
 accept, without the consent of his sovereign, who would 
 not permit one of his own officers to appear as favouring 
 a rebellion against his authority.* 
 
 Animated by the most devoted royalty, Carteret retired 
 with his family to Jersey. Well assured of the fidelity 
 of the inhabitants, he declared openly for the King ; and 
 equipped ten light vessels, for the purpose of intercept- 
 ing merchantmen trading under parliamentary passports. 
 This little squadron was very successful, and excited a 
 general alarm throughout the Channel. 
 
 * See his life, with that of his uncle Sir Philip de Carteret, in chap- 
 ter xvi.. Biography. 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 25 
 
 It was at this time that the King sent his son to the west : 
 but his support there not being sufficient to enable him 
 to cope with the parliamentarians, he came over to Jersey, 
 where he was joyfully welcomed by the inhabitants.* The 
 Island, being surveyed by the officers in his suite, was 
 considered as a place of security for him. In this expe- 
 dition he was attended by several persons of rank, among 
 whom was Sir Edward Hyde, afterwards earl of Clarendon. 
 The prince was urged by the Queen, his mother, who was 
 then in France, to repair to her ; to which, after reiterat- 
 ed and pressing entreaties, he consented. He resided in 
 Jersey about two months : several of his courtiers remain- 
 ed much longer, particularly Sir Edward Hyde, who con- 
 tinued in the Island more than two years, during which 
 time he wrote a considerable part of his celebrated history. 
 
 When it became generally known that the King was to 
 be brought to a public trial, a plan for his deliverance 
 from his confinement in Hurst Castle was concerted by 
 his Jersey subjects; but from some unknown cause, the 
 scheme was not carried into execution; probably from 
 the hopeless character of the project. 
 
 After the King's death, his son was proclaimed in Jer- 
 sey by the title of Charles the Second. This prince re- 
 sided then at the Hague, but being obliged to quit Hol- 
 land, he came again to Jersey, attended by a numerous 
 suite, and was joyfully received by the inhabitants. At 
 this time he remained in the Island several months, and 
 then quitted it, at the invitation of the Scottish nation. 
 
 * It must not, however, be concealed, that, though the major part 
 of the Islanders remained firm in their attachment to the royal cause, 
 some did not: this is evident from a proclamation, issued by the king, 
 in the year 1643, offering, with a few exceptions, a general pardon to 
 the inhabitants. For more particulars of the state of the Island at this 
 time, see Lives of De Carteret. 
 
26 THE CHx\NKEL ISLANDS. 
 
 During his residence there, Sir George Carteret assembled 
 the States, for the purpose of making a levy on the inha- 
 bitants, in order to tender His Majesty a present in money. 
 The sum so obtained amounted to 5070 ecus, or £633 
 sterling, a large sum at that time for so small an Island ; 
 and shows the devotedness of the Islanders to the royal 
 cause. 
 
 The Parliament, by which the nation was now governed, 
 enraged at the asylum afforded to the fugitive prince, and 
 alarmed at the numerous captures made by the Jersey 
 privateers, determined to reduce these Islands. For this 
 purpose, in the month of October, 1651, a fleet was dis- 
 patched, under the command of Admiral Blake; toge- 
 ther with a formidable land force, under Major- General 
 Haines. For three days these troops made different 
 attempts to disembark on the western side of the Island ; 
 but were as constantly repulsed by Sir George Carteret 
 and the armed natives. To harass and distract the Island- 
 ers, the admiral separated his squadron into divisions, 
 and thus made false attacks in various places. At length, 
 favoured by a dark night, a landing was effected in St. 
 Ouen's bay. 
 
 The brave and loyal inhabitants, unable to resist in the 
 field a force far superior to their own, retreated into the 
 fortresses. Their enemies soon possessed themselves of 
 the fort at St. Aubin's, which was pusillanimously sur- 
 rendered, after a feeble resistance ; they soon after reduc- 
 ed Mont- Orgueil Castle, the fortifications of which, since 
 the construction of that named after Queen Elizabeth, 
 had been greatly neglected. 
 
 Sir George retired into Elizabeth Castle, with some of 
 the principal inhabitants, and a garrison of 350 men. 
 This he resolved to defend to the last extremity : but the 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 27 
 
 invaders having commenced a very destructive bombard- 
 ing from the town hill, they were reduced to the utmost 
 distress. 
 
 Charles the Second was then in France: to him Sir 
 George, in this extremity, applied for assistance from the 
 sovereign of that kingdom : Charles could not obtain it, 
 and he even advised Carteret to capitulate, as continuing 
 an unavailing defence, would subject many loyal sub- 
 jects to the certainty of becoming prisoners, and of being 
 treated with severity. Still the brave Carteret resolved, 
 if possible, not to yield : at last, however, finding every 
 hope of relief vanished, and further resistance fruitless, 
 he surrendered on honourable terms, and went over to 
 the King, in France. 
 
 Guernsey had previously yielded to the forces of the 
 Commonwealth, with the exception of Castle Cornet, 
 which held out for the King. The castle was commanded 
 by Sir Peter Osborne, Lieutenant Governor of the Island, 
 and for a considerable time bid defiance to every attempt 
 to reduce it. This occasioned a kind of civil war in that 
 Island, the castle and the town frequently firing on each 
 other. The former was at length compelled to submit ; 
 and the fatal year 1651 completed, every where, the con- 
 quest of those places that adhered to the royal cause. 
 
 During a considerable period, at the time of the Com- 
 monwealth, the office of Bailiff was filled by the Jurats, 
 who exercised its duties alternately every month. It is 
 to be presumed that this' mode of government was proved 
 to be neither to the advantage or satisfaction of the Island- 
 ers, as it seems there was no attempt to continue it at the 
 Restoration. During this time, the earl of Norwich was 
 appointed Governor, who deputed his authority to twelve 
 
28 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 commissioners, these governed Guernsey in his name : 
 their authority extended to Alderney and Sercq. 
 
 It has been said, that Charles had at one time an inten- 
 tion to deliver up these Islands to the French, in order to 
 obtain some assistance in his necessities : but a higher and 
 a more commendable policy prevailed ; for, as Lord Cla- 
 rendon observes, " so strict and punctual was his care of 
 the interest of England, when he seemed abandoned by it, 
 that he chose rather to suffer those places of great import- 
 ance to fall into Cromwell's power, than to deposit them 
 on any conditions into French hands, who he knew would 
 never restore them to the just owner." 
 
 On the accession of Charles the Second, the inhabitants 
 of Guernsey drew up a petition, soliciting the royal cle- 
 mency, " humbly acknowledging their great guilt and 
 unfeigned grief of heart for having, since the disorders 
 these many years, submitted to the usurping power which 
 lately tiranised over his Majesty's subjects, and quitted 
 their dutys to obedience to their native Sovereign :" this 
 pardon was graciously granted. 
 
 After the Kestoration, Charles conferred many marks 
 of favour on Sir George Carteret ; appointed him, accord- 
 ing to his promise, chamberlain of the household, and 
 named him one of his privy council. He confirmed the 
 charter granted to the Islands by his father, and he dis- 
 covered his partiality to Jersey in particular, by the gift 
 to the bailiff and magistrates of a silver mace, with the 
 following singularly honourable motto : — 
 
 " Tali liaud omnes dignantur lionore" 
 
 The renewed Charter set forth, that the Island had twice 
 afforded him a safe retreat, when excluded from his other 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 29 
 
 dominions. Charles seems not, in this instance, to have 
 acted with his heartless indifference to the former services 
 of his friends and adherents.* 
 
 During the reign of James the Second, a popish gover- 
 nor was sent over to Guernsey with a body of catholic 
 soldiers, and other means adopted to subvert the protes- 
 tantism of the Island ; but upon the arrival of the Prince 
 of Orange in England, a plan was formed to secure it for 
 the prince. A day was fixed on, when a protestant officer 
 was, by rotation, to have the command in Castle Cornet : 
 the secret was entrusted to several protestant soldiers. 
 Their muskets being loaded with ball, while on parade 
 they were ordered to form opposite to the popish sol- 
 diers, and compelled them to lay down their arms : at 
 the same time, the chief captain in the town, seconded 
 by the militia, secured the popish officers and men quar- 
 tered there. 
 
 * The following copy of a letter, the original of which is still ex- 
 tant, evinces the high degree of estimation in which Sir George was 
 held by the king. 
 
 " Sir George Carteret, 
 
 " The fidelity and affection w*h w ch you have constantly carried 
 " yourself are soe acceptable to nie, j'iam resolved to continue to you 
 " the place of Vice Chamberlain wch you had in my house, and you 
 " shall enjoy it wth the same dignity, privileges and immunities yt it 
 " hath been enjoyed by those who have held it in the times of any of 
 " the former Kings of England, and if I could have caused you to have 
 " been sworn presently wthout much inconvenience to my service I 
 " would have done it : I shall doe it most assuredly as soon as my af- 
 " fairs doe permit me to swear any of my household officers, of wch I 
 '• do give my word and promise, and yt I am 
 
 Sir George Carteret, 
 " At St. Gerrnains, Your very loving Friend, 
 
 this Aug. 10, 1659, Charles R." 
 
 To our trusty dnd well beloved 
 Sir George Carteret, 
 
 Lieutenant Governor of Jersey." 
 
30 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 From the calamitous time that the republicans became 
 masters of the Island, Jersey experienced the misery of 
 being under an arbitrary government. Haines extorted 
 money, under the pretence of a ransom, from all whom 
 he thought able to supply his rapacity. Five thousand 
 soldiers were put at free quarters, for the space of some 
 months, on the inhabitants : they ranged, without con- 
 trol, throughout the country ; and being violent enthu- 
 siasts, vented their fanaticism against the established reli- 
 gion, turning the churches into guard houses and stables, 
 with other acts of desecration. 
 
 During the war in the reign of "William and Mary, 
 the Islands were in a state of continual alarm, but no 
 attack on them actually took place : the victory of Cape 
 La Hogue in 1692 dissipated all fears : but so imminent 
 was the danger at one time, that the English government 
 sent seventeen ships of war, under the command of Admi- 
 ral Carter, to secure them from an attack. 
 
 The constant wars in which the French monarchs were 
 engaged during the reigns of our sovereigns, Anne, George 
 the First, and George the Second, prevented further at- 
 tempts on Jersey ; and it does not appear that any impor- 
 tant events disturbed the internal peace of the Islands, 
 during the whole of this long period. 
 
 During the reign of George the Third, two attempts 
 were made on Jersey, but both happily unsuccessful. 
 The first was in 1 779 : on the first of May, the prince 
 of Nassau, commanding a body of from five to six thou- 
 sand men, appeared with a fleet off St. Ouen's Bay. 
 Here this army attempted to disembark ; but the military 
 stationed in the Island, assisted by a corps of militia, and 
 supported by artillery, opposed their landing. Frustrated 
 in the first design, the hostile squadron proceeded to St. 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY 31 
 
 Brelade's bay ; but perceiving a similar opposition in this 
 
 quarter also, the enterprize was abandoned. 
 
 Dissensions and recriminations among the French of" 
 
 ficers, in consequence of this failure, led to a second at- 
 tempt; but before it could be carried into effect, the fleet 
 
 destined to cover the landing was attacked by a British 
 squadron, under Sir James Wallace, and nearly the whole 
 destroyed. 
 
 The next and last project of this nature was of a very 
 alarming description: not indeed from the force employed 
 on the occasion, since it amounted to only 2000 men; but 
 from the circumstances that accompanied the attempt, 
 and the consequences that were likely to have resulted. 
 This being the most recent attack, some more detail will 
 be interesting. 
 
 On the 26th December, 1780, a body of French troops 
 were embarked at Granville, under the command of the 
 Baron de Rullecourt, who intended to land in the night, 
 during the festive season of Christmas; at which time he 
 hoped to possess the Island by a coup de main, con- 
 ceiving that the inhabitants would be in a state less capa- 
 ble of defence than at any other time. 
 
 Rullecourt quitted France in very tempestuous wea- 
 ther : many of his transports were, in consequence, dis- 
 persed; and the rest obliged to seek for shelter at the 
 rocky island of Chauzey : this checked his progress, and 
 educed his little army to 1200 men. With this dimi- 
 nished force, however," he again set sail, on January the 
 5th, 1781, and reached Jersey about eleven in the even- 
 ing. The place at which he arrived was Le Banc de Vio- 
 let, a projecting point of flat rocks, covered at high 
 water, at the S. E. corner of the Island. To this point 
 his ships were driven by the current. Though not the 
 
32 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 spot at which he intended to disembark, histroops were 
 ordered to land: only 700 got on shore; 200 being 
 wrecked in their vessels, and the rest prevented, by the 
 tide, from effecting a landing. 
 
 Kullecourt's first care was, to seize on a small battery 
 of four guns : this he manned ; and having left a company 
 to protect the boats, and, in case of necessity, secure his 
 retreat, he proceeded to St. Helier's, avoiding the shore 
 to prevent being discovered to any of the guard-houses. 
 
 Gn entering the town, they massacred one man, who 
 was standing at his door, and wounded a few other per- 
 sons, whom they met with on the road. Arrived at the 
 market place, they killed the centinel, and secured the 
 guard : there escaped, however, one man, who ran imme- 
 diately to the general hospital, in which was quartered a 
 regiment of Highlanders. The inhabitants were astonish- 
 ed to see, at break of day, the market place filled with 
 French soldiers, without a single gun having been fired, 
 or the least alarm given. 
 
 The lieutenant-governor, at this time, was Major Moses 
 Corbet. He was in bed when first made acquainted with 
 the enemy's arrival. His house being soon surrounded, 
 he was taken prisoner ; some others that were with him 
 shared the same fate. Corbet, though thus surprised, 
 found means to send information to the Commander of 
 the troops, which were stationed in different parts of the 
 Island. 
 
 The French general, having had the lieutenant-govern- 
 or conducted to the Court house, represented to him that 
 resistance was useless ; that he had landed 4000 men in 
 different paitsof the Island ; that the British troops, sta- 
 tioned near La Roque, were prisoners ; and that he had 
 two battalions in the vicinity of the town. He pretended 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 33 
 
 to send an order for these to approach ; and then issued 
 a proclamation, in the name of the French monarch, pro- 
 mising protection to the inhabitants that would submit 
 quietly, and menacing all that should resist with immedi- 
 ate punishment. 
 
 He then produced articles of capitulation for the Island, 
 and required Major Corbet to sign them ; saying, that in 
 default of instant compliance, he had orders to burn the 
 town, with the shipping, and to put every inhabitant to 
 the sword. The major refusing, in consequence of being 
 a prisoner, and making some remarks on the articles, 
 Rullecourt laid his watch on a table, observing, that the 
 objections were made merely with the intention of gaining 
 time, and that unless the articles were signed in half an 
 hour he would set fire to the town, and abandon it to pil- 
 lage. At last, to avert the threatened destruction, for 
 this was the reason assigned by Major Corbet in his de- 
 fence, he and Major Hogge signed the capitulation. This 
 convention was then presented to the king's advocate, to 
 the constable, and to several other persons ; but they re- 
 fused their signatures, though strongly urged, and parti- 
 cularly by a Turk of rank, who had accompanied Rulle- 
 court in his expedition, and who drew a dagger, to render 
 his threats more effectual. 
 
 The baron now conceived himself to be master of the 
 Island, He therefore produced a commission from the 
 king of France, appointing him a general in his army, and 
 governor of Jersey. Under these new titles he invited 
 several gentlemen to dine with him at Major Corbet's. 
 He then ordered all the shops to be opened, and every 
 thing to proceed as usual, forbidding, however, the as- 
 sembling together of any number of inhabitants. He had 
 taken care to oblige Major Corbet to send a written 
 
34 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 order to the different corps of troops, not to move from 
 their respective barracks ; this the British officers were 
 compelled to obey, until convinced that the major issued 
 it while a prisoner. 
 
 During these eventful scenes, the militia assembled in 
 different places, and prepared for a severe encounter. 
 Every regiment moved towards the town ; the greater 
 part joined the Highlanders, who were encamped on le 
 Mont Patibulaire or Gallows hill ; and a company march- 
 ed to Elizabeth castle, whither Captains Aylward and 
 Mulcaster had previously repaired, and given the infor- 
 mation that Major Corbet was a prisoner. 
 
 Corbet now dispatched an order for the troops on the 
 heights to bring their arms to the Court house ; andjsent 
 notice of the capitulation to the castle. Shortly after this 
 message had been forwarded, the French troops left St. 
 Helier's, to take possession of that fortress. 
 
 Eullecourt marched at the head of the column, holding 
 Major Corbet by the arm. They were no sooner on the 
 beach, than a shot from the castle announced resistance* 
 Advancing still, a second ball wounded several of the 
 enemy. This hostile reception induced the French gene- 
 ral to halt, and send an officer to the garrison, with a 
 copy of the capitulation, and a written order from Corbet 
 to surrender the castle : this was refused by the command- 
 ing officer, and the messenger having represented the 
 force already landed as very formidable, he was answered 
 by being conducted to the citadel, and shown the strength 
 of the fortress. 
 
 Rullecourt, compelled to retire to the town again, de- 
 nounced vengeance. Major Corbet then sent a peremp- 
 tory order, commanding the gates to be opened, and the 
 French to be received as conquerors. The answer to 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 35 
 
 this mandate was such as became a spirited British sol- 
 dier. 
 
 During these transactions, the regular troops, under 
 the orders of Major Pierson of the ninety-fifth regiment, 
 who was the next in command to the captive lieutenant- 
 governor, together with the island militia, were assembled 
 upon the heights near the town. 
 
 Rullecourt's bright prospect now began to lower : a 
 dark cloud was gathering round him. He seized on the 
 parochial artillery, which he planted at the avenues lead- 
 ing to the market place. He soon received information 
 that the troops were descending from Gallows hill, in 
 columns ; the regulars in advance. 
 
 In this critical moment, the baron made a last effort to 
 revive his withering laurels, and to obtain actual posses- 
 sion of his assumed conquest. He sent an officer to meet 
 the advancing troops, and to prevail on Major Pierson to 
 conform to the capitulation : thus to spare the effusion of 
 human blood, and save the town from destruction. 
 On the major's refusal, the French officer requested time 
 to return, and make a report to his commander. He re- 
 quired an hour for this purpose ; but the island troops 
 evinced an impetuosity that Major Pierson found it diffi- 
 cult to repress. He consented to halt for half an hour ; 
 at the same time sending the adjutant of the ninety-fifth 
 regiment to accompany the French officer, and to de- 
 mand the liberation of the lieutenant-governor. On their 
 arrival at the Court house, where they found Rullecourt 
 and Major Corbet, the adjutant asked if the latter was a 
 prisoner : both are said to have answered in the negative, 
 though not in a manner satisfactory to Pierson's messen- 
 ger. The baron perceiving that negotiation was not like- 
 ly to terminate favourably, added, that he should now so 
 
 d 3 
 
36 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 dispose of his men, as to prove that he could enforce 
 submission. 
 
 The time granted by Major Pierson to the French of- 
 ficer appeared long to the little army under his command : 
 the militia, in particular, displayed that enthusiastic loyal- 
 ty, which the Islanders had, on so many occasions, pre- 
 viously manifected. The major had, however, a reason for 
 restraining this ardour. He had detached the light com- 
 panies of the seventy- eighth and ninety-fifth regiments, 
 together with two from the militia, with directions to take 
 a circuitous route, and possess themselves of the town 
 hill : this detachment had not yet arrived at the place of 
 its destination. The major was likewise at a loss how to 
 act : he had received the lieutenant-governor's orders not 
 to engage ; and he repeatedly observed, that if that offi- 
 cer was not a prisoner, he must, necessarily, conform to 
 the directions of his superior in command. However, on 
 the adjutant's return, the whole body formed into one 
 column, and marched towards the town. 
 
 It had been hitherto supposed, that the force stationed 
 near Mont Orgueil had, agreeably to Rullecourt's own 
 assertion, sustained a defeat, and that a formidable por- 
 tion of his army remained posted in the same quarter : in 
 fact, his strength in the Island was quite unknown ; but 
 during the march of Major Pierson's corps, he received 
 a letter from the officer who commanded the troops near 
 Mont Orgueil, by which he learned, that so far from 
 having been made prisoners, they were proceeding to at- 
 tack a party of the enemy that had taken possession of a 
 battery at La Roque. 
 
 The British and island troops now arrived at St. He- 
 lier's, and, separating into two divisions, pressed forwards 
 towards the market place. An immediate and impetuous 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 37 
 
 attack was made by one of these columns: rendered furi- 
 ous by disappointment, the French fought desperately. 
 During this onset, part of the detachment which had 
 reached the town hill, bore down on the enemy, from 
 another quarter of the town. At the same moment, the 
 division headed by Major Pierson appeared in the mar- 
 ket place : he entered it through a short street, opposite 
 to the present government house. The enemy made an 
 immediate discharge, and that gallant officer fell dead in- 
 to the arms of his grenadiers. Surprised, and for an in- 
 stant discouraged, by this unfortunate event, his troops 
 gave way ; but they soon rallied, formed again, and re- 
 gained the ground which they had lost. 
 
 Rullecourt, seeing his men driven from every street into 
 the market place, added wanton cruelty to his previous 
 falsehood and treachery. He went out from the Court 
 house, holding the captive lieutenant-governor by the 
 arm: a short renewal of the conflict ensued: the baron 
 received a mortal wound; some of his soldiers secreted 
 themselves in the adjacent houses, and the rest surrender- 
 ed: the victory was complete. Major Corbet escaped 
 unhurt, though he received two balls through his hat. 
 
 The firing having ceased, Major Corbet resumed the 
 command, and having secured his prisoners in the church, 
 he marched towards the place where the French 
 had landed, and were supposed to have a detachment. 
 The battery of which they obtained possession on land- 
 ing, had been retaken in the morning: and such of Rulle- 
 court's soldiers as were not either killed, or made priso- 
 ners, escaped to their vessels. 
 
 The enemy's loss in this ill-concerted and ill-fated 
 attack has never been known : the British had nearly fifty 
 of the regulars killed and wounded, and about thirty of 
 
38 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the militia. Major Pierson was interred in the church of 
 St. Helier, and a monument erected,* at the public ex- 
 pense, to commemorate his bravery and lamented death.f 
 
 A second descent being expected on the same night, 
 the troops remained under arms until the morning. A ge- 
 neral alarm was, indeed, at midnight, spread through the 
 Island, and all expected a fresh conflict ; but no further 
 attempt was made. 
 
 It has been asserted, that a large French force was 
 destined for the expedition so happily rendered abortive ; 
 that it was to have sailed whenever a landing had been 
 effected; and that the plan was to obtain and keep pos- 
 session of all these Islands : that the commander in chief 
 was the prince of Nassau ; and that the inhabitants were 
 to be transported to a remote part of France. Such was 
 
 * Executed by Bacon. The following is the inscription : — 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 MAJOR FRANCIS PIERSON, 
 
 WHO 
 
 WHEN THIS ISLAND WAS INVADED BY THE FRENCH 
 
 FELL, BRAVELY FIGHTING 
 
 AT THE HEAD OF THE BRITISH AND ISLAND TROOPS. 
 
 HE DIED IN THE FLOWER OF YOUTH 
 
 AND IN THE MOMENT OF VICTORY, 
 
 ON THE SIXTH DAY OF JANUARY, 
 
 1781 ; AGED 24 YEARS. 
 
 THE STATES OF THE ISLAND, 
 
 IN GRATEFUL TESTIMONY OF THEIR DELIVERANCE, 
 
 CAUSED THIS MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED 
 
 AT THE PUBLIC EXPENSE. 
 
 f It is related that a faithful black servant of Major Pierson, having 
 seen the soldier fire who killed his master, levelled his musket at him 
 and shot him dead. A fine painting representing this engagement, 
 has been executed by Copley, and he has chosen this point of time for 
 the scene. The black servant is a prominent figure in the fore-ground, 
 apparantly much excited, and his musket levelled at some object, sup- 
 posed to be behind a group of soldiers that are bearing up the body of 
 the fallen Major. An engraving has also been executed from this paint- 
 ing, by Heath, in his best style. 
 
GENERAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. 39 
 
 the report circulated soon after, respecting the enemy ? s 
 intention.* 
 
 Since the attack just detailed, Jersey has, at different 
 times, been hoth menaced and alarmed ; but has not ex- 
 perienced any actual attempt. Buonaparte, in his threat- 
 ened invasion of England, called these Islands stepping 
 stones to that kingdon ; yet he never thought it advisable 
 to attempt their subjugation. 
 
 In the beginning of the year, 1814, this Island became the 
 temporary residence of His Royal Highness the Due de 
 Berri, nephew of Lewis XVIII. Every attention was paid 
 by the inhabitants to the illustrious visitant ; while the 
 condescending urbanity displayed by the prince, and the 
 sense he expressed of the civilities he experienced, are the 
 best proofs that he merited and felt them. He left Jersey, 
 for France, April the 12th, on receiving the intelligence 
 that Buonaparte was dethroned, and the Bourbon family 
 reinstated. 
 
 On Tuesday, July the 12th, peace with France was 
 proclaimed, both at St. Helier's and St. Aubin's; on 
 which memorable and happy occasion, there was, in 
 the evening, a general illumination of both towns ; and 
 Thursday the 14th was observed as a day of solemn 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 * Major Corbet was tried, and superseded : but is said to have received 
 a pension. It would not therefore be right to impute to him greater cul- 
 pability that was found by the court-martial. It may, however, be said 
 4hat, though treachery did not attach to his conduct, it appears difficult 
 to exonerate him from great negligence and pusillanimity. 
 
40 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Sect. II. — Ecclesiastical History. 
 
 The earliest account of religious worshippers in Trans- 
 alpine Gaul, to which Jersey and the neighbouring 
 Islands unquestionably belonged, is that of Ceesar. He 
 says, that, among the Celtae, there were only two orders 
 of men in any high degree of honour or esteem : these 
 were the Druids and the nobles. The Druids had the 
 supreme direction of every thing relating to religion ; 
 their province was also to administer justice. Their prin- 
 cipal deity was Mercury.* According to others, the sun 
 was worshipped, under different names : thus Stone- 
 henge, in Wiltshire, is by many supposed to have been a 
 temple dedicated to that luminary ; and the annual rural 
 pastime in Britain, on the first day of Ma)^, has probably 
 been derived from a Celtic origin; that day being, with 
 the Druids, a great festival in honour of the sun. 
 
 As we know but little respecting the Druids before 
 Caesar's time, so the subsequent accounts of them are very 
 defective. It was a law with them, never to commit 
 their doctrines to writing ; so that, being delivered orally, 
 almost every traditional account of their tenets was by 
 degrees effaced. To this the Romans also contributed, 
 either from an abhorrence of the barbarous rites some- 
 times practised by the Druids, or from a conviction 
 that they animated the people to resist ; or, more probably, 
 
 * Caes de Bello Gall. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 41 
 
 from both causes. The Romans, contrary to their usual 
 custom, extirpated the Druidical priests, in every place 
 where the success of their arms gave them the power. 
 
 Before the invasion of. Britain by the Saxons, that 
 country enjoyed the blessings of the Christian faith ; 
 the first step towards the conversion of these Islands 
 from the idolatrous worship practised by the natives, was 
 the consequence of a persecution in England ; numbers, 
 as well laity as clergy, sought a retreat from the Saxon 
 invaders. 
 
 Among those fugitives, the most conspicuous, for sanc- 
 tity of life and eminence of character, was St. Samson, 
 who had become a metropolitan in Britain. The see of 
 Dol, in Armorica,* was conferred on him, and, on his ac- 
 count, erected into a metropolis. The bishops of Armo- 
 rica had previously been suffragans of Tours ; and be- 
 cause the see of Dol was circumscribed in extent, and 
 therefore unequal to its new dignity, considerable acces- 
 sions were made to it by the religious zeal of different 
 princes. These Islands were at that time subject to 
 France, the sovereigns of which had recently been con- 
 verted to Christianity : and Childebert, son of Clovis, 
 presented them to St. Samson, about A. D. 550, as an 
 augmentation to his small diocese. Alderney, being too 
 remote from Dol, was not included in this grant. 
 
 It does not appear that the bishop reaped any great 
 advantage from the donation of these Islands, or that he 
 was very successful in proselyting the inhabitants, who 
 
 * Armorica was that portion of Gaul, situated in the N. W. corner, 
 between the Seine, the Loire, and the Atlantic. From the settlement 
 of the refugee Britons,, the province of Bretagne, or Britany, derives 
 its name. This territory was newly peopled, in the fourth century, by 
 a colony from Wales. 
 
42 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 must have been much attached to the pagan superstition, 
 from the great number of altars and temples that have 
 been found in the islands, many of which still exist: they 
 are called by the inhabitants Pouquelays* They 
 are thus described by Mr. Falle : — " They are great flat 
 stones of great bigness and weight, some oval, some 
 quadrangular, raised three or four feet from the ground, 
 and supported by others of a less size. It is evident both 
 from their figure and the great quantity of ashes found 
 in the ground thereabouts, that they were used for altars 
 in those times of superstition; and their standing on 
 eminences inclines me to think they were dedicated to the 
 Divinities of the ocean. At ten or twelve feet distance 
 there is a smaller stone set up on end in manner of a desk, 
 where it is supposed the priest kneeled and performed 
 some ceremony, while the sacrifice was burning on the 
 altar." 
 
 Most of the Armorican sees were filled by British pre- 
 lates who had accompanied St. Samson. He left his dio- 
 cese and metropolitan dignity to his nephew, St. Ma- 
 gloire, who was likewise a Briton. This venerable eccle- 
 siastic was the happy instrument, selected by Divine Pro- 
 vidence, for the purpose of extending to these Islands the 
 blessings of Christianity. St. Magloire, animated with 
 an enthusiastic desire of converting the inhabitants, re- 
 signed his bishopric to St. Budoc, one of his disciples. 
 Accompanied with properly qualified assistants, he then 
 quitted the continent. He first landed in Sercq, where 
 he built a small monastery, and afterwards came over to 
 Jersey ; where he also built a chapel, which was called by 
 his name ;f there, by his powerful preaching, and influ- 
 
 * See a particular description of these in the Chapter on Antiquities, 
 f Corrupted to St Manliers. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 43 
 
 enced by his religious life, the inhabitants were induced 
 to renounce idolatry, and receive the rite of baptism.* 
 
 During the reign of Chilperic, Pretextatus, bishop of 
 Rouen, having displeased that King, by conniving at a 
 marriage of his son with Brunehault, who was too nearly 
 related to allow of the connexion, was banished to Jersey, 
 where he remained in exile ten years. 
 
 During the reign of Charlemagne, who governed France 
 from the year 768 to 814, Geroaldus, abbot of Fontenelle, 
 was sent by that prince to Jersey and Guernsey, to 
 assist in the pious work of conversion. A copy of the 
 mandate is still preserved in the Abbey of Fontenelle. 
 
 In the year 912, Rollo I., Duke of Normandy, annexed 
 these Islands to the bishoprick of Coutance, from which 
 time they were separated from the See of Dol. 
 
 The establishment of Christianity in these Islands was 
 followed by the invasion of the Normans. These fierce 
 and piratical marauders, in one of their descents on Jer- 
 sey, murdered St. Helier, a pious recluse, whose cell, on 
 a rock near Elizabeth castle, is still extant ; but being con- 
 verted to Christianity, those barbarous heathens, from be- 
 ing prosecutors of the Christian faith, became some of its 
 most zealous advocates. 
 
 This wanton outrage on the unoffending hermit led 
 to the foundation of an abbey. Hammon, the son of the 
 barbarous chief who committed the bloody deed, pro- 
 bab ly to atone for the crime of his father, founded an 
 abbey on the spot where the murder was committed ; and 
 he richly endowed it for the support of canons regular 
 
 * In an old MS. it is said, that St. Magloire, or Maglorius, settled 
 on the spot where Elizabeth castle now stands ; and on that spot, which 
 was then joined to the main land of Jersey, " erected a school for 
 Christianity, which was continued till at last it was converted into an 
 abbey." 
 
44 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 of the order of St. Augustine, who were placed in it : this 
 abbey must at this time have stood in a pleasant valley, 
 joined to the mainland of the Island.* 
 
 The Norman abbots were lords of several good manors 
 in Jersey, and had the former priories reduced to cells, 
 and dependencies on their houses. They were patrons of 
 all the churches, and shared the tithes belonging to them, 
 leaving only a very small portion for the officiating minis- 
 ter. 
 
 Richard I. of Normandy, began a religious persecution 
 in the early part of his reign : his pretence was, that many 
 of his subjects were wasting the prime of their life in, 
 what he called, " religious idleness;" and he seized the ec- 
 clesiastical revenues, which reduced the number of the clergy 
 in his dominions : many who could no longer be main- 
 tained on their benefices fled, and endured severe priva- 
 tions during their exile ; others succeeded in establishing 
 monastic institutions. The Benedictines that were reduced 
 iii Normandy, retired to Guernsey, and founded, in the 
 year 962, an abbey in that part of the Island near Vale 
 castle. 
 
 This account was transmitted by Popish historians ; 
 other accounts state that he suppressed those only in which 
 the scandalous lives of the monks were the most notori- 
 ous : this seems the more probable, as in some instances, 
 the monasteries were not suppressed, but the monks re- 
 
 * Upon this rock was " formerly a religious house of monks, de- 
 t( volved to the crown in Henry the Eighth's time, with the rest of the 
 " Abby lands in the Island : distant from the town of St. Heliers about 
 " a mile, in afair sandy bay, formerly meadows, belonging to the said 
 " monks, on whom with other things, they were bestowed by Henry the 
 V Second, as may be seen in a record of the Exchequer, anno 1328 ; 
 " but when it was overflowed is uncertain." 
 
 Dumaresq : MS. Survey, 1685. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 45 
 
 moved, and their place supplied by those of a different 
 order. 
 
 Duke Robert, the grandson of Richard, and the father 
 of William the Conqueror, founded other monasteries in 
 both Islands, and in gratitude to the abbot of St. Mich- 
 ael's, in Guernsey, for assistance rendered to him, when 
 in danger of shipwreck, as has been already related,* he 
 granted a large portion of land, and many privileges, by 
 which it was greatly enriched, and obtained considerable 
 power in the Island. 
 
 Whatever may have been the character of the monkish 
 institutions in Guernsey, during the time of Richard, it 
 must afterwards have been greatly improved ; for the Is- 
 land became so noted for the sanctity and devout lives of 
 the monks, that it was called " the Holy Island." 
 
 Under the reign of King John, these Islands were an- 
 nexed to the See of Exeter, but did not so continue long, 
 devolving again to the Bishop of Coutance, under whose 
 jurisdiction they continued till the time of Elizabeth, when 
 they were annexed to the See of Winchester. 
 
 During the reign of Henry I., three parish churches 
 were built in Guernsey, St. Sampson's in 1 1 1 1 ; St. Mich- 
 ael's in 1 1 1 7 ; St. Philip of Torteval in 1 1 30 ; besides the 
 chapel of the priory of Lihou. The church of Torteval 
 was built by Philip De Carteret, of Jersey, who while 
 in danger of shipwreck, vowed that if brought safe to 
 land he would build a church near the spot. He landed 
 in Rocquaine harbour, in the parish of Torteval, where 
 he fulfilled his promise by building the church. 
 
 During the reign of Henry II. three other churches were 
 built in Guernsey, or at least consecrated in that reign : 
 St. Saviour's in 1154; St. Margaret's in 1163; and St. 
 
 * See General History, 
 
46 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Peter's in 1 167. The other two were built during the reign 
 of John. 
 
 All the churches in Jersey were built between the years 
 1111 and 1204: — St. Brelade's the most antient on the 
 Island, was consecrated during the former year, and St. 
 John's in August 4th in thelatter, — except the three follow- 
 ing, which are of later date: Grouville in 1312; St. 
 Mary in 1320; and St. Helier in 1341. 
 
 Nothing particular occurred in the ecclesiastical history 
 of the Islands from this period, until the time of the Refor- 
 mation, when the monasteries, following the fate of those 
 in England, were suppressed, and the English liturgy, 
 translated into French, was sent hither. 
 
 On the accession of Queen Mary to the throne, popery 
 was restored. Poulet, a popish dean, was appointed to that 
 office A. D. 1555, when a priest, named Averty, was con- 
 victed of murder, and executed, notwithstanding the 
 dean's interference, who, in order to save his life, denied 
 the power of a lay court. He continued dean until the 
 year 1565. 
 
 During this period, the protestants in Prance being 
 cruelly persecuted, many of their ministers came over to 
 Jersey. They increased so much during the reign of 
 Elizabeth, that they addressed that princess, to allow 
 them to establish the Genevan mode of worship, instead 
 of the use of the liturgy : this was refused by an order in 
 council, dated Aug. 7, 1565, as respects the whole of the 
 parishes in the Islands, but granted on behalf of St. Heli- 
 er's, in Jersey, and St. Peter's port, in Guernsey; it appears 
 however that this order was not strictly observed, for the 
 discipline* of Calvin was adopted in all the parishes of 
 
 * This was settled by a convocation of the Islands, in the year 1576. 
 This discipline consisted of three orders, or assemblies of men, with 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 47 
 
 the Islands, and without a remonstrance from any party: 
 this may easily be accounted for, from the circumstance 
 of the inhabitants almost universally approving that mode 
 of discipline and worship, as well as its being favoured 
 by the then t Governor, Sir Hugh Pawlett. 
 
 James in the first year of his reign confirmed this, 
 with the understanding* that it was so granted by the 
 order of Elizabeth ; but in the short space of twenty years: 
 so material a change came over the minds of the islanders 
 on this subject, and partly assisted by disputes between 
 the governor and the colloquy, about the right of presen- 
 tation to vacant benefices, that in the twenty-first year of 
 James, an address was presented to the king, to the effect 
 that he would restore the office of the dean, and the use of 
 the liturgy. The Rev. David Bandinel was appointed the 
 first dean, with instructions, conjointly with the minis- 
 ters, to draw up a body of canons to be approved by the 
 king: these were submitted to archbishop Abbot, the lord 
 keeper "Williams, and Andrews, bishop of Winchester, 
 and after several corrections made by them, and approval 
 by the king, were transmitted to Jersey, to have the force 
 
 authority one above the other. 1st. — The Consistory, or minister and 
 elders of the church; they met every Sunday. 2nd. — The Collogue, or 
 the assembly of the ministers and elders of the whole Island; these met 
 four times in the year, to receive the reports, and to regulate the affairs 
 of the Consistories. 3rd. — The Synod, or an assembly of ministers and 
 elders deputed by the Colloque; these assembled once in the year, al- 
 ternately, in Jersey and Guernsey. The ministers of Alderney and 
 Sark (or Spark, as the Island is called in the printed rules), were al- 
 lowed to attend the Colloque in Guernsey, once in the year. One of 
 their rules states, " In every synod, there shall be a minister chosen 
 to govern the action, and a scribe to register the actions:" more 
 concisely expressed in modern phraseology, by a chairman and secre- 
 tary. 
 
 * Falle states it was by a false representation, that this privilege was 
 granted by James. 
 
 E 3 
 
48 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 of laws in matters ecclesiastical, as they have to this day. 
 This measure, however, did not entirely supersede the 
 use of the Genevan discipline : it must have existed 
 to a considerable extent, and for a considerable time 
 after the restoration of the church establishment, as in 
 the year 1642, towards the close of the reign of Charles I., 
 the synod met and confirmed the original orders by 
 which the Island was governed.* 
 
 Guernsey was subject to the Genevan church disci- 
 pline at the same time, and for a considerable time after 
 Jersey had returned to the communion of the Church of 
 England : this may be partly accounted for, by the cir- 
 cumstance of the governor, Sir Thomas Leighton, being 
 favourable to the former, while the governor of Jersey fa- 
 voured the latter. Guernsey did not conform until the 
 passing of the Act of Uniformity. John de Saumerez 
 was the first dean on the restoration of episcopacy. 
 
 * It may amuse the reader, to quote a few of the rules, on an in- 
 teresting subject. On the order respecting marriage ; Act 1, required 
 " that all promises of marriage be made in the presense of parents, 
 friends, governors, or masters or mistresses of the parties; and with 
 consent of them, or in the presense of ministers, elders, or deacons," 
 and it is added, "as for those that are at their owne libertie, the pre- 
 sence of the minister, or one of the elders or deacons, is also necessary 
 for the polieie." Act 2, states, " The children, and those that are under 
 government, cannot make any promise of marriage, without the con- 
 sent of their fathers and mothers, or of their tutors, or of their guar- 
 dians, in whose power they are." Act 3, " If the fathers and mothers 
 are so unreasonable, that they will not accord to so holy a thing, the 
 Consistory shall give them such advice as shall be expedient, to the 
 which, if the fathers and mothers will not agree, they shall have re- 
 course to the magistrate." Act 4, " Even those which have been mar- 
 ried, owe this honour to their parents, not to marry themselves, with" 
 out the advice of their parents, for the want thereof they shall be cen- 
 sured." Act 5, " Those that shall be betrothed, shall promise with 
 their parents, that they shall be married within three months after 
 their promises are made, or in six months, in case they be on a voyage : 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 49 
 
 It was the intention of James the Second again to 
 introduce the Roman Catholic religion into Jersey. 
 With this view, he began by sending officers and soldiers 
 of that persuasion, as a garrison, into Elizabeth castle. 
 His design was, however, delayed by the policy of the 
 magistrates, and finally rendered abortive by the revolu- 
 tion of 1688; since which time, nothing material has 
 taken place in the ecclesiastical constitution of the Islands. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth founded a free Grammar School in 
 Guernsey, in the year 1563, called after her name, Eliza- 
 beth College, and endowed it with certain lands and rents, 
 which have so increased in amount, that they are now of 
 considerable value : whether the Islanders receive all the 
 benefit from the institution that they have a right to ex- 
 pect, may be questioned. 
 
 Charles the Second granted three fellowships in Oxford, 
 for the two Islands, in Exeter, Jesus, and Pembroke 
 Colleges ; and there have been since added five exhibi- 
 tions, three for Jersey, and two for Guernsey. 
 
 and if they will not obey, they shall be pursued by ecelesiasticall cen- 
 sures." Act 6, " No stranger shall be betrothed without the consent 
 of the governor, or of his leiftenants." Act 11, "Those who have ac- 
 companied together before they are married, shall not be married be- 
 fore they have made confession of their fault; and if the fault be openly 
 known, they shall doe it before all the church; and if it be lesse 
 knowne, the Consistory shall give order for it." Act 12, " The promises 
 of widdowes that would remarry themselves, shall not be received, but 
 six months after the death of the deceased husband; that both for the 
 honestie and well seemlinesse, and to meet with many inconveniences. 
 As for the men, they shall be exhorted to stay a certain time also, with- 
 out constraining them thereunto." — Extract from " The orders for ec- 
 clesiastical discipline, by the ministers, elders, and deacons of the isles 
 of Garn$ey, Gersey, Spark and Alderny : Confirmed by the authoritie 
 of the aforesaid isles. Printed in the yeare 1642 " 
 
50 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 After this brief sketch of the ecclesiastical affairs of 
 the Island, the present state of its religious establishments 
 and services will claim attention. 
 
 The number of beneficed clergy, or incumbents, inclu- 
 ding the dean, is just equal to that of the parishes, the 
 canons of Jersey absolutely forbidding pluralities. The 
 dean is always one of the rectors. Here is a regular 
 spiritual court, of which the dean is the head : the other 
 eleven rectors are his assessors. This court has, attach- 
 ed to it, a greffier or register, two advocates or proctors, 
 with an apparitor to execute its summonses. Three 
 ministers, including the dean, or vice-dean, are sufficient 
 to form a court. Appeals may be made from this tribu- 
 nal to the bishop of Winchester, as superior ordinary ; 
 or, in case of a vacancy in that see, to the archbishop of 
 Canterbury ; such appeals must be heard by the prelate 
 in person. 
 
 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 of persons 
 dying intestate, copies of which are transmitted to the 
 Bishop's Court at Winchester. The dean has likewise the 
 power of granting licences for private marriage ; and as 
 these are not expensive, the practice of marrying in private 
 is very commonly adopted. 
 
 The rectors are entitled to the small tithes, and, though 
 only in some instances, to a part of the great tithes : the 
 remainder of these belongs principally to the crown, and 
 foims a part of the governor's salary. Thus, instead of 
 being rectories, the livings may with more propriety be 
 denominated vicarages. The repairs necessary for every 
 parsonage house are done at the expense of the parish ; 
 so that the heirs of a deceased rector are not liable to 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 51 
 
 those dilapidations that sometimes, in England, fall so 
 heavily on a widowed family. 
 
 When the revenues of the churches were seized, the 
 patronage fell to the Sovereign, who has since ceded it to 
 the governors ; hut the crown still nominates to the 
 deanery. By the canons of King James I., il the Dean 
 shall be a master of arts, or a graduate in the civil law, 
 at the least, and the Originaries, or natives of the Island 
 shall be preferred before others to the ministry."* It is 
 also ordained that the Dean be not less than thirty years 
 of age. 
 
 There is a church in every parish, and a chapel, con- 
 nected with the Establishment, at St. Aubin: this was 
 erected by subscription ; and the proprietors possess the 
 right of electing the minister. The distance of St. Aubin 
 from the parish church, which is St. Brelade, made this 
 necessary ; and it is a great convenience to the inhabitants 
 of the town. 
 
 By the before-mentioned canons, " no conventicle, or 
 congregation, shall be suffered to make sect apart, or 
 withdraw themselves from the ecclesiastical government 
 established in the Island." This however is become a 
 dead letter, for the Island having always borne a religious 
 character, now abounds with sectaries ; the Independents, 
 the Wesleyans, and the Baptists have not only their several 
 chapels, but the two former have several, in which the 
 services are performed both in English and French. The 
 Roman Catholics also have two places of worship. The 
 great increase of these took place during the revolutionary 
 
 * It should appear, that, in King James's time, the inhabitants 
 were in general very illiterate; since, in the same canons, it is ordered, 
 that two church-wardens are to be chosen for each parish; men " able 
 to read and write, if possible." 
 
52 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 war; a great number of clergy and laity, having fled 
 their country, became inhabitants of Jersey. 
 
 All the above sectaries are also to be found in Guernsey 
 where they have their places of worship. There are also 
 a few Quakers in this Island, and they have a house of 
 meeting. 
 
 Two regular church services are appointed for every 
 Sunday in the parish church : one of these is now, in 
 some of the parishes, performed in the English language. 
 At St. Helier there is, in addition, an evening service. 
 There is also a chapel of ease to the parish church, in 
 which the service is performed morning and afternoon. 
 There are likewise two neat episcopal chapels, St. Paul's 
 and St. James's, in which it is performed in English : 
 these are both modern erections ; the former was built in 
 1818, the latter in 1829* 
 
 The bishop not residing in the Island, young persons 
 are not obliged to be confirmed previously to their par- 
 taking of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; but they 
 are assembled by a minister, examined, and admonished 
 — thus are they received into the communion of the 
 Church of England. The Bishop of Winchester, how- 
 ever, with an exemplary regard to the duties of his 
 sacred office, has visited the Island three times since the 
 year 1829. 
 
 There are in Jersey two free grammar schools, each 
 for the children of six parishes ; one in St. Saviour's pa- 
 rish, called St. Manlier; the other in the parish of St. 
 Peter, called St. Athanasius ; but as the endowments are 
 small, the masters usually take boarders, or adopt other 
 means to increase their income ; that at St. Manlier has 
 
 * For a list of the Churches and Chapels, and the time of celebrat- 
 ing public worship, the reader is referred to the Appendix. 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 53 
 
 lately been much improved by large additions to the ori- 
 ginal building. They were founded in A. D. 1498. 
 
 Every parish has a fund, supported by legacies, for 
 keeping the church and the parsonage house in repair. 
 The poor are likewise maintained by legacies, by poor's 
 boxes, collections at the church doors, and by a rate 
 when necessary : extraordinary cases of distress or mis- 
 fortune are frequently relieved, and liberally so, by 
 private contributions. 
 
 Two public schools for the instruction of poor children, 
 of both sexes, were established, by voluntary subscrip- 
 tions, a few years since, The plan has recently been 
 extended, and is now in successful operation.* 
 
 * For information respecting other Societies, established for the 
 benefit of the Island, the reader is also referred to the Appendix. 
 
54 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Name, Situation, Form and Extent, Appearance, 
 Tides, Highways, Military Roads, Regular and 
 Island Troops, and Fortifications. 
 
 The name by which Jersey was known, in ancient times, 
 is not decisively ascertained. Like other states, it has had 
 several appellations ; some so remote, both in sound and 
 orthography, from others, as to elude every attempt to 
 trace their etymology to one common source. 
 
 Jersey has been variously spelled ; Gearsey, Gersey, 
 and Jereseye,* and is supposed to have been derived from 
 Csesarea, by which name it was known to the Romans.f 
 It has been attempted to be proved that it was called Au- 
 gia, previously to its possession by that people : by this 
 name it was indeed given by Childebert, king of France, 
 to Samson, archbishop of Dol, in Armorica, about A. D. 
 550 : but as this was subsequent to the declension of the 
 Roman power in Gaul, it rather proves that the change 
 was from Caesarea to Augia. 
 
 The N. W. point of Jersey, is situated in north latitude 
 49° 16', and in 2° 22' longitude west of London. It 
 forms the most southern island of that group,J which 
 
 * So spelled in the records of the Tower and Exchequer. 
 
 f It is so named by the emperor Antoninus, in his Itinerary. 
 
 % This group is composed of the following islands, viz. Jersey, 
 Guernsey, Alderney, and Sercq: with the smaller ones of Herm, Je- 
 thou, and the rocky islets of Chausey, Ecrehou, &c. 
 
FORM AND EXTENT. 55 
 
 lies in St. Michael's bay, on the coast of Lower Normandy 
 and Britany. That ample gulph sweeps from Cap de la 
 Hogue, in the former province, to Cap de Frehelle, in 
 the latter. 
 
 The distance from Jersey to Carteret, or to Port Bail, 
 which are the two nearest French ports, is somewhat more 
 than five leagues. 
 
 To Granville eight leagues : 
 
 To St. Malo ten leagues : 
 
 To Guernsey, about seven leagues : 
 
 To Alderney, ten leagues : 
 
 To Weymouth, twenty-eight leagues : 
 
 To Plymouth forty leagues : 
 
 To the Isle of Wight, thirty leagues : 
 
 To Southampton, forty leagues. 
 
 The form of this Island is that of an irregular parallelo- 
 gram. Its greatest length, from S. E. to N. W., is about 
 twelve miles ; and the average breadth may be estimated 
 at full five miles : the width does not in any part exceed 
 seven miles. By a very accurate measurement, it con- 
 tains a superficies of between thirty-nine and forty thou- 
 sand acres. 
 
 Jersey exhibits an inclined plane : part of its eastern 
 coast, commencing at Mont Orgueil, and the whole of its 
 northern shore, form one continuous range of rocks, 
 rising abruptly from the ocean, frequently to an elevation 
 of from forty to fifty fathoms. This natural defence 
 renders the Island, in those quarters, nearly inaccessible. 
 The rocks exteriorly, are, in general, mere naked ridges, 
 projecting their sharp angles into the sea; thus adding 
 to the rapidity of the currents, and varying their courses. 
 In several places the rocks are loosely blended with 
 
56 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 other terrene combinations, or are in a state of great 
 disintegration ; hence many deeply indented inlets, and 
 sundry excavations, have been formed by tides, rising, 
 occasionally, to forty or fifty feet in perpendicular 
 height, and dashed about, by boisterous winds, in every 
 possible direction. From these rugged cliffs the land de- 
 clines towards the southern coast, which, in several 
 places, is nearly on a level with the sea. In this respect, 
 Jersey displays a striking contrast with Guernsey, the 
 southern boundary of which shoots up in high rocks from 
 the sea, and declines towards the north. 
 
 This contraposition is supposed to occasion that con- 
 siderable difference in the nature of the soil, and in the 
 temperature of the atmosphere, in the two Islands, which 
 the trifling distance between them seems otherwise to ren- 
 der inexplicable. 
 
 In general, the strata run from north to south, thus 
 following the form of the Island ; but those layers are 
 usually more inclined than the regular declination of the 
 surface. 
 
 From the wedge-like form of Jersey, it must be evi- 
 dent, that little table-land exists in the Island : nor is 
 the surface a widely extended declivity: it is mostly com- 
 posed of elevated parts, running from north to south, 
 intersected by deep, and, in general, by narrow vales. 
 The sides, or Coteaux, of these eminences are frequent- 
 ly steep and craggy. They follow the inclined course 
 of the Island; so likewise do the numerous rivulets of 
 excellent water that gurgle through the valleys ; these re- 
 ceive the tributary streamlets that issue from so many 
 sources, that perhaps no spot in the universe is more 
 amply furnished. The comparatively long course of these 
 
APPEARANCE. 57 
 
 rivulets is particularly advantageous to so small an is- 
 land : several corn mills are worked by them. 
 
 Though Jersey may be considered as an aggregate of 
 different rocky substances, moulded into a single irre- 
 gular heap, yet its western, its southern, and part of its 
 eastern shores, are scooped into open sandy bays, sepa- 
 rated from each other by solid projecting masses. # The 
 principal of those inlets are the bays of St. Catherine, 
 Rosel, Boulay, De Lecq, St. Ouen, St. Brelade, St. Aubin, 
 and Grouville. In tracing the marine line, it begins 
 with the continued range of rocks, at Mont Orgueil, on 
 the eastern side: proceeding from this spot, and skirting 
 the whole northern boundary, until, doubling the point 
 at Gros-nez, we reach a rugged mass, called L'Etac. 
 Here an extensive curve, like the segment of an immense 
 circle, comprises a moiety of the western shore; and 
 this sweep receives the full unbroken waves of the At- 
 lantic ocean. At the southern extremity of this too fre- 
 quently boisterous bay, the cliffs rise again to a consi- 
 derable height, and continue to a well known rocky 
 pile, called La Corbiere; thence, turning eastward, they 
 line the southern coast, until they touch the town of St. 
 Aubin, situated in a beautiful bay of the same name, 
 Passing that town, the rocks recede inland, until a pro- 
 jection takes place at Mont Cochon, and another at Le 
 Mont Patibulaire: further on lies the sandy plain, on 
 which stands the town of St. Helier. Immediately be- 
 yond this spot rises the insulated rock, formerly called 
 Le Mont de la Ville, on which now stands Fort Regent, 
 which extends to Havre des Pas. Here the eminences, 
 that form a lofty sea wall, terminate; and the remaining 
 part of the coast, from this inlet to Mont Orgueil, is flat, and 
 so low as to be occasionally subject to partial inundations. 
 
 Thus is Jersey nearly encircled hy natural defences. 
 
58 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 It is to a greater degree protected by a chain of rocks that 
 rise about a league from the shore, on the north-eastern 
 and northern sides. They are called Ecrehou, Les Di- 
 rouilles, and Les pierres de Lecq, or the Paternosters' 
 having a narrow rocky passage between each. To the 
 south, but more distant from the land, lies another ledge, 
 named Les Minquiers; and, to the south-east, but still 
 further from Jersey, is the small rugged island of Chau- 
 sey. These and a great variety of smaller protuberances,* 
 both above and below the surface, in different parts of the 
 surrounding ocean, constitute a most formidable barrier. 
 Nor are these all ; — this immense assemblage of rocks, by 
 obstructing the natural course of the tides, produces a 
 number of strong and diversified currents, which con- 
 tribute a great accession of strength to the other natural 
 outworks. 
 
 It is a very probable conjecture, that many of the ad- 
 jacent rocks were originally part of the Island itself; but 
 departed from it by the force of violent tempests. On the 
 southern, the eastern, and the western sides, there are in- 
 controvertible proofs that large portions of useful land 
 have been ingulfed ; and strong sea banks are found, in 
 many places, necessary to prevent further encroach- 
 ments. 
 
 There is a legendary tradition, that this Island was once 
 so contiguous to France, that persons passed over, on a 
 plank, or a bridge, paying a small toll to the abbey of 
 Coutances. That all the islands in this quarter formed a 
 portion of the continent itself, does not seem very impro- 
 bable; their external appearance evidences some dreadful 
 convulsion: but it may well be questioned, whether any 
 
 * Most of the rocks that rise ahove high watermark are distinguished 
 by a particular name, which is well known to the fishermen, and to the 
 farmers who resort to them during the seasons for cutting vraic. 
 
TIDES. 59 
 
 disruption of nature has taken place since the flood, so as 
 to cause so mighty a change. 
 
 There is something very extraordinary in the tides that 
 flow and ebb among these Islands. The directions they 
 follow seem totally uninfluenced by others in the Channel. 
 They receive indeed their momentum at its mouth, but 
 take different impulses, from the various obstructions 
 that divert the regularity of their course. They flow 
 E. S. E. to the bay of Mont St. Michael. The declivity 
 of the shore, in this gulf, is so inconsiderable, that the 
 common extent of the tide is from twelve to sixteen miles ; 
 and the bay is filled in the short space of two hours. 
 When this is effected, a new direction takes place. The 
 saturated inlet resists a greater accession, and the water 
 is impelled along the Norman coast, northwards, until, 
 in the course of twelve hours, it has encircled the Islands, 
 and returned to the spot from whence it began to flow. 
 The currents, from being frequently intersected, succeed 
 each other so rapidly, that they are in continual motion, 
 and there is no appearance of still water in these parts, as 
 in the Channel, at low ebb. 
 
 These tides rise from forty to forty-five feet, round the 
 Islands: at St. Malo their height is said to be near sixty 
 feet. 
 
 It will readily be conceived, that an immense body of 
 water, rising, in the space of six hours, to so great an ele- 
 vation, and diverted from its natural course by so many 
 intervening obstructions, must necessarily produce a va- 
 riety of impetuous currents, running in different direc- 
 tions; and must likewise form many submarine banks. 
 These circumstances apply more particularly to Jersey 
 than to the neighbouring Islands; for though the bottom 
 
 f 3 
 
60 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 of the sea, in the open parts, is tolerably uniform, and the 
 depth may be averaged at from thirty-five to forty fathoms, 
 yet it is said to be more variable on the coast of Jersey 
 than round either of the other Islands. 
 
 It is high water at Jersey about six o'clock, at every new 
 and full moon : but as the flood commences by rushing 
 full against the rocks on the northern shore, it is high 
 water half an hour earlier on that and on the western side, 
 than on the southern and eastern shores. 
 
 Though there is good anchorage at Boulay bay, St, Au- 
 bin's bay, and at other inlets round the coast, yet not one 
 of them is land-locked; and the two ports of St. Helier, 
 and St. Aubin, are both dry at low water. To remedy 
 this last defect, it has been suggested, that a safe ?nd 
 commodious harbour might be constructed at Boulay 
 bay, as there is always a considerable depth of water there ; 
 but this suggestion has not been acted on, and probably 
 never will.* 
 
 The following remarks in reference to the tides, are 
 extracted from a paper published by the Geological 
 Society, presented by Dr. Macculloch: — " The great 
 wave which enters from the Atlantic, striking directly 
 against the projecting coast of Normandy, first fills 
 the bay, and then continues its course along the Is- 
 lands, and round la Hogue, up the English channel; 
 where its passage being narrowed and diverted by the land, 
 it forms those currents, of which the rapidity is such, as 
 in some places, it is said to amount to six miles an 
 hour." 
 
 * Although there is a good depth of water at all times in Boulay bay 
 as a harbour for mercantile shipping it would be useless, or nearly so, on 
 account of the great acclivity of the land from the sea, which would in- 
 crease the difficulty and expence of cartage to St. Helier, the grand em- 
 porium of the Island. It is better adapted as an anchoring ground for 
 ships of war, during a state of hostility. 
 
HIGHWAYS — MILITARY ROADS. 61 
 
 " Neither from my own observations, nor from the tra- 
 ditions of the inhabitants, nor from antient record, have 
 I been able to trace much alteration in the level of the 
 sea, or any considerable change in the positions of the 
 harbours, or the depths of the soundings. Indeed, the 
 shores in general being high, small changes of level are 
 more likely to escape notice; and the rocks being of a firm 
 constitution, and belonging to a country without rivers, 
 and almost without ice, escape some of the ordinary 
 causes of decay." — Geological Transactions, vol. 1. 
 
 The highways were formerly of different widths,and were 
 under strict regulations in this respect, when they were 
 originally formed. They are thus described in a MS. in 
 the British Museum :* — " There are in Jerseye thiee kindes 
 of wayes: Le Chemin de Roy, the king's highway, which 
 is to be of the breadth of twelve feet, besides four feet 
 on eache side by the hedge; in all sixteene foot.f Le 
 Chemin de huite pieds, of eight foot in the midle, and 
 foure foot on both sides, in all twelve foot; and lastly, 
 Le Chemin de quatre pieds, or four foot way, for foot- 
 men or carriadgrs (carriers) on horseback."J 
 
 * This is a small 4to. volume very neatly written, elegantly bound, 
 and richly ornamented: on the first leaf is a note, by which it appears 
 to have belonged to James the Second; it was written during the reign 
 of the second Charles. 
 
 f This discrepancy in the measurement is explained, by observing 
 that the foot path ran sometimes on one side of the same road, and 
 sometimes on the other; so that the width did not exceed sixteen feet. 
 
 X There were also other roads, called Perquages, extending from 
 each church to the sea. Any person who had committed a crime, and 
 taken refuge in the church, as a sanctuary, and remained there nine 
 days, and afterwards swore to leave the island and never to return 
 was allowed the privilege of these Perquages to depart, but if devia- 
 ting from them, was liable to be seized, and suffer the penalty of the 
 law: this privilege was abolished at the reformation, and the roads 
 given to Sir Edward Carteret, and by him disposed of to those who 
 had lands adjoining. (See Antiquities.) 
 
62 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 These were the only roads of which the Islands could 
 boast, until the new military roads were made by Gen- 
 eral Don; and they were generally, indeed nearly all, 
 in a miserable condition, as may still be seen by those 
 that remain; but many of these roads have been widened 
 and formed after the manner of those in England, and are 
 almost in every respect equal to them. They have proved 
 a great advantage to the Island, which is now acknow- 
 ledged by the inhabitants, although a violent opposition 
 was at first raised against the plan — so great indeed that 
 nothing but the most resolute perseverance on the part of 
 the governor could have succeeded in removing it ; but 
 so satisfied was he of the ultimate success and advantage 
 of his plan, that he declared, " I will do them good in 
 spite of themselves, and they will hereafter experience and 
 acknowledge it :" this has been fully verified in both re- 
 spects. 
 
 Though, in time of war, the chief defence of Jersey must, 
 necessarily, be confided to the regular troops, yet the Island 
 force is considerable and well disciplined. 
 
 The militia comprises six regiments or battalions of in- 
 fantry, amounting to more than 2500 men. To each 
 corps is attached four field pieces, and a company of 
 artillery: these form a body of between 600 and 700 men, 
 and are when exercised formed into a battalion. All the 
 island troops are armed, and clothed in proper uniforms, 
 by government, but do not receive pay. They are fre- 
 quently drilled ; and during war mount guard every night, 
 at different stations round the Island. 
 
 Every inhabitant, from the age of nineteen to sixty- 
 five, is by law obliged to bear arms, either as an officer or 
 a private; and all boys, from the age of sixteen to eighteen, 
 are exercised, weekly, during the summer months. This 
 
FORTIFICATIONS. 63 
 
 juvenile corps is upwards of a thousand strong. There 
 are likewise a few troopers attached to each regiment, 
 whose duty is to serve as orderly men and guides : the 
 artillery also is mounted. 
 
 The militia staff consists of inspectors and assistant in- 
 spectors ; and the whole island force is under strict regu- 
 lations: though the governor, or lieutenant governor, 
 appoints the officers, and has military command over 
 them, yet all complaints against individuals are judged 
 and punished by the royal court.* 
 
 The regular troops in time of war, generally amount 
 to about 7000 men : the peace establishment does not 
 exceed 300. 
 
 The principal fortifications are, Fort Eegent, Elizabeth 
 castle, that of Mont Orgueil, Fort Henry, La Rocco, St. 
 Aubin's tower, Seymour tower, with the tower at Noir- 
 mont point, and that at Ich-ho. Besides these, there is 
 a chain of martello towers, redoubts, and batteries, in 
 every maritime part of the Island, where defences are re- 
 quisite. As an additional security, Jersey and Guernsey 
 together form a station for ships of war. There are, 
 likewise, in Jersey four signal posts, on different elevated 
 parts, which during war are increased, so that a telegra- 
 phic communication is established round the Island. 
 
 There are barracks for the regular troops in different 
 parts of the Island : a very handsome and extensive range of 
 buildings was erected, at the close of the last war, in St. 
 Peter's parish. 
 
 * The militia is now called the " Royal Jersey Militia:" it obtained 
 that distinction by an ordinance of his late Majesty, William the 
 Fourth, in 1831, on the fiftieth anniversary of its gallant resistance, 
 under Major Pierson, to the French invasion of the Island, January 6. 
 1791. (See General History.) 
 
64 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Division, Enclosures, Population, Language, 
 Dress, and Peculiar Customs. 
 
 The Island is divided into twelve parishes; these are 
 Trinity, St. John's, and St. Mary's, on the north; St. 
 Ouen's, St. Peter's, and St. Brelade's, on the west; St. 
 Lawrence's, St. Helier's, and St. Saviour's, on the south; 
 St. Clement's, Grouville, and St. Martin's, on the east. 
 These, with the exception of the parish of St. Ouen, are 
 again divided into Vintaines.* The divisions in that 
 parish are called Cuillettes.f All present a large coast to 
 the sea, except St. Saviour's, and even this has one small 
 point of contact. 
 
 As the law of inheritance frequently causes a division 
 of property among the children, on the death of the pro- 
 prietor, the land is necessarily divided into small estates; 
 this of course occasions corresponding enclosures. These 
 circumscribed portions are surrounded by banks of seve- 
 ral feet in height and thickness. Many are even faced with 
 stone, so as to have the appearanoe of ramparts ; and most 
 
 * This sub-division is the same as in England into hundreds, and the 
 name in both cases explains itself. As in England the division was 
 into hundreds, or a space occupied by a hundred houses, so in Jersey by 
 " Vintaines," or where there were twenty houses. 
 
 f This was originally a private arrangement made by the Seigneur 
 for his own convenience, and who at that time probably possessed 
 the whole parish : he divided it into two parts, for the purpose of mak- 
 ing the collections more easily ; hence the term " Cuillettes" or gather- 
 ings. 
 
ENCLOSURES — POPULATION. 00 
 
 of them have hedges, or trees, planted on their summits.* 
 It is difficult to ascertain why so extraordinary a waste of 
 ground, on such limited estates, and in so small an island, 
 should have heen introduced, and still more so that it 
 should have become a general custom. The approach to 
 houses in the country, above those of the lower class of 
 farmers, is through a long and narrow avenue, called 
 une chasse; this likewise is, in most cases, an unprofit- 
 able use of ground : besides the was^e occasioned by these 
 circumstances, which are to a certain extent unavoidable, 
 there is not much land uncultivated : there are, however, 
 some tracts of marshy ground, and other parts towards 
 the north, that might be made productive. 
 
 In 1734, the population of Jersey was estimated at 
 20,000 souls. 
 
 By the census, taken in 1806, the total number of inha- 
 bitants, was 22,855: it appears therefore, that there was 
 not any material increase during the seventy years be- 
 tween those two periods. It will not be interesting to the 
 stranger, to detail the population of the respective pa- 
 rishes, as given in the report to parliament, but the fol- 
 lowing will show the increase that has taken place since 
 the latter period, in the whole Island. 
 
 in 1821, the population was - 28,737 
 
 in 1831 - - - - - - - 36,582 
 
 which shows the rapid increase of the population since the 
 peace. Although Jersey may in some respects be bene- 
 fited by a war, and especially with France, yet the steady 
 
 * In the environs of St. Helier's, most of these banks have been re- 
 moved, and replaced by neat stone walls : young trees have, also, in 
 several parts been planted, and which have added to this improvement. 
 
66 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 and increasing commerce which has attended her since the 
 peace, and the influx of visitors as well as residents, prove 
 that the latter is more to her advantage. 
 
 The population of the parish of St. Helier's is somewhat 
 more than two-fifths of the whole Island. The number 
 of inhabited houses at the latter period, was very nearly 
 5,000, and the numbei since must have greatly increased : 
 
 Supposing therefore the area of Jersey to contain sixty- 
 two square miles and a half, or 40,000 acres, the number 
 of inhabitants will form an average of 365 2-3 in every 
 square mile; whereas the average for England and Wales 
 is computed at not more than 192 : thus it appears that 
 with the exception of Holland, and the Netherlands, 
 Jersey is more populous than any other part of Europe. 
 
 The English residents may be computed at about 3,000 
 besides tradesmen ; of which a considerable number has 
 been attracted to the Island by its encreasing trade and 
 comparatively cheap living. It has been observed that no 
 place contains so large a proportion of English, except 
 Paris, Rome, Florence, and Brussels : this may be true, 
 but the comparison between these places and Jersey is not 
 correct, inasmuch as Jersey is not, strictly speaking, a 
 foreign country. 
 
 The vernacular language is French. Divine service 
 and preaching, the pleadings at court, and the public 
 acts, are all in good French; though, in legal documents, 
 some obsolete forensic terms are still retained. The up- 
 per ranks understand and speak the French language in 
 its purity; but in their conversation with the lower classes, 
 they, usually, converse in the provincial tongue, or, as it 
 is called, Jersey French. This is a heterogeneous com- 
 pound pf old Norman French, intermixed with modern ex- 
 
LANGUAGE DRESS. 67 
 
 pressions and gallicised English words,* it is pronounced, 
 especially in the country districts, with a most determined 
 patois, The different parishes even vary in these re- 
 spects, so that there are more dialects in the language of 
 Jersey than in the ancient Greek. English is, however, 
 becoming daily more and more prevalent; and there is 
 scarcely a countryman who does not now understand 
 somewhat of the language; although to the same class of 
 persons not more than fifty years ago, it would have been 
 perfectly unintelligible. 
 
 The internal communication throughout the Island has 
 been of late much promoted, and the intercourse with 
 Great Britain considerably increased. These causes, to- 
 gether with the number of British troops stationed in the 
 Island during the war, have materially contributed to the 
 diffusion of the English language. If more encouragement 
 were given, Jersey would be in a few years, in every 
 respect, as it should be, an English island. 
 
 If we consider the state of society in Jersey 200 years 
 ago, when the intercourse with England and France was 
 comparatively limited, and before the inhabitants had 
 learnt to imitate the customs and fashions of either coun- 
 try, — at a time when we are led to contemplate them as 
 simple and unaffected, it might be supposed that sumptu- 
 ary laws were unnecessary; but it appears that this was 
 not the case: whether, the lower orders were not so 
 
 * This remark applies particularly to the dialect spoken by the in- 
 habitants who have the most frequent communication with the town . 
 a few years ago, before the intercourse with England became so inti- 
 mate, the language spoken by the country people, was the pure French 
 of some four or five centuries past. It may be difficult to account for 
 the circumstance, but it is a fact, that the vernacular language of 
 Jersey differs materially from that of Guernsey. 
 
 G 
 
DO THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 simple as we are led to consider them, or whether the 
 members of the States at that time were rigid puritans, we 
 are not informed; but an order of the court was made in 
 1636, to remedy abuses in the dress of the lower classes, 
 as well in excess of clothing, as in lace and silk hoods, 
 above their condition : such " females are forbidden to 
 wear lace of above fifteen sols per yard, and that for the 
 hood only, or to use silken hoods, tied, which," says this 
 curious decree, " belongs only to the rank of ladies"* 
 
 The usual dress of the old farmer was a large cocked 
 hat, and thin queue a la frangaise ; and, among females, 
 the short jacket, or bed gown, and coarse red petticoat, 
 formed the prevailing costume. Secluded, in a great 
 measure, from the circles of fashion and commerce, they 
 lived in a kind of insulated manner, and thus retained the 
 modes and customs of their ancestors. 
 
 Not many years since it was an uncommon occurrence 
 for a Jersey farmer to lay out any money on dress ; most 
 of the articles of his clothing were not only woven at home, 
 the knitting needle being in such constant use, and nearly 
 all made of worsted, but were either made up under his 
 own roof, or at a very small cost by female tailors, who 
 were principally employed in this trade : the same circum- 
 stances which have operated to assimilate the Jersey cha- 
 racter to that of the English, have had their influence in 
 this respect also ; and the very cheap rate at which articles 
 of clothing are now brought from England, and sold in 
 the town, has led in a great measure to a discontinuance 
 of this practice. It need scarcely be observed, that the 
 
 * It is probable that this restriction was intended to repress a rising 
 desire for finery, which may have begun to prevail, rather than against 
 a general practice already established, or certainly the wives and daugh- 
 ters of the lower orders in the Island were formerly more addicted to 
 show than they are at present. 
 
customs. by 
 
 style of dress that prevails among the middle and higher 
 orders, is the same as in England, although somewhat tardy 
 in adopting its fashions. A disposition to finery is however 
 to be observed, not quite consonant with good taste. 
 
 The great intercourse with England during the war, 
 and the greater connection that this occasioned between 
 the people of the town and country, have occasioned an 
 almost general uniformity of dress throughout the Is- 
 land ; the more aged only retain the antient mode of 
 dress: a few more years, and even the short jacket, and 
 coarse red petticoat, will be no longer seen. 
 
 Like the lower classes in England, many inhabitants, 
 even some of a rather higher order, assemble in jovial 
 parties on Easter Monday. The most general place of 
 rendezvous is near Mont Orgueil. During the month of 
 May the environs of St. Helier's are, early every morning, 
 crowded with the youth of both sexes, who in groups 
 walk to different farm houses, for the purpose of drinking 
 milk warm from the cow. 
 
 The natives have likewise some customs, that origin- 
 ated from other sources ; such as making a particular kind 
 of cake on the festival of All Saints, and the singularly 
 discordant ceremony of faire braire Us poeles,* on the 
 eve of St. John's day, which indeed is chiefly practised in 
 the parish named after that apostlcf 
 
 * For a description of this ceremony see Touu round the Island. 
 
 f These and other customs were, in former times, the general prac- 
 tice: whereas several of them are now no longer in vogue among the 
 higher class. 
 
 Many customs have probably a Celtic origin. There is, in Norman- 
 dy, during the season of Lent, a ceremony something similar to that 
 formerly practised by the Druids, on May-day, but which is, by the 
 peasants, appropriated to Ceres They go about with torches, made 
 
70 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 The assembling on the " lit de veille" is a custom that 
 prevails in both Islands, but particularly in Guernsey, 
 This lit de veille is a large low frame, not unlike a stump 
 bedstead, and usually standing in one corner of the room: 
 during the winter evenings, the young of both sexes meet 
 at different houses, and seated on this frame form a circle, 
 their feet meeting in the centre ; over which is suspended 
 a lamp, which of course serves to light the whole party: 
 the girls sew or knit, while the young men amuse them 
 by singing or relating stories. Where there is no lit de 
 veille, or when the party is large, straw is spread on the 
 floor, on which the assembly sit. It is probable that this 
 custom took its rise from the frugal character of the inha- 
 bitants : one light serving for several persons, and little 
 fire being needed, where so many were assembled in one 
 room; and for the same reason, probably, the decline of 
 this custom is greater in Jersey than in Guernsey, as the 
 increasing wealth is more diffused in the former than in 
 the latter Island » 
 
 At Midsummer the natives of Jersey and Guernsey re- 
 spectively pay visits to their relations and friends in the 
 sister Island, and these visits are generally prolonged to a 
 considerable time: the festivities of Christmas are still 
 maintained in a high degree. The declension which has 
 be?,un in England in this respect, has not yet had an 
 influence in Jersey. 
 
 Marriages, among all but the lower classes, are gene- 
 rally solemnized in the evening, and at home. The rite 
 
 of different rude materials, and, in a kind of song, invoke that goddess 
 to destroy the moles and field mice, and to grant a plentiful harvest- 
 Part of that district in Normandy, Le Contentin, still hears the name 
 of le Val de Ceres. May-day is not celebrated in Jersey. 
 
CUSTOMS. 71 
 
 of baptism, if performed in private, must be renewed at 
 the parish church. 
 
 When a death occurs in a family, it is usual to send an 
 early notice to relatives and particular friends: these, in 
 return, are expected to pay a visit of condolence, before 
 the funeral. A general invitation for relations, friends, 
 and neighbours, to attend the funeral, is then issued. A 
 corpse is therefore followed to the grave by a numerous 
 concourse, who, even among the lower ranks, are mostly 
 in mourning: this indeed forms a very general dress of 
 the Island, among the middle and higher classes : inter- 
 marriages link so many persons together, that family 
 connexions are extensive, and it is customary to assume 
 the sable garb, even for an infant. The interment fre- 
 quently takes place within two or three days after death, 
 and a subsequent visit to the nearest relations is again ex- 
 pected from those who received an early intimation of 
 their friend's decease. 
 
 g 3 
 
72 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Trade, Commerce, Shipping, Banking, 
 and Manufactures. 
 
 It is of very recent date that Jersey has attained her pre- 
 sent eminence in a commercial point of view. Peter Hey- 
 lin, the author of the " Cosmography," who visited the 
 Channel Islands in the year 1656, and wrote an account 
 of them, notices the poverty of the inhabitants, which 
 he ascribes to their " dislike of traffic :" the men were 
 principally employed in agriculture, and the women and 
 children in knitting stockings ; and so extensive was this 
 trade to France, in the year 1734, when Falle published 
 the second edition of his work, that he computes no less 
 than ten thousand pair were weekly exported from Jersey 
 to Paris, Lyons, and Rouen. It is necessary in some 
 measure to qualify the above remark respecting agricul- 
 ture : the Island at that time, as at present, abounded with 
 orchards, and the manufacture of cider constituted the 
 principal employment of the men, which better suited the 
 habits that then prevailed among them, than the more tire- 
 some labour of tilling the ground, and it was probably 
 more profitable. 
 
 At this early period of the commercial relations between 
 Jersey and other nations, the States of the Island were no 
 great advocates for the freedom of trade, for they passed 
 a law in the early part of the 17th century, prohibiting 
 several specified articles being sold wholesale to the mer- 
 
COMMERCE. 73 
 
 chants, until they had been offered retail on board the 
 ships for four days, — corn, salt, and coals were the prin- 
 cipal commodities subjected to this regulation. The Royal 
 Court usually fixed the price of labour, and of the com- 
 mon articles of consumption. In 1607 the Viconte or 
 sheriff was directed to see that nothing was brought to the 
 Island but what was useful to the public ; that principle 
 in trade which regulates the supply according to the de- 
 mand, was not so well understood as it is at present, or 
 this would have been left to be regulated by the inhabitants 
 themselyes : since more enlarged views have been enter- 
 tained, and a better line of policy has been adopted by the 
 States, the trade of the Island has increased in a surprising 
 degree. Its commercial relations were formerly almost en- 
 tirely confined to England and France ; Newfoundland* 
 afterwaids opened a field to the speculation and enterprize 
 of the Islanders : at the present time they trade with al- 
 most every country in Europe, with Ameriea, and some 
 of our colonies in the West Indies. 
 
 The commerce with England is subjected to several regu- 
 lations and limitations ; principally with a view to pre- 
 vent any contraband traffic. But every article " of the 
 growth, produce, and manufacture" of Jersey is admit- 
 ed into the mother country, on payment only of the same 
 duties that are imposed on similar commodities, grown, 
 produced, or manufactured there. 
 
 Jersey receives from England manufactured goods, iron, 
 copper, cloth, linen, and cottons; together with coals, 
 crockery, glass ware, flat paving stone, and a great variety 
 of other useful and ornamental articles. In return she 
 
 * This branch of commerce declines considerably when Great Bri- 
 tain is engaged in a Continental war — so many of the usual markets 
 for salted fish being closed against its subjects. 
 
74 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 sends to England apples, cider, cows, heifers, potatoes, 
 stone, potatoe-spirit, and oysters. 
 
 The produce of the Island exported to foreign parts is 
 very inconsiderable. It consists principally of potatoes 
 to Gibraltar and Malta, while the articles imported from 
 abroad, and actually consumed in the Island, form a large 
 aggregate amount. 
 
 As the whole export of Jersey produce is so extremely 
 inadequate to the imports consumed, it is evident that, 
 without a foreign trade, or an accession of income from 
 other channels, the Island could not support its present 
 increased expenditure. A large additional income is cer- 
 tainly produced : of this no small portion is derived from 
 considerable sums spent in the Island by English and 
 other families residing there : still however the foreign com- 
 mercial relations of Jersey must have become a source of 
 advantage to the Island, or there could not have been that 
 rapid influx of wealth, which has introduced a degree of 
 luxury and expensive living, formerly unknown in the 
 Island. 
 
 The late war made, so far as this Island was concerned, 
 a great difference, in every respect, from any former state 
 of hostility. It enriched not only the merchants and the 
 retailers, but all the country inhabitants. It so in- 
 creased the value of estates, that land was then let in 
 the parish of Grouville, at the exorbitant rate of five 
 pounds sterling per vergee :* equal to about twelve 
 pounds per acre. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, that Jersey continued to flourish, 
 while every other part of Europe groaned under the most 
 severe pressure. — The crowds of emigrants, particularly 
 from France, that sought an asylum in the Island, great- 
 
 * A vergee is somewhat less than half an acre. 
 
COMMERCE. 75 
 
 ly increased the number of its inhabitants. The military 
 establishments were augmented beyond all precedent, 
 and public works, on an immense scale, were carried 
 on, which brought from England a large body of work- 
 men. This amazing influx of adventitious inhabitants 
 expended their respective incomes in Jersey. The more 
 immediate effects were felt by the retail dealers in the 
 town of St. Helier; but those effects soon extended 
 through the whole Island, and to every description of 
 property. Every article produced in Jersey continually 
 advanced in price, and the usual consequence followed : the 
 large landed proprietors raised the rents of their farms ; 
 their tenants reimbursed themselves by increased prices of 
 their produce. The smaller proprietors, accustomed to 
 consume the greater part of their produce, found it more 
 advantageous to sell it. Riches flowed in at every chan- 
 nel. A spirit of enterprize diffused itself among the men of 
 business. The merchants sought out new markets, which 
 the firm policy of Great Britain, by assisting weaker na- 
 tions in stemming the overwhelming torrent, enabled 
 them to find. The tradesmen, leaving the details of a 
 shop to their wives, became merchants likewise; and, 
 uniting in temporary partnerships, freighted their own 
 vessels with valuable cargoes. Some, in addition to 
 these concerns, added the more hazardous undertaking 
 of fitting out privateers. Very few, annuitants except- 
 ed, complained of the war. Great profits were derived 
 from this state of things, and being themselves equally 
 exempt from its burthens and its distresses, the islanders 
 thought little of, because they felt not, the horrors and 
 privations it inflicted on others. 
 
 After this general view of the commerce of the 
 
76 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Island, it will be necessary to enter somewhat more into 
 detail ; and the internal trade shall first be presented to 
 the reader. There are no documents published, by which 
 the actual trade within the Island can be known; but it 
 may be fairly presumed, that all the produce that is sold 
 for exportation, and a portion of what is sold for home con- 
 sumption, is brought to a weigh-bridge, of which there 
 are four in the Island, in order that its weight may be 
 ascertained. In 1836, there were 22,594 cart loads 
 weighed : — supposing each to contain a ton and upwards 
 the quantity may be estimated at 23,000 tons, principally 
 of apples and potatoes; but this does not furnish accurate 
 information of the produce of those articles, as the pota- 
 toes used on the farm, or sold at the market, and the apples 
 made into cider, and potatoes in the manufacture of 
 spirit, are not included in this statement. The produce 
 of the Island will be more particularly noticed in the 
 chapter that treats of that subject. 
 
 Iron Founderies are of recent establishment in Jersey : 
 at the present there are four in fall operation ; and the 
 preparation of leather gives employment to five Tan- 
 Yards. Bricks likewise, were not made on the Island 
 till of very recent date. The actual quantity that is now 
 made cannot be ascertained, as there is no excise to which 
 they are subject, but the number exported in 1 835 was 
 upwards of 180,000: the constantly increasing buildings 
 at St. Helier's must give full activity to this new island 
 employment. 
 
 Flour was formerly imported into Jersey in large 
 quantities, principally from England, as water and 
 wind-mills were comparately few, and of course liable 
 to constant interruption in their working: but since the 
 discovery of steam power, it has been applied to the 
 
COMMERCE. 77 
 
 grinding of corn in the Island, by which a constant sup- 
 ply can be produced; and importation is become unne- 
 cessary.* 
 
 It is not only in this instance that steam power has been 
 so beneficial to the inhabitants of Jersey : its application 
 to vessels has been of immense advantage to the internal 
 trade of the Island, by bringing it virtually nearer to 
 England, and thus facilitating their constant intercourse, 
 and increasing the number of visitors to the Island : pre- 
 vious to 1823, when the first steam-boat came to Jersey,! 
 a passage from Southampton of a week or even ten days 
 was not a very unusual occurrence ; it is now performed 
 in fourteen or sixteen hours, allowing foi a short detention 
 in the road of Guernsey, to put on shore the passengers 
 for that Island. 
 
 A discovery has lately been made, which may at a fu- 
 ture time tend to increase the internal trade in an important 
 branch of manufacture — that of Porcelain : — atBoulay-bay 
 are some hills, which mostly consist of felspar in a de- 
 composed state, which is the same substance as the kaolin 
 of the Chinese, from which that article is manufactured. 
 
 Ship Building is another branch of island trade, which 
 is greatly on the increase; in many parts at and near the 
 harbour, is constantly to be heard the dock-yard sound 
 
 * There are reasons -why steam-power has been applied to the grind- 
 ing of corn here, more generally than in England. There are of course 
 no rivers, and the quantity of running water, of sufficient power to 
 work a mill, is comparatively small. No additional water or wind 
 mills can be erected, according to an old feudal law still in existence, 
 without permission of the council boai>d in England. 
 
 f An amusing anecdote is told of a well-intentioned man, who, seeing 
 a steamer for the first time from St. Brelade's parish, rode with all haste 
 to St. Heliei's, to report a vessel on fire, making towards the Island : 
 but his fright was soon changed to astonishment, when he beheld her 
 steadily pursue her course, and at last safely land her unterrified pas- 
 sengers in the harbour. 
 
78 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS 
 
 of caulking, and other processes used in the building and 
 repairing of ships. To the lower price of carpenter's 
 labour, to that of England, or even of Guernsey, is this 
 in some measure, though not altogether, to be ascribed : 
 although this may seemingly operate to the disadvantage 
 of the Jersey workmen, compared to those of Guernsey, 
 it is not really so : the price of labour may be lower, but 
 the employment is more constant. To the builders them- 
 selves this is of signal advantage, for a Jersey built vessel 
 can be launched at from 10 to 15 per cent, less in amount, 
 than the same sized vessel built elsewhere — thus the ship 
 owner reaps a benefit equally with the builder. In addition 
 to this, the wages of seamen are lower in Jersey than in 
 Guernsey, which gives another advantage to the ship 
 owner over his neighbours in the carrying trade, whether 
 on freight, or for himself as a merchant. 
 
 Another article of island trade is Shoes, and this to a 
 somewhat considerable extent. A great number is ex- 
 ported to British North America; the quantity sent there, 
 may be estimated at from 11,000 to 12,000 pair of shoes, 
 and 1000 pair of boots annually; the price is about the 
 same in appearance as those made in country towns in 
 England, and sold in London; but labour being lower 
 here than in England, it is to be presumed that they are 
 of a superior workmanship, and so in reality cheaper. 
 
 The large quantity of knit-worsted Stockings, formerly 
 made in the Island, has already been noticed: some are 
 still made, though to a very small extent : the use of 
 machinery in the making of this article in England, has 
 caused the Jersey-made stockings to be confined to a 
 limited home demand; the export not exceeding 1000 
 pair annually, and these for the use of persons on the 
 fishing stations in British North America. 
 
COMMERCE. 79 
 
 The peculiar export of the Island, and for which it is 
 most noted, is that of Heifers and Cows : these are gene- 
 rally known in England as Aldemey cows, but by far the 
 larger proportion are sent from Jersey; Aldemey fur- 
 nishes but a very small number, and the Guernsey cow 
 is of a different character. The peculiarity of the Jersey 
 cow will be more particularly noticed in the Chapter on 
 Agriculture. 
 
 The Oyster Fishery may be said to be a Jersey traffic, 
 for many of the natives are engaged in it: the vessels as- 
 semble in Mont Orgueil harbour ; which with its neigh- 
 bourhood, during the season, presents a scene of amusing 
 activity : men, women, and children, are seen in their 
 several occupations, of filling baskets with oysters, carry- 
 ing them, and loading the vessels. 
 
 This fishery is not only an important, but an antient 
 branch of Jersey traffic : in the Archives of the Royal 
 Court, there is a document, dated 1606, expressing 
 a " conviction of the influence it possessed in promot- 
 ing the welfare of the people;" it must therefore have 
 grown up from a period considerably anteriour to the 
 above: in 1755, the States again passed laws, regulating 
 its traffic, but the great increase in the trade, took place 
 about the year 1 797 : previously to that time, it was con- 
 ducted exclusively by Jersey fishermen; but the large 
 quantity brought to England, attracted the notice of Eng- 
 lish speculators, who now participate in its advantages: in 
 its most flourishing years it employed about 300 vessels, 
 and 1500 men. 
 
 But the Island fishermen met with a more vexatious 
 opposition from the French, which led to the issuing of 
 an order in council by the English government in 1822, 
 to protect British interests; and to a convention in 1824, 
 
 pi 
 
80 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 between both governments, by which each nation was to 
 have the exclusive right of dredging for oysters, to the 
 extent of one league from low- water mark, along their re- 
 spective coasts; the intervening space, between Jersey 
 and France, to be common to both: this convention has 
 been ultimately prejudicial to the Island, from the inter- 
 pretation which has been given to it, and upon which the 
 French authorities now act ; for the beds on which oysters 
 are the most abundant, are, by their construction with- 
 in the French limits: this, as may naturally be expected, 
 has led to encroachment on the part of the English fisher- 
 men, sometimes ignorantly, sometimes wilfully, and on one 
 or two occasions to sanguinary conflicts. The question still 
 occupies the attention of the respective governments, and 
 commissioners have been named by both, for the purpose 
 of arranging the matter, and determining the limits, but 
 as yet they have published no reports, and apparently have 
 made but little progress. 
 
 Important as is the oyster fishery to the Islanders, 
 it has during the last few years been on the decline: 
 in 1833, there were exported 303,840 bushels of oysters, 
 in 1834, 305,670, in 1805, only 149,865; this diminution, 
 though partly owing to other causes, is in some measure 
 occasioned by the successful opposition of the French. 
 It is to be hoped, that in the final adjustment of the dis- 
 pute, this will not be over-looked by the British govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The States are however, unwilling to trust to this un- 
 certain result : with a praiseworthy determination to 
 secure their own interest, should they be disappointed of 
 redress by government, they some years ago voted a 
 sum of money for the laying down of new beds; and ap- 
 pointed an inspector for carrying the plan into effect: it is 
 
COMMERCE. 81 
 
 now in operation, and promises well, for the spawn de- 
 posited has given birth to many new oysters, which are 
 increasing, and in a thriving state: these new beds have 
 just been thrown open to boats, which may now dredge 
 there. 
 
 The oyster fishery commences on the 1st of September, 
 and ends on the 1st of June, but its greatest activity is 
 from February to May. The small oysters are those prin- 
 cipally sought for by the merchants; for after being de- 
 posited in the Thames, in parks arranged for the purpose, 
 they increase in size, and yield an additional profit. But 
 the States have fixed a fine, to be levied on any person 
 bringing on shore oysters of a less diameter than 2J 
 inches. 
 
 The Lobster Fishery is another object, though a very 
 unimportant one, in which the Islanders are engaged; 
 this has however increased within a few years: in 1832, 
 only 260 dozen were sent to London; in 1835, 1470 
 dozen. 
 
 L'industrie d'un nation n'est pas born€e par P6tendue de son territoire, 
 mais bien par celle de ses capiteaux. 
 
 This remark of a French political economist, is indeed 
 applicable to Jersey: its foreign Commerce far exceeds 
 what might be expected from the size of the Island. The 
 most important and beneficial branch is, the fisheries on 
 the coast of British North America. It may naturally be 
 expected that to the inhabitants of an island, fishing would 
 form one of their principal occupations : this was the case 
 at a very early period with respect to Jersey. The Conger- 
 eel fishery is mentioned in the Charter granted to the Island 
 by King John. A duty was levied on the export of Congers 
 and Mackerel, which produced a revenue in the reign of 
 
S2 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Edward the First, of 400 livres toumois, which in those 
 days may be considered a large sum. The Congers were 
 salted and sent to those countries with which Jersey at 
 that time had any traffic : for this purpose the larger only 
 were used ; the smaller, such as could be spanned round 
 with the hand, were not liable to any duty, and brought 
 on shore for home consumption. 
 
 Although this fishery still exists to a limited extent, the 
 consumption is principally confined to the country people ; 
 but as a trade it has been superseded by the Newfoundland 
 Cod fishery. This began early in the 17th century, and 
 it is by no means an improbable conjecture, that the Island- 
 ers were first induced to engage in it by the celebrated Sir 
 Walter Raleigh, who was governor of Jersey from the 
 year 1600 to 1603: it is well known that he was a great 
 advocate for the encouragement of the English fisheries, 
 and wrote a pamphlet:on the advantages which the Dutch 
 derived from the occupation. In the reign of Charles the 
 Second, twenty vessels were employed in the trade : during 
 the war which succeeded the revolution, it was almost 
 annihilated, but it afterwards revived ; for in the year 1 732 
 twenty-seven vessels were engaged in it, and in 1771 forty- 
 five were dispatched to Newfoundland. The number of 
 vessels now employed is between seventy and eighty, mak- 
 ing a total tonnage of 8000 tons, and giving employment 
 to about 1 300 Jerseymen : these usually return to their 
 agricultural labours in the autumn, and bring with them 
 the means of maintaining their families during the winter. 
 The advantages of the Newfoundland fishery are not 
 confined to the trade, simply considered, but it gives em- 
 ployment to a great number of persons in the making of 
 clothes, boots and shoes, and. to coopers and other artifi- 
 cers in the manufacture of barrels, tubs, and other articles 
 
COMMERCE. 83 
 
 necessary to the trade, and to that of Brazil. Some idea 
 will be formed of the advantages to home industry from 
 the statement that upwards of 16,000 barrels, each con- 
 taining 1281b. of cod fish, were shipped from Jersey to 
 the Brazils alone, in the year 1835. 
 
 A sensible writer, in reference to the trade of Jersey, has 
 made the following judicious remark : — " During the last 
 war, privateering offered to capitalists of these Islands 
 the hope of a speedy fortune, and indeed the privateers 
 of the Channel Islands were very successful, and brought 
 large sums to many persons who were interested in them ; 
 but when peace was proclaimed, several who had 
 made a fortune, withdrew from business, especially in 
 Guernsey, whose trade, not being established on sure or 
 permanent ground, declined. The Newfoundland trade 
 offered a substratum to our industry, and since the war, 
 the profits to the principal merchants on each commercial 
 transaction may have been less, but industry has increased, 
 and with it our wealth, our commerce, and our prosperity." 
 
 The Island has a direct trade with Sweden and Norway 
 for timber, which owing to the great increase of buildings, 
 has of late years been considerable : the average annual 
 importation for the last few years, has been above 1400 
 loads of fir, and about 500 loads of oak timber. The ex- 
 ports to that kingdom, which are trifling, consist princi- 
 pally of coffee and sugar, the produce of the Brazils. 
 
 From Eussia are imported cordage, hemp, tallow, and 
 linen. Wheat and barley are the principal articles from 
 Prussia : the average annual importation of the former 
 for the last three years was 15,000 quarters, and of the lat- 
 ter somewhat more than 1500 quarters. Denmark also 
 supplies the Island with grain, which, added to the former 
 
 H 3 
 
84 THE CHANNEL ISLAND. 
 
 quantity, would make the importation of wheat to be 
 about 20,000 quarters annually, and of barley about 2000. 
 Timber and grain are also brought from Hamburgh, but 
 not in any great quantities. Salt provisions and flour are 
 imported from the two latter countries. 
 
 The principal articles supplied to these countries are 
 coffee and sugar, mostly shipped immediately from the 
 Brazils. 
 
 With Holland the trade is considerable, consisting in 
 the importation from that country of geneva, cheese, 
 hoops, and tiles. The quantity of geneva imported into 
 the Island depends in a great measure on the price of bran- 
 dy ; but it averages 45,000 gallons annually. The exports 
 to Holland are the same as to the other kingdoms of the 
 continent, above alluded to. 
 
 The imports from Spain and Portugal are wine, bran- 
 dy, fruit and salt. Wine and brandy are also imported 
 from Sicily. The average annual importation of the three 
 kingdoms is about 70,000 gallons of wine, and consider- 
 ably more than 100,000 gallons of brandy. The Island is 
 principally supplied with oranges and lemons from Sicily. 
 
 At Honduras the Jersey merchants have two establish- 
 ments in the mahogany trade, which employ five ships, 
 together of upwards of 1400 tons burthen, The maho- 
 gany is mostly sent to England : the Island consumption 
 is not large. The exports to Honduras are flour, potatoes, 
 printed cotton, linen, stockings, and geneva, but only a 
 small quantity of each. 
 
 The trade to the Brazils is not only considerable, but 
 very important : that country consumes a great quantity of 
 the fish, furnished by the Jersey trade, and supplies the Is- 
 land in return with sugar and coffee, a portion of which, 
 as has already been observed, is sent to the continent in 
 
FOREIGN COMMERCE. 85 
 
 exchange for its timber and corn. This trade alone employs 
 twenty vessels of a total of about 4000 tons. The annual 
 import is about 600 tons of sugar, and upwards of 600,000 
 lbs. of coffee. The quantity varies annually, through a va- 
 riety of causes ; for sometimes it may be more convenient 
 to a merchant to land a cargo, and send a part in another ves- 
 sel to the north, or even the whole, if he require his vessel 
 to proceed forthwith on another voyage ; or the season may 
 be too late for a ship to proceed, and the cargo is stored 
 for the winter, till the navigation with the northern ports 
 is open. 
 
 The trade with France, compared to that of England, 
 is not great, and the exports very inconsiderable ; they 
 consist principally of coals, bricks, and potatoes : French 
 wines, brandies and live stock, form the principal articles 
 of import ; an average of three years would give about 
 70,000 gallons of the former, 50,000 gallons of the latter, 
 and about 2,500 head of oxen ; fruit also is supplied from 
 France ; a few thousand yards of linen and cotton are an- 
 nually brought over, probably more on account of the su- 
 perior taste which the French display in their patterns, than 
 from any advantage in quality or price : muslins and silks 
 are also articles of import. French pottery is much es- 
 teemed in Jersey, and a considerable quantity is brought 
 to the Island, which is considered preferable to the En- 
 glish for the use of the dairy, though stoneware and red- 
 pottery are mostly brought from England. 
 
 The trade with England need scarcely be specified : 
 it supplies a large proportion of the Island consumption 
 -—whether raised from her soil or formed by her industry 
 — coals, iron, sail-cloth, hardware, every article to be 
 made up for clothing ; indeed England is the general mer- 
 chant that sells to Jersey. The supply from France, with 
 
86 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the exception of wine, brandy and live stock is rather 
 incidental than otherwise : the average importation of coals 
 is about 20,000 tons, of which a few tons are reshipped 
 for France. 
 
 The Shipping Trade will next engage the reader's at- 
 tention. Jersey, like its sister port of Southampton, has 
 known its ebbs and flows of prosperity. It should seem 
 that at an early period of English history Jersey em- 
 ployed a greater number of ships in its general trade, 
 than at some subsequent time. In the year 1301, when 
 Ed ward. the First was preparing for the invasion of Scot- 
 land, the two Islands were required to furnish 10 ves- 
 sels ;* — a large proportion, considering the smallness of 
 the Islands. 
 
 The general trade certainly afterwards declined, and 
 this of course affected the shipping: the cause of this 
 declension is not known, and probably there are at 
 present no means of tracing it; very little is known 
 of the trade of the Islands, previously to the reign of 
 James the First, during which the cod fishery was estab- 
 lished, in which the Islanders took an immediate and 
 an active part. Jersey and the neighbouring Islands 
 had, however, a peculiar privilege, from an early age, of 
 being considered neutral in time of war :f this remarka- 
 ble privilege must have been of great advantage to the 
 belligerents, and especially to the Islanders ; but the dis- 
 covery of America, and the cod fishery established on 
 
 * The reader need scarcely be informed, that before the time of 
 Henry the 7th, there was no royal navy; but the sea-ports were re- 
 quired to furnish to the State a certain number of ships, according to 
 their ability. 
 
 f See a subsequent chapter on " Antient Privileges." 
 
SHIPPING. 87 
 
 the banks of Newfoundland, presented to their enterprise 
 an object more substantial and enduring, and seemed to 
 call forth their commercial spirit and activity. 
 
 The trade of the Island was originally carried on at 
 Gorey, under the protection of Mont Orgueil Castle; it 
 was afterwards removed to St. Aubin ; as we find an 
 order in council, directed to the inhabitants in the 
 reign of Edward the Sixth, directing them to raise money 
 " for the speedy e reenforcing of the bulwarkes of St. 
 Albons," in order to protect the harbour: this appears to 
 have been enlarged, or probably rebuilt, during the 
 reign of Charles the Second, by whom an order was issued 
 for levying a duty on spirits for the purpose ; at this time 
 the inhabitants of St. Helier commonly used during 
 summer, a small pier near the sally-port of Elizabeth 
 Castle, and probably built for the sole convenience of 
 that fortress, but being nearer to the town, they were 
 allowed the privilege of using it. The first pier at St. 
 Helier was erected about the middle of the last century : 
 it was very small and inconvenient, which caused the 
 erection of the present harbour, the first stone of which 
 was laid in 1790; about the same time, or soon after, the 
 inhabitants of St. Aubin caused a new pier to be erected 
 near that town, but by far the principal trade is now 
 carried on at St. Helier.* 
 
 That a state of peace is advantageous to Jersey, is fully 
 proved by the following, statement, which will not be un- 
 interesting to the commercial or inquisitive reader. The 
 Island possessed 
 
 * The trade of Jersey has so increased since the peace, that the pre- 
 sent pier, large as it is, is not capable of accommodating all the vessels 
 to unload, and a plan is on foot, either to enlarge the present, or build 
 a new one. 
 
88 THE CHA.NNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 In 1807 76 vessels 6655 tons 
 
 „ 1817 79 „ 8167 „ 
 
 1827 182 „ 16583 „ 
 
 » 
 
 1837 244 „ 23826 „* 
 
 The harbour dues are not heavy. There was formerly a 
 difference between English and foreign vessels in the 
 amount paid, but this has lately been equalized, and all 
 now pay 6d. per ton ; if vessels make six voyages in the 
 year, they pay only 4d. per ton : the total average amount 
 of harbour dues, received at St. Helier, is about £2000 
 per annum. 
 
 It has been observed that vessels are built in Jersey at a 
 lower rate than in Guernsey and in the ports in England. 
 The Island has another advantage in the case of insurance : 
 Jersey vessels are usually insured at a lower premium than 
 those of the United Kingdom, at least the underwriters 
 prefer taking them : this may be accounted for from the 
 high reputation which the masters and crews have for 
 carefulness and general steadiness of character. 
 
 Jersey has not only several privileges, but she has 
 
 also many immunities ; besides exemption from all taxes 
 
 * The relative shipping trade of Jersey to that of other poits in the 
 United Kingdom, will be seen by the the following number of vessels 
 belonging to each port, at a period intervening between 1827 and 1837, 
 and which shews what a large proportion belongs to the Island: it will 
 also be observed that the average tonnage ranks high : — 
 
 .565174 tons. 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 Hull 
 
 .....853 „ ... 
 557 
 
 166028 
 
 68892 
 
 Greenock 
 
 367 , 
 
 37791 
 
 Aberdeen 
 Dublin 
 
 355 „ 
 
 299 
 
 '... 41671 
 
 22972 
 
 Bristol 
 
 Cork .., 
 
 296 „ 
 
 275 
 
 46567 
 
 18019 
 
 Belfast 
 
 Glasgow 
 
 255 „ 
 
 241 „ 
 
 25151 
 
 41532 
 
 Jersey......... 
 
 216 „ 
 
 20250 
 
BANKING. 89 
 
 imposed by the Imperial Parliament, she is allowed to 
 import all her own produce, duty free, into the ports of 
 Great Britain, and this privilege extends even to her ma- 
 nufactures, if made of the island produce : to the colo- 
 nies of British North America she has the privilege of 
 sending not only her own produce, but manufactures 
 also, although made from the produce of other countries. 
 Jersey vessels have also the advantage of a British register. 
 It is no small advantage to the visiter that his bags and 
 baggage are not subject to Custom House examination. 
 He lands himself on his arrival in the Island, and takes all 
 that pertains to him to his hotel or lodging, without diffi- 
 culty or detention ; he departs, takes with him whatever he 
 pleases of wine, brandy, or cigars, and no enquiry, — the 
 punishment for what is wrong awaits him on the other side 
 the water. The masters of vessels partake also of these 
 privileges, for they may, after having made their entry at 
 the Custom House, unload as soon as they have a berth 
 assigned them ; as the Manifest Act has not been registered 
 in the Island, it is of no force here. 
 
 The system of Banking in the Channel Islands is of a 
 mixed, and of a very anomalous character; indeed it can 
 scarcely be said to be founded on any system at all. In 
 Guernsey, the States issue notes to the value of one pound, 
 and these constitute about half the currency of the Is- 
 land : although, in Jersey, the States do not contribute to 
 the paper currency, yet some of the parishes issue their 
 notes for the payment of demands on them. Besides the 
 regular banking companies, of which there are several, in- 
 dividuals not unfrequently issue notes for the payment of 
 private debts, or as a means of raising capital, without 
 having to pay interest : it need scarcely be observed, that 
 
90 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 this kind of paper has not much of the public confidence ; 
 it has, however, a quick circulation for a time : persons 
 holding notes of this description, prefer making their first 
 payments in them, as being the least secure. The issue 
 of the regular bankers were formerly in one pound notes, 
 Jersey currency, and payable on demand ; but since the 
 law, passed in 1 835, establishing English money as the 
 legal tender, the notes issued by the banks are of one 
 pound British sterling. 
 
 The great circulation of paper currency in Jersey, giv- 
 ing great facility for discounts, has led to speculations of 
 a hazardous and unwarrantable extent; these causing 
 losses to the speculators themselves, and consequently very 
 often to the bankers, have had an injurious effect on the 
 monied interest of the Island : the bankers perceiving the 
 effects of their over-issues, connected with other cir- 
 cumstances, have contracted them, and thus left the cir- 
 culation to be chiefly supplied by an inferior kind of paper, 
 or by the metallic currency, which is by no means equal 
 to the demand. 
 
 The metallic currency of the Island was in French mo- 
 ney, mostly in livres, pieces of ten sous, or in pieces of 
 six livres, until 1832, when the French government call- 
 ed in its old silver coin ; since which time English sove- 
 reigns and silver have mostly circulated in Jersey. The 
 exchange varies from 8 to 9 per cent, in favour of England, 
 so that an English shilling passes for thirteen pence, and 
 a sovereign for twenty-one shillings and eight pence 
 Jersey currency. 
 
 It is uncertain whether there were formerly in Jersey 
 any establishments that might be termed Manufactories ; 
 though several articles were made there, as they are still, 
 in the houses of private persons. 
 
MANUFACTURES. 91 
 
 The earliest account that we have of Jersey manufacture 
 is that of a kind of body coat made of hemp or flax, which 
 were then grown on the Island : these qoats were sent 
 to England in large quantities ; the same account informs 
 us that at that time the manufacture of knit stockings was 
 so extensive, that 10,000 pair were weekly sent to France;* 
 this seems to be an almost incredible quantity, notwith- 
 standing that women and even children were constantly 
 employed in knitting ; and even making a large allowance 
 for the circumstance, that it was unusual to see a wo- 
 man in the country, whether in the house or walking, 
 without plying the knitting needle, and even on horse- 
 back, while bringing the farm produce to market. The 
 introduction of machinery in England, which has reduced 
 the price of stockings, and other engagements employing 
 the female population of the Island, has greatly diminished 
 this, though it is still continued, but principally for the 
 consumption of the inhabitants. 
 
 The increased demand for articles which were formerly 
 brought from England, has led to the establishment of 
 various manufactories ; so that there are now Ropemakers, 
 Brewers, Brickmakers, Tanners, Soapboilers, Candle- 
 makers, Ironfounders, and Distillers ; but their business 
 is not of an extent to require particular notice. 
 — See Appendix — 
 
 * This statement was made by the writer alluded to in the text, be- 
 fore the time of Mr. Falle : it was adopted by him, and by every per- 
 son who has since written on the Island, but it seems incorrectly, as 
 such a large quantity would consume more wool than was allowed to be 
 imported : 6000 pair would probably be a more correct estimate. — See 
 new edition of Falle" s History, by the Rev. E. Durell, note 114. 
 
92 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Agriculture, Soil and Fertility, Produce, Climate, 
 and Air. 
 
 Agriculture is a subject on which much cannot now be 
 said in praise of Jersey, whatever may be anticipated : if 
 its credit depended on the good management of the farms, 
 whether in the succession of crops, or mode of tillage, it 
 would not rank so high as it does in other respects. It has 
 been said in vindication of Jersey farming, that the me- 
 thod adopted is best suited to the place and the nature of 
 the soil ; this may be very well as an excuse, but nothing 
 can palliate the unsightly appearance that many of the 
 fields present, so luxuriantly covered with weeds, which, 
 as a person once jocosely observed, may be considered 
 " a Jersey crop." The true reason we apprehend is to be 
 found in the system of economy that pervades all the 
 operations of a Jerseyman, and the small number of 
 agricultural labourers that are employed : it is the practice 
 of the Jersey farmers to assist each other in their labours 
 rather than hire, which it is very obvious is by no means 
 favourable to good farming, as delay must frequently 
 occur at a time when expedition may be very important. 
 These remarks do not altogether apply to the large estates 
 cultivated by the proprietors, nor is the censure univer- 
 sally directed to them or to their farms, for they are not 
 governed by the circumstances which have been stated as 
 productive of the evil. 
 
AGRICULTURE. 93 
 
 A Jerseyman has not the becoming pride of an English 
 farmer in the appearance of his horses and harness ; these 
 appear to him to be altogether a matter of perfect indiffer- 
 ence ; even those who rank higher in life, and whose prac- 
 tice in other respects is more like the English, pay but 
 little regard to this : it is a subject 1 of surprise, and per- 
 haps it is to be lamented, as it leaves an impression on the 
 mind of a visitor unfavourable to the Island. 
 
 However the existing state of things proves the correct- 
 ness of the above remarks, there is good reason to suppose 
 that a foundation has been laid for improvement. An 
 " Agricultural and Horticultural Society" has been formed 
 in the Island, which in 1 837 published its Fourth Annual 
 Report, in which her Majesty's name stands at the head as 
 Patron : this report states that a great improvement has 
 taken place since the formation of the Society. — " Stimu- 
 lated by the example of their more energetic neighbours, 
 the indolent have been roused from their lethargy, and 
 induced to take an interest in the beauteous and ornamental, 
 as well as the necessary and lucrative productions of 
 nature" :* this, at so early a period from the commence- 
 ment of their operations, is favourable, and presents a fair 
 prospect that the results will be equal to their expectations, 
 and which the nature of the soil fully warrants. 
 
 That the Society is flourishing is seen by the circum- 
 stance that in the May show of 1836, 71 head of cattle 
 were presented, 153 in 1837, and 244 in 1838, and 
 the arrangement which is making to improve the breed 
 of cows will secure a continuance of the high charaoter 
 which they have in England. It must not be left unnoticed 
 that much of the benefit which is anticipated by the 
 
 * Report. 
 
94 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Society is to be ascribed to the exertions and example of" 
 Col. Le Couteur, the honorary secretary. 
 
 In the horticultural department likewise the Island is 
 making rapid advances : some of the orchards and gardens 
 of the peasantry begin to assume an appearance of neatness 
 and good order, which formerly was no where thought of, 
 and there cannot be a doubt that in this respect the Society 
 will extend its beneficial influence over the whole Island, 
 and it may, like the Isle of Wight, become another * garden 
 of England/ " The last monthly show especially was re- 
 markable for its classification and its botanical accuracy : 
 indeed many of the flowers, and garden productions ge- 
 nerally, would have been objects of admiration, even in 
 the exhibitions of the parent Society of London."* 
 
 Exertions are also making by the Society to restore 
 another island produce, which formerly was made to a 
 considerable extent, and which is still highly esteemed in 
 London — Jersey honey. Prizes have been offered to the 
 cottagers as an encouragement to keep bees. It may, how- 
 ever, require time to induce the Islanders to return to a 
 practice which they may suppose to have been discon- 
 tinued, because unprofitable : this, however, if entertained, 
 is an erroneous opinion, for it is justly observed that there 
 is " no branch of rural economy, which involves so little 
 expense, and secures so large a profit."! 
 
 From what has been observed as to the general charac- 
 ter of Jersey farming, it will be understood that the rota- 
 tion of crops is not much considered; that which yields 
 the best immediate profit is the principal object : and there 
 may be some reason in this, if the vraic, with which the 
 land is dressed, imparts to it a larger portion of vivifying 
 properties than is be found in either chalk or marl. 
 * Report. f Idem. 
 
SOIL AND FERTILITY. 95 
 
 Notwithstanding these disadvantages, arising from a 
 want of scientific management of farms, yet the Island is 
 certainly very productive. One reason has just been no- 
 ticed ; the quality of the soil is another, a third is the 
 great inequality of the surface, and the very large pro- 
 portion of the declivity having a southern aspect, which 
 receives more directly the rays of the sun.* 
 
 The soil of Jersey is, necessarily, very variable, from 
 the unevenness of its surface. The whole Island is a huge 
 stony mass, the elevated parts of which are often but 
 slightly covered with a gritty substance, composed of the 
 detritus of rock, and of sea-sand, amalgamated with de- 
 cayed vegetables. On the contrary, the valleys have a 
 great depth of alluvial matter, washed down by violent 
 rains, from the steep declivities of those slopes, called co- 
 teaux, by which the rivulets are straitened in their course. 
 These valleys, where not swampy, are extremely fertile, 
 and all might be drained, and rendered highly productive. 
 The general depth of soil is from one to four feet, but in 
 the valleys from ten to twelve feet of vegetable earth is 
 sometimes found. 
 
 An exception must, however, be made to a large tract 
 of land, called Les Quenvais, or Quenves, in the S. W. 
 corner of the Island. This district is now a mere assem- 
 blage of sandy hillocks, which, in several places, rise one 
 hundred feet above the level of the shore, and scarcely 
 afford nourishment to some scattered plants, and a few 
 meagre blades of spiry grass. It is completely open to 
 the western gales, to which must be attributed the clouds 
 of sand from St. Ouen's bay, which have been drifted over 
 
 * One of the Reports expresses a hope that by the superior manage- 
 ment of the farms, Jersey may supply England with seed-wheat to a 
 much greater extent than at present. 
 
 i 3 
 
96 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 that devoted part of the country, and the sterility is thus 
 produced. 
 
 A remarkable inundation took place towards the close 
 of the 15th century,* and so desolating were its effects 
 that a rich vale in this quarter of the Island, became a 
 desert : this was wholly, or in part, an extensive wood ; 
 which, while it remained, sheltered the more inland part. 
 That defence thrown down, the wind had full power over 
 the adjacent country: and the sand, which, since the 
 inundation, continued to cover Les Quenvais, may be a 
 portion of the very soil in which the forest grew ; for St. 
 lien's bay is, in a manner, paved with flat rocks to a 
 considerable way in the sea, beyond low-water mark. 
 These had, doubtless, a superstratum of excellent soil : 
 the number of trees, that are at times discovered, with 
 their roots still penetrating the fissures of the rocks, and 
 thus clinging to them, prove the fact. 
 
 The soil of Jersey is, in general, good, although it is 
 not of the rich loamy character, found in some counties in 
 England ; it will, however, bear the character of a sandy 
 loam; but, aided by the mildness of the climate, it is 
 very productive. Another reason of its fertility is the 
 unctuous nature of the manure that is used in the Island. 
 This is the Vraic\ already noticed, and it will be neces- 
 sary to be somewhat particular on this marine pro- 
 duction : we cannot give a better account of it, both of 
 its nature and properties, than is to be found in the 
 
 * The general opinion is here adopted : the Rev. E. DureJl supposes 
 it to have taken place at a much earlier period. See his Notes, 70, 97, 
 and 98. 
 
 f It was the opinion of Sir John Sinclair, that sea-weed used as a 
 manure, ploughed in, preserved wheat from mildew, and was other- 
 wise most propitious to its growth. It is generally admitted that 
 salt water sprinkled on grass makes it both sweet and more abundant. 
 Vraic used as a top dressing must have the same effect. 
 
SOIL AND FERTILITY. 97 
 
 MS. already quoted: the mode of collecting it will be 
 detailed elsewhere. After describing the rocks, the wri- 
 ter observes, " These rocks, though they are bare of earthy 
 matter, and cleane washed by the continual beating of 
 the sea, produce a weed, called by the inhabitants Vraic, 
 and in antient records Veriscum. This weed groweth 
 there as thick as grasse in a meadowe, and much more, 
 especially in moiste years, which is an argument that the 
 rail, as well as the sea, contributes to its growthe. There 
 are two kinds of it, y e round and y e flat leaf d : the first 
 is more dry, and approaching the nature of wood, and 
 therefore it is used for firing, and maketh as hot a fire as 
 that which is made of sea coales, but not so lasting : 
 after it is burnt, the ashes of it serve for an excellent 
 manure for the grounde, to produce either corne or grasse, 
 for if you sowe it on your grasse about Christmas, or 
 rather before, you shall easily discover in the spring, the 
 place where it fell from the other where there was none. 
 The same ashes are used for makeing soape.. .The other 
 kind of flat leafdVraic is more slimy e and fatter than the 
 former, and rotteth easily, imbibes into the ground, and 
 keeps it fresh and moist during the heat of summer, and 
 soeis more propitious to corne and other seedes, yea, to 
 plantes also, as is demonstrable by experience, the surest 
 argument. . . This sort is of more account with the Islanders, 
 because it serves of manure for half the Island at least ; 
 therefore, in the gathering thereof, no anticipation is 
 tolerated ; nor is it ever, by antient tradition, permitted 
 to be cut in the moneth of January, without urgent neces- 
 sity, nor protracted beyond the first of February, and 
 the permission lastest till St. George's Day ; during which 
 time there is a perfect truce from ordinary lawe-suites, 
 
98 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 but not for those quarrels, which the communion of that 
 weede produceth."* 
 
 It should not be left unnoticed that this is a most 
 beneficent provision, as the Island produces neither chalk, 
 limestone, nor marie ; and as the supply of stable manure 
 is small, the land could receive but little improvement 
 without it.f 
 
 Vraic is collected in large quantities, and at no other 
 expense than that of labour; and as the distance of 
 conveying it, even to the centre of the Island, is short, it 
 is used, as may be supposed, with no sparing hand: the 
 land has thus a good dressing, and more frequently than 
 in England — this is the main cause of the productiveness 
 of the land in Jersey. It will not be necessary to enter 
 into the question, whether large or small farms are the 
 more productive, whether the rich man's capital, of " the 
 farmer's foot," which some say " is the best manure," 
 tends to the greater profit, but it is certain that the same 
 quantity of land is cultivated at a less expense in Jersey 
 than in England ; a Jerseyman works more hours in a day 
 than an English farmer, whose farm is too small to allow 
 much labour to be on hire, and perhaps it may be said is 
 more laborious while at work: although this may not 
 cause the land to be more productive, it causes the profit 
 to be greater, which, added to the frugality that is obser- 
 vable on a Jersey farm, yields a larger surplus than an 
 English farm of the same extent could supply. The value 
 and rent of land, which are always in a measure regulated 
 by its produce, are certainly high in Jersey : this proves 
 that a Jersey farm yields a large profit, and accounts 
 
 -* MS., 1682. 
 
 f This was formerly so little esteemed that the farmer paid for 
 removing it; this however is no longer the case. 
 
soil — produce. yy 
 
 for what would otherwise be considered an ^exorbi- 
 tant price ; the value of an acre of land is from £120 to 
 £160, according to its proximity to or distance from the 
 town, and the rents from £5 10s. to £6 15s. per acre : 
 nothing but great produce, and much labour at a small 
 expense, could bear such an enormous rental. There is 
 not however much land on rent ; a Jerseyman is generally 
 the cultivator of his own property, descended to him from 
 his ancestors, and perhaps through many generations. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the town of St. Helier there 
 is found an earth capable of being made into bricks, 
 though not of a superior quality : it is however used for 
 the purpose, as has been already observed in the preceding 
 chapter. 
 
 From what has been observed of the population of the 
 Island, compared with its extent, it cannot be supposed 
 to produce sufficient for its consumption. It has already 
 been noticed that it is mostly supplied with grain from the 
 Baltic y France principally supplies it with live stock. The 
 following statements will at once show the large quantity 
 that is needed for its support, besides what the Island pro- 
 duces, and the increased demand occasioned by an in- 
 creasing population. There was brought into the Island, 
 and mostly from France, — 
 
 
 Oxen. 
 
 Sheep. 
 
 Lambs. 
 
 Live Poultry. 
 
 1830.. 
 
 ..1947 
 
 ' 4207 
 
 709 
 
 14344 
 
 1836... 
 
 ..2784 
 
 6602 
 
 1243 
 
 28821 
 
 It should here be observed, that although Jersey is prin- 
 cipally supplied both with grain and cattle by the foreigner, 
 it is not to the injury of the Jersey producer, and much 
 to the advantage of the consumer, for both are imported 
 
100 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 at a lower rate than they could be produced > and the 
 Jersey farmer is left to employ his time and his capital in 
 a way more profitable to himself: this leads to the subject 
 of the actual produce of the Island ; Cider, Cows, Pota- 
 toes, and Butter are the chief products and articles of 
 trade, as they are all exported, and in large quantities. 
 
 There are no means of ascertaining the actual quantity 
 of Cider made on the Island, but it must be very great, 
 as it is the principal beverage of the middle and lower 
 classes : the farmers are not very particular in assorting 
 their fruit, but allow a mixture of different kinds, and are 
 not sufficiently careful in rejecting such as are damaged : 
 the result is, of course, an inferior article,* but this is 
 mostly consumed on the Island: the better kind is sent to 
 England : upwards of 2,000 hogsheads are annually ex- 
 ported. It is supposed that one fourth of the cultivated 
 land in Jersey is employed as orchards. 
 
 The English reader need scarcely be told in what great 
 estimation the Jersey Cows and Heifers are held. They 
 are better known in England as Alderney cows, but they 
 are mostly sent from Jersey — the former island exports 
 comparatively few ; — they are, however, of a similar cha- 
 racter. The Guernsey Cow, though good of its kind, is 
 altogether a different animal. The Jersey Cow is small 
 and slender in its make, with short horns ; the Guernsey is 
 larger, more like a cross between the small short-horned 
 Devonshire and Holderness : the former gives by far the 
 richer milk, the latter the larger quantity. 
 
 A large portion of the Island is devoted to the growth 
 of Potatoes, and the soil seems well adapted to it. It 
 is calculated that a vergee will produce 360 cabots, which 
 
 * It would not be unworthy the exertions of the Agricultural Society, 
 to endeavour to improve the quality of Jersey cider. 
 
PRODUCE. 101 
 
 is equal to about 200 sacks, or 14 English tons; it must 
 be admitted that this is a very high estimate, and it may 
 well be questioned if any one county in England, taking 
 an average of the whole county, produces so large a quan- 
 tity ; but the fact that 8,000 tons are annually sent to 
 England, proves that the produce must be very great. 
 
 From what has been observed of the character of the 
 Jersey cow, it will be supposed that a large quantity of 
 Butter is made, and as the economical habits of a Jersey 
 farmer do not allow him to indulge much in this luxury, 
 it is mostly sent to the town market for sale, or exported 
 to England. It is in general very good : in 1830 there were 
 upwards of 25,0001bs. sent to England : this quantity has 
 since decreased, owing to the larger consumption in the 
 Island. 
 
 Jersey certainly produces Wheat, Barley, and Oats, but 
 not in large quantities; it is found more profitable to im- 
 port these, and devote the land to other purposes. Jersey 
 wheat is lighter than that of England in the proportion of 
 52 : IS to 62, but the average quantity per acre is greater. 
 
 Jersey produces, besides farinaceous grain, all the vari- 
 ous edible roots, and other vegetable substances, that 
 are usually reared in England. Mangel-wurzel has 
 been introduced into the Island, and its culture of late 
 much increased, with considerable advantage to the Island, 
 considering its great produce, and its estimable properties 
 in the feeding of cattle. Peas and beans are very little 
 cultivated. 
 
 The quantity of grass cut for Hay is inconsiderable : 
 the rearing of Cows is so great an object to the Jersey 
 farmer that the meadow land is mostly reserved for pas- 
 turage. 
 
 Lucerne is grown in considerable quantity, and for this 
 
102 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the island soil seems well adapted: it is generally cut 
 green and given to the cattle. Where the land has been 
 well cultivated, it is sometimes cut four times, and after- 
 wards fed off. Very few other artificial grasses are sown. 
 Although the system of tethering is not peculiar to the 
 Island, yet it is universally adopted in it, and with great 
 advantage as a saving of pasturage. An unsuccess- 
 ful attempt has been made to rear hops ; from the nature 
 of the soil it would probably succeed, but the heavy 
 gales of wind, to which the Island is subject, are by no 
 means favourable to a hop plantation. 
 
 The small surface of the Island does not allow of any 
 large plantations of timber Trees, yet it is by no means 
 deficient in wood : the trees mostly grow in hedge rows, 
 although there are a few small enclosures. The Island pro- 
 duces most kind of fruit trees. Small fields requiring 
 exposure to the sun, farmers are obliged to lop the wide 
 spreading branches so close as almost to reduce the trees 
 to pollards, and the few trees that are allowed to grow to 
 a state of timber, are usually cut before they have arrived 
 at large dimensions. On the slopes, or coteaux, trees are 
 also to be seen, and they yield likewise broom, gorse, and 
 fern : where they are neither too steep, nor too rocky, 
 there is tolerable pasture. 
 
 Among the wild plants that appear to be indigenous, 
 we may particularize as of most utility, the Rubkb tine- 
 toria, (madder,) Luteola, (weld,) single chamomile, gorse, 
 broom, fern, and heath, with an extensive variety of aro- 
 matic herbs. There also morels, common mushrooms, 
 and the smaller kind, also called Champignons by the 
 French. Laver and samphire are found, through chiefly 
 on the northern coasts : the former is a marine production, 
 of which little use is made in Jersey. Among the danger- 
 
PRODUCE. 103 
 
 ous though medicinal species, those most numerous are 
 the Digitalis, (foxglove,) Thymcela, (spurge,) and the 
 common nightshade. 
 
 Private gardens yield every natural luxury that the 
 climate can produce ; and from this source the market is 
 principally supplied. The peach apricot is remarkable for 
 its size and beauty. Melons are in profusion, and straw- 
 berries have been noticed for superiority of flavour. Of 
 winter fruits the Pearmain is here a very good eating 
 apple, and reckoned to keep longer than almost any other. 
 But the pride of this Island is the Chaumantelle, which 
 is a pear sometimes nearly a pound in weight. This deli- 
 cious fruit frequently sells on the spot for five guineas 
 per hundred, and is sent to English friends as a choice 
 present. The Colmar, though in less general estimation, 
 is by many considered as even a superior kind. Both these 
 species keep for several months ; but they require great 
 care and almost daily attention. 
 
 Formerly, when a very considerable quantity both of 
 mead and perry was made in the Island, Bees were a par- 
 ticular object of attention ; from the honey were made 
 two kinds of mead, called Vittoe and Boschet, and so 
 strong was the former, that when any one in his libations 
 had exceeded the bounds of moderation, the taunt was 
 " vous etes envittoe :" but a comparatively small quantity 
 of either of these is now made, although the Jersey ho- 
 ney is still in high estimation in the English market ; and 
 if the Islanders adopt the suggestion of the Agricultural 
 Society, it may yet be an important article of Jersey pro- 
 duce, and profitable trade. 
 
 In the MS. account of Jersey, it is stated that hemp and 
 flax were formerly grown and dressed in the Island ; dur- 
 ing the time that these were cultivated tillage declined, as 
 
104 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 " a paineful occupation." The Islanders have, however, 
 become more industrious, and are now willing to endure 
 the pain of cultivating their land, for the sake of the pro- 
 fit it affords them. 
 
 From the trifling difference between the latitude of 
 Jersey and that of the southern coast of England, and 
 from its proximity to the continent, by which it is embraced 
 on three sides, an Englishman would not be led to expect 
 any great variation between the climate of Jersey and that 
 of his own country. There is, however, a sensible dif- 
 ference, particularly with respect to the season of winter, 
 for the climate of islands is always more temperate than 
 that of continents in the same parallel. Frost is rarely 
 of any continuance : snow seldom lies more than two or 
 three days on the ground ; and shrubs that require to be 
 sheltered, even in Devonshire and Cornwall, are here 
 exposed without any covering, and seldom receive mucli 
 injury. We see also carnations, pinks, and other spring 
 flowers, blowing, during winter, in the open air, if in a 
 favourable aspect; and, with a little shelter, even the 
 Chinese rose. Rains are indeed more frequent in the 
 Island: fogs, that rise from the sea and spread themselves 
 over the land, are not uncommon ; and Jersey is sub^ 
 ject to boisterous gales of wind, especially from the 
 western quarter, from whence it blows more frequently 
 than from any other point of the compass. The weather 
 is, occasionally, very warm in summer ; but that oppres- 
 sive sultriness, sometimes experienced in England, and 
 on the continent, in hot summers, is seldom felt. 
 
 This nearer approach to equability of temperature, is 
 the natural consequence of Jersey being completely 
 open, on one side, to the Atlantic ocean, and to its com- 
 
CLIMATE. 105 
 
 parative minuteness, whereby every part receives a por- 
 tion of the vapours exhaled from that immense body of 
 water. 
 
 In the latter part of the spring a keen easterly wind 
 prevails, usually, for some time : this is remarkably pene- 
 trating to delicate constitutions ; but on the whole, the cli- 
 mate may be considered mild, and the air very salubrious. 
 Agues are, indeed, not uncommon in the few swampy 
 parts ; and it must be admitted that pulmonic com- 
 plaints are not unfrequent ; these last chiefly attack young 
 persons, and they may in some measure be attributed to 
 causes which have not any reference whatever to climate, 
 but rather to the want of attention in the clothing during 
 the variable season of spring. Bilious affections are like- 
 wise prevalent, particularly in the summer season. Per- 
 haps, however, no part of Europe can furnish more in- 
 stances of vigorous longevity. 
 
 It will be interesting to the reader who may seek parti- 
 cular information on this subject, to give some extracts 
 from a work, written by Dr. Hooper, on the topogra- 
 phy, climate, and prevalent diseases of the Island. The 
 work is the result of many years minute observation on 
 the subject, and careful registration of the facts as they 
 occurred. 
 
 On the Climate Dr. Hooper observes — 
 
 " The island of Jersey, from its situation and small extent, 
 enjoys a remarkably mild climate; so mild, indeed, that with 
 regard to temperature simply, it will be found superior to most 
 neighbouring places, and equal to many in more southern latitudes. 
 
 ft From observations continued during five successive years, it 
 has appeared that the mean temperature of St. Helier averages at 
 53° 06. In the same lapse of time the entire range of the mercury 
 in the thermometer was 26°, the two extremes being 88° and 62°, 
 
106 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS 
 
 Atmospheric heat, averaged on the whole month, arrives at its 
 maximum in August, and is at the lowest level in January; 
 arranged according to their mean temperature, the months stand 
 thus, 1 August, 2 July, 3 June, 4 September, 5 May, 6 October, 
 7 April, 8 November, 6 March, 10 December, 11 February, 
 12 January." 
 
 Jersey according to Dr. Hooper's opinion approximates, 
 in respect of climate, more nearly to Penzance than to any 
 other of the mild situations on the south of England. 
 
 " The progression to temperature through the months from one 
 extreme to the other, appears more gradual in Jersey than at the 
 other Islands, and the variations being decidedly less in the spring 
 than in the autumn j the difference is however of trifling impor- 
 tance, compared with those which exist between the two localities 
 with regard to equality of temperature. Tn this point of view, 
 Jersey lays claim to a superiority, which undoubtedly more than 
 counterbalances its disadvantages in other respects. Its climate in 
 winter is singularly favourable, and fully proves the correctness 
 of Dr. Young's conclusion, that for equality of temperature, a 
 very small island must have great advantages over every other 
 situation on shore." 
 
 Tn the following remarks, which describe generally the 
 character of the climate during different seasons of the 
 year, will also be found some useful hints, worthy the 
 attention of the visitor, and especially the invalid — 
 
 " The Island enjoys an early spring and a lengthened autumn ; 
 vegetation being usually active and forward in March, and the 
 landscape far from naked as late as the end of December. The 
 dreary aspect of winter is comparatively short-lived, but the 
 season of spring is marked by the same unsteadiness of temperature, 
 and harsh variable weather, as in most spots under a similar latitude ; 
 and this disadvantage is particularly felt in May, which often fails 
 to bring with it the expected enjoyments. Generally speaking, 
 
CLIMATE AND AIR, 107 
 
 our March is mild, compared with what it is in neighbouring 
 places : October possesses a still greater superiority in the same 
 respect j consequently the genial qualities of the climate may be 
 made available to the invalid, to whose case they are applicable, 
 during a period of six months. In diseases which require the 
 avoidance of great ranges and variations of temperature, the 
 objectionable qualities of the months of April and May, though 
 in a certain degree tempered by the causes which mitigate the 
 severity of our winter, are nevertheless such as to call for great 
 care in the use of exercise in the open air. To those who quit 
 warm clothing, or in any other way relax in their precautions 
 against the effect of cold by anticipation, these months too often 
 prove very dangerous. Bating this circumstance, a securer spot 
 could scarce be found by a numerous class of English invalids 
 within a much greater distance from their home. The summer is 
 generally and always comparatively dry and cool, restricting, of 
 course, the meaning of the words to the quantity of rain and the 
 mitigating influence of the surrounding ocean upon the power of 
 the sun's rays. The winter, however, is the season, which of all 
 others contributes the most to the peculiarities of the climate ; with 
 rare exceptions, it passes off in soft, rainy, or windy weather, 
 with intervals of astonishingly mild days, and with scarcely any 
 frost or snow." 
 
 " By reason of the mildness, trifling range, and variations of 
 temperature, chronic disorders proceed slowly towards their ter- 
 mination ; a circumstance of no mean import, since by allowing 
 more time for the operations of nature and of art, it adds to the 
 chances of recovery, in cases not absolutely hopeless.* 
 _See Appendix.— 
 
 * It will not be expected in a work of this kind, to treat of the 
 Pathology of the Island ; but to the medical student, who may desire 
 information on the subject, a perusal of Dr. Hooper's work is strongly 
 recommended : it is entitled " Observations on the Topography, Cli- 
 mate, and prevalent Diseases of the Island of Jersey, by George S. 
 Hooper, M. D. 
 
 K 3 
 
108 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mineralogy. 
 
 This Chapter on the Mineralogy of Jersey was origi- 
 nally written by Mr. Plees, whose work is alluded to in 
 the preface : his taste and knowledge of the subject ren- 
 dered him peculiarly qualified ; and Mr. Konig, of the 
 British Museum, whose valuable contribution is acknow- 
 ledged in the original work, has lately revised the whole : 
 it is therefore presumed that it will prove an interesting 
 chapter to the scientific reader. 
 
 In the accounts of Jersey that have been published the 
 subject of mineralogy has been scarcely noticed. Dr. 
 Mac Culloch* was the first who made it an object of sci- 
 entific inquiry ; but he did not enter minutely into the 
 geological character of the Island. Sercq appears to have 
 more particularly engaged his attention. From his ac- 
 count of the rocks that are dispersed throughout St. Mi- 
 chael's bay, there is reason for supposing that Jersey, 
 and all the other Islands in the same quarter, are com- 
 posed of secondary rocks, resting on a basis of real gra- 
 nite. This primitive mass, though not found in its strict 
 form in Jersey, exists in some of these Islands : indeed 
 each of them exhibits various stony substances, that are 
 not common to the rest : this, in so circumscribed a dis- 
 
 * See Trans, of the Geolog. Soc. vol. i. 
 
MINERALOGY. 109 
 
 trict as St. Michael's bay, is a curious and unusual cir_ 
 cumstance, especially if connected with the idea that 
 the whole was, probably, a part of the continent itself. 
 Thus, in Jersey, no rocks of steatite have been observed, 
 though along the northern and north-eastern shores innu- 
 merable small portions are found. This exists in Sercq ; 
 and as the tide, at its outset, rushes from thence to Jer- 
 sey, detached pieces are probably carried thither, broken 
 still more in their passage through the Pierres de Lecq, 
 and the Dirouilles. Gneiss is found in Guernsey, but not 
 in Jersey. Though Sercq contains a diversified assort- 
 ment of mineral substances, it is deficient in sienite, which 
 granitic variety may be traced in almost every quarter of 
 Jersey. Those remarkable pudding-stone masses, that 
 form the lofty north-eartern boundary of the latter, do 
 not exist in any of the other Islands. 
 
 Dr. Mac Culloch, speaking of Jersey, says that, in a 
 general view, the whole of the high and northern tract 
 may be said to consist of granitic rock, and the southern 
 and flatter part of a mass of schistus, incumbent on it. 
 He mentions a pudding-stone rock, of argillaceous brec- 
 cia, consisting of large and small scraps of schistus, ce- 
 mented by a basis of the same nature, but having lost 
 its tendency to a schistose fracture, and occupying the 
 whole of Boulay bay, from Rosel to Belle Hougue ; Dr. 
 Mac Culloch does not however give the full extent to the 
 rock, as it rises in St. Catherine's bay, of which it consti- 
 tutes the northern boundary ; nor does he distinguish be- 
 tween this rock and another, nearly similar in quality, 
 connected with it, which runs inland.* These deficien- 
 cies must be imputed to the short space of time in which 
 his observations were made. 
 
 * See Mr. Konig's account, subjoined. 
 
110 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 The rock described by Dr. Mac Culloch is unfit for 
 building, not being able to sustain any considerabl e pres- 
 sure, when applied to detached pieces ; the indurated ce- 
 ment, though in a petrified state, is not, in all places, 
 very strongly attached to the stony nucleus of which it 
 forms the matrix : many of the pebbles, on receiving a 
 slight stroke, fall out, and disclose a polished cavity, as 
 if composed of fine clay : others indeed break in thus at- 
 tempting to remove them from their sockets. Some per- 
 sons assert that they have seen, in this adventitious fossil, 
 the shells of limpets ; but, on diligent search, the author 
 of this work could not discover any marine exuviae 
 whatever. 
 
 That this concrete was once in a soft state cannot be 
 doubted : some of the stones seem to have been rounded 
 by attrition, like those on the border of the Black Sea, 
 mentioned by Dr. E. D. Clarke ; others do not present 
 this appearance; and some are angular. The rock re- 
 sembles, in several respects, the celebrated English pud- 
 ding stone, which Pinkerton supposes not to exist in any 
 other part of the world. 
 
 The interior of the pebbles is generally of a dull 
 colour, and some have externally a white crust like 
 that of flints. They are not in strata, as if deposited at 
 various times, or as if composed of substances differing 
 in density ; but form one compact aggregate. As this 
 combination spreads iuland, it becomes less pebbly, and 
 the petrified gluten or cement more friable, until, by de- 
 grees, the whole disappears, and is lost in other earthy 
 commixtures. 
 
 Dr. Mac Culloch says, that no metallic traces, except 
 of iron, and lately of manganese, have ever been observed 
 in Jersey; and that the schistus, though spread wide 
 
MINERALOGY. Ill 
 
 over the Island, has not hitherto afforded any roofing. 
 Ochres of various hues, particularly those of a reddish 
 cast, are found in many places ; and, near Rosel, the au- 
 thor observed some specimens of fine tripoly. 
 
 That there is not any appearance of lime has been no- 
 ticed by every one ; and yet at a spot called English har- 
 bour, within the pier at St, Helier, are many flints both 
 black and grey.* This stone is frequently present in gra- 
 vel, and perhaps always in chalk ; yet neither of these 
 substances is to be found in Jersey ; the only substitute 
 for the former being particles of sienite, in a disinte- 
 grated state, from the decomposition of its feldspar : 
 but though pure lime does not seem to hold a place in 
 the geological department of Jersey, the author has 
 found it combined with other substances, in strata, 
 blended with clay or alumine, and also with silex. He 
 has likewise found veins of gypsum. Though no true 
 granite has been observed in the Island, yet micaceous 
 particles abound in some places. The author has in his 
 possession a large rounded stone, almost wholly com- 
 posed of quartz and mica; and in which the latter sub- 
 stance may be said even to predominate ; he found it on 
 the beach at St. Helier, so that its origin cannot be as- 
 certained. 
 
 On a level with the sea, but deeply buried under high 
 cliffs, that impend over the harbour at St. Helier, are 
 large masses of rounded rock, the smooth surfaces of 
 
 * These flints are not found in any other part of the harbour : this 
 seems to prove that they are, from time to time, washed in by the sea, 
 from some neighbouring sub-marine situation. They are likewise to be 
 met with at Havre des Pas; but though this spot approaches near to the 
 harbour, yet the greater part of the flints found in it are grey, whereas 
 those to be met with in English harbour are principally black : this cir- 
 cumstance seems to prove that they are washed in from a different quarry. 
 
112 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 which sufficiently indicate the manner in which they as- 
 sumed their present shape. 
 
 The foregoing short sketch of the mineralogy of Jer- 
 sey might have sufficed for a limited account of the 
 Island ; the author has it however in his power to enter 
 more in detail on that interesting subject* He has been 
 favoured with some particulars from Charles Kbnig, esq. 
 of the British Museum, who visited Jersey a few years 
 since. That gentleman is desirous that his remarks may 
 appear more as if derived from colloquial conversation, 
 than from epistolary information. He observes, that his 
 stay in the Island was short, which prevented him from 
 bestowing any great degree of attention on the subject. 
 It is a matter of regret that gentlemen, so well qualified 
 for the purpose as Dr. Mac Culloch and Mr. Kbnig, 
 could not have devoted more time to the pursuit in this 
 Island, and given a complete history of the Jersey mine- 
 ralogy. 
 
 The author trusts, however, though Mr. Kbnig is 
 pleased to term his remarks desultory observations, that 
 the public will appreciate their merits in a much higher 
 degree. 
 
 The following are the particulars communicated by Mr. 
 Kbnig : — 
 
 " The rocks of which the Island is composed appear 
 chiefly to belong to the trap and porphyry formations of 
 Werner. Granite, strictly speaking, is not observed here, 
 but a rock nearly related to it, viz. sienite, is very pre- 
 valent in the Island, and found in various states of fresh- 
 ness. In all places where it is seen, it shows a tendency 
 to subdivision. The variety which approaches nearest to 
 real granite, strictly speaking, is that quarried at Mount 
 Mado, which also naturally separates into distinct masses ; 
 
MINERALOGY. 113 
 
 but these blocks are of much larger dimensions than those 
 of the other varieties. They are indiscriminately angular, 
 and of a more or less prismatic form ; their surface is of 
 a deeper colour, which is generally seen to penetrate two 
 or three inches deep into the interior. This Mont-Mado 
 rock, of which ample use has been made for architectural 
 purposes, is as hard as any granite : it is of a close and 
 rather small grain ; the proportion of its feldspar, which 
 is of a pale red colour, far exceeds that of quartz and 
 hornblende, the latter of which is not seen in quantity 
 in any of the varieties that occur here. Another variety 
 of this stone, equally hard and compact, is quarried at 
 the western side of St. Brelade's bay, beyond the church; 
 it separates more than the other into pieces of various 
 shape and size, some of them very small wedge-shaped. 
 Sometimes the blocks appear perfectly white on the rifts, 
 in consequence of the disintegration of the feldspar. 
 The sienite of Plemont is of a close grain, but separable 
 into small masses, and therefore not so useful as that of 
 Mont Mado. 
 
 " A beautiful variety of granite-like sienite is that seen 
 in various parts of the coast, especially in St. Aubin's 
 bay, towards Noirmont point, in which the feldspar, 
 which constitutes by far the greater part of the mass, is 
 of a deep flesh and brick red colour, with large grains of 
 white quartz, which is sometimes found crystallized in 
 it, and not unfrequently mixed with much massive thai- 
 lite or epidote, which here and there forms small veins. 
 It juts out in huge masses, and is in some places overlaid 
 by thick beds of loam, with imbedded blocks and rolled 
 pieces of the same rock, of which also innumerable round- 
 ed fragments are scattered about on the shore. In the 
 bay of St. Brelade it occurs with veins of common quartz, 
 
114 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 which is sometimes indistinctly crystallized. In this bay 
 stands a small insulated rock of the same large-grained 
 sienite, in which may be seen enclosed a moveable round- 
 ed piece of the same mass, which partly projects from 
 the hollow in which it is lodged. The thallite occurs also 
 in considerable masses in the sienitic rocks that stand 
 out at that part of St. Aubin's bay where the barracks are, 
 where likewise considerable veins of brick-red feldspar are 
 seen in it. 
 
 " The varieties of sienite appear in some parts to pass 
 into porphyry, in others into a kind of green-stone, in a 
 state of partial or entire decomposition ; to this belongs 
 the rock which forms the town hill. The well sunk at its 
 top passes through from thirty to fifty feet of the rotten 
 rock : the rest, to the depth of two hundred and thirty- 
 three feet, is in the fresh sienitic rock. Both these 
 varieties of rocks have a seamed structure : the direction 
 of the seams in general is from south-west to north-east. 
 The rifts of the fresh rock are often coated with common 
 pyrites. 
 
 il At Fremont and its neighbourhood we find abundance 
 of compact feldspar with disseminated quartz, and also 
 here and there with crystalline particleiof flesh-red com- 
 mon feldspar : there are several varieties of it, both with 
 regard to the colour of the mass, (which is generally of 
 a yellowish grey,) and the particles of quartz and common 
 feldspar imbedded in it. The surface of Fremont is en- 
 tirely covered with masses and fragments of this rock, 
 in various states of disintegration : they are all quite 
 white, at least on the surface, and some are almost entirely 
 changed into kaolin. At the foot of Fremont, in Bonne- 
 nuit bay, there are several large rolled pieces of the same 
 decomposed rock. Ingoing down the road, at the foot 
 
 
MINERALOGY. 115 
 
 of Fremont, leading to Bonne-nuit bay, we see on the 
 left side a bed of this porphyritic rock laid open : it is 
 fissured in all directions, and reddish brown on the rifts : 
 a deposition of loam, with large fragments and rolled 
 pieces of the same rock, rests on this porphyry bed. 
 
 " The compact feldspar, in a completely disintegrated 
 state, may be seen in going to Bouley bay, on the hills 
 nearly to the southward of the signal post : on one side 
 a great mass of it is laid bare, which, at first sight, has 
 much the appearance of white limestone. A curious 
 variety of compact feldspar also occurs in masses in 
 Bouley bay and its neighbourhood : it is variously tinged 
 by a green substance, which in some parts appears like 
 green earth, in others like thallite, and even like serpen- 
 tine. Some varieties are porphyritic and of a very pale 
 green colour, passing into greyish white with green spots. 
 Bouley bay presents a very curious aspect by those quan- 
 tities of large green stones, and the huge boulders of 
 variegated porphyritic masses, partly disengaged, partly 
 still imbedded in the loam : but the most remarkable rock 
 in this bay, quite up to La Coupe, and of which im- 
 mense blocks lie scattered about, and stand out in their 
 natural situation, is a pudding-stone, the mass of which 
 is the green thallite-like substance, sometimes pure and 
 dark green, sometimes pale, including pebbles, mostly 
 of the porphyritic rock above mentioned, from very 
 small to several feet in diameter : this is a very fine rock, and 
 bears some resemblance to the beautiful Egyptian breccia. 
 It appears to be in connexion with another of a similar 
 nature, which forms the high ground in going from St. 
 Martin's to Bosel harbour. This is a conglomerate, dif- 
 fering from that of Bouley bay in the cementing mass, 
 and presenting but little of the green substance with which 
 
 L 
 
116 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the other abounds ; its cement is in general of a ferrugino- 
 argillaceous nature. This conglomerate appears to dis- 
 continue at St. Catherine's bay, where a porphyritic 
 rock begins, which in part is not unlike that of Fremont, 
 but is also seen in a state of clay poiphyry. It contains 
 nests of green earth, and a green substance like thallite, 
 but softer. 
 
 " Besides green stone, both fresh and in various de- 
 grees of disintegration, which occurs in some parts as 
 insulated masses in connexion with the sienite, two other 
 rocks belonging to the trap formation deserve to be men- 
 tioned here, viz., the green porphyry and the amygdaloid, 
 which are seen in considerable beds at Roque Mollet, on 
 the road leading to St. Saviour's, where both rocks are 
 quarried, and employed for paving and in the construction 
 of walls. The green porphyry has a blackish-green base, 
 in which are imbedded slender prismatic crystals of feld- 
 spar, mostly decomposed, and also, here and there, small 
 withered globules of what appears to be carbonate of lime. 
 The amygdaloid consists of the same mass with that 
 forming the base of the green porphyry ; only that its 
 colour has generally more of a bluish-brown tint : it con- 
 tains small nodules of calcareous spar, and the cells are 
 generally lined with green earth. The rifts of both the 
 amygdaloid and porphyritic masses are frequently marked 
 with holes as if worm-eaten. Sometimes the mass ap- 
 pears without either feldspar or calcareous spar, and may 
 then be considered as approaching to the nature of wacke ; 
 but sometimes granular carbonate of lime is found in it, 
 in considerable nests : it is, therefore, incorrectly stated, 
 that the latter substance is among those of which no traces 
 are to be found in Jersey. On the other hand, the emery 
 is mentioned by many authors as a mineral occurring in 
 
MINERALOGY. 117 
 
 that Island ; but this assertion appears to be founded in 
 error. The Duke of Bouillon gave me a piece of fine- 
 grained magnetic iron-stone intermixed with some parti_ 
 cles of quartz, which was accompanied by a ticket in- 
 scribed ' St. Lawrence Mont Frelard at Beaumont.' This 
 substance might perhaps have passed for an inferior kind 
 of emery ; but I could find nothing similar to it at Mont 
 Frelard, where there are curious beds of a trap-like slate 
 clay in distinct layers, divisible into small fragments, 
 which sometimes show rhomboidal forms. 
 
 " I saw a piece of green copper ore, said to have been 
 found in Jersey ; but this, I suppose, is likewise a mis- 
 take. 
 
 " Some of the Cornish miners, I understand, conjec- 
 tured that tin might be found, from seeing a substance 
 which resembled the chloritic earth called peach, which 
 often indicates the presence of that metal : but neither 
 was the substance the same as peach, nor is the nature 
 of the rocks such as to warrant any expectation of finding 
 tin ore. 
 
 " Manganese ore has lately been found, according to 
 Mr. Lowry." 
 
118 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Assembly of the States, Military Gover?iment, Royal 
 Court, its Officers and Jurisdiction. 
 
 The Legislative Assembly of the Island called the States, 
 consists of thirty-six members, and is composed as fol- 
 lows, viz. the twelve Jurats, who are elected by the whole 
 of the rate-payers of the Island as judges for life, or who 
 axeecc officio legislators for life. 2. The twelve Rectors of 
 the twelve parishes into which the Island is divided, and 
 who likewise are members for life : and 3. The twelve 
 Constables, who are chosen by the parishes triennially. 
 The whole of these three Estates sit together, and form but 
 one assembly. The queen's Attorney-general, theVicount 
 or sheriff, and the queen's Solicitor-general, though they 
 represent no estate, are also admitted, ex officio. The 
 attorney-general and solicitor-general have a right to ad- 
 dress the assembly, but neither they nor the vicount are 
 entitled to vote. The G-remer, or secretary of the royal 
 court, is likewise, by virtue of his office, clerk of the 
 States. 
 
 The Assembly of the States is convened by the Bailiff, 
 who constantly presides, or in his absence, by his lieut. 
 The governor may protract the assembling of the States, 
 but not beyond fifteen days, except on occasions when the 
 Island is in danger, or for the special service of the crown. 
 
 The governor, or representative of the sovereign, has 
 
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATES. 319 
 
 a veto on all its proceedings, but he is instructed not to 
 use this power, except in cases which concern the " special 
 interest of thecrown;" he has no vote. The bailiff has 
 also a similar right of dissent, but his veto extends only 
 to the postponement of the Act of the States passing into 
 a law, until it has received the consent of the crown, and 
 is to be used only in such cases as when her " Majesty's 
 interest or prerogative, or the constitution or laws of the 
 country," are concerned. 
 
 No Assembly of the States can be held without at least 
 seven of each corps being present, except on very urgent 
 occasions, such as when the safety or defence of the Is- 
 land, makes prompt measures necessary. Foreigners pre- 
 ferred to benefices, are, unless naturalized, excluded. 
 
 The jurats and the constables are elected by those inha- 
 bitants who are British subjects, and twenty years of age, 
 and whose names are on the rate list. The dean is appoint- 
 ed by the sovereign — the governor prefers to the rectories. 
 
 The principal business of the States is to raise money 
 for the public service,* and to pass laws for the govern- 
 ment of the Island ; these have force only for three years, 
 unless ratified by the queen in council, when they become 
 permanent. This Assembly also exercises the power of 
 naturalizing foreigners, with the same limitation as to time, 
 unless confirmed by the council.f 
 
 * By an order of council, ( received June, 1816, ) it is required, 
 that, in all leyies of money,- ordered to be made by the States, the 
 greffier must certify, that all the proper forms have been observed ; 
 the act must then be transmitted, by the lieutenant governor, to Eng- 
 land, and must be sanctioned by the king in council, before it can 
 take effect. 
 
 f The public seal is kept in a purse, sealed by two Jurats, m the 
 Gustody of the Bailiff, which seals are not to be broken, except when a 
 like number be present. The seal now in use was presented to the Is- 
 land by Edward the First. 
 
 L 3 
 
120 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 When Commissioners are appointed by the crown, to 
 institute any enquiry on the Island, the ordinary forms of 
 justice are suspended, while they are exercising the powers 
 vested in them by the commission. 
 
 MILITARY GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The principal officer in Jersey, who is the representative 
 of the sovereign, and who claims precedency of all others, 
 is the Governor. The governors were formerly styled 
 " Custodes;" at that time they held both the military and 
 civil jurisdiction ; the title then was " Custos Regum," 
 " Custos terrse :" at a still more remote period they were 
 styled " Captains," and afterwards " Lords of the Is- 
 land." The office of governor was then considered so 
 honourable, as to be sometimes possessed by Princes of 
 the Royal blood. 
 
 The governor has at present a mere sinecure appoint- 
 ment, the duties of the office being entirely executed by 
 the lieutenant-governor: who, as well as the governor, 
 is appointed by the sovereign. The whole of the crown 
 revenue of the Island, with the exception of some trifling 
 rents, which are received by the lieutenant-governor, after 
 deducting some fees and salaries, are appropriated to the 
 governor. 
 
 The power of the governors has varied, as their respec- 
 tive commissions have, at different times, been either en- 
 larged or restrained. Anciently the governor had a mix- 
 ed power. He had the administration of both the civil 
 and military authority. He was judge as well as govern- 
 or, and had the disposal of all appointments, whether in 
 court, church, or garrison. To relieve himself -from 
 the various duties imposed on him, he at length reserved 
 
MILITARY GOVERNMENT. 121 
 
 the exercise of his military authority alone, and transfer - 
 ed the judicial to another, who thereby obtained the title 
 of bailiff, but who was still a dependant of the governor, 
 and merely an instrument of his will. The other minis- 
 ters of justice were equally his creatures. It may well 
 be supposed that an authority so unlimited and without 
 controul, was not always administered with justice. King 
 John began, and Henry the Seventh completed, the es- 
 tablishment of a jurisdiction wholly distinct ; the latter 
 taking from him the nomination of the bailiff, and other 
 officers of the court, and forbidding his interposition in 
 any civil affairs.* 
 
 But though the governor has no proper jurisdiction, 
 yet, in consequence of his dignity, his presence is fre- 
 quently required in court, and is in some respects neces- 
 sary. He has the court so far under his protection, that 
 he is obliged, when so required, to assist the bailiff and 
 jurats with his authority, in the execution of their decrees. 
 He has power, with the concurrence of two jurats, to 
 arrest and imprison any inhabitant, upon strong suspicion 
 of treason. Foreigners may neither settle, nor even enter 
 the Island, without his permission. He may protract the 
 assembling of the States, and render invalid, by his veto, 
 any measure they may have carried ; but subject to the re- 
 striction in both cases already noticed, He may attend 
 and deliberate with the States ; but cannot vote in their 
 assembly : he has only a negative voice. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor is now, generally, a military 
 officer. He has the custody of the fortresses ; the regular 
 troops, as well as the island militia, are under his command, 
 and he grants commissions to the officers. The militia are 
 furnished with arms and clothing by the British govern- 
 * See General History 
 
122 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS- 
 
 ment : but neither officers nor men receive pay, except the 
 adjutants and drill Serjeants. The great attachment of 
 the islanders to the British government leads them to 
 the active and zealous performance of their military duties ; 
 and so efficient is the body, that in time of war, they are 
 sometimes brigaded with regular troops, and mount guard 
 with them, in the defences round the Island. 
 
 On the death or absence of the governor, the court has 
 the power of swearing in the next superior military offi - 
 cer, into to the office of deputy governor. 
 
 ROYAL COURT, ITS OFFICERS AND JURISDICTION. 
 
 The Jersey court of judicature consists of the Bailiff, 
 and the same twelve Jurats who sit in the Assembly of 
 the States. The former is appointed by the crown, and 
 represents the sovereign in court : there, as a standing 
 memorial of his independence, and of his right of pre- 
 cedency in the court, his seat is raised above that of the 
 governor. The jurats, who are his assessors, must be 
 protestants of the Church of England. 
 
 The Bailiff is the chief magistrate of the court. He 
 presides in all the debates, collects the votes, and pro- 
 nounces the sentence or decision ; he has not any vote, 
 except upon an equal division among the jurats ; in this 
 case he has a casting vote : he is otherwise bound by the 
 majority, and obliged to pronounce accordingly. He is 
 the keeper of the public seal, which however he cannot 
 use, without the joint concurrence of two jurats. He is 
 bound to reside in the Island, unless he has a dispensation 
 from the crown,— in this case a lieutenant bailiff is appoint- 
 ed ; this appointment is also by the sovereign. 
 
 The province of the jurats is not only to decide private 
 
ROYAL COURT. 123 
 
 controversies, but also to enforce a general obedience to 
 the laws. They act as magistrates in their individual ca- 
 pacities, and are chosen for life, unless dismissed by 
 the sovereign, or discharged by him on petition. The 
 office has not any salary attached to it : but a few pri- 
 vileges are annexed. There must be seven present to 
 constitute a full court ; any cause decided T)y a lesser 
 number may be again brought before a Corps de Cour, 
 or full number, to which an appeal lies ; but without the 
 presence of the bailiff, or his deputy, there cannot be any 
 proceedings. Neither of these nor a jurat can sit in judg- 
 ment on any cause in which he, or any relation within the 
 degree of uncle, may be interested. Ajuratisalso liable 
 to be recused (challenged) for enmity to one of the parties, 
 or on other special grounds. 
 
 There is also attached to the court, Le Procureur du 
 Hoi, or attorney -general ; L' Avocat du Iioi y or solici- 
 tor-general ; Le Viconte y or high sheriff; Le Greffier, 
 or clerk, who has the custody of the rolls and records ; 
 six pleaders or solicitors at the bar, stiled Acocats du 
 Parreau* ; two under-sheriffs, called Denonciateurs, 
 who publish the injunctions of the court; and Le JETuis- 
 sier, or usher, whose office is that of preserving order. 
 To constitute a court, however, there need only be pre- 
 sent the bailiff and two jurats, the Procureur du Roi, or 
 the Avocat du Roi, and the Greffier ; the Viconte, or one 
 of the Denonciateurs usually attends. To these may be ad- 
 ded, though not a member of the court, L'Enregistreur, 
 or keeper of the register for hereditary contracts. Of the 
 
 * These advocates are appointed by the bailiff; this practice, which 
 may well be supposed to indulge in favouritism, as no qualification is 
 required, has been condemned by some : it is not the plan of this work 
 to give an opinion in such cases : it is merely mentioned here for 
 information. 
 
124 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 preceding employments, the first three are held by pa- 
 tent ; the bailiff has the appointment of all the others. 
 
 The court, thus composed, is a royal court, having, 
 generally, cognizance of all pleas, suits, and actions, 
 whether real, personal, mixed, or criminal, arising within 
 the Island, with the exception of treason and coining, or 
 such other as nmy affect the royal prerogative : these are 
 reserved for the queen in council, to whom alone this tri- 
 bunal is immediately subordinate. 
 
 If after the hearing of a cause before a corps de cour, 
 or full court, one of the parties should think himself ag- 
 grieved, he may, under certain regulations, and by con- 
 sent of the court, appeal to the queen in council : yet 
 such is the independent constitution of Jersey, that even 
 these appeals are to be determined according to the laws 
 and customs of the Island. Should the court refuse to 
 grant an appeal, a doleance, or complaint, to the queen, 
 may be preferred. If the doleance be not sustained, the 
 petitioner is liable to be fined by the council. 
 
 In criminal cases there lies no appeal ; nor can the go- 
 vernor even suspend the execution of a sentence, until 
 the queen's pleasure be known ; although the court has this 
 power by delaying the execution of its own judgment. 
 
 A code of laws was, in 1771, compiled by the States, 
 and sanctioned by the king in council : this may be con- 
 sidered as the fundamental statute law of the Island ; it is 
 however very defective, and has been greatly changed by 
 the enactment of new laws. 
 
 The court had formerly the power of enacting laws ; 
 but by the above-mentioned code, this power was annul- 
 ed ; and though the States, or legislative body, can still 
 make provisional statutes, such ordinances are not to be 
 in force for more than three years, unless sanctioned, and 
 
ROYAL COURT. 125 
 
 rendered permanent, by an order of council ; but with 
 respect to points already established by council, no alter- 
 ation can be made, unless the same sanction be obtained. 
 
 Though there is but one tribunal, and in that the judges 
 are always the same persons, yet, on account of the great 
 variety of causes, requiring different methods of proceed- 
 ing, the court is under the necessity of assuming four 
 distinct characters ; and is called either La Cour d' Heri- 
 tage ; La Cour de Catel ; La Cour du Billet ; or, La 
 Cour extraordinaire, or du Samedi. 
 
 La Cour d' Heritage, as its name implies, takes cogni- 
 zance only of hereditary matters, as partitions of estates, 
 differences about bounds, invasion of rights, &c. La Cour 
 de Catel was principally for chattels, rents, and decrets.* 
 La Cour a du Billet is a court chiefly for arrears of rents, 
 and for small debts. La Cour du Samedi is a subsidiary 
 court, in which all personal matters are adjudged, elec- 
 tion causes, and those which require to be immediately 
 decided; it is also in this court that debts and penalties 
 due to the crown are sued for, and before which the ordi- 
 nary police business of the Island is transacted. 
 
 Besides the officers attached to the court already noticed, 
 there are others that regulate the police. In every parish, 
 the principal magistate is Le Connelable. This officer is 
 chosen by the same inhabitants who elect the jurats. His 
 office is triennial, and he may be re-elected. The office 
 of constable is of a more honourable character in Jersey 
 than in England. His post is more like that of the mayor 
 in a corporate town, and is generally considered as a step 
 to the magistracy. He is one of the members of the States ; 
 
 * This term means what in England is called " bankruptcies;" but 
 in consequence of a recent change in the law respecting decrets, the 
 Cour de Catel has very little business to perform. 
 
126 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 and he presides in all parochial assemblies, for secular 
 affairs, even though a jurat be present ; but in all meetings 
 relative to the affairs of the church, the minister presides. 
 
 The civil establishments, in the different parishes, is 
 thus regulated : — 
 
 The principal officer is Le Connetable, 
 
 Under the Connetable are two Centeniers : these were 
 formerly prefects over one hundred families. In the ab- 
 sence or indisposition of the Connetable, the senior Cen- 
 tenier performs his duty, and represents him in the As- 
 sembly of the States. 
 
 There are likewise several Vinteniers, each of whom has 
 the charge of a particular vintaine, into which the parishes 
 are divided ; also Officiers du Connetable, whose duty is 
 subordinate to that of the other officers, and is nearly 
 similar to that of an English constable. There are besides 
 two Procureurs du Men public, whose office is to con- 
 duct any lawsuit, or attend to any legal business relating 
 to the parish, similar to a vestry clerk in England. Every 
 vintaine has its own procureur. 
 
 In all criminal cases the Procureur du roi is the pro- 
 secutor. 
 
 Contrary to the order of procedures in England, every 
 accusation is first examined by a petty jury, termed Ven- 
 ditement, which is composed of the parochial consti- 
 ble, and twelve of his officers. To find a prisoner guilty 
 seven of these must agree. In this case he may appeal 
 to a grand jury, called la grand enquete, composed of 
 twenty-four persons, taken from the parish where the 
 offence was committed, and the two neighbouring parishes. 
 The person accused may, in prosecuting his appeal 
 before la grand enquete, on substantial grounds, object 
 to any of the jurors : the validity of the objection is 
 
 
IIOYAL COUHT. 127 
 
 decided by the court : five out of twenty-four are sufficient 
 to acquit a prisoner. 
 
 In all cases the prisoner is entitled to the gratuitous 
 assistance of an advocate, who is assigned to him by the 
 court. 
 
 A prisoner is not, as in the English criminal courts, 
 found guilty, or acquitted: the verdict of the jury is 
 either, plutot coupable qu' innocent, or plutot innocent 
 que coupable ; and the punishment is awarded accord- 
 ingly. 
 
 When sentence of death is pronounced, it has been 
 usual for the bailiff or his lieutenant, and the jurats, all 
 of whom were before uncovered, to put on their hats \ and 
 the criminal kneels to receive his doom. 
 
 Not only are the proceedings favourable to a prisoner, 
 but the royal court has always shown itself disposed to 
 mercy. 
 
 There were formerly three terms in the year, but one 
 was abolished by the code of laws, confirmed in 1771 : at 
 present there are only two terms, — the first commencing 
 on the Saturday next after the 1 1 th of April, and ending 
 on the 5th of July following ; the second beginning on 
 the Saturday next after the 11th of September, and end- 
 ing on the 5th of December. 
 
128 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Laws and Peculiar Privileges. 
 
 It will not be expected, in a work of this kind, to give 
 more than a summary of the laws : and those will be se- 
 lected that may be considered interesting to the visitor, or 
 which may concern the trader. 
 
 The laws of Jersey are derived from five sources. 
 
 1. The antient laws of Normandy. 
 
 2. Municipal and local usages, similar to the common 
 law of England. 
 
 3. Constitutions and ordinances, made by the crown in 
 former times. 
 
 4. Acts, passed by the States, either provisionally for 
 three years, or made perpetual, when confirmed by the 
 sovereign. 
 
 5. Such orders as may be transmitted from the council 
 board, and sanctioned by the reigning monarch. 
 
 Former decisions and judgments, although not of equal 
 force with laws enacted by the authority above stated, like 
 precedents in England, are seldom departed from, except 
 in very urgent cases. 
 
 LAWS CONCERNING INHERITANCE. 
 
 The custom of gavel-kind prevails in Jersey: but with 
 this difference, that in Kent and other counties, males 
 are preferred to the exclusion of females, whereas in Jer- 
 sey, females may get a small share of the inheritance. 
 
LAWS. 129 
 
 Primogeniture as a principle is, however, more preva- 
 lent: a man cannot devise his real property ; it must follow 
 the law of succession. If there is a house on the estate, 
 the eldest son takes it, with a certain portion of land, with 
 other privileges, to enable him to pay off the rents that 
 may be due : this generally amounts to nearly half the 
 estate. The remainder of the property is then divided : 
 two thirds go in equal proportions among the sons — 
 the eldest having his proportion of this division — and 
 the remaining third to be equally divided among the 
 daughters : there are other minutiae which belong to the 
 division of property, but which are only interesting to 
 those immediately concerned.* 
 
 Personal property may be devised : a will must be at- 
 tested by two witnesses, whether in real or personal pro- 
 perty, and must be made forty days before the testator's 
 death, otherwise it is null and void. If the husband dies 
 intestate, the wife takes one half, as in England, if there 
 are no children, and one third if there are ; the other 
 two thirds are equally divided among them. 
 
 Settlements previous to marriage are not usual, nor 
 indeed necessary ; a wife is invested with one third of all 
 the property of the husband, on her marriage ; and of all 
 he may subsequently possess by inheritance, and which 
 he cannot alienate without her consent ; nor is it affected 
 by a bankruptcy ; but she has no right to any proportion 
 of what he may otherwise acquire. 
 
 If a man has a wife or children, he cannot alienate from 
 them by will, more than one third ; if he has neither, all 
 his property may be disposed of as he pleases : furniture, 
 plate and linen, are considered the property of the wife. 
 
 * In each parish, six appraisers are appointed, at the parish meet- 
 ing : their business is to value the lands that are to be divided. 
 
130 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 On the death of a wife, the widower takes her real es- 
 tate if they have had children, until he marries again ; in 
 this case it goes to her next of kin, as it does if there had 
 been no issue. 
 
 Should any person be seen to be wasting his property, 
 the heirs at law may, on applying to the court, and show- 
 ing sufficient cause, have a guardian appointed : in which 
 case the proprietor loses all power over his effects ; and 
 is considered in this, and some other respects, as in Eng- 
 land a man would be, against whom a statute of lunacy 
 has been issued. 
 
 Marriages are celebrated, by bans or by licence, as in 
 England : licences are granted by the dean. A man may 
 legitimatise his children, born out of wedlock, by acknow- 
 ledging them in church after marriage. 
 
 A man may be separated from his wife " quant aux 
 biens" i. e. as regards property, by which she retains 
 that which was her's before marriage, and is not liable 
 to the husband's creditors.* 
 
 The personal property of intestates is divided equally 
 when there are only sons, or only daughters: but when 
 there are both, the sons are entitled to two-thirds and the 
 daughters to the remainder. 
 
 All contracts or instruments giving a preference, con- 
 trary to law, to one child over another, may be set aside 
 by proceedings commenced after the ancestor's decease. 
 
 Forty years possession confers an absolute title to an 
 estate. 
 
 * This was originally intended to secure a wife's property from waste 
 by a husband, but it is sometimes used for a fraudulent purpose. 
 
LAWS. 131 
 
 LAWS RESPECTING DEBTOR AND CREDITOR. 
 
 Debts are recoverable by legal process in the Koyal 
 Court. 
 
 Insolvencies are usually managed very differently from 
 similar cases in England. 
 
 An insolvent may make a voluntary cession of his pro- 
 perty, for the benefit of his creditors, in which case he is 
 said to renounce, renoncer ; or he may be compelled to 
 do so, by one of his creditors taking legal measures for 
 that purpose. If the insolvent possess any real estate, 
 the same is said to be en decret ; a person denominated 
 an Attourne is then appointed to conduct the proceedings, 
 whose duty it is, by advertisement, to desire all persons 
 having claims on the estate, to remit the same, within a 
 given time, into the hands of the Greffier. A schedule 
 of the bankrupt's estate, and of the debts due upon it, is 
 afterwards made out by the Attourne, and the creditors 
 having been summoned together, the person who has the 
 most recent claim is required to declare whether he will 
 take the insolvent's estate, in which case he would be sub- 
 ject to all previous incumbrances : if he refuses, his debt 
 is cancelled. A similar offer is then made to the next 
 latest creditor, and so on, until some one is found who 
 thinks he may safely accept the estate, on condition of 
 paying all those charges which are prior to his own. The 
 person who so accepts the estate, is called Tenant, and 
 is thereupon put into possession of the insolvent's pro- 
 perty, with the liabilities above mentioned, and the bank- 
 rupt is thenceforth discharged from his debts. 
 
 A debtor may also be declared to be, what is techni- 
 cally termed en disastre, that is, in difficulties, and which 
 is usually resorted to, where the insolvent does not pos- 
 
 m 3 
 
132 - THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 sess any real estate, or where the creditors wish to avoid 
 the expense of a decret. This step is taken in open court 
 at the instance of any creditor, and a day is appointed for 
 the different persons, to whom the insolvent is indebted, 
 to bring actions for their several demands, so that no 
 priority may be given one over another. The Vicount 
 is further authorised to sequestrate the insolvent's property, 
 which may afterwards be disposed of, for the benefit of 
 all the creditors who have used due diligence in suing for 
 their debts, within the time limited by the court, unless 
 the debtor shall previously arrange with his creditors. 
 
 Another peculiarity in the law of debtor and creditor, 
 is the power possessed by the court, of granting a debtor 
 a respite of a year and a day, for payment of his debts : 
 this takes place on the application of the debtor himself, 
 on his producing to the court a statement of his affairs, 
 and showing that there is a good and sufficient balance in 
 his favour, after liquidating all demands upon him, pro- 
 viding time be granted to him to get in his property. If 
 the court is satisfied with the account, it usually grants 
 his request, and in that case the debtor is obliged to verify 
 his statement on oath, and that if he does not satisfy his 
 creditors, within the time allowed, his property shall be 
 adjudged to be renounced, and his real estate en decret ; 
 two persons are at the same time named by the court, ge- 
 nerally two jurats, or a jurat and an advocate, to superin- 
 tend the debtor's affairs, whose duty it is to see that no 
 waste of his property is committed. This proceeding is 
 termed a remise des biens entre les mains de la Justice, 
 
 Arrears of rent have a preference over simple-contract 
 debts ; but those arrears cannot be recovered by action, 
 or distraint, after a lapse of three years. 
 
 In case of imprisonment, the debtor has not the right 
 
LAWS. 
 
 133 
 
 of Habeas Corpus : in the statute it is said to extend to 
 Jersey : but it is not registered in the Island, and the 
 court does not admit of such aright. It is, in fact, of 
 little consequence, as there is but one jail in the Island, 
 and prisoners are, in general, soon brought to trial. 
 
 No proprietor of lands or rents* can be imprisoned for 
 debt, except after a judgment of the court : an Englishman 
 possessing land or rents, is entitled to the same privilege. 
 
 The real and personal property of a person, dying in- 
 solvent, are equally liable to his debts. 
 
 Where the heir, or next of kin, is in doubt whether the 
 estate of the deceased was solvent, or if he has reason to 
 suspect that some charge has been made, with a view to 
 his prejudice, he may obtain from the court an act of 
 benefice d , i?ive?itaire, (benefit of inventory,) which gives 
 authority to the vicount to take an account of the de- 
 ceased's estate ; and if it should appear that he died insol- 
 vent, the co-heirs may decline to take the property, in 
 which case it is adjudged to be renounced ; but if they 
 accept the succession, they do so subject to the payment 
 of the debts. 
 
 The landlords of houses, &c, may attach for rent ac- 
 cruing, but not due, and thereby prevent the removal of 
 any articles so attached ; and if perishable commodities, 
 they may proceed to sale. 
 
 Debts contracted in England can be sued for in Jer- 
 sey, if not of more than six years' standing ; but debts 
 contracted in Jersey are not barred until ten years have 
 elapsed. Bonds are subject to the same limitation as 
 simple-contract debts ; but island rents, due upon 
 
 * This term does not, in Jersey, apply to the rents of houses, or of 
 land, let out for certain sums annually : the difference is explained 
 in a subsequent part of this chapter. 
 
134 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 registered contracts, require a lapse of forty years, with- 
 out payment having been demanded. 
 
 Persons expatriable, that is, not bound to the soil by 
 owning land or houses, whether natives or strangers, are 
 liable to arrest for book debt, bill, bond or rent, whether 
 contracted in the Island or out of it ; the sheriff can take 
 either body or goods, as he thinks proper, but cannot 
 take both, unless the goods are first seized and found to 
 be insufficient to satisfy debt and costs. Money found in 
 the house, or lodged in- a bank, can be arrested, but not 
 money carried about the person, nor the working tools 
 of an artificer. 
 
 Bankrupts who have not surrendered to their commis- 
 sion in England, may be apprehended in Jersey by the 
 commissioners' warrant, accompanied by an order from 
 the Secretary of State. And if in actual custody in the 
 Island for debt or otherwise, they can be removed by a 
 writ of Habeas Corpus from the Court of Chancery. 
 
 Bill of Sale is the best security on moveable property, 
 if it be accompanied by possession : no act of renuncia- 
 tion can affect it, unless it can be shown to have been 
 fraudulent. 
 
 The legal interest of money is five per cent. Simple- 
 contract debts bear no interest until after judgment has 
 been given. Special debts, such as bills of exchange and 
 promissory notes, after they have been noted, carry inter- 
 est, unless they are made payable in Guernsey, where no 
 interest is allowed.* 
 
 * Owing to the peculiarity of the laws as to insolvency, itisadvisa 
 ble for every non-resident, having dealings in Jersey, to appoint an 
 attorney there to watch his interest. 
 
LAWS. 1 35 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS LAWS OF A MORE GENERAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Rents — The term rent is thus explained by Mr. Falle : — 
 
 " A rent may, originally, be created thus : a man who 
 wants money, sells a quantity of wheat upon himself; 
 that is, binds himself and his heirs, for ever, with the 
 annual payment thereof; and this same rent shall, per- 
 haps, afterwards pass from the first purchaser, through 
 many hands successively. 
 
 " Thus again, the proprietor of a tenement, with land, 
 lets it out to another, for so many quarters of wheat, 
 for ever, yearly: nay, though it be but a house, with 
 not a foot of land to it, as in the town, 'tis let in the 
 same manner, for a rent in wheat, which seems absurd ; 
 yet such is our practice." 
 
 Such was the origin of what, in Jersey, are called rents : 
 they are now commuted for specific sums in money ; but 
 the term quarters is still current in the conveyances of 
 estates : rents of this nature are, therefore, in some re- 
 spects, similar to mortgages in England. 
 
 Rents are considered as real and not as personal pro- 
 perty. There is a difference in the rents. One sort is 
 called rente fonciere : this cannot be redeemed, except 
 by consent of parties ; but must remain a charge on the 
 estate, or house, on the security of which it was raised. 
 The other is called rente assignable, or rente cree, which 
 is redeemable at any time. Rente assignable, however, 
 becomes rente fonciere, unless assigned within forty years. 
 
 Rents in Jersey are regarded as a sort of funded pro- 
 perty, and are constantly changing hands, in a similar 
 manner : they are made payable at Michaelmas, and are 
 transferred by a deed called contrat, (contract,) made on 
 oath, in the presence of the bailiff and two jurats, and 
 
136 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 put under the seal of the Island ; nearly three thousand of 
 these contracts are passed in the course of the year. The 
 forms of conveyancing are very simple, and never run to 
 any great length. There are many singularities connected 
 with these rents, to explain which would be uninteresting 
 to the general reader; but it would be advisable, before a 
 stranger buys Jersey rents, that he should consult some 
 experienced person on the subject. 
 
 In every parish is an annual meeting, called la vendu 
 du froment ; at which meeting the rents of le tresor de 
 VEglise, and of la charite, are put up to the highest 
 bidder. The purchaser, who is called le tresorier, then 
 fixes the price, in money, at which he will receive the 
 rents, due from the several tenants of these establish- 
 ments, unless any prefer paying in kind. The king's re- 
 ceivers, and also the seigneurs, for the rents called rentes 
 seigneuriales, have the same privilege as the tresorier. 
 The price is generally a little under the market price of 
 the day. 
 
 To prevent delay, or the unnecessary detention of per- 
 sons engaged in commerce, or of any vessel lying in the 
 harbour, priority is always given by the court to suits 
 arising out of disputes connected with shipping, or mer- 
 cantile affairs. These suits are called causes d'amiraute, 
 (admiralty causes,) and are heard in or out of term : 
 actions on bills of exchange and promissory notes are 
 also privileged. 
 
 Affidavits may be sworn before the bailiff, or one of 
 the jurats, and in some cases before the lieutenant-gover- 
 nor. A fee of one shilling is sometimes demanded. 
 
 English merchants should embody in their invoices, 
 and notes of hand, " British Sterling;" otherwise, they 
 cannot recover in the court of Jersey more than currency. 
 
LAWS. 1 37 
 
 Promissory bills payable in London or elsewhere, for 
 il Jersey currency :" cannot be recovered in England.* 
 
 Forgery is punished only as a fraud, by imprisonment, 
 whipping, pillory, or banishment. Forgery on the bank 
 of England, or government security, and counterfeiting 
 the coin of the realm, may be tried in England. 
 
 Persons landing cattle from France without giving no- 
 tice to the harbour-master are liable to a penalty of 1000 
 livres. 
 
 All exciseable articles entered at a custom-house in 
 England, may be taken back again by refunding the draw- 
 back and paying the incidental expenses. 
 
 No goods can be imported into, or exported from, the 
 United Kingdom to the Channel Islands, except in Bri- 
 tish ships ; and no ships are deemed British, unless regis- 
 tered as such, and navigated by a master and crew wholly 
 British subjects. Vessels laden with stone from the Is- 
 lands are not liable to be piloted by the pilots licensed by 
 the Trinity-house. 
 
 Every article of the growth, produce, and manufacture 
 of Jersey, is admitted into England, on payment only of 
 the same duties as are imposed on similar commodities, 
 grown, produced, or manufactured there. 
 
 Persons purchasing the produce of the Island, intend- 
 ed for exportation to Great Britain, must obtain an affida- 
 vit from the farmer that it is the growth of the Island, 
 otherwise such produce will be liable to seizure in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 No goods prohibited to be imported into the United 
 Kingdom from abroad, can be imported from the Islands 
 
 * As the law has adopted British currency, this is now considered 
 unnecessary, though as a measure of precaution, and to prevent any 
 quibbling, it may as well be done. 
 
138 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, or Serq, although the 
 manufacture of these Islands, if the materials of which 
 such goods are made be the produce of a foreign country. 
 
 Aliens on their arrival in the Island are obliged to pre- 
 sent themselves to the constable of the parish, who is bound 
 to report their names to the governor ; they are allowed to 
 reside in the Island only during his pleasure. 
 
 Members of Parliament and Peers of the Realm are 
 liable to arrest in the Islands. 
 
 The Test and Catholic Disabilities acts, agreeably to an 
 order in council, have been registered in the courts of 
 Jersey and Guernsey, and consequently are in force there. 
 
 Acts of Parliament regulating copy-right have force in 
 Jersey ; thus English books protected by copy-right can- 
 not be printed there. Books printed in Jersey, and not 
 affected by English copy-right, are admitted into England 
 on paying the duty of 3d. per lb. 
 
 Agreements, to be rendered valid, should be witnessed 
 by two disinterested persons who are of age. 
 
 A person charged with an assault is not only liable to 
 be criminally tried for the offence by enditement, but can 
 be sued for damages in a civil action, notwithstanding his 
 previous acquittal or conviction. 
 
 When the punishment of transportation is the sentence, 
 the person is sent, at the expence of the States, if natives 
 of Guernsey, to that Island ; and all others to any port 
 in England which the convict shall choose, and there set 
 at liberty.* If the convict return, he is whipped and 
 sent back. 
 
 Felo-de-se is punished by confiscation of property, and 
 the body is buried without religious ceremony. 
 
 * It will excite a smile in an English reader, to consider England 
 as a convict-colony to Jersey.- 
 
PRIVILEGES. 139 
 
 Until lately no writ from the courts of Westminster 
 could be served in Jersey, but by the 4th William IV. 
 writs of subpoena from the courts of Chancery and Ex- 
 chequer (it is presumed) have eiFect there. 
 
 The above is " An Act to explain and extend an Act of the 
 second year of His present Majesty, to effectuate the service of 
 Process issuing from the Courts of Chancery and Exchequer, in 
 England and Ireland." It recites that all Writs of Subpoena, or 
 Letters missive from those Courts 
 
 " Shall be, and they are hereby extended to any Defendant or Defen- 
 dants, in any suit or suits, as herein-before mentioned, who shall 
 appear by affidavit to be residing in any place, specifying the same, 
 out of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." 
 
 It further enacts, if the Defendant is secreting himself, so as 
 to avoid being served personally, then 
 
 " It shall be lawful for the Court to order that the service of the 
 Subpoena, to appear and answer, shall be substituted, in such manner 
 as the Court shall think reasonable, and direct by such order. Cap. 82." 
 
 PECULIAR PRIVILEGES. 
 
 The history of the Island shows how exposed it has 
 been to constant attacks from enemies. Jersey may be 
 considered in the light of a frontier town, and these are 
 usually favoured with peculiar privileges, to counter- 
 balance the dangers to which they are exposed ; and no 
 country ever merited distinguished marks of royal favour 
 more than Jersey. 
 
 There is not any existing record respecting the privi- 
 leges of this Island before the reign of King John ; it is, 
 therefore, not possible to ascertain those that it possessed 
 under the preceding monarchs, or under its more ancient 
 sovereigns. That monarch gave to Jersey and Guernsey 
 
 N 
 
140 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 a body of constitutions, consisting of eighteen articles : 
 probably founded on the old Norman laws, and existing 
 usages. Two great privileges are therein granted — one, 
 that no process, in either of the Islands, commenced be- 
 fore any magistrate of that Island, can be transferred out 
 of it, but must be decided there. The other, that no 
 person, convicted, out of the said Islands, of felony, is 
 to forfeit the inheritances he may have in them, so as to 
 deprive his heirs of their lawful possession. This does 
 not, however, extend to crimes committed in either Island, 
 and decided there. The two foregoing articles seem to 
 have been inserted to show how completely independent 
 these Islands always were of the English courts of judica- 
 ture. 
 
 Another most important privilege is, they are exempted 
 from the jurisdiction of the British courts, except that of 
 the Admiralty, which, by an order in council, issued dur- 
 ing the last war, comprehended the Channel Islands : 
 even acts of parliament passed by the British legislature 
 have no force here, unless the Islands are especially 
 named : and it was even contended formerly, that it was 
 necessary to have the sanction of the Royal Court, and to 
 be registered by it, before they were binding on them; this 
 however will not now be urged, as an order in council, 
 which is admitted to be imperative, has decided that this 
 registration is not necessary. 
 
 The Islanders enjoy the double privilege of being gov- 
 erned by their own, that is, the old Norman laws ; and 
 have also the privileges of British born subjects : yet, in 
 the administration of their own laws, a British subject is, 
 in many respects, considered as an alien, and subject to 
 disabilities as such. This relates principally to the appoint- 
 ment, or the privilege of electing, to offices : the remark 
 
PRIVILEGES, 141 
 
 applies equally to both Islands:* but British subjects 
 being freeholders, that is, possessing lands or rents, have 
 all the privileges of natives. British residents, in general, 
 are not taxed to the poor rates, as an inducement to their 
 continuing in the Island : after a residenoe of a year and 
 a day, they may claim to be rated, and then they have a 
 right of voting as well as natives. 
 
 From what has been observed it will be understood, 
 that writs issued by the courts in Westminster, with the 
 exception already noticed, cannot be served in these 
 Islands; as Lord Coke observed, " the King's writs 
 runneth not into these Islands."! 
 
 The charter of Elizabeth confirmed all those granted 
 by former sovereigns in their fullest extent, and she freed 
 the Islanders from all tribute or toll of every kind what- 
 soever, that may be imposed throughout England : and 
 even by a declaratory clause acknowledged that singular 
 privilege, the neutrality of the Islands, even with nations 
 with which England may be at war.J 
 
 The Eoyal Courts of the respective Islands try all 
 causes originating in them, whether civil or criminal, 
 except those for treason, coining, or such other as would 
 
 * Mr. Berry, in his history of Guernsey, has complained of this, 
 and considers it an injustice; it should, however, be remembered that 
 the Islanders have deserved the privileges by their unshaken loyalty, 
 and constant attachment to the British government, as well as by their 
 situation ; and it should not be forgotten, that the British government 
 attaches great importance to the possession of the Islands : therefore 
 are the privileges continued to secure their attachment, and the Eng- 
 lish, as a nation, partake of the benefit. 
 
 f It is thus that the same eminent lawyer makes the distinction in 
 reference to them, " though they are parcel of the Crown of England, 
 they are not parcel of the Realm of England." 
 
 X This fell into disuse soon after the reign of Elizabeth, and was 
 finally annulled by William the Third. 
 
 A particular account of this very remarkable privilege will be found 
 in Chapter XV. on " Ancient Privileges." 
 
142 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 affect the Royal prerogative, nor can an appeal be made 
 to any superior court in England — the queen in council is 
 the only appeal. Commissioners have sometimes been 
 appointed under the great seal, and have had extensive 
 power in the Islands ; yet even the commissioners must 
 decide according to the existing laws — they have no legis- 
 lative power. While exercising their jurisdiction, the 
 ordinary forms of justice are suspended. 
 
 The Islanders elect their own magistrates, with the ex- 
 ception of the bailiff. 
 
 One of the ecclesiastical privileges is, the Islanders 
 have the preference of being appointed to vacant bene- 
 fices : thus no Englishman can hold a living in Jersey, 
 while an inhabitant, in orders, prefers a claim. 
 
 Another ecclesiastical privilege is, as it respects bene- 
 fices, pluralities are not allowed — no person can hold two 
 livings. 
 
 No stamps are required either for bills, receipts, or con- 
 veyances of property. 
 
 The Island is protected from the impress service. 
 
 Jersey till lately enjoyed the privilege of being a free 
 port : there were, until the late peace, only a few duties 
 on the imports, but no prohibitions. 
 
 There are not any taxes, except the parochial rates for 
 the indigent, and for the highways, and some small duties 
 on wines and spirits. Levies are, however, sometimes 
 made, for the purpose of defraying any extraordinary 
 expenses ; but not large in amount. 
 
143 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Revenue, Coins and Pecuniary Substitutes. 
 
 The average annual amount of revenue, received by the 
 States, for the years 1810, 1811, and 1812, was some- 
 what more than 110,000 livres, French currency, which 
 is about £4,600 British sterling. 
 
 This revenue, partaking of the general prosperity of 
 the Island, has greatly increased ; for a report made to 
 parliament for the year 1821, gives the following result : — 
 
 £. *. d. 
 
 Revenue collected .- 10,562 10 2 
 
 Expenditure 5,062 10 5 
 
 5,499 19 9 
 
 leaving near £5,5000 to be expended on improvements in 
 the Island ; and taking an average of four years, ending 
 December 31st, 1836, the last period to which, at this 
 time, the accounts have been made up, gives the amount 
 of £14,632 3s. Id. per annum, which, it will be observed, 
 is an advance of nearly 50 per cent, in fifteen years. 
 
 The revenue arises from licenses granted to tavern- 
 keepers, rents in the market, duties on wines and spirits, 
 harbour dues, &c. ; and when an additional sum is requir- 
 ed, and especially when it is for any particular object, a 
 rate is levied on the inhabitants : the States formerly 
 
 n 3 
 
144 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 had recourse to lotteries: they were conducted more 
 soberly than in England — there was no fluctuation in the 
 price of tickets, and no insurance on them was allowed ; so 
 that the gambling mania which formerly prevailed in Eng- 
 land, and which led to their suppression, did not exist in 
 Jersey : notwithstanding they were abolished by an order 
 in council, issued in 1837. 
 
 The duty on Spanish and Portuguese wines is £2 10s. 
 per pipe ; on French and Rhenish £1 10s. per pipe; on 
 spirits one shilling per gallon : a publican pays £5 for 
 his license. The following statement may be considered 
 an average of the different items to make up the total 
 amount, as reported to parliament : — 
 
 £. t. d. 
 
 Duties on wines and spirits . . . 7,250 
 
 Licenses on public house .... 500 
 
 Harbour dues, anchorage, &c. . 2,250 
 
 Incidentals 562 10 2 
 
 10,562 10 2 
 
 The import duty on wines, liquors, &c, was granted 
 by Charles the Second, for the purpose of endowing a col- 
 lege, building a workhouse, erecting a pier at St. Aubin, 
 and providing a magazine of arms : but the sum produc- 
 ed not being sufficient to accomplish all these objects, 
 the whole was applied to the construction of the two 
 piers at St. Helier and St. Aubin: but the duties now being 
 consolidated, they are applied to the public works, and 
 the general improvement of the Island, after the current 
 expences, and the interest of the debt, have been paid. 
 
 No part of the revenue of either Island is applied to 
 its defence; the British government defraying the whole 
 of this expenditure, which, including that for the militia, 
 
REVENUE COINS. 145 
 
 is upwards of £20,000 per annum, from whicli is to be 
 deducted about £2,000 per annum the produce of the 
 post-office, the revenue of which the government takes.* 
 
 Although the income of the Governor arises from the 
 resources of the Island, yet it cannot be said to be paid 
 from its revenue. At the time of the reformation, govern- 
 ment applied to its own use a very large portion of the 
 great tithes of ten parishes,! leaving very little more than 
 the small tithes for the incumbent : the former is now re- 
 ceived by the Governor, amounting to about £3,000 per 
 annum ; but as he has to pay certain salaries to the officers 
 of the royal court, and other sums chargeable on this reve- 
 nue, to half the amount, the actual income arising from 
 the Island, does not exceed £1,500 per annum. 
 
 The Lieutenant-governor has a very small portion of 
 the revenue of the Island : it consists of some fees, under 
 £200 a year : his income arising from the public is derived 
 from his pay as a field-officer. 
 
 The Coin current in Jersey was, until lately, chiefly 
 that of France, with a small- proportion of Spanish mo- 
 ney ; these still continue, though not in a large proportion. 
 The total amount of specie in circulation, has been esti- 
 mated at £120,000 sterling. During the French revolu- 
 tionary war, the coin of England came more generally 
 
 * The exact amount of the return made to Parliament, for the year 
 1821, was £1,949 4*. 2d. but it must have greatly increased since that 
 time. 
 
 f The tithes of St. Saviour are annexed to the deanery : those of 
 St. Helier were granted to Sir E. Carteret; these latter have passed 
 by purchase and inheritance through several hands. Of late years a 
 considerable portion has been sold to several land owners, so that a 
 great part of the parish of St. Helier is now tithe free. 
 
146 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 into use, until the increased value of gold and silver com- 
 pletely drained the Island of all specie but copper, and 
 even that became scarce. At this time the banking houses 
 in the town of St. Helier, and a few mercantile men, were 
 accustomed to issue notes, payable to the bearer on demand, 
 for twenty- four livres French currency, or one pound ster- 
 ling. So great, however, and so increasing were the incon- 
 veniences occasioned by the almost total disappearance of 
 silver, that these houses were obliged to issue notes of fire 
 and ten shillings each : this induced other individuals to do 
 the same, for sums as low as one shilling, all having the 
 high-sounding title of " Jersey Bank :" it may well be 
 supposed that the Island became inundated with the notes 
 of these soi-disant bankers, many of the lowest descrip- 
 tion of traders and publicans. Alarming as this was, 
 necessity gave them a general circulation ; until at length 
 it was put an end to by order in council, issued in 1813, 
 forbidding the circulation of notes under £1 sterling. 
 
 Seeing the evil of this state of things, the States issued 
 silver coins of eighteen-pence and three shillings, to the 
 amount of £10,000 sterling, and an additional sum was 
 afterwards issued : this did not long remain in circulation, 
 the general distrust occasioned by the uncertain value of 
 the paper money, caused it to be hoarded ; thus was the 
 object defeated, and in 1834 these pieces were called 
 in : its place, however, is now well supplied by a large 
 introduction of British silver and gold, which, however, 
 still bears a premium ; but the former custom of reckon- 
 ing by livres and sous is retained in the lesser transactions 
 of trade. 
 
 The circulation of paper money is still much com- 
 plained of, as it is not confined to professed bankers, 
 
PUBLIC DEBT. 147 
 
 but societies, and many private individuals, whose credit 
 is not so well established, issue notes.* If the States were 
 to pass a law, requiring some kind of security for the 
 amount of notes issued, it would tend to diminish the 
 evil so much complained of, and would doubtless esta- 
 blish the credit of the Island on a more secure basis. 
 British silver is the legal tender of the Island. 
 
 * See more on this subject in Chapter IV. on Banking. 
 
 Statement of the Public Debt, due by the States, 
 
 made up to January 1st, 1840, 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Amount due, on General Account 30,382 : 6:8 
 
 Amount due to the Savings' Bank 22,189 : 0:0 
 
 Amount borrowed of ' La Societe des Secours \ ^ny • 1 • 
 
 mutuels," (Benefit Society.) / 
 
 Plus 18 qrs. 6 c. rents at 17 Stg. per quarter. . 318 : 15 : 
 
 Borrowed for the formation of New Roads . . 1,464 : 10 11 
 
 Sundry Liabilities 894 : 17 : 5 
 
 Due to the Treasurer 5,539 : 2 : 1 
 
 ,£61,276 : 2 : 1 
 
 The Committee, on presenting the Report of the Public Debt, 
 has recommended to the States, the withdrawment of an annual 
 vote to the Agricultural Society, and other gratuities, in order 
 to reduce the Debt. 
 
148 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE TOWN OP ST. HELIER. 
 
 Approach from the Sea; Surrounding Scenery; 
 Harbour ; Royal Square ; Court House ; Market- 
 place ; Price of Provisions ; Fort Regent ; 
 Elizabeth Castle ; Ecclesiastical Buildings ; 
 Hospital — Poor-House, and Prison; Public 
 Library; Parade; Theatre and Assembly Room, 
 Baths, fyc. 
 
 The present work being principally intended for the Eng- 
 lish visitor, it may be supposed that he has made the 
 work his travelling companion, and himself acquainted, 
 during his voyage to the Island, with its general history, 
 its government, its laws, peculiar privileges, statistics, 
 and such other particulars as are noticed in it, and that 
 he is now to be introduced to its localities. 
 
 Should the vessel in which he may be embarked first 
 make the north-west corner of the Island, he will be struck 
 by its bold features, its prominent and rugged coast ; not 
 so much studded with detached rocks as in the south- 
 eastern part, but by high projecting and enormous 
 masses, which are to be seen along a considerable part of 
 the coast, in a line with which his course will now be, 
 stretching from cape Grosnez to L'Etac : he will next sail 
 by the bay of St. Ouen, until he again falls in with the 
 rugged masses of rock, terminating with a noted pile 
 
APPROACH FROM THE SEA. 149 
 
 called La Corhiere. It will not, however, be necessary 
 to notice the several points, as a full description of the 
 whole coast will be given in a tour round the Island, to 
 which the reader is referred ; but the scenery on his round- 
 ing Noirmont point, will immediately engage his attention. 
 In the centre of a large and beautiful bay stands Elizabeth 
 Castle, which, should his approach be at the time of low 
 water, will appear to be situated on the main land, but 
 as the tide flows it becomes an island ; on the same rock 
 as the Castle stands the Hermitage, which has been al- 
 ready%noticed ;* on the right, situated on what was for- 
 merly'the town-hill, is Fort Regent, deemed almost im- 
 pregnable : it has been styled a second Gibraltar. Under 
 this fortress lies the harbour and the town of St. Helier. 
 The eye stretching to the left will rest on the town of St. 
 Aubin with its harbour and protecting fort. So beautiful 
 is this bay, from a point which embraces these various 
 objects, — combined with the country intervening between 
 the towns, behind which rises a fine range of wooded cul- 
 tivated heights, foiming a back ground to the picture, — 
 and so enchanting is this scene, in its general effect, that 
 it has been compared to the bay of Naples. 
 
 Should the state of the tide allow him to enter the har- 
 bour, after passing the water-gate, the voyager will find 
 himself in a most capacious dock ; but, capacious as it is, 
 not sufficiently so to accommodate the whole trade of the 
 Island : he will find every convenience for landing, 
 and certainly no lack of importunity to repair to the vari- 
 ous inns, hotels, and boarding-houses which are to be 
 found in the town ;f having made his selection, the guide 
 
 * See Ecclesiastical History. 
 
 f For a list of these see Appendix. 
 
150 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 will provide conveyance for his luggage, and conduct him 
 to his temporary abode. 
 
 The Town may be said to be divided into two parts, and, 
 like the northern metropolis, may be called the old and new 
 town ; or the old town may more properly be likened to 
 the city of London in the time of queen Elizabeth, when 
 there were scarcely any suburbs, but with these added, 
 it may be said to be London in its present state, though 
 in miniature. These great additions have mostly been 
 made during the revolutionary war, and since the peace : 
 Jersey before that time was comparatively little known. 
 
 The town is not so intricate but that a stranger will easi- 
 ly find his way, after one or two general surveys, to any 
 part :* our plan will therefore be to describe the various 
 public buildings, and other objects worthy of notice, not 
 so much with regard to their locality, as to the circum- 
 stances which more immediately connect them with each 
 other. 
 
 St. Helier is the seat of government and of justice : 
 the centre of business, of fashion, and of amusement. 
 These have, in the course of only a few years, so increased 
 that it now contains nearly one-third of the whole popu- 
 lation of the Island. 
 
 The town itself consists of upwards of a thousand 
 houses, besides many that are, in every direction, scatter- 
 ed through the environs. It has undergone a very rapid 
 increase and improvement, such as few other places have 
 experienced. Not many years since, it was chiefly com- 
 prised in two streets, running nearly in parallel lines : the 
 
 * A plan of the town, on a very large scale, has been engraved, from 
 a survey, made by Mr. E. Le Gros, civil engineer, which is delineated 
 with great minuteness and acouracy. 
 
THE TOWN OF ST. HELIEE* 151 
 
 Western entrance was under an old, confined, and ill-con- 
 trived prison: this has been taken down, and a new spa- 
 cious edifice has been built. The principal avenue of the 
 town is Broad street ; which, contracted at first, widens 
 as it proceeds towards the square, or old market place. 
 Several shops that projected into the street have been re- 
 moved, which has greatly improved its appearance. The 
 square forms a general focus ; there are leading into it four 
 carriage ways, and one foot way. Several new streets have 
 lately been built in different directions. 
 
 Anciently all the houses Were substantial stone edifices 
 with small windows, consequently gloomy, and the 
 greater number were thatched ; now they are mostly built 
 of brick, and even those of early date are, in general, 
 modernised. The pavement was likewise very uneven; 
 at the present time, nearly every street has a regular car- 
 riage road, paved with a very hard granite, brought from 
 Guernsey,* with as broad a pavement as the width will 
 admit. The shops were formerly of a most gloomy and 
 forbidding aspect : in most places these have been succeed • 
 edby others, light, airy, and inviting ; and in the course of 
 a few more years, every part will partake of the same cha- 
 racter. The town is now lighted with gas, a most valua- 
 ble improvement, as it was before not lighted at all ; it 
 was, however, very amusing, to see the number of small 
 lanterns, in continual motion, every night. 
 
 The square is ornamented with a statue, in a Roman 
 military costume, elevated on a stone pedestal. f The 
 
 * This btone is also found in Jersey : but it is not in equal estima- 
 tion. 
 
 f Gough, in his edition of Camden, says it is a statue of George II : 
 other accounts state that it its of Charles II., but it is generally reported 
 to be neither, but that it was preserved from a wreck, and placed there 
 merely as an ornament to the square. 
 
 O 
 
152 ?HE CHANNEL ISLANM.< 
 
 square has, within a few years, heen paved with flat Mont 
 Mado stones, so that now it is a pleasant and convenient 
 promenade, but mostly used by mercantile men. 
 
 On one side of this square, is La Cohne, or Court 
 House, a solid but plain structure, built in 1647. In this 
 building is held the Assembly of the States, together with 
 the Courts of Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction. At one 
 extremity of the vestibule is a full-length portrait, as large 
 as life, of the late Marshal Conway, who was formerly 
 governor of Jersey ; it was painted by Gainsborough : at the 
 other end, now parted off, and forming a small retiring 
 room, is a portrait, equal in dimensions, of George III. 
 in his robes of state, painted by Mr. Jean, a native of the 
 Island. 
 
 Government house, the town residence of the lieutenant 
 governor, was formerly near the square. In the early part 
 of 1 822, the whole of this property was exchanged for 
 Belmont, an elegant newly erected mansion, near St. Sa- 
 viour's church, embellished with gardens and pleasure, 
 grounds, which is now the residence of the lieut. -governor. 
 
 The only market was formerly in the Eoyal Square. A 
 singularly neat and convenient set of covered sheds, with 
 broad open spaces at intervals, is now erected : the main 
 entrance is through folding iron gates, between massive 
 stone pillars. Adjoining to the general market is another 
 for fish, in the same style j and a place in the vicinity has 
 been walled in for a cattle market, with spacious covered 
 sheds. The general market days are Wednesday and Sa- 
 turday ; but the articles supplied from France, especially 
 fruit and vegetables, now come in such constant succes- 
 sion, that they may be purchased almost every day. 
 
 Formerly there was a corn market in the town, but it 
 no longer exists, as it is now principally supplied with 
 
THE TOWN OF ST. HELIER. 153 
 
 flour from England; and as the country inhabitants con- 
 sume the greater part of their own produce, it is no longer 
 necessary. 
 
 Some information with respect to the price of provisions 
 will be acceptable to the stranger, Jersey is not so 
 noted as Guernsey for a good supply of fish, neither is it 
 so cheap as in the sister Island : this may be accounted 
 for, partly by a greater number of persons being employed 
 in the occupation of fishing in Guernsey, and partly 
 by the taste of the Islanders requiring a larger supply. 
 Butchers' meat is somewhat cheaper than in England, and 
 its quality is generally good ; but being mostly of French 
 beasts, must not be compared with that of London, or 
 even with the best in country towns in England. Fruit is 
 in general very good and cheap, being brought from 
 France at a small expense. Tea and coffee are about two 
 thirds of the price in England, and sugar scarcely more 
 than half: rice, currants, and other dried fruits are con- 
 siderably cheaper. But the greatest difference of price is 
 in wines and spirits, especially the latter, which bear so 
 high a duty in England : the best Cognac brandy may be 
 bought at 7s. the gallon ; rum and hollands at 3s. 6d. 
 Excellent port wine, according to its age ; from two to 
 six years in bottle, from 205. to 25s. per dozen ; inferior 
 from 155. to 18s. Jersey butter has three high recommen- 
 dations ; it is excellent in quality, moderate in price, and 
 17Joz. to the pound weight. The market is well sup- 
 plied with game from France, as well as with the various 
 kinds of poultry — indeed, few markets in England have 
 a better supply than that of St. Helier. 
 
 Other articles of household expenditure, such as wearing 
 apparel and servants' wages, are about the same price as 
 in England ; but furniture, if Jersey made, or brought 
 
154 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS- 
 
 from France, is considerably cheaper. There is, however, 
 one drawback on cheap living in Jersey, and that is, house 
 rent, which is somewhat higher than in a populous coun- 
 try town in England. This may be easily explained : al- 
 though a considerable number of new houses have been 
 built, still the demand keeps above the supply, and time 
 is of course required to build more. 
 
 Many houses are furnished with wells ; but the greater 
 part of the town lying in a low situation, and on the sea 
 shore, the water is not, in that district, remarkable for 
 its purity : there are, however, some springs of excel- 
 lent quality; and the recently discovered mode of pro- 
 curing water by boring, having been employed in the 
 Island, has furnished a good supply. 
 
 The Mont de la Ville, or Town Hill, is a long insulated 
 rock, elevated 1 50 feet above high-water mark. Its north- 
 ern extremity rises so close to the town of St. Helier, that, 
 before it became the property of government, the gardens 
 of several houses were continued in repeated hanging ter- 
 races to its summit. In order to render the fortress which 
 has been built on it less accessible, the rock has been cut 
 down, and thus a vertical section exposed. It exhibits a 
 broken upper surface, the chasms of which are filled up 
 with small pieces of the same rock. 
 
 This hill was purchased by government, and on it has 
 been erected a fortress, which, being built during the 
 regency, is called Fort Regent : it covers four acres of 
 ground, is built of granite, and is bomb-proof; indeed, 
 nothing that art or expence could accomplish seems to have 
 been wanting to render this fortress impregnable : the ma« 
 gazine is so capacious, that it will contain 5000 barrels of 
 powder. It is well supplied with water from a well nearly 
 250 feet deep, 200 of which are cut through a solid rock ; 
 
■ 
 

 iiiiiip 
 
 ill i m ill 
 
 
 f : J! 
 
 :';:;; 
 
 
 i ;, . 
 
 
 ■ 
 
THE TOWN OP ST. HELIER. 155 
 
 at the opening it is fourteen feet in diameter ; the water is 
 excellent, the daily supply of which is from 6 to 8000 
 gallons. Besides the troops that it will contain, there is 
 accommodation for a great number of inhabitants, should 
 an invasion of the Island cause their retreat to it neces- 
 sary. Stores for ammunition are hewn out of the solid 
 rock. The total expense of erecting this citadel is said 
 to have been a million sterling. The amount paid by go- 
 vernment, to the vintaine, for the hill on which Fort 
 Regent is built, was no less than £11,280.* 
 
 It has already been observed, that Elizabeth Castle was 
 built during the reign of our renowned queen of that name. 
 Charles the First made great additions to this fortress ; he 
 built the lower ward, and otherwise added to its defences : 
 the rock on which it stands, including the hermitage, is a 
 mile in circuit. It is accessible at low water, from the 
 shore, by a bridge of earth, raised above the level of the 
 sand, but as the tide flows it is insulated. Since the erec- 
 tion of Fort Regent, it is principally to be considered as 
 a defence for the bay : in this view it may be important 
 as an out-work against shipping, as they approach : at 
 present a few artillery-men only mount guard within its 
 walls. 
 
 The Church stands on the west side of the Royal Square : 
 it is more modern than any other in Jersey, having been 
 consecrated a. d. 13 11. It might, from this circumstance, 
 be supposed to have been subject to fewer alterations than 
 others ; whereas not one has undergone more : this was 
 
 * A project for fortifying this hill was entertained, as early as the 
 reign of Edward the Sixth : the Duke of Somerset was then governor 
 of the Island. An ordinance > dated April 6, 1550, is still extant, in 
 which the inhabitants were recommended to construct fortifications 
 there, wherein they might find a place of safety, in the event of an 
 invasion. 
 
 o 3 
 
156 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 probably occasioned by enlargements at different periods, 
 as an increasing population made them necessary. 
 
 Over the centre of the northern aisle rises a tower, of 
 no great height, faced with square masonry, and sur- 
 mounted with a parapet. It is quadrangular, with the 
 exception of a small projection on one side for a stair- 
 case. This tower appears of later date than the other 
 parts of the building. In the centre of the northern aisle 
 is a chapel. 
 
 The church has been materially beautified internally 
 within the space of a few years, and a neat organ erected 
 by voluntary subscription. Several monuments are affix- 
 ed to its walls, but none of an earlier date than the seven- 
 teenth century. One of them is commemorative of the 
 death of Major Pierson,* who so bravely fell in repelling 
 the French invasion in 1781 : this was erected at the pub- 
 lic expense as a grateful commemoration of his services, 
 and as a tribute to his valour and decisive conduct in the 
 attack. As there is no altar in the church, a temporary 
 one is placed before the pulpit, whenever the sacrament 
 of the Lord's supper is administered. 
 
 Besides the parochial church, there are two episcopal 
 chapels — St. Paul and St. James; the former is in New 
 street, the latter in St. James's-street : they are both 
 modern erections, and the services in both are performed 
 in English. The various denominations of Dissenters 
 have their respective places of worship ; and there are two 
 Roman Catholic chapels, in one of which the service is 
 performed in French, and the other in English. f 
 
 At the western extremity of the town is the public Hos- 
 
 * See General History. 
 
 t For the time cf performing divine service in these several chapels, 
 see Appendix. 
 
THE TOWN OF ST. HELIER. 157 
 
 pital and Poorhouse for the whole Island. This esta- 
 blishment has been greatly assisted by legacies and 
 contributions :* the general number of inmates may be 
 averaged at a hundred, of which not more than two thirds 
 are natives of the Island. This building has lately been 
 enlarged : the funds for this purpose were supplied by the 
 late Charles Eobin, Esq., who left to the institution a 
 legacy of £2500 : this munificent bequest has enabled 
 the trustees to build a chapel for the inmates, and to pro- 
 vide for the payment of a chaplain. 
 
 Near the hospital is the new Prison : this is a handsome 
 building, in an airy situation ; the cells for the male cri- 
 minals are on the ground floor, each nine feet square. A 
 space under an arcade is allowed them for exercise, and 
 they have a common room, with a fire during the winter. 
 Half the upper story, with a separate staircase, is for the 
 female criminals, who have a private yard for exercise. 
 The debtors occupy the remaining half of the top floor, 
 consisting of twelve rooms. The criminals are never fet- 
 tered during incarceration : they may be visited by an 
 order from the sheriff. 
 
 At this skirt of the town is a large empty space, called 
 Les Mielles. It was until lately covered by sandy hil- 
 loc . General Don caused the whole to be levelled, 
 formed into a lawn, and enclosed with a dwarf wall. It 
 
 * The whole amount raised by a rate, for ten years, ending 183-4, for 
 the eleven country parishes, was only £2285 5s. 3c?., and this includes 
 all charges ; very little more, taking an average, than £20 a year to 
 each parish. The poor rates in St. Helier's amount to about £1500 
 per annum. There are two other fuuds applicable to parochial purposes, 
 " Le Tresor de V eglise," and a "Charity fund," both formed of be- 
 quests by pious persons in former times. The former is applied to the 
 repairs of the church, the latter, as its name imports, goes in direct 
 charity, or to assist the pooi-rate. 
 
158 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 is now converted into a parade, and round part of it runs 
 a gravelled walk. 
 
 The town possesses a public Library : the building was 
 erected at the expense of the Rev. Philip Falle, the his- 
 torian of the Island ; who presented to it a valuable col- 
 lection of books, to which the late Rev. Dr. Dumaresq 
 made a considerable addition ; and the States have lately 
 voted an annual grant of £100 to be laid out in the pur- 
 chase of modern publications. This is a most valuable 
 acquisition, as the library formerly consisted of old works, 
 and mostly on divinity : it contains upwards of 6000 vols. 
 The annual subscription is very moderate. There are 
 several Reading Societies, and other private associations. 
 Newspapers, both in English and French, are published 
 on different days in the week. 
 
 The Theatre stands in the centre of a crescent, at the 
 east side of the town : it is a modern structure, built in 
 1827. English and French comedians perform occasionally. 
 There is also a minor theatre in Regent Road ; this is prin- 
 cipally engaged by amateur performers. The Assemblies 
 and Concerts are held at the Royal Yacht Club Hotel, on 
 the pier : they commence in October, and continue 
 through the winter, every fortnight. There is usually a 
 Fancy Ball during the season. 
 
 The Baths are situated in Bath-street. Hot and cold, with 
 either salt water or fresh, and shower baths, may be had 
 from seven in the morning till ten at night : the charges 
 are moderate. A Reading room is connected with the 
 baths, in which some of the London and provincial Eng- 
 lish papers are taken in, with a few periodical publications. 
 Attempts have more than once been made to establish 
 Bathing Machines, but they have hitherto failed ; a spi- 
 rited individual has, however, lately renewed the attempt, 
 
 / 
 
THE TOWN OF ST. HELIER. 159 
 
 and with such means as furnish strong hopes of success. 
 They are situated at Greve d'Azette. 
 
 There are several Benevolent Societies established in the 
 town, a list and particulars of which will be found in 
 the Appendix to this work. 
 
 In the town are several Hotels, respectable Inns, and 
 Boarding-houses. Steam Packets are constantly sail- 
 ing from Jersey to Weymouth and Southampton : they 
 always stop at Guernsey, to receive or land passengers. 
 The reader is also referred to the Appendix for a particu- 
 lar account of these, with the times of their sailing, and 
 many other particulars alluded to in the body of the work. 
 
 We cannot finish this account of the town, without 
 alluding to some valuable observations of Dr. Hooper, 
 in his work already quoted, on the comparative salubrity 
 of the respective towns of St. Helier and St, Aubin. The 
 patient who comes to Jersey for the benefit of his health, 
 would do well to consult this before he fixes on the place 
 of his abode. 
 
360 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE INHABITANTS. 
 
 Physical Peculiarities ; Sketch of general Charac- 
 ter ; Vt diking ; Pic-nic Parties; Amusements; 
 Theatricals ; Balls and Concerts ; Races ; — Other 
 Amusements recommended. 
 
 The person of a Jerseyman is about the middle size ; it is 
 very unusual to see a remarkably tall man ; he retains much 
 of the physical characters of his two originals, the Celts 
 and the Scandinavians, especially in the northern dis- 
 tricts of the Island, where the race has suffered the least 
 admixture. The hair is mostly dark brown or light chest- 
 nut ; the features sharp and intelligent, though a skilful 
 physiognomist would probably discover much is harsh and 
 phlegmatic : the complexion is generally tawny, the limbs 
 are muscular, not bulky — well adapted for active labour : 
 an agricultural labourer is not so clownish in his manner 
 as one of the same grade in England ; this is to be ascribed 
 to his being trained to military exercises, which would 
 necessarily improve his deportment. Of the females it 
 has been observed, " though comely and well-built, they 
 are more remarkable for neatness of figure than elegance 
 of stature and regular beauty." There is something pe- 
 culiar in the gait of a Jerseyman, though not sufficiently 
 marked to distinguish hira from an Englishman or a 
 Frenchman. 
 
SKETCH OP CHARACTER. 161 
 
 There will not be much difficulty in the delineation of 
 the character of a Jerseyman : hypocrisy is not a promi- 
 minent feature — he is what he appears to be. A deport- 
 ment amounting to bluntness and rudeness has been 
 charged on him. These are comparative terms : an Island- 
 er in the society of persons in England, scarcely a degree 
 above himself, would be deemed deficient in good man- 
 ners, though scarcely chargeable with being either blunt 
 or rude : the English language has not a word to express 
 exactly the character in this respect, — the French would 
 say he is brusque. Occasional admixture with society 
 above his own rank, and which is only to be found in large 
 communities, can alone remove this, and communicate 
 ease of manner, and a greater measure of exterior polish. 
 
 There is an independence of character in a Jerseyman, 
 which may in some measure contribute to the feature 
 already noticed, and this is easily explained : he is gene- 
 rally an independent man, either living on his own pro- 
 perty, or possessed of rents : almost all have political 
 rights, they elect their own judges and magistrates : this 
 of itself every Englishman will allow- must induce a feel- 
 ing of independence, by bringing him more in contact 
 and temporary equality with his superiors, and more fre- 
 quently than in England. Party spirit certainly runs very 
 high in Jersey, the whole Island being ranged on one 
 side or the other ; and the many clubs that are established, 
 in which island politics are discussed, tend very much to 
 keep up this spirit. The old distinctions of M.agot and 
 Chariot have given way to those of Rose and Laurel : 
 the liberals take the Rose as their emblem, the high 
 party in church and state the Laurel. Thus, Island 
 politics seem to absorb all their thoughts, beyond their 
 own individual concerns • and party strife is found too 
 
162 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 much mixed up even with these: the politics of England, 
 or even of the world generally, engage very Utile of their 
 attention — they live in a world of their own. 
 
 It has also been said that this same party spirit exists 
 in matters of religion, but probably not more than in other 
 places. In what town in England does the churchman 
 and dissenter meet in social harmony ? this difference al- 
 ways did, and ever will, exist; and it may well be vindi- 
 cated on the ground that in the highest concerns of a man's 
 life he is not disposed to yield to his neighbour ; if either 
 is to enjoy his own opinion, and live in peace with each 
 other, they must live without social intercourse. It must, 
 however, be admitted to their praise, that Jerseymen, 
 both churchmen and dissenters, are generally moral and 
 devout, and the sabbath is more strictly regarded by them 
 than in England. 
 
 Frugality is a very prominent feature in a Jerseyman ; 
 this within its proper limit is commendable, — every man is 
 bound to provide for his present household, and for those 
 who are to succeed him ; but when it trenches on liberality 
 as a duty, when it shuts the heart and hand to the calls 
 of humanity, frugality no longer ranks among the virtues, 
 ■ — then it degenerates into parsimony, and will most likely 
 end in avarice. This has cerfcainlv been charged on the 
 Islanders, and perhaps with some truth : their excuse must 
 be found in their insular situation, and the minute sub- 
 division of their property, which requires that they should 
 make the most of what they possess. It should however 
 be observed, that the many benevolent societies in the Is- 
 land show that they are not so regardless of other claims, 
 besides those of their own family, as iheir accusers would 
 lead us to ima°ine. 
 
 o 
 
 Whatever there may be of justness in the charge, it is 
 
GENERAL CHARACTER. 163 
 
 principally to ba found in the country, and with the far- 
 mer who is little disposed to lay out money. Economy, 
 carried to an undue extent, is generally inconsistent : if 
 a Jersey farmer will give his seed-wheat to the poultry, 
 as some have said, rather than buy ; so have we heard of 
 very economical English ladies, who would expend eight 
 or ten shillings in coach-hire, in driving to a part of Lon- 
 don, reputedly cheap, and save in their purchase about 
 half that sum. There is however one point on which the 
 frugality of the Islanders strikingly appears, and this 
 mostly concerns the higher orders: the learned professions, 
 whether of the law or physic, are not sufficiently remu- 
 nerated for the expences of their education. It may excite 
 some surprise that this has not prevented eminent men 
 from settling on the Island. 
 
 The quid pro quo system is certainly carried to a great 
 extent in Jersey: this is however right, when seasoned 
 with a measure of liberality in the mode of calculating the 
 exchange — when too strict in exacting the full measure of 
 return, it is apt to occasion discontent, if not strife. A 
 Jerseyman is, in strictness, an honest man, and punctual 
 in fulfilling his engagements ; but it must be admitted 
 that he likes a good bargain : and it is said will some- 
 times strain the finer springs of his conscience to obtain 
 one. He is strongly attached to his own little Island and 
 its constitution, endeared to him by the many centuries 
 he has possessed them, and the many privileges he enjoys. 
 
 Some Englishmen have been known to complain of a 
 want of hospitality in the Islanders : if there be any found- 
 ation for the charge, a consideration of the state of things 
 alluded to in the above remarks will go far to remove it ; 
 and it should not be forgotten that strangers coming to a 
 place where they are not known, are expected to bring 
 
164 THE CHANNEL ISLANXJS. 
 
 with them an introduction, before they can be received 
 into good society. 
 
 There is an absence of pride in a Jersey lady which 
 stands connected with frugality ? heads of families uni- 
 versally go to market themselves, and most commonly 
 carry home their purchases in baskets they take for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Although Jersey has produced some learned men, and 
 a few eminently so ; yet, taking the community as a whole, 
 it cannot be said to be literary : there is little either of 
 knowledge or taste for the fine arts or belles-lettres. The 
 liberal annual donation of the States for the purchase of 
 new books, to enlarge the public library, will doubtless 
 improve its character in this respect : a sensible difference 
 has been perceived within a few years. 
 
 Vraiking, or Vraik gathering, is an important peculiar 
 in the occupation of a Jerseyman, who has land to culti- 
 vate ; for on the quantity he may collect of this beneficent 
 boon of nature, will mainly depend the product of his 
 next year's crop. The time of gathering this manure is 
 fixed by the legislature, and is restricting to twice in the 
 year, except when boisterous weather may have detached 
 portions of it from the surrounding rocks, and driven it 
 on the coast, and even the gathering of this is controuled 
 by authority. The time of general vraiking is fixed to 
 commence some time about the middle of March, and to- 
 wards the end of July : it lasts about ten days. It is a 
 season of great interest to the Islanders, and a scene of 
 amusing bustle and activity to the stranger. Parties of 
 eight or ten persons usually associate, and agree to assist 
 each other, as in their agricultural labours. They pro- 
 vide themselves with a short scythe, not unlike an English 
 
AMUSEMENTS. 165 
 
 reap-hook, and a thick covering for the legto protect it from 
 accidents. The provender for the day usually consists of 
 cakes made for the occasion, called " vraiking cakes," and 
 a keg of cider : thus accoutred and provided, they pro- 
 ceed to the coast with their carts, and thence to the rocks 
 which are accessible; but as the tide flows, or when the 
 scene of labour is among the more distant rocks, boats are 
 employed to bring the rich boon to the shore. It is not 
 only a season of interest, but of great merriment — as is 
 the harvesting in England, so is the vraiking in Jersey; 
 and if some of the noviciates get a few tumbles on the 
 rocks, occasioned by the slippery nature of their standing 
 ground, it only adds to the merriment at the time, and 
 serves for amusement when the labours of the day are 
 finished. 
 
 The beautiful bay of St. Aubin is well adapted for ex- 
 cursions on the water, but these seem not to attract the 
 inhabitants of the town, nor are they more inclined to 
 frequent the walks that the vicinity presents. It is not 
 difficult to account for this disregard to amusements that 
 excite so much interest in a country town, or watering 
 place in England. Scarcely any of the natives are without 
 country relatives : mon cousin and ma cousine connect 
 half the families of the Island. Visits of a few days or 
 weeks to friends at a distance are preferred to the pleasure 
 of a sail, or a walk in the country. 
 
 There is, however, a recreation which is also practised 
 and enjoyed in England : " gipsying parties," in which the 
 pic-nic system is adopted and are not unfrequent : for these 
 the Island offers many inducements — the lofty eminences 
 presenting a most extended sea- view, and regaling the 
 party with refreshing breezes \ or should the state of the 
 
166 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 weather require a more sheltered spot, the rich valleys that 
 are to be found in all directions, furnish the desired shade, 
 while the shore and the caves present their peculiar 
 attractions, as taste or circumstances may invite. 
 
 Although there is a Theatre, and a room for Balls and 
 Concerts, as noticed in the preceding chapter, yet it can- 
 not be said that either is well attended : the inhabitants 
 are certainly not addicted to such kind of amusements, 
 and the visitors are either disposed to fall in with the taste 
 of the natives, or are not sufficiently numerous of them- 
 selves to sustain them. There is not encouragement for 
 a good company to make occasional visits to the Island, 
 and such as have hitherto appeared on the boards have not 
 sufficient histrionic powers to induce a change in the taste 
 either of the Islanders or visitors. This may be lamented 
 by a few, but considering the effect which theatrical 
 amusements have on the mind and morals, and especially 
 of the young, there may be no great cause for regret. 
 Balls and concerts are not well attended : this also may in 
 a measure be ascribed to the same cause which influence 
 the other. Card parties are more to the taste of the Is- 
 landers, and suit better with their habits of friendly in- 
 tercourse with each other : they indulge in this amusement 
 to a considerable extent. 
 
 The Jersey and English society do not much intermingle 
 in what may be called social parties : the natives being so 
 much linked together by relationship in various degrees, 
 are naturally led to associate among themselves : this is 
 the main cause of their confining their visits so much 
 among each other, and not to a wish on their part to ex- 
 clude those English residents, who have been properly in- 
 troduced, with whom the higher orders do occasionally 
 meet in large parties. 
 
AMUSEMENTS. 167 
 
 There are occasionally Races on the sands, which cer- 
 tainly furnish a species of amusement, although not of a 
 character so exciting as that felt at Newmarket or Epsom, 
 but probably far less pernicious. 
 
 About half a mile from the square, on the skirts of the 
 town, is a kind of promenade, in some pleasure grounds ; 
 and in which a baud of music plays during certain hours 
 in the summer. The grounds are private property, but 
 admission is allowed on paying a trifling fee of sixpence 
 to the gate-keeper : they command a fine view of the Island. 
 
 The English sportsman will not expect to find indul- 
 gence for his favourite pursuits in Jersey : the limited ex- 
 tent of the Island altogether precludes " Field Sports,'' 
 and " good Izaak Walton" would not have endured a sum- 
 mer's residence there. 
 
 " Oh ! my beloved Nymph, fair Dove,* 
 Princess of rivers, how I love 
 Upon thy flow'ry banks to lie, 
 And view thy silver stream, 
 When gilded by a summer beam, 
 And in it all thy wanton fry 
 Playing at liberty, 
 
 And with my angle upon them, 
 (The all of treachery 
 I ever learnt) industriously to try." 
 
 Walton's Angler. 
 
 Although few places are better supplied with running 
 water, flowing in various directions, yet they deserve no 
 higher term than rivulets, and do not approach to what, 
 in piscatory language are called " Streams," 
 
 It would scarcely be right to tantalize a Jerseyman 
 with a pleasure he cannot enjoy, unless we were prepared 
 
 * The river Dove flows between the counties of Derby and Stafford. 
 
 p 3 
 
168 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 to suggest others within his compass. Although Falconry 
 does not now prevail as a pastime to the extent it did for- 
 merly, yet is it still to be found among the amusements 
 of the field : should it he doubted whether there can be 
 any pleasure in it as a recreation, let a falconer tell his 
 own tale, and express his own feelings.* 
 
 There is yet another out-door pastime, which may be 
 enjoyed by the residents in Jersey, of a more social cha- 
 racter than that of hawking, and not liable to the charge 
 of cruelty, that is often made against it. 
 
 * George Tuberville was a celebrated falconer, during the reign of 
 James the First, and wrote on the training and management of hawks : 
 there is a poetical introduction to his work, in which he sounds the high 
 praises of falconry : his verses may not be so symphonious as the re- 
 nowned Angler's, but they have great force of language, and are not 
 without beauty, according to the taste of the times. After descanting 
 on the evils of idleness, he proceeds : — 
 
 Which if be so, I need not blush or deem it my disgrace, 
 
 If hawks and spaniels I preferre, and set in highest place; 
 
 For truly no devise delights the mind of man so much, 
 
 No game so gladsome to thelimmes, there is no pleasure such : 
 
 No phisicke fitter to remove the dregs of direfull paine, 
 
 And to restore to former life the feeble force againe. 
 
 He then describes the feats of a spaniel, and the pleasure they afford 
 when 
 
 They scour the fields with wond'rous skill, and deale in cunning sort, 
 
 As though indeed they had conspirde to make their master sport : 
 
 So as by hawkes doth pleasure grow unto the gazing eie, 
 
 And dogges delight the listening eares before the hawkes do flie. 
 
 "What dolt so dull but takes delight when once the spaniel springs 
 
 The fearefull fowle, and when the hawke lyes long uponher wings? 
 
 What sence so sad — what mind so mazed, but sets his sorrowes by, 
 
 When once the falcon free, begins to scud amid the skie, 
 
 To turne and winde a bird by sleight, and eke at last to slay, 
 
 With strong encounter doves and ducks, and every other prey, 
 
 By binding with her close in clouds, in manner out of sight, 
 
 For noble peeres and chiefest states, a passing pleasant flight ; 
 
 So small a bird, so large a fowle. at such a loftie gate 
 
 To reach and rappe, and force to fall— it is a game of state I 
 
AMUSEMENTS. 169 
 
 Since the musket has displaced the bow and arrow 
 as a weapon in war, Archery has been retained as a recre- 
 ation. Although it is far less prevalent now as a pastime, 
 than when employed in battle, yet has it always held a 
 place among the amusements in England, and several of 
 her monarchs have bestowed on it their especial favour. 
 
 It were easy to give a history of archery from the reign 
 of Henry the Eighth, when it became altogether a pastime, 
 through the successive reigns of Edward the Sixth, Eliza- 
 beth, and the Stuarts, all of whom bestowed upon it 
 marks of royal favour, down to George the Fourth, who, 
 when Prince of Wales, gave it his especial patronage ; and 
 when he visited Scotland, in 1822, was constantly at- 
 tended by a band of archers : — but here it will be unneces- 
 sary to say more than to mention some eminent men 
 who have written on the subject, and quote them in its 
 praise. 
 
 Roger Ascham, the celebrated tutor to Queen Elizabeth, 
 was the first who wrote on archery as an amusement dur- 
 ing the reign of Henry VIII : his book is entitled " Tox- 
 ophilus, or Schole of Shootinge :" he thus commends it : — 
 " Shooting is an honest pastime for the mind, and a 
 wholesome exercise for the "body ; not vile for great 
 men to use, not costly for poor men to maintayne ; nor 
 lurking in holes and corners for ill men at their pleasure 
 to mis-use, but still abiding in open sight, and face of all 
 the world for good men, (if it bee any way faulty) by 
 their wisdom to correct it."* 
 
 * The reader will be amused with Roger Ascham's " praise of a 
 goose," which is, indeed, connected with the subject of archery : he 
 says, " how well doth she make a man fare at his table — how easily 
 doth she make a man lye down in his bed — how fit even as her feathers 
 are for shooting, so be her quils fit for writing." 
 
170 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Every lover of archery is well acquainted with William 
 Wood, that Prince of Archers, and his celebrated book, 
 " the Bowman's Glory;" but not to multiply quotations, 
 we shall only add one from " the Arte of Archerie," by 
 Gervaise Markham, who was marshal to the Company of 
 Archers, in 1634 : in the introduction to his book he ob- 
 serves : " The Lacedaemonians never ordayned any- 
 thing for the bringing up of youth, that was not joined 
 with labour, and that labour which is in shooting, is of all 
 other the best, both because it increases strength and most 
 preserveth health, being not vehement but moderate, not 
 over-laying any one part with weariness, but exercising 
 every part with equalnesse, as the arme and brest with 
 drawing, the other parts with walking ; being not so paine- 
 fal for the labour, as delightful for the pastime ; which 
 exercise, hj the judgment of the best Physitians, is most 
 allowable." 
 
 We shall merely add that archery revived with consi- 
 derable eclats in 1770. Societies were formed, and many of 
 the nobility became members : there was one in particular 
 that attracted great notice at Hatfield, under the patronage 
 of lady Salisbury. In 1790 the prince of Wales not only 
 gave it royal countenance, but prizes to be shot for : on 
 this occasion the ladies' prize was won by lady Cunliff. 
 
 In concluding this subject may it not be asked*— 
 if archery has received so much of royal favour, would 
 it at all derogate from the dignity of the lieutenant gov- 
 ernor of Jersey to give it the sanction of his high patron- 
 age ? 
 
171 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TOUR ROUND THE COAST. 
 
 " Undertake at all events a pedestrian tour round the Island, Descend 
 into the bays, double the headlands, and skirt the cliffs. This is 
 the way to see an island : many fine scenes and singular spots es^ 
 cape one, if excursions be only directed to particular points." 
 
 Inglis. 
 
 It is proposed in this Tour round the Island to notice only 
 those bold features and natural curiosities, which proba- 
 bly have existed from before the period when it became 
 inhabited : the buildings and other works of man, whe- 
 ther mansions, or castles, or druidical remains, which 
 may fall in our way, will be passed by with a cursory 
 remark, to be described more at length in the tour through 
 the parishes. 
 
 The coast tour may be performed in two days, taking 
 the northern centre of the Island for the conclusion of 
 the first day ; where the traveller may get slender accom- 
 modation in St. John's parish, or as the distance is only 
 five miles to the town, he might return to his hotel, and 
 by traversing the same road the next morning, he may 
 start from the point which he left the evening before. 
 
 The reader need scarcely be informed that this should 
 either be a pedestrian tour, or performed en cavalier : if 
 the latter, he should provide himself with a person to 
 attend to his horse while visiting spots inaccessible on 
 horseback. 
 
172 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 It is proposed to commence the tour from the town of 
 St. Helier : on leaving which, the tourist will be conducted 
 along a part of the southern shore ; and from thence, 
 turning northwards, skirt the eastern side of the Island, 
 After having proceeded thus far, the next course will be 
 that of winding among the sinuosities of the high north- 
 ern boundary ; then stretching along the western extre- 
 mity, turn again to the southern barrier. Having pursued 
 this outline, he will enter St. Helier on the western side. 
 
 On leaving St. Helier, the first striking object is an 
 assemblage of high rocks, all insulated at half flood, on 
 one of which stands Elizabeth Castle. This chain is en- 
 compassed with the rugged surfaces of lower masses, ren- 
 dering the approach of an enemy both difficult and 
 hazardous. These rocks divide St. Aubin's bay into two 
 parts, one of which is called the great road, and the other 
 the small road. 
 
 Ancient records inform us that, about A. d. 565, and 
 probably for several subsequent ages, the range of rocks 
 just noticed constituted part of the main land of Jersey : 
 on the summit of one of them is a small but substantial 
 stone building, called the Hermitage, in days of legen- 
 dary fame, the secluded cell of a martyred ascetic, from 
 whom the town of St. Helier received its name. From the 
 harbour the road is continued round a part of the hill> 
 until it descends to a small rocky inlet, called Havre des 
 pas, from which, at a short distance, we arrive at a 
 small village, called Le Die. From this village we pass 
 along a low flat surface, bordered on the right by the sea, 
 and on the left by rising umbrageous grounds, which 
 separate the parish of St. Clement from that of Grouville. 
 When the tide rises to its full height, the sea view is 
 remarkably fine, and highly picturesque, exhibiting a 
 
TOUR ROUND THE COAST. 173 
 
 number of islets ; but as it recedes, very different is the 
 appearance : the whole coast being laid open, discloses 
 a terrifying congeries of rugged rocks, varying in height 
 and dimensions, which appear to render all access to 
 the Island absolutely impracticable. In fact, the whole 
 coast line from Elizabeth castle to the long and narrow 
 point which forms the southern boundary of Grouville 
 bay, is completely studded with irregular rocky masses ; 
 and this natural embossed shield is rendered more emi- 
 nently defensive, by the strong and varying currents that 
 intersect those craggy protuberances. 
 
 Continuing along the beach, St. Clement's church ap- 
 pears on the left, erected on rising ground inland and com- 
 manding from its tower a boundless sea prospect, while 
 a beautifully diversified landscape fills up the intermediate 
 space. Another mile will bring the tourist to La Roque ; 
 from thence a projection, composed of low rocks, stretches 
 out for more than two miles into the sea. On one of the 
 most distant of these crags stands Seymour tower, nearly 
 two miles from the shore at high water, but it may be ap- 
 proached on foot when the tide is low. La Roque termi- 
 nates the southern coast of Jersey. Directing his course 
 northwards, along the eastern shore, he will follow the 
 sea-line to the termination of Grouville bay at Mont 
 Orgueil. 
 
 Grouville bay will now display itself to great advantage. 
 It forms a beautiful curve, and should a fresh breeze ruffle 
 its waves at full flood, it presents an interesting sea view ; 
 especially when the scene is enlivened by a little fleet 
 of oyster vessels in the bay. Among the rocks, at the 
 southern extremity, stands Seymour tower, already no- 
 ticed. Its appearance is very striking from this point; 
 for though, at low water, connected with the land, it is 
 
174 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 completely insulated soon after the flood begins to rise. 
 It then appears like a tall column in the midst of the sur- 
 rounding waters. 
 
 Approaching Mont Orgueil, he will approach a sandy 
 level, and see the antient village of Gorey on the left. 
 This was once a place of importance, being formerly the 
 seat of justice. The most distant part of the village sweeps 
 up a beautiful ascent towards the castle, and rises above 
 the floods, which occasionally inundate the lower extremity. 
 
 The castle of Mont Orgueil, named also the Old Castle, 
 was once an impregnable fortress ; but, since the inven- 
 tion of gunpowder, its lofty bulwarks have been suffered 
 to decay, From it there is an extensive view of the 
 French coast, at a distance of five or six leagues from its 
 nearest point. 
 
 A little beyond Mont Orgueil is a projection called Geof- 
 frey's rock; from which, according to traditionary report, 
 criminals were formerly precipitated into the sea : hence 
 it is called Saut Jeoffrey, or Geoffrey's leap. To the 
 N. E. of Mont Orgueil, and about a league from the shore, 
 a long range of low rocks, named Ecrehou, emerges 
 from the sea, and presents an additional barrier to this 
 side of the Island. 
 
 Proceeding northwards,* the coast assumes a more im- 
 posing character than that which is displayed in the for- 
 mer part of the tour — the craggy summits exhibit a 
 variety of fantastic forms. They seem to vie with each 
 other for superiority, and present an appearance somewhat 
 grotesque — they reflect from the swelling bosses, that 
 jut out from the greensward, a profusion of tints ; while 
 
 * If this tour be taken on foot, the pedestrian should be informed 
 that there is a path along the shore, which continues as far as Kosel 
 bay. 
 
TOUR ROUND THE COAST. 175 
 
 the heaving surge breaks against their bases : and in re- 
 coiling, traces a long streak of silvery foam on the ruffled 
 surface. 
 
 After passing a small harbour, called Anne Port> and 
 skirting the indented coast for some time, by a tolerable 
 bridle-way, scooped out of the solid mass, at about half 
 its elevation, the view opens on the bay of St. Catherine. 
 This bold inlet is more circumscribed than that of Grou- 
 ville ; but the sublime and the beautiful are here finely 
 contrasted. 
 
 On a rock, insulated as the tide flows into the bay, stands 
 Archisondal tower, protecting, as it were, the magic scene. 
 A little to the northward of that fortification is a bed of 
 pipe clay, which is seldom applied to any purpose, though 
 said to be of an excellent quality : it is overflowed at high 
 water, and is frequently covered with sand. 
 
 Continuing to follow the marine line, we sweep round 
 several smaller inlets, forming coves along the coast, which 
 now tends to the N. W.; these shallow retreats from storm 
 are protected by headlands, that divert the rapid currents, 
 one of which, called Verclut, is a bold projection into 
 the sea. On the northern side of St. Catherine's bay a 
 mountainous pudding-stone rock rises abruptly from the 
 sea, called La Coupe. This and others of nearly the same 
 description, occupy the whole N. E. corner of the Island, 
 until the farthest of them terminates at Bouley bay. 
 
 We now approach Le Couperon, an elevated projection 
 towards the sea, descending from which, into a narrow 
 valley, the road leads to the summit of another height, 
 from whence a tortuous path declines to Havre de 
 Rosel, a small semicircular basin bounded by high rocks. 
 This beautiful little port affords a residence to a number 
 of fishermen. 
 
 Q 
 
176 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 From this point of the Island we now turn to the west- 
 ward, and trace a deeply indented coast, formed of rocky 
 cliffs, that rise occasionally to the height of forty or fifty 
 fathoms. Continuing the route, with the ocean on the 
 right, the inland prospect on the left is highly interesting. 
 The intermixture of hill and dale, of pasture and arable 
 land, of light and shade, affording a pleasing contrast 
 to the bold sea view on the opposite side. 
 
 Soon after quitting Havre de Rosel, we pass La Petite 
 Cesaree, a Roman fortification, which will be particu- 
 larly described as it existed formerly, in the chapter on 
 Antiquities, but very little of it remains at the present time. 
 We next descend a serpentine road to the beach, and a 
 noble gulf, named Bouley bay, will open to view ; charac- 
 terized, like the bays of Rosel and St. Catherine, by an 
 outline of gigantic rocks, that stretch from Tour de Rosel 
 to Belle Hougue. From the heights that overlook the bay 
 is a very extensive marine prospect. The north-eastern 
 horizon is skirted by a considerable portion of Lower 
 Normandy : while, in the north, appear the islands of 
 Guernsey, Alderney, and Sercq, with their dependencies. 
 The intervening watery expanse contains the long defen- 
 sive range of Ecrehou, Les Dirouilles, and the Paternos- 
 ters. 
 
 Turning from the wildness of Bouley, and directing 
 his course a little inland, the tourist will be again gratified 
 with the contrast afforded by extensive cultivation. The 
 road will conduct him by Trinity Church, from which a 
 short and pleasant ride leads to the sea at Bonne JVuit. 
 This is a small port, formed by an inlet between two pro- 
 jecting points. Bonne Nuit is bounded on the land side by 
 rocky cliffs of immense height, whose declivities display 
 no other covering than a scanty portion of short herbage, 
 
TOUR ROUND THE COAST. 177 
 
 variegated by the purple and yellow tints of heath, 
 broom, and gorse. 
 
 On one of those elevations, called Mont Made, is a 
 signal station, and closely adjoining are large quarries of 
 sienite.* In several places the quarries, no longer 
 wrought, are converted into fish ponds. 
 
 Pursuing the route from this point, somewhat to the 
 left is St. John's Church. The most usual road declines 
 from the bold promontory of Fremont, and leads through a 
 pleasant, but not greatly diversified, part of the country. 
 A more romantic road skirts the coast ; this, though gra- 
 tifying the eye with greater variety, is attended with much 
 difficulty, and even with danger. To follow the narrow 
 tracks of sheep and goats, along a shelving path, on the 
 very brink of rugged precipices, where the acclivity is 
 so steep as to render it difficult to preserve a seat on horse- 
 back, would indeed be hazardous : it would be more desir- 
 able at this spot to dismount and enjoy the prospect in 
 safety. Sorel point is seen in the distance, on the right. 
 
 Though, in following the sea line from Fremont, the sur- 
 face of the ground is extremely irregular, rising and falling 
 in rapid succession, yet, inland, the roads are level and 
 good : should this course be adopted, a road will conduct 
 to St. Mary ? s church, and thence to Greve de Lecq. 
 
 In the centre of a bay formed between the two promon- 
 tories of Sorel and Plemont, is a beautiful cave, called 
 Greve de Lecq; the extensive outline between these points 
 is broken in various places by angular projections. The 
 
 * The tourist will not deem it lost time to pay a visit to these quarries ; 
 they furnished the stone with which many of the old houses are built; 
 it is preferred to any other in the Island, as it works readily, and a flat 
 surface is easily obtained. Fort Regent and the new prison are built 
 with it, and considerable quantities are shipped to England, 
 
178 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 extremities have been torn off by the violence of contend- 
 ing waves, and now form ledges of low sharp rocks, 
 which are rendered extremely dangerous, owing to the 
 strength and diversified course of the currents. 
 
 The cliff that marks the immediate eastern boundary of 
 Greve de Lecq swells to an enormous bulk and height, 
 forming a circular hill called Catel de Lecq, the base 
 of which, on the land side, has the appearance of a ram- 
 part. The northern declivity of this tremendous cliff is, 
 in several places, so precipitous as to assume a beetling 
 form ; in others, it descends to the sea in huge masses of 
 denuded rock. 
 
 Passing the barracks, and winding round the base of 
 the lofty hill, already noticed as constituting the imme- 
 diate eastern extremity of the cove, there is a narrow per- 
 foration of no great height, which extends in length about 
 one hundred feet. This subterraneous passage, which 
 cannot be explored when the tide is up, is rendered diffi- 
 cult and unpleasant by the lumps of detached rock, which 
 the sea, by constant attrition, has rounded into monstrous 
 pebbles, and forced into the aperture. Emerging from 
 the tunnel into another creek, two high rocks, of pyra- 
 midal shape, rear themselves in front, and have a singu- 
 larly striking appearance In the centre of that which 
 is lowest down on the shore, the waves have burst through, 
 and formed a high and narrow aperture like a Gothic arch.* 
 
 Few strangers come to Jersey without visiting the caves ; 
 those of Greve de Lecq, Plemont, and Le Moye are the 
 principal. The course of our tour now brings us to the 
 
 * Dr. Mac Culloch, in the Geological Transactions, has given a view 
 of these two rocks ; he mentions only one heing of a pyramidal shape ; 
 but his drawing exhibits their eastern front : on the western side, which 
 is opposite to the mouth of the perforated tunnel, both have partly the 
 same triangular form. 
 
TOUR ROUND THE COAST. 179 
 
 former : it lies under a hill that shelves rapidly on the 
 western side of the bay, until it terminates abruptly in a 
 precipice. Approach to it along the shore is prevented 
 by a ledge of broken rocks ; but by following the sinu- 
 osities of a narrow track, that runs along the hill, by the 
 very edge of the precipice, a rough path descends to the 
 spot. This chasm is filled with water as the tide rises, 
 but becomes dry at half ebb. The mouth is an irregular 
 opening, nearly twenty feet in height, but much narrower 
 iD width. The cavern rises from the entrance to a con- 
 siderable degree of elevation, and penetrates horizontally 
 to the depth of fifty or sixty feet. When the sun's rays 
 gleam into this obscure excavation, and glitter on the 
 sandy floor, the dark tints of the rugged sides and roof 
 become softened by the refracted light. Looking outwards 
 from the extreme depth, when the cavern is thus half il- 
 lumined, it instantly conveys the idea of a church, with 
 a lofty vaulted roof. The best time for viewing this sub- 
 lime object, is when the tide is so high that it may be 
 entered in a boat. 
 
 From Greve de Lecq the road ascends, along a well- 
 shaded path : it then becomes level, and passes between 
 two ancient mansions, Vinchelez de haut, and Vinche- 
 lez de has, which stand opposite to each other. A tor- 
 tuous path now leads to Plemont, a high rugged cape, 
 jutting further into the sea than the other headlands on 
 the northern coast, and, like them, characterized by acute 
 ledges of sienite. 
 
 The promontory of Plemont is so deeply intersected 
 on each side, as to be joined to the main land by a very 
 narrow isthmus : this has been cut down to a considerable 
 depth, so that it is, though improperly, termed an Island. 
 Over the deep fosse is a bridge, and close to it is placed 
 
 Q 3 
 
180 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 a guard-house. This place has long been celebrated for 
 its caves ; they are chiefly on the western side of a small 
 inlet, of which the eastern point is formed by the promon- 
 tory of Plemont. The usual descent to those caverns is 
 on this side. The declivity is safe, though steep : that 
 from the hill which covers them is seldom used, as it is 
 more dangerous. 
 
 All the caves should be reconnoitred by water ; with 
 a boat from Greve de Lecq, it would be easy to land 
 close to every opening in the cliffs ; and thus they might 
 be viewed before the receding tide would admit of pro- 
 ceeding to them by land. The cave at Plemont, which 
 is most noted, is four hundred feet deep, though those 
 who deal in the marvellous, would give it, and many 
 others, a much greater depth : when the waves rush into 
 these caves, they produce a noise nearly equal to the 
 loudest thunder. Not far from Plemont is another pro- 
 montory, which from its bluff form has acquired the 
 name of Grosnez. In the way to it is a small cove, 
 that possesses a fine sandy beach ; but to this inlet it is 
 very difficult, if not dangerous, to descend. 
 
 Grosnez constitutes the north-western boundary of 
 Jersey, and like other parts of the northern line, the coast, 
 notwithstanding its bluff appearance, is bristled with an- 
 gular points. No other way leads down the cliffs in this 
 quarter, than the paths made by the feet of a few strag- 
 gling sheep, which here and there crop the scanty herbage. 
 
 At the extremity of the promontory are the ruins of 
 Grosnez castle. A small gateway, and two projecting 
 angles, constitute the remains of a portal, — all that now 
 exists of this once noted castle. 
 
 Advancing southward, a most singular colossal rock 
 will be seen rising suddenly from the sea. It is an irre- 
 
TOUR ROUND THE COAST. 181 
 
 gular pillar, more than a hundred feet in height, and 
 tapering but little from its broad craggy basis. This na- 
 tural tower is very appositely named Le Pinacle. 
 
 On quitting Grosnez the rocky cliffs begin to decline 
 in height ; and this progressive reduction gives to Jersey 
 that form of an inclined plane, which has already been 
 noticed. The last of the rugged eminences in this dis- 
 trict is called L'Etac : it is a large irregular mass, jut- 
 ting out from the shore, and becoming from its position 
 the northern boundary of St. Ouen's bay. This inlet 
 sweeps from L'Etac to the southward of La Hocco, a 
 tower erected on a rock, about half a mile below high 
 water mark, though dry as the tide recedes. 
 
 Continuing to follow the sea line, on leaving La Eocco, 
 a part of Les Quenvais that borders on the shore, will 
 next be traversed. That devoted part of the Island is 
 nearly a mile in breadth, and stretches inland, towards 
 the south, about two miles. At some distance in a 
 southerly direction, there is a point of land, close to the 
 extremity of which is that rugged mass of lofty rocks, 
 called La Corbiere, which present such a formidable ap- 
 pearance in the approach to the Island. 
 
 The direction is now to the eastward, and along a por- 
 tion of the southern coast ; and after passing the head of 
 St. Brelade's bay, the road declines to the south-east, and 
 a small inlet is seen, called Portelet : in this cove rises 
 a rock, on which is erected a low circular fort, with a 
 piece of ordnance. Bounding this curve, we approach 
 Noirmont point, the extremity of which drops sharply 
 from a considerable height, and terminates in a low 
 rock, on which has been erected a martello tower, 
 which guards the western entrance of St. Aubin's bay, 
 and commands a range of coast towards St. Brelade's, 
 and Elizabeth Castle is seen in the distance. 
 
182 
 
 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 On the heights above the point are two assemblages of 
 very massive fragments, seemingly thrown upon each other 
 in a confused manner : they may be classed with those 
 problematical blocks, of a similar appearance, which are 
 seen in various parts of the Island, and may well become 
 objects of antiquarian speculation, as Jersey has abound- 
 ed in relics of paganism. 
 
 We now approach the town of St. Aubin: the way is 
 along a new and very pleasant road, which, about half 
 way up the cliffs, winds from Portelet along the sinuosities 
 of the shore. The seams of the rocks in this part are vari- 
 ously inclined ; so much so as to be in some places nearly 
 vertical, and in others as nearly horizontal. 
 
 A short ride will now conduct the tourist to St. Helier ; 
 the road over the sand when the tide permits is very plea- 
 sant; there is however another somewhat inland, and more 
 elevated : but the prospect from neither of them is greatly 
 diversified. 
 
 Noirmont. 
 
183 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND. 
 
 Eastern Tour — St. Clement, Groumlle, St. Martin, St. 
 
 Saviour. 
 Centre Tour — Trinity, St. John, St. Mary, St. 
 
 Lawrence. 
 Western Tour — St. Peter, St. Ouen, St. Brelade. 
 
 Having conducted the visitor round the coast, and ex- 
 hibited to him the peculiar and characteristic features of 
 the Island, we propose to accompany him in a tour through 
 the parishes. It must be admitted that there is very little 
 in the interior to engage the attention of an English tra- 
 veller ; but whoever comes to Jersey to see it should, if 
 time permit, see every part. The inland tour is divided 
 into three excursions, each of which may be performed 
 in a morning's ride ; but a stranger who is satisfied with 
 a cursory view of the Island, may pass through it in two 
 days : in this case he will of course consult the driver of 
 the vehicle he may hire, as to the best plan of combining 
 the excursions that will be recommended. 
 
 On leaving the town of St. Helier, there are two roads 
 which take to Grouville ; one, which may be called the 
 upper road, and which conducts directly to the church ; 
 and the other, the lower road, which passes through St. 
 Clement's parish, and is not far from the shore. In the pre- 
 
184 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 sent tour it is supposed that the stranger is desirous of 
 visiting the whole Island, — of passing through all the 
 parishes : he will, therefore, be conducted on the road to 
 St. Clement. 
 
 On leaving the town, he will pass the house and grounds 
 of Plaisance, and will descend to the small village of 
 Le Dicq : on leaving this village he will pass through the 
 manor of Saumarez ; the mansion, which is a modern 
 structure, stands on the left of the road, and somewhat 
 more than a mile from the town. The land between this 
 part of the road and the sea consists of low sandy hillocks, 
 called Les Mielles, with occasional patches of verdure. 
 The manor of Saumarez belongs to the family of Ham- 
 mond ; it is the most extensive, and, indeed, the princi- 
 pal fief in the Island : about a mile further the tourist will 
 reach St. Clement's church. 
 
 In the MS. account of Jersey, already quoted, there 
 is the following general description of the churches : — 
 " Next are the churches, which are in number twelve, the 
 like whereof are not to be found in the same plot of 
 ground in all Europe, cittyes excepted. Four of them 
 have for steeples square towers, two very high and faire, 
 and twe others not soe : the rest have very high spires, 
 whereof some serve for seamen, for markes to direct their 
 course by ; that of St. Saviours is the fairest, and the 
 clearest of all, and the best in repaire, but none of the 
 rest want something (anything,) which may render it 
 commendable, in comparison of many other churches to 
 be frequently seen upon the roads of France and England." 
 After this general description of the churches, it will not 
 be necessary to detain the reader, by describing them 
 separately ; he will form his own opinion how far it is 
 correct at the present time. 
 
 
TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND. 185 
 
 Near St. Clement's church, on the shore, is the small 
 village of Pontaque, which is a place of very general 
 resort, hoth for the upper class of town inhabitants and 
 for visitors, as there is here more accommodation for a tem- 
 porary abode than in any other part of the Island, and 
 more convenience for sea-bathing. During the season of 
 vraic gathering, it presents a scene of unusual activity and 
 amusement. 
 
 The next inland point to which the tourist will be con- 
 ducted is the village of Grouville, which he will enter 
 near the church. It has already been observed that there 
 is another and more direct road to this village, avoiding 
 St. Clement, which if he should be desirous of saving 
 time, he would probably take : this passes through George 
 town and Longueville, and conducts directly to the 
 church. In the church-yard is a plain monument, which 
 was erected by private subscription, to commemorate the 
 names of seven soldiers, who fell in the attack of the 
 French, in 1781. A short ride will now take him to the 
 village of Gorey and Mount Orgueil castle. 
 
 The view of the castle from this road is very striking, 
 and presents an appearance, situated as it is on a very high 
 elevation, which is well described by its name. After pass- 
 ing through the village of Gorey, which during the oys- 
 ter season is a scene of great bustle, the road conducts to 
 its gates : the stranger "will of course visit the interior of 
 this once renowned castle, although there is not at pre- 
 sent much to admire : it is fast going to decay, and when 
 arrived at that state, will probably be more to be admired, 
 than in its present state of partial ruin. The rooms 
 which are said to have been occupied by Charles the Se- 
 cond, are the only ones that are in a tolerable state of 
 repair. Under an arched gate-way, near the entrance, 
 
186 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 are seen some stone benches, which were formerly seats 
 of justice ; and not far from these are the ends of beams, 
 from which condemned prisoners were suspended. Should 
 the visit to the castle be on a clear day, the tourist will be 
 gratified by a fine view, from its summit, of the coast of 
 France ; and the cathedral of Coutance, at a distance of 
 thirty miles, may be distinctly seen with the naked eye.* 
 From Gorey we now proceed to the village of St. 
 Martin, which is scarcely three miles from the castle : the 
 road lies over a hill of considerable acclivity and length, 
 and on either side is to be seen some of the most fertile 
 land in the Island. The interior of the church has been 
 modernized, and a new parsonage house built. The ma- 
 nor house of Eozel, which is in this parish, is a short 
 mile from the church ; it has been greatly improved by 
 
 * Prynne, the noted puritan, was confined in this castle for three 
 years, during which time he wrote several poems, which he dedicated to 
 
 " Sweet Mistriss Douce, fair Margaret, 
 Prime flower of the House of Carteret." 
 
 A further specimen of the learned barrister's poetry, in the description 
 of Mount Orgueil Castle, will serve to amuse the reader : — 
 
 Mount Orgueil Castle is a lofty pile 
 
 Within the eastern parts of Jersey isle; 
 
 Seated upon a rocke, full large and high, 
 
 Close by the sea shore, next to Normandie, 
 
 Neare to a sandy bay, where boats doe ride, 
 
 Within a peere, safe both from wind and tide ; 
 
 Three parts thereof the flowing seas surround, 
 
 The fourth (north-westwards) is firme rockie ground. 
 
 A proud high mount it hath, a rampier long, 
 
 Four gates, foure posternes, bulwarks, sconces strong ; 
 
 All built with stone, on which there mounted lie 
 
 Fifteen cast pieces of artillery. 
 
 With sundry murdering chambers,* planted so, 
 
 As best may fence itself, and hurt a foe. 
 
 * Small guns. 
 
TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND. 187 
 
 its present owner, and is well shaded by wood. Rozel is 
 one of the principal Seigneuries in the Island, and the 
 manorial rights extend over a considerable tract of coun- 
 try : some substantially built barracks are in this neigh- 
 bourhood, but during the time of peace they are unoccu- 
 pied, A short distance from the Manor House, is Havre 
 de Rozel, the usual place of resort for pic-nics ; a digres- 
 sion of this kind would be a pleasant interlude during 
 the tour, if it be undertaken by a party. Should the 
 tourist visit the Manor House of Rozel, he will find a 
 narrow road on the right, which winds over a hill of 
 some length, and then falls into the road already describ- 
 ed in the Coast tour, and which connects immediately with 
 Havre de Rozel. There is, however, a more direct road 
 that takes directly to the harbour, avoiding the Manor 
 House. The remains of a druid temple are also in this 
 neighbourhood : it is the principal one that exists in the 
 Island, at the present time : it consists of twenty-one stones, 
 placed in the form of an oval, with other stones in the 
 centre.* 
 
 Havre de Rozel is well worthy the attention of a visitor. 
 It is one of the most beautiful spots in the Island : the bay 
 is formed by high banks and cliffs, that completely hem it 
 in : a few fishermen's huts are scattered along the beach. 
 
 On the right of the church is the road leading to Trinity, 
 but having recommended, in this day's route, a return 
 through St. Saviour's, the stranger will avoid the road 
 to Trinity, and take the left of the one he has already 
 travelled from St. Martin's ; he will soon enter the parish 
 of St. Saviour. In this part of his tour he will visit 
 La Hougue Bie, or as it has lately been called, Prince's 
 
 * For a more particular account of this Temple, the reader is referr- 
 ed to Chapter XIV., Antiquities. 
 
188 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Tower, having been inhabited by the late Prince of Bouil- 
 lon. It is an ancient building, and has furnished the 
 subject of several legends, but which are too ridiculous 
 to deserve notice.* The first ascent is by a flight of steps, 
 to the top of the mound on which the tower is built; from 
 thence a winding staircase conducts to the summit. 
 From this elevation the Island is seen to great advantage ; 
 the whole lies beneath the eye, and looks like a vast wood,, 
 owing to the great number of enclosures, and the hedge 
 rows being planted with trees : it also commands a great 
 extent of the French coast. Being so near the town, it is the 
 principal place of public resort. It is embellished with 
 beautiful walks and pleasure grounds, in which parties can 
 be supplied with refreshments. On returning from Prince's 
 tower, the road lies through the manor of Grainville ; 
 and will soon conduct to St. Saviour's church : this is the 
 largest of the country churches, and its situation is very 
 commanding. From the tower, and even from a field near 
 the church-yard, is a fine view of the bay, Elizabeth 
 castle, and the town of St. Helier.f In St. Saviour's 
 church is a monument to John Poindextre, Esq., who died 
 in 1691 : he is justly celebrated in Jersey, as " one of the 
 most learned and upright magistrates the Island has ever 
 produced." In this parish, and somewhat more than a 
 mile from the church, on the north, is the public school 
 of St. Manlier, already noticed in the Ecclesiastical his- 
 tory of the Island. 
 
 In returning to the town from St. Saviour's, the tourist 
 
 * A story has been written by Mr. Bulkeley, founded on the events 
 connected with the building, which has all the interest of an eastern 
 tale, without its extravagancies. It is called " La Hougue Bie, a tale 
 of Jersey :" it has many interesting and learned notes, relating to 
 Jersey and Normandy. 
 
 f The View in the frontispiece is taken from this spot. 
 
TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND. 189 
 
 will pass by Government House on the right, the residence 
 of the lieutenant-governor, which is pleasantly situated. 
 On the same line of road are very extensive nursery grounds 
 which a florist, or horticulturist, would be pleased to visit. 
 The suburbs may now be said to begin, as gentlemen's 
 villas or cottages are to be seen on either side of the road, 
 which now soon terminates in the town itself. 
 
 CENTRAL TOUR. 
 
 The second tour will comprise the centre of the Island, 
 and comprehend the four parishes of Trinity, St. John, 
 St. Mary, and St. Lawrence. 
 
 The first route will be to Trinity : there is little to be 
 noticed on this road, except the very beautiful sea views 
 with St. Aubin's bay in the fore-ground, until we arrive 
 at the manor of Trinity, which belongs to the renowned 
 family of Carteret. The house is not unlike those venera- 
 ble mansions built in England during the reign of the 
 Stuarts, and approached through an avenue of trees. 
 A table, a goblet, and a pair of gloves, which belonged to 
 Charles the Second, are preserved as relics of the monarch, 
 who evinced so much attachment to the honoured prede- 
 cessor of the present Seigneur, as related in the general 
 History. The grounds are extensive; they are ornament- 
 ed with a sheet of water, and the gardens are well laid 
 out. In Trinity Church is a handsome tomb enclosed 
 by iron railings, and a mural monument to the memory 
 of Sir Edward Carteret, Knt. — he was usher of the black 
 rod to Charles II. he died 1682. 
 
 If the visitor has not already made the tour of the coast, 
 he should by all means diverge to Bouley bay ; it is not 
 far from Trinity Church. This bay is remarkable for the 
 bold scenery of which it forms a part. A harbour has, 
 
190 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 within a few years, been made there, at a great expense ; 
 it is, however, very little used, and for the reason already 
 stated ;* notwithstanding it is a road-stead, easy of access, 
 has good anchorage, and considerable depth of water 
 when all the other bays are dry. 
 
 There is a direct road from Trinity to St. John's, which 
 is the next object in the present tour. The little harbour 
 of Bonne Nuit is not far distant, a path leads directly 
 to it, and to the barracks in this neighbourhood, which 
 may now be visited, if they have not already. 
 
 The Quarries have already been alluded to in the Coast 
 tour, or they may be visited now, as they are scarcely 
 a mile from St. John's Church. The two most noted 
 are Mont Mado\ and La Perruque. Half a mile from 
 the Church of St. John is the manor of La Hogue Bo'ete, 
 belonging to the family of Le Couteur. In the church 
 is a monument to John Le Couteur, Esq., who died in 
 1794. 
 
 In the parish of St. John is practised a ceremony, or 
 rather a pastime, called " faire oraire lespoeles :" it is ob- 
 served on St. John's eve. A large brass boiler is encircled 
 with rushes, and others attached to them ; the boiler is 
 partly filled with water : when the rushes are well moist- 
 ened they are drawn quickly through the hand, and thus a 
 loud discordant sound is produced, not a little height- 
 ened by the blowing of cows' horns : after having regaled 
 themselves with noise, these merry-makers go forth and 
 furnish themselves with milk for syllabubs, by milking all 
 the cows that are abroad. Robbing gardens and orchards 
 is another part of this after-sport -: these depredations are 
 however now in a great measure suppressed. 
 
 We now take the road to St. Mary's, distance somewhat 
 * See Chapter II., Tides, f See Chapter VI., Mineralogy. 
 
TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND. 191 
 
 more than a mile and a half: on this lies the manor of 
 DesPres. On the right the scenery on this road is rich, 
 and it is not deficient in wood. As there is nothing worthy 
 of notice in the Church, the tourist will take a road to 
 the left, and direct his course to St. Lawrence ; on this 
 road is situated Avranches, a modern mansion belong- 
 ing to the family of Marett. After leaving the Church of 
 St. Lawrence the road passes an estate called the Grove, 
 and a short drive will conduct to the village of Millbrook. 
 On the left is Millbrook House : turning to the left, a mile 
 and a half will take to St. Helier. 
 
 WESTERN TOUR. 
 
 The third excursion will be through the western parishes 
 of the Island. The route at first lies along the shore ; after 
 having passed the village of Millbrook at a short distance, 
 a road on the right conducts inland and through the much 
 admired valley of St. Peter to the Church. The tourist 
 will not find much to detain him here : the Church is like 
 most of the others in the Island ; it has, however, the 
 credit of being kept in a better state of repair than many 
 of them, and it has an elaborately carved monument to 
 the memory of Elie de Carteret, date 1640. Proceeding 
 to St. Ouen's he will pass a mansion which was once the 
 residence of the Carteret family, but it has now passed 
 into other hands. St. Ouen's Church stands in a retired 
 part of the parish : it appears as if sunk into the earth, as 
 the approach to the interior is by a descent of two steps. 
 The same hurricane that desolated Les Quenvais may have 
 contributed to this, by raising a mound around it. 
 
 After passing St. Ouen's Church, he will continue his 
 route to Vinchelez de haut and Vincheletz de has, which 
 two residences are separated by the road to Plemont. The 
 
19*2 SHE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 former is a very antient building, and will remind the 
 tourist of feudal times — a large court-yard, surrounded 
 by high walls, and a machicolated gateway with its turret 
 and bell: the arms of De Carteret are placed over the 
 portal. The latter has lately been erected by Captain 
 Carteret, the lord of the manor. If the stranger has not 
 made the tour of the coast, he will probably proceed to 
 the N.W. corner of the Island, to which the road alluded 
 to conducts, visit the caves at Plemont, and view Gros- 
 ner Castle, celebrated in history, but now in ruins. From 
 this point he must return to the Church : from hence he 
 will probably diverge to the barracks, which are not more 
 than a mile distance, and from whence a road leads direct- 
 ly across the Quenvais to St. Brelade's. 
 
 Les Quenvais, and the catastrophe that occasioned the 
 desolation which marks this part of the country, have 
 been already described.* It is generally reported, and 
 indeed believed, in the Island, that this was a signal in- 
 stance of divine vengeance on the inhabitants of that part 
 of the Island, for acts of extortion and cruelty on some 
 Spanish ships, which were cast away on that shore, in the 
 year 1495. We give this story as it is related, without 
 presuming to fix the maimer in which Almighty God may 
 be pleased to manifest his displeasure in this present life, 
 or whether He did so in this instance ; and the narrative 
 is the more questionable, as it is reported that the judg- 
 ment was inflicted, because the delinquents are said to 
 have acted in contempt of the authority of the church : 
 without meaning in the least to justify oppression, we are 
 not prepared to admit, that divine judgments will always 
 fall on those who disregard injunctions, issued by emissa- 
 ries of papal authority. 
 
 * See Chapter VIII., Soil and Fertility. 
 
TOUR THROUGH THE ISLAND. 193 
 
 The Church of St. Brelade is the most antient in the 
 Island, and the view from it, commanding the bay, is very 
 fine.* Near the Church is the Manor House of La Moye. 
 From this point, the road skirting the head of the bay leads 
 to St. Aubin. 
 
 The situation of the little town of St. Aubin is singu- 
 larly beautiful, and the view from the most elevated parts 
 very extensive. It was formerly a place of more import- 
 ance than it is at present : the principal trade of the Island 
 was formerly carried on here, which is now removed to 
 St. Helier ; it has however a portion of the island trade. 
 The harbour and military defences stand opposite to the 
 town. On its southern side is a promenade, the view 
 from which combines the beauty of that already described, 
 with well wooded heights that rise above, and the rugged 
 line of coast that stretches towards Noirmont point. 
 
 The town of St. Aubin consists principally of one street : 
 it is in the parish of St. Brelade, and consequently at a 
 considerable distance from the Church : there is however 
 a Chapel of ease for the accommodation of the inhabitants. 
 Near the town is a fort, built on a rock, which stands 
 well as a protection to the harbour : though dry at low 
 water, it is insulated as the tide rises. The harbour is 
 sufficiently capacious for the trade that is brought to it : 
 this also is dry at low water, though at a high spring tide 
 
 * Jersey was formerly, according to tradition, the land of fairies, 
 and they seem to have been very officious at the time St. Brelade's 
 Church was built. It was proposed to build it on the eastern side of the 
 bay, but no sooner were the materials collected, than they were carried 
 to the opposite side, where the Church now stands ; this was supposed 
 to be miraculous, to point out the proper site. It is however more than 
 probable that it was a contrivance of the priest, who preferred the 
 western side of the bay. It must be confessed that either he or the 
 fairies showed great taste in the selection of the spot. 
 
194 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 it has a depth of thirty feet. A drive across the sands, 
 or by the road already noticed, will conduct to St. Helier. 
 
 To the reader who may come to Jersey for the sake of 
 its genial climate, and for the improvement of his health, 
 a few remarks on the advantages of the different parts of 
 the Island, will not be unacceptable : they are selected from 
 Dr. Hooper's work, already quoted. Above all others he 
 recommends to the attention of the invalid the three dis- 
 tricts of St. Clement, Grouville, and St. Catherine's bay, 
 possessing advantages peculiar to each, over any other 
 part of the Island. Those of St. Clement have already 
 been noticed — its proximity to the town causing it to be a 
 place of very common resort. Grouville he considers to 
 be the most healthy part of the Island, being protected 
 from those influences which detract from its general salu- 
 brity; St. Catherine's bay he describes as " a lovely seques- 
 tered little cove, and behind which a dry rocky, but fer- 
 tile ground, whose declivity is moderate, displays all the 
 luxuriency of inland scenery." He further observes : — 
 
 '■ In no part of it is it altogether without sun or shade ; and 
 therefore at all hours it offers some delightful resting places ; 
 where the visitor, breathing the purest air, may view in tranquil 
 enjoyment, the splendid marine prospect before him." — " I know 
 of few retreats where, in the summer season, the middle hours 
 of a fine day — devoting them to bathing, a light repast, and mode- 
 rate exercise on the surrounding cliffs, or in the shade of an ad- 
 jacent dell — might be passed with greater advantage by a numer- 
 ous class of invalids. 
 
155 
 
 ANTIQUITIES 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Ancient Name ; Druid Temples; Boman Wor~ks ; 
 Early Christian Edifices. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 In entering on the subject of the Antiquities of Jersey, 
 it will be expected to revert to the Name by which it was 
 originally known ; and to be somewhat more particular 
 than was deemed necessary in the general description of 
 the Island. It has been contended that it was known by 
 the name of Augia, previously to its occupation by the 
 Romans, and that this was changed to CcEsarea by 
 that people. It certainly appears in the " Itinerary of 
 Antoninus" by the latter name : and it is equally certain 
 that it was granted by Childebert, King of France, to 
 Sampson, Archbishop . of Dol, about the year 550, by 
 the name of Augia. Supposing both these statements to 
 be true, and that its original name was Augia, the only 
 probable solution is, that although it was called Cee- 
 sarea by the Romans, who probably had little more 
 than military possession of the Island, this name was not 
 generally adopted by the inhabitants, who retained its 
 more ancient one in all their private transactions ; and it 
 may be supposed that they readily returned to its general 
 
196 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 use after the Romans had left them. It has also been 
 asserted that Augia was the name first given by the Franks, 
 and it has been supposed to have originated from Auge, 
 which, in old French, means a trough, and was therefore 
 applied to Jersey, on account of the number of its valleys 
 giving it that appearance. In the writings of Vaice, or 
 Wace as his name is now written, who was himself a 
 native of the Island, and who wrote during the reign of 
 Henry II., it is spelled Gersui : he thus writes : 
 
 " Ie di et diray que ie suis, 
 Vaiee de Piste de Gersui," 
 Hence it is certain that it was written Gersui in the 1 3th cen- 
 tury, and it is more than probable that the change to this 
 latter name, was occasioned by some circumstance of a more 
 sudden character than is generally supposed ; for it does 
 not seem to be a very easy transition,* whatever others may 
 suppose, either from Cses area or Augia to Gersui, although 
 from this latter to Jeresey, as it is spelled in the early 
 English records, may have easily obtained, from which 
 a very natural abbreviation would bring it to its present 
 name of Jersey. 
 
 If there be any truth in the conjecture that some cir- 
 cumstance occasioned a sudden change to be made in the 
 name, probably it was at the time of the irruption of the 
 northern nations, Ege or eye in the Saxon language 
 meant an island: thus Shep-ege, or Sheppey, in Kent ; and 
 
 * Mr. Bulkeley, whose work has been already quoted, is of the same 
 opinion; he would, however, still derive Jersey from Caesarea, although 
 through another medium; he says, " Caesarea is the name given by the 
 Romans to the island of Jersey. 1 1 would appear hence that the Italian 
 pronunciation of Caesar is consonant with the orthoepy of the Latin, 
 since we can easily discover Jersey, or as more anciently written Jer- 
 sary, from Caesarea, pronounced Tshesarea; but with difficulty from 
 Caesarea, as articulated by us."— La Hogue Bie, note 18, 
 
DRUID TEMPLES. 197 
 
 Angle-sey, or the isle of the Angles : and thus abbrevi- 
 ating Augia, and adding the Saxon eye, brings it very 
 near in sound to its present name ; and the very unsettled 
 state of orthography until within a very few years of the 
 present time, easily explains the different ways in which 
 it was spelled, as they were all adapted to the same sound, 
 whether Gersui, or Gearsey, Jarsary, or Jeresey.* 
 
 It has also been stated that Barsa was the name by 
 which Jersey was known previously to its occupation by 
 the Romans ; but this opinion can be traced to no autho- 
 rity.! The earliest name known at the present time was 
 certainly Caesarea — all else is doubt and conjecture. 
 
 DRUID TEMPLES. 
 
 There are not many remains of Antiquity at present ex- 
 isting in Jersey ; but the few that do remain must have 
 existed at a very remote period : they are mostly religious 
 edifices, either in the form of Druid Temples, and which 
 were devoted to pagan idolatry, or buildings for Christian 
 worship. Both were very numerous, and it may therefore 
 be inferred that the Island always bore a religious charac- 
 ter, either in the rites of pagan superstition, or as pro- 
 fessing the holy and influential doctrines of the gospel. 
 
 Some of the most antient monuments of antiquity that 
 have been known in Jersey, have existed within the memory 
 of many of the present generation : these are the Temples 
 
 * A learned correspondent in Jersey has suggested that the name 
 Augia may have been derived from the German word hoche, or French 
 hant ; he observes, " that all depends on the g not being pronounced, 
 as in height, though, bough, &c. and that a foreigner would easily make 
 high into Augia, that is, the high Island. 
 
 f In some ancient maps there appears on the coast of France, some 
 miles to the south-west of Jersey, an island called Barsa, which may 
 have led Dr. Ubele, of Aldemey, (who held the opinion that Barsa 
 was the original name of Jersey,) into the error. 
 
198 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 of the Druids, some few remains of which are still to "be 
 seen, though of small proportions compared with those 
 of former times. From the great number of these tem- 
 ples that were in Jersey, it must have heen a most impor- 
 tant station of those religionists, perhaps scarcely less so 
 than the Isle of Anglesey, which was the chief residence 
 of the Druids. 
 
 The different kinds of temples, or, as it is sometimes 
 the case, the different parts of the same temple, known 
 in England hy the term Cromlech or Cairn, are in Jersey 
 expressed by one general name — all are called Poqueldfyes, 
 of whatever character or dimensions. Neither Mr. Falle, 
 nor any other author who has written on the Island, has 
 even hazarded a conjecture why they weue so called, and 
 the French word Dolmen does not hear any affinity 
 to the name : it must therefore be left in its native obscu- 
 rity. It may however be observed, that the termination of 
 the word is the same as the English Cromlech ; lech, leh, 
 or lee in Celtic, meant a stone — so doubtless laye in Poque- 
 laye has the same meaning ; as, likewise, Carnleh in Scot- 
 land, and Cromleh in Ireland.* 
 
 As it was the custom of the Druids not to commit any- 
 thing to writing, but to communicate all instruction orally, 
 that the knowledge of their rites and observances should 
 be confined to themselves, it i.s no wonder that so little 
 
 * The following interpretation has, however, been suggested; " This 
 seems to be a British compound word; for, in Cornwall, we still call a 
 heap a pook, as a pook of hay, a hay-cock ; and laye is nothing but 
 leh in Amoric and Cornish, signifying a flat stone, so that Pook-leh, 
 (Gallic Poquelaye) means a heap of stones." — Borlase's Antiquities 
 of Cornwall. As we should, however, look for its derivation rather 
 from a Gallic than a British source; it may, with more probability, 
 come from Pouqua or Pouqui, which in old French means a fairy : 
 and as, since the times of the Druids, their temples have been suppos- 
 ed to be visited by these elfs, Poquelayes may mean, the resort of fairies. 
 
THE DRUIDS. 199 
 
 is known of them at the present day. It is supposed that 
 they were in the fullness of their power and influence 
 about 500 years before the Christian era; it is, however, 
 certain that they existed before that time, as they, as well 
 as the Brahmins, are mentioned by Pythagoras. The 
 Druids had their colleges or seminaries of learning, to which 
 the youth were sent for instruction ; Jersey might have had 
 one of these colleges, which would account for the great 
 number of their temples, otherwise so disproportioned to 
 the size of the Island, as well as other circumstances con- 
 nected with druid worship and jurisdiction. 
 
 The principal account that we have of that remarkable 
 people, or rather community, is from Caesar and Tacitus, 
 who both agree that their rites and ceremonies were in 
 their character the most debased. Mixing up human in- 
 ventions with traditions that had their source in a revela- 
 tion from God, but corrupted by time and superstition, 
 they perverted, by their cruel and sanguinary observances, 
 that which originally had a significant purpose, exhibit- 
 ing the divine mind as to the present duty of man, as 
 well as to indicate what should take place in the future 
 ages of the world. 
 
 It is a disputed point among the learned of modern 
 times, whether the Druids existed in their distinct charac- 
 ter, as known and understood at the present day, any 
 where except in Britain and in Gaul ; but it is certain that 
 there was a people in Germany who, in their religious ob- 
 servances, bore a strong resemblance to them, and 
 who must have been instructed by the more eastern nations, 
 among whom idolatry had its origin; but the peculiar 
 characteristic of druid worship seems to have been con- 
 fined to the part that now constitutes France and the Bri- 
 tish isles ; and of these the latter mint have been the supe- 
 
 e3 
 
200 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 rior station, inhabited by Druids of greater eminence, and 
 probably their highest colleges of learning were established 
 there, as Caesar observes, " The institution was preserved 
 in greater strictness and purity in Britain than in Gaul, 
 and when the Gauls were at a loss, they used to go over 
 to Britain for information." We learn also from other 
 sources that the British Druids were famous both at home 
 and abroad for their wisdom and learning. 
 
 The eastern nations, it is well known, worshipped the 
 sun as their chief deity, and which may readily be sup- 
 posed to be an object of idolatrous worship, where the 
 only true God was not known, viewing the sun as extend- 
 ing and shedding his influence over all, and for the benefit 
 of all. It is probable that their devotions to this luminary 
 were first offered up in groves, to protect them from its 
 scorching rays, so powerful in the east, and that this after- 
 wards became a constant practice ; as they might consider 
 that the surrounding gloom, conveyed an impression of 
 mystery and devotion to their religious services, and 
 inclined the worshippers to believe that the deity was 
 really present, and thus raise a superstitious dread of their 
 imaginary divinities. The same cause may have induced 
 them to practice their devotions at a late period of the day, 
 on account of the salutary influence which the shades of 
 evening may have been supposed to have, in preparing 
 them for these engagements; which were probably also 
 continued long after the close of day, for the purpose of 
 worshipping the. moon, as a subordinate deity : and here 
 we find the origin of those nocturnal revelries and debauch- 
 eries that are known to have existed among the idolatrous 
 nations of the east, and were even found to prevail in 
 South America, when first visited by Europeans. 
 
 It may be a subject of surprise how nations who could 
 
THE DRUIDS. 201 
 
 have had no intercouse with each other, should he found 
 adopting the same customs, practising the same kind of 
 idolatry, and giving themselves up to the same licentious 
 practices in their pretended worship ; hut it is well explain- 
 ed by a learned writer, who observes, " These essentials 
 were found to suit best with the licentious temper of man- 
 kind, and were secretly promoted in every nation by one 
 and the same power of darkness ; Satan well knowing that 
 his iniquitous system would most easily conduce in this 
 life to the utter corruption, and in the next, to the certain 
 perdition of its unhappy followers."* 
 
 It has been contended that the Druids did not worship 
 in groves, because none of their temples has been found 
 standing in a wood : this will furnish no proof to the 
 contrary, as during so long a period of time as sixteen or 
 eighteen centuries, the trees would have been all cut down 
 for the purposes of life, and all traces obliterated; but know- 
 ing that they derived many of their idolatrous customs 
 from the eastern nations, it can scarcely be doubted that 
 they worshipped in groves as well as on eminences, accord- 
 ing to the description given by the prophet Hosea of the 
 idolaters of his day : — " They sacrifice upon the tops of 
 mountains, and burn incense upon hills, under oaks, pop- 
 lars, and elms, because the shadow thereof is good;'*f 
 nor is the feeling unnatural : an awful and solemn pleasure 
 
 * Dr Borlase, " History and Antiquities of Cornwall." — That 
 America may, however, have been peopled from Europe, is the opinion of 
 many learned writers; one has observed, " It is not unlikely but that 
 the Britons, with other northern nations, being driven by the Romans 
 into Iceland, and other isles of the north, might then pass over in boats 
 into Greenland, and thence into North America, and so people that 
 continent, it being but a short cut from Iceland, not above two or three 
 day's sail; and Mr. Joseph Mead, in one of his letters to Dr. Twiss, 
 gives reasons of the probability of the peopling of America about this 
 time, and in this manner." — Rowland's " Mona Antigua." 
 f Hosea iv. 13, 
 
202 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 possesses the mind in entering a grove, " a verdant cathe- 
 dral, deep in shade," a kind of religious dread, arising 
 from the majesty of the place, and very favourable for 
 the purpose intended, although very different from the 
 feeling that is experienced in the sincere worship of the 
 only true God. It may, however, be observed, that there 
 is a tradition — if a tradition of eighteen centuries be worth 
 any thing — that Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain was once 
 surrounded by trees. 
 
 The origin of druid worship may thus be traced to the 
 nations of the east ; but, as human inventions will be found 
 to diversify into an almost endless variety in religion, un- 
 less restrained by the fixed and unerring testimony of the 
 Word of God, so the Druids changed the observances they 
 had learnt from the eastern nations, to suit their more 
 northern habits, or as the policy and superstition of their 
 superiors dictated. 
 
 With scarcely any exception the druid temples were 
 erected on lofty eminences, as becoming the dignity and 
 sublimity of their devotion, or nearer neighbourhood (as 
 they imagined) to the habitation of their gods : thus, 
 " Balak took Balaam, and brought him to the high places 
 of Baal,"* so that this peculiarity of idolatrous worship 
 is of the most remote antiquity. They were not enclosed : 
 they were formed of detached stones arranged in various 
 forms, but generally in a circle, with smaller circles formed 
 within : the stones of the outer circle were not of that 
 immense size as those which now remain ; but the inner 
 part, that which was considered the most sacred, was 
 formed of them ; the stones of the outer circle were placed 
 at various distances, and supposed to have some mystic 
 meaning, unknown at the present time ; and were formed 
 * Numbers xxii. 41. 
 
THE DRtJIDS. 
 
 203 
 
 into various shapes, which doubtless also had its meaning;* 
 but the most common was that of a circle, as representing 
 eternity ; thus correctly described by the poet :— 
 
 consecrated hills 
 
 Once girt with spreading oaks, mysterious rows 
 
 Of rude enormous obelisks, that rise 
 
 Orb within orb, stupendous monuments 
 
 Of artless architecture, such as now 
 
 Oft times amaze the wandering traveller, 
 
 By the pale moon discerned on Sarum's plain." 
 
 Sometimes stones were placed at a moderate dis-* 
 tance from the temple itself, forming a kind of entrance 
 to it; to this, as well as to the immediate entrance, they 
 attributed a degree of sacredness. The altar for the lesser 
 sacrifices and libations was within the outer circle ; but 
 they had also altars formed of large mounds of earth, not 
 unlike the tumuli or barrows that still exist: these were 
 used on great occasions, as when any large number of 
 beasts or human victims were to be sacrificed. In some 
 instances have been found very small circles of stones, 
 — too small to suppose that they were druid temples and 
 devoted to public worship, unless for a very small commu- 
 nity : they were probably used for the more private pur- 
 poses of religion, as the chapels and oratories of modern 
 times. 
 
 The Logan, or rocking-stone, that remarkable feature 
 in druid superstition, must not be left unnoticed, Jersey 
 having had one of them, as will be seen when the remains 
 of antiquities that formerly existed in the Island come to 
 be described. The Logan was an immense rock, poised 
 on another underneath, but on a point of support so small 
 that the stone could, as is stated on credible authority, 
 be moved by a very slight pressure. These Logans have 
 * Stukeley's Abury- 
 
204 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 been found in different parts of the world, but mostly in 
 Britain and the British Isles : Pliny mentions one in Har- 
 pasa, a town in Asia, which he describes as " a rock of a 
 wonderful nature ; lay one finger on it and it will stir, but 
 thrust it with your whole body and it will not move.' 
 The learned are not agreed as to the use to which they were 
 applied, but the most commonly received opinion is, that 
 they were employed to deceive the ignorant, by leading 
 them to believe that the priests had a supernatural power, 
 proved by their moving such an immense weight* It 
 is supposed that the Arch-druid issued his decrees from 
 these Logans, and that they were the seats of justice. 
 It is not unlikely that some of lesser dimensions may have 
 been formed by art, and raised by mechanical power to their 
 situation ; but it cannot be supposed that a weight amount- 
 ing to near a thousand tons, could be raised by any machi- 
 nery known at that time : these larger ones were doubt- 
 less cut away when the natural rock presented an appear- 
 ance favourable to the object, until it was brought to the 
 nice counterpoise fitted for the purpose. Borlase mentions 
 one in Cornwall, whose weight was estimated to be 750 
 tons : the one in Jersey, already alluded to, and which 
 was destroyed towards the end of the seventeenth century 
 was supposed to exceed that weight. 
 
 The Druids did not admit of idols in their temples, thus 
 avoiding the more absurd species of idolatry, that of wor- 
 shipping gods made with hands ; and this agrees with the 
 opinion they had that the object of their adoration was an 
 all-pervading influence, as the sun and moon. It is, how- 
 ever, the opinion of some, that during the latter period 
 of the times of the Druids, images were introduced as ob- 
 jects of worship, in conformity with the practice of other 
 nations. 
 
THE DRUIDS. 205 
 
 It has already been observed, that much of idolatrous 
 worship may be traced to a divine origin ; it is said in the 
 Scriptures of truth, that " God dwelleth not in temples 
 made with hands," which doubtless had reference to an 
 enclosed building, and the Druids may have formed their 
 temples so as to comport with the idea, that they should 
 be so constructed as to allow free access to their divinities.* 
 The inner part, being the most sacred, was intended to re- 
 present that part of Solomon's temple which was accessi- 
 ble only to the high priest, and called the " holy of holies." 
 Even that most horrid practice, the sacrifice of human 
 beings, may be supposed to have had a divine sanction, 
 although, as in all other cases, lamentably perverted 
 through the ignorance that always prevailed where the 
 light of Scripture shone not, to mark truth from falsehood, 
 and when it became distorted by superstition and cruelty. 
 It was ordained by God, in the Mosaic law, that beasts 
 without spot or blemish should be offered in sacrifice, to 
 typify the immaculate purity of the Saviour who was to 
 come : this led the idolatrous nations, who received it 
 as a tradition, to suppose that nothing was too precious 
 for a sacred offering ; thus human sacrifices became to be 
 preferred to beasts, and led to the notion that what was 
 dearest to man was most acceptable to God : hence the 
 offering up of the mos£ beautiful captives, the most noble 
 youths, the dearest friends, the first-begotten son. 
 
 The especial regard which the Druids paid to particu- 
 lar stones and gems, by the inspection of which they pre- 
 tended to foretel events, may be traced to the Urim and 
 Thummin of the high priest ; and their custom of walk- 
 
 * One of their laws was, " that it is unlawful to buiJd temples to their 
 gods, or to worship them within walls, or under roofs." — Henry's His- 
 tory of Great Britain. 
 
206 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 ing round their altars three times, in order to obtain a 
 blessing from their gods, doubtless had its origin in that 
 signal display of divine power after the Israelites had en- 
 compassed three times the walls of Jericho.* Even with 
 respect to the final state of this world, they must have 
 received their opinion from a traditionary source : they 
 believed that it would not be totally destroyed, but puri- 
 fied by fire ; thus we are assured by divine revelation, that 
 the time will come when " the heavens being on fire shall 
 be dissolved, and the elements shallmelt with fervent heat;" 
 nevertheless from this purification there will arise " new 
 heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 
 It will not be uninteresting to the reader, in connection 
 with the druid temples, to know something of their wor- 
 ship, and their pretensions to a power derived from their 
 gods : what the Magi were in Persia, the Brahmins in 
 India, and the Chaldeans in Babylon and Assyria, were the 
 Druids in Gaul and Britain, and they had a number of rites 
 in common with the nations of the east. The higher orders 
 lived in great splendour: we are told that " they sat on 
 golden thrones, lived in large palaces, and fared sumptu- 
 ously,"! and by their influence over the minds and consci- 
 ences of kings, they, in great measure, ordered the affairs 
 of the state.]: They decided all controversies, and if any 
 one refused to submit to their award, he was excluded 
 
 * This superstitious foolery is still continued in some parts of the 
 Highlands, where Druidism prevailed longer than in any other part of 
 Britain. 
 
 f Smith's Gaelic Antiquities. 
 
 % We may here trace a strong resemblance between the pretensions 
 of the idolatrous Druids and those of the Papacy : it has been observed 
 that " there is an almost entire conformity between the laws, discipline, 
 and hierarchy of the ancient Druids and the Roman Catholic clergy; 
 nay, the latter claim the same privileges, prerogatives, and exemptions 
 us were claimed and enj oy ed by the former" — Bower's Lives of the Popes. 
 
DRUID TEMPLES. 207 
 
 from all society, which was considered the greatest punish- 
 ment, even as an outlaw. They loved contemplation, and 
 indulged much in silence. Praters were even amendable 
 to the law, and punished, after two or three admonitions. 
 They pretended, both men and women, to be gifted with 
 the power of foretelling future events. As prophets the 
 Druidesses were held in especial honour.* The pretended 
 mode of foretelling future events, was by examining the 
 entrails of their victims, which, according to certain pre- 
 scribed rules, instructed them in what was to happen : the 
 voices of birds, and their mode of flying, indicated either 
 favourable or unfavourable circumstances : it was a custom 
 to collect and preserve in their sacred groves white horses, 
 which on certain occasions were harnessed to a consecrated 
 chariot, and thus forming a procession, theirneighing as well 
 as their manner of going were supposed to have a prophetic 
 meaning ; with many other circumstances, which they ima- 
 gined indicated the mind and will of their deities ; but the 
 most noted method of foretelling events, was by the 
 fall and convulsion of the limbs after the victim had receiv- 
 ed the fatal stroke. The particulars of these absuid rites, 
 and the circumstances by which theypretended to dive into 
 futurity, are of course unknown to modern times — at least 
 every thing is founded on conjecture; but can it be suppos- 
 ed, as is observed by Dr.Borlase, already quoted, " that the 
 supreme power whichhad industriously concealed from the 
 subtil spirit of man, he had wantonly dispersed the criterions 
 
 * Pomponius Mela mentions " au island called Sena, over against 
 the land of the Orismii in Gaul, famous for an oracle, whose priestesses 
 were supposed to be of rare endowments; capable of raising and allay- 
 ing storms, curing diseases, quick at discerning, and able to foretel 
 future events : they were easy of access to sailors, and those who came 
 to the Island to consult them." This Island is laid down in someanticnt 
 maps a few miles to the southward of Brest. 
 
 S 
 
208 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 of, in the whole conduct of birds, and in all the several 
 parts of a victim, the horse, the ox, and what not." 
 
 The Druids not only believed in the immortality of the 
 soul, but in the most intimate connection between this 
 world and the next — so intimate that transactions begun 
 here might be concluded hereafter : hence they would 
 postpone settling their accounts until they met in a future 
 state, and would lend money to be repaid in another world :* 
 they would even cast letters on a funeral pile, addressed 
 to departed friends, that they may be conveyed to them 
 by the devoted victim: by such lamentable ignorance were 
 their minds clouded, and so deluded were they by the arch 
 enemy of mankind. 
 
 The Druids began the year in May, which they called 
 the first month, and it was their custom to reckon by nights, 
 and not by days, because night was created before day ; 
 and it may not be unworthy of remark that this custom 
 still obtains in England, although we use the term uncon- 
 sciously ; thus we say sen'night for a week, and a fort- 
 rrtglit for fourteen days. 
 
 It was also a custom of the Druids, indeed it may be 
 considered as one of their religious rites, to order that 
 all fires be put out on the last day in October, and re- 
 kindled with, what they called, sacred fire, on the 1st of 
 November ; herein they showed great skill in finance, " for 
 if any man had not cleared with the Druids for the last 
 year's dues, he was not to have a spark of this holy fire 
 from the Cams, nor durst any of his neighbours let him 
 take the benefit of theirs, under pain of excommunica- 
 tion ; which, as managed by the Druids, was worse than 
 death."f 
 
 * Smith's Gaelic Antiquities. 
 f Tolaud's History of the Druids. 
 
Druid Temples. 209 
 
 The dress of the Druids of Gaul and Britain was, in some 
 respects, different from that of the other inhabitants of 
 these countries. In particular, their mantles were not of 
 various colours, like the plaids of others, but entirely 
 white, and probably of linen cloth : this was no doubt 
 intended as an honourable mark of distinction, and per- 
 haps as an emblem of sanctity, to which they were great 
 pretenders. 
 
 It is well known that the oak was considered a sacred 
 tree with the Druids, and the misletoe that grew on it 
 peculiarly so. When the end. of their year approached, 
 they marched in solemn order to gather the misletoe, in- 
 viting all the world to assist at the ceremony , chaunting 
 these words, " The new year is at hand, gather the misle- 
 toe ;" when the priest ascended the tree, clothed in white, 
 and with a golden hook cut it down, when it was received 
 on a white garment spread for the purpose. The plant 
 thus gathered was supposed to possess many valuable pro- 
 perties; the Druids made of it a potion, which, as they 
 thought, prevented sterility, cured diseases, and was an 
 antidote to poison. 
 
 The Druids consisted of three orders, or degrees, of 
 men. The first were the Druids, emphatically so called, 
 who were the chief men ; they were consulted by the kings 
 in all important concerns ; they perfoimed all religious 
 services, they exercised judicial functions, and may be 
 said to have had supreme power by the influence they pos- 
 sessed. The next were the Bards — these were also pro- 
 phets, and they gave out their pretended prophecies in 
 verse : they were instructed in their vocation when very 
 young, and their memory was so constantly exercised that 
 they could repeat at a very early age many thousand verses, 
 in which was embodied their history, and indeed every 
 
210 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 thing they wished to transmit to posterity. It generally 
 required no less than twenty years to learn all that was 
 necessary to commit to memory, and to be fully instructed 
 in all their mysteries and observances. The third degree 
 was that of the Euvates, or Eubates ; according to some, 
 they were the Philosophers; " they directed their attention 
 and study to the phenomena of nature;" according to 
 others " they were sacred musicians and poets, performing 
 the same offices for the gods as the bards did for men."* 
 
 The Druidesses were also divided into three classes. 
 The first class were virgins, who had devoted themselves to 
 celibacy, and were secluded as nuns in a monastery : 
 the second class were married, but conversed with their 
 husbands only occasionally, their duties being in atten- 
 dance on the temple : the third were not separated from 
 their husbands, but governed their families, brought up 
 children, and laboured as much as became their sex and 
 circumstances. 
 
 They had also the high dignitary of Archdruid, whose 
 residence was in the isle of Anglesey, the Mona of the 
 Britons, who presided over the rest, and whose authority 
 was very extensive. 
 
 It has been deemed advisable to give this short sketch 
 of the Druids, and of their character and worship, as 
 it connects the islands of Jersey and Guernsey with a more 
 remote period than has been done by Falle or any other 
 author who has written their history : we have now to 
 state more minutely the claim these Islands have to have 
 been inhabited at this very early period of time, and to 
 describe their remains of antiquity. 
 
 Before giving a minute description of some of the 
 Pruidical temples, the particulars of which have been pre- 
 * Henry's History of Great Britain. 
 
DRUID TEMPLES. 211 
 
 Served to the present day, it will be interesting to the 
 antiquarian to be informed of those that existed from the 
 earliest time of which any account has reached us ; and 
 it will not be necessary to apologize to the general reader, 
 as one object of the present work is to collect all the in- 
 formation that lies scattered in others, whether in MS. or 
 print, , relative to the former state of the Island. With 
 this view the reader is presented with an extract from the 
 MS. already quoted.* 
 
 I observe in this Isle three sorts of ancient remainders of anti- 
 quity ; the first and doubtless the most ancient are those wee call 
 Poquelayes, which consist for the most part of foure huge stones, 
 whereof three planted on end, Triangle-wise, at foure, five, or 
 six feet distance from each other, and the fourth flatter than the 
 rest, and soe large as being lay'd on the top of them three, to 
 beare on them all, and to make a vault under; then at ten or 
 twelve foot distance, sometimes more, sometimes less, another 
 great stone, set up in the manner of a pillar. Of these Poque- 
 layes some are yet entire, others are fallen, and some peeces of 
 them sunck into ye grounde : there are in the Island halfe a hun- 
 dred of them. I observe two different in forme from the rest' 
 one in a place called Les Landes Palot, not farre from the free 
 Schoole, consisting of one onely massive entire stone, and 
 therefore not hollowe under as ye rest, which seems to be the 
 naturall rock, growne upon the place, and by arte and fashion 
 hew'd into a naturall Poquelaye, with such a counterpoise, that 
 at a certain place a boy with his finger's end can move, which 
 
 * In the former part of this work, the MS here quoted is merely- 
 stated as having been written during the reign of Charles II. : it has 
 been ascertained that it is the work of John Poindextre, Esq. who died 
 in 1691, and whose monument is still to be seen in St. Saviour's church. 
 Mr. Gough in his edition of Camden's Britannia, " de Insulis Britan- 
 nicis," alludes to a Mr. Bindextre as having written some tracts on 
 Jersey : as Mr. Bindextre is not known, probably Mr. Poindextre was 
 the person meant : the letters Po, if not very distinctly written, may- 
 be easily mistaken for a B. 
 
 s 3 
 
212 THE CHANNEL ISLAND?, 
 
 otherwise a hundred men could not doe.* The other is to be seene 
 neare ye Old Castle,, as you goe towards St. Catherine's : this 
 stands just on the top of a round hillock, made of hands, and is 
 supported not by three, as the rest, but by five stones, which by 
 length of time are suncke soe deepe into the grounde, that a 
 'man must creepe to goe under it, ye covering being so exceeding 
 arge and waighty. I shall hint at the use of these Poquelayes, 
 when I speake of the religion of those times. 
 
 Such is the general description of these Poquelayes, as 
 they existed towards the close of the seventeenth century, 
 about the year 1682 : the rocking-stone that is mentioned 
 in this extract must have been destroyed soon after, as 
 Mr. Falle mentions having seen it ; but it was demo- 
 lished at the time he wrote his history, in 1696, as he 
 observes, " for the sake of the splinters to be used in 
 building." 
 
 In 1761 the Rev. Mr. Morant, the celebrated antiqua- 
 rian, and a native of Jersey, presented to the Society of 
 Antiquaries a paper giving an account of such Poque- 
 layes as were known to exist at that time : it was read by 
 Dr. Stukeley in that year. The following is the paper, as 
 printed in the Archselogia : — 
 
 " In St. Helier's parish, about a mile north-west from the 
 town, on a rising ground, whence is a view of the sea, are three 
 stones, each near five feet high, and as much thick and wide, sup- 
 porting a fourth eleven feet and a half long, ten broad, a foot 
 and a half thick at the west end, and above two feet at the east : 
 within is one large stone like a floor. Near three feet from these 
 stands a single stone, four feet and a half high and thick, and 
 
 * There is an allusion to this stone in the Gentleman's Magazine for 
 1784, and in which it is stated that its weight was supposed to have 
 been 800 tons : Dr. Borlase mentions one in Cornwall, 97 feet in cir- 
 cumference, and supposed to weigh 750 tons 
 
DKTJ1D TEMPLES. 21 3 
 
 about twelve feet further east, another between four and five 
 feet high, and four feet and a quarter wide. Two feet from thence 
 another lies down, near seven feet long and five feet broad, and 
 about half a mile north-west are the remains of a tumulus. 
 
 " On a tumulus south-east of the town are three stones, sup- 
 porting one fifteen feet long, and six feet and a half broad, and 
 four feet thick : east of this is another twelve feet long, three 
 feet and a half broad, and between two and three feet thick, 
 lying on others. To the west of the first lies one at the side of 
 the tumulus, seven feet by four. On the north side of the tumu- 
 lus are four large ones. 
 
 " On the town-hill, which commands a view of the sea, is a 
 stone fourteen feet long, seven feet and a half broad, and above 
 three feet thick, supported by five. On the south-east stood a 
 circle of stones, only one of which is still standing, six feet high : 
 the rest broken to make a neighbouring wall. 
 
 " In Grouville parish, near Mont Orgueil Castle, on a tumu- 
 lus in sight of the sea, is a stone fifteen feet long, ten feet and a 
 half broad, three feet and a half thick, supported by five others.* 
 
 u In St. Martin's parish, on a cliff near the sea, is an oval of 
 twenty-one stones, erect, and within are fourteen others in two 
 rows, seven on each side, supporting three large flat stones about 
 six feet diameter ; there are two others down : at each end with- 
 out the circle are two large stones. Within this cliff are caverns 
 running into one another : the entrance about three feet high 
 and two feet broad." 
 
 The most perfect of all the Poquelayes that were 
 known to exist in the Island, when the paper presented by- 
 Mr. Morant was read, is the last mentioned ; it is near Le 
 Conperon, but a great part has been destroyed since 
 
 * A representation of this is in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1784; 
 it is thus described : " It stood in a corner of a field of corn, on an 
 elevated spot or barrow, almost covered with fern. It is a large rough 
 irregular-shaped stone, supposed to weigh 80 tons, supported by six 
 smaller ones, its elevation not above two feet from the ground." 
 
SI 4 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 1761 ; the outer circle seems to be the same as it was at 
 that time, but the inner circle, within which devotions 
 were usually performed, is less perfect. 
 
 The next in importance is the one in Grouville paiish 
 near Mount Orgueil : this is now nearly in the same state 
 as described, with the exception that the removal of some 
 of the supporters, has caused the large superincumbent 
 stone to recline on the ground. The vestiges of all the 
 others are very scanty; but the most important pro- 
 bably of all that ever existed on the Island, and the most 
 perfect at the time it was discovered, was unknown in 
 1761, when Mr. Morant presented his paper to the 
 Antiquarian Society ; it was revealed in 1 785 : it will be 
 unnecessary to say more on this remarkable monument 
 of antiquity, as full particulars relative to its discovery, 
 situation and dimensions, are detailed in the following 
 papers. The first is a letter from Marshal Conway to the 
 Earl of Leicester, at that time President of the Antiqua- 
 rian Society, and the other a paper read at a meeting 
 in 1 787. The ground plan that accompanies this is a fac- 
 simile of the one presented to the Society, and the draw- 
 ing is selected from the three alluded to by the Marshal? 
 as giving the most correct idea of the appearance of the 
 temple at the time of its discovery. 
 
 Description of a Druidical Monument in the island of 
 Jersey j in a letter from the Right Hon. Henry Seymour 
 Conway, Governor of Jersey, to the Earl of Leicester, 
 P.S.A. Head March 8th, 1787. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit the model of a 
 Druid Temple, discovered some time ago on the top of a pretty 
 high rocky hill, near the town of St. Helier in the island of 
 Jersey. I am sorry to have so long delayed executing the 
 
F 
 
DRUID TEMPLES. 215 
 
 promise I made to your Lordship, but it having been transmitted 
 to me without a scale, I did not care to trouble you till that 
 defect had been remedied by the scale, which I have now received, 
 and which is three feet to an inch. Your Lordship will see the 
 dimensions are not great, but I imagine it to be the most perfect 
 and entire monument of this kind existing in any part of the 
 world. 
 
 I shall not attempt to say any thing of the nature or the use 
 of these extraordinary structures ; your Lordship and your learned 
 society having full knowledge of all that can be said on the 
 subject. 
 
 By the very imperfect accounts we have of the history and 
 antiquities of that Island, there is reason to think that it has 
 been very particularly the seat of the Druids, and their worship ; 
 Mr. Bindextre,* who wrote some tracts on the affairs of Jersey, 
 and died in the year 1691, says, there were existing in that 
 small Island, no less than fifty of those Druid temples or altars 
 in his time, of which the greater part were demolished, when 
 Falle published his history of Jersey pretty early in the present 
 century; he mentions a single altar of large dimensions, then 
 standing on the same hill at St. Helier, the top stone of which 
 was fourteen feet long, seven and a half broad and three in 
 thickness, and near it a circle of other stones of which there 
 remained but one when he wrote, the rest having been broken to 
 make a wall hard by. 
 
 From the above it is plain that the present complete structure 
 was not known at that time, though there was another large altar 
 or temple, and an outer circle of stones seen on the same hill. 
 The present temple remained entirely covered with earth till 
 the summer of 1785, having the appearance of a large barrow 
 or tumulus, in which I had constantly seen it when I was in the 
 Island. It then happened that the Colonel of the St. Helier's mi- 
 litia, wanting to level the ground for the exercise of his corps, 
 
 * Poindextre: — this error must have been copied from Gough, 
 already noticed. 
 
2 16 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the workmen soon struck on the stones, and the temple thus dis-* 
 covered was afterwards cleared as it now stands. 
 
 There is no trace of the time at which it was covered up ; not 
 improbably at the time of the Romans, by the Druids themselves, 
 to preserve it as their most sacred temple from the violence or 
 profanation of that people, who frequently persecuted them, and 
 who certainly had possessed themselves of the Island, as appears 
 from its Latin name of Ccesarea, and from several names and 
 some small vestiges remaining, as well as from the coins found 
 pretty often in different parts of the Island. 
 
 I do not know whether it may be thought of any consequence 
 to mention the particular position of the temple, or the bearings 
 of the several cells or altars respectively; but knowing it is the 
 opinion of some learned persons that they are objects worthy of 
 some consideration, I had them taken, and herewith subjoin a 
 ground plan of the whole, set out to the points of the compass, 
 as also three drawings of the temple, as it appeared soon after 
 the discovery, together with a plan of it. 
 
 There have very lately been discovered, as my lieutenant-gover- 
 nor informs me, five graves on the same hill, and about one hun- 
 dred and seventy feet from the temple : one of them has, he says, 
 somewhat of a curved form, but they have no other peculiarity 
 except that of their being lined with a kind of rubble-stone. 
 
 The above are the chief particulars that I have been able to 
 learn on this subject, and I shall be happy if they give any satis- 
 faction to your Lordship, or the Society. 
 
 I am, my Lord, with great esteem, 
 Your Lordship's most faithful and obedt. servant, 
 
 Little Warwick Street, H. S. Conway. 
 
 Feb. 20th. 1787. 
 
 Description of the Druid Temple lately discovered on the top 
 of the hill of St. Helier j communicated by Mr. Moles worth : — 
 Read Jan. Wth. 1787- 
 
 It is sixty-six feet in circumference, composed of forty-five 
 large stones measuring seven feet in height, six in breadth, four in 
 
Wm 
 
 
 CROUND PLAN of the POQUELAYE: 
 
DRUID TEMPLES. 217 
 
 thickness, containing four perfect lodges (or cells,) and one des- 
 troyed : the supposed entrance to it may be called a subterraneous 
 passage, faces the east, and measures fifteen feet in length, four 
 feet and a half inches in breadth, from the inside of the two 
 outward pillars, or stones, in height two feet, each pillar being 
 one foot nine and a half inches thick. 
 
 The inside of the passage measures five feet three inches in 
 breadth, four feet four inches in height, and the first covering 
 stone three feet in thickness : it gradually decreases the length of 
 the fifteen feet before mentioned. 
 
 The vacancy on the north side, which appears to have been the 
 real vacancy, measures in breadth six feet nine inches. 
 
 The greatest lodge, facing nearly the east, or subterraneous 
 passage, measures, both in depth and length, four feet three inches; 
 the next on the left four feet in breadth, four feet three inches in 
 length, and three feet seven inches in height ; the distance from 
 one to the other is three feet four inches : the third, at the distance 
 of five feet nine inches from the second, measures in breadth 
 three feet four inches, in length three feet seven inches, in height 
 four feet. The subterraneous passage in the inside of the temple, 
 describing a perfect lodge, distant from the third ten feet, and 
 the fourth joining both east and north passages, in breadth mea- 
 sures two feet four inches, and two feet one eighth in depth. 
 The eastern cavity is still filled up with the same rubbish that 
 covered the temple. 
 
 Two medals were found in this temple, — one of the Emperor 
 Claudius, and the other so worn by time as to render it unintel- 
 ligible. 
 
 About fifty yards south of the temple are five places in the 
 form of our graves, masoned on every side, but not paved, and 
 lying east and west. A stone quite alone lies five feet from the 
 subterraneous passage.* 
 
 * Mr. Falle supposes that these stones, apart from the temples, were 
 used as a kind of desk, at which the officiating priest kneeled, but Dr. 
 Stukeley, with more probability, supposes that they were posts for 
 officers stationed there as sentinels. 
 
218 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 This remarkable monument of Druidical superstition 
 no longer exists in the Island : the States by a unanimous 
 vote granted it to Marshal Conway, who removed it to 
 Park-place, his seat near Henley, where he had it placed 
 exactly in the form it originally was. The possession of 
 this relic was doubtless gratifying to him, as a mark of 
 esteem, and as an embellishment to his estate ; but by 
 its removal from the place where it stood, it loses the in- 
 terest which is connected with association, and the Island 
 has been deprived of an object that would probably 
 have drawn to it many visitors. It is, however, to be 
 observed, that it would have been destroyed not many 
 years after, as Fort Regent is built on the hill on which it 
 stood : but the States of the Island, and Marshal Con- 
 way himself, scarcely escaped censure at the time, for 
 allowing such a valuable monument of antiquity to be 
 removed from the Island.* 
 
 HOMAN WORKS. 
 
 Although there can be no doubt that the Romans had 
 possession of Jersey, history does not furnish any ac- 
 count of the time that they first invaded the Island, or the 
 period at which they quitted it: it is however probable that 
 both circumstances took place about the same time as 
 their descent and departure from England ; but proofs cer- 
 tainly are not wanting to satisfy us that they had posses- 
 
 * A model of this temple is in the possession of Mr. Philip Mourant, 
 of St. Heliers. 
 
 It is sufficient proof that Druidism prevailed in the Channel Islands, 
 at the same time as in Britain and Gaul, and not that the Druids took 
 refuge in them, when they were persecuted by the Romans; as those 
 in South Britain, during the persecution, fled northwards and settled 
 in Scotland and Ireland. It is more probable that those of Jersey fled 
 at the same time, and that this, their principal temple, was covered up 
 to keep it from desecration by the Romans. 
 
ROMAN WORKS. 219 
 
 sion of it. The Roman coins found in the Island, and 
 the immense ramparts of earth that existed till within a 
 few years of the present time — one called Caesar's wall, 
 near Havre de. Rozel, and another at Dielament, — both 
 evidently works of that people, furnish abundant proof. 
 La petite Cesaree, or Caesar's wall, which was former- 
 ly of considerable length, at present is nearly demolished: 
 at the time Mr. Plees wrote his account of Jersey, a larger 
 portion remained ; it was about twenty-four feet in height, 
 twelve feet at the base, inclining to about four feet at the 
 top. This was doubtless a fortification, and no less cer- 
 tain that it was a work of the Romans ; the name it bears 
 is not only strong evidence of this, but Roman bricks and 
 tiles were found in demolishing this immense rampart. 
 The following extract from Mr. Poindextre's MS. gives 
 the most correct account in existence, and shows its 
 extent towards the close of the seventeenth century ; — 
 whether the eminences he calls Hogues were the work of 
 the Romans, or whether they were raised afterwards for 
 the purpose he states, must now remain a doubt.* 
 
 The second kind of monument, and which I take to be next 
 to the Poquelayes in antiquity, are by ye Islanders called Hogues, 
 which are nothing else but round hillocks or eminences, raised 
 
 * The following remark of the Rev. E. Durell on the term Hogue, 
 in his edition of Falle's History of Jersey, would lead us to suppose 
 that they were not the work of the Romans, but gives countenance to 
 the opinion of Mr. Poindextre, that they were Speculte. " It does not 
 seem to be generally known, that these Hogues, or rather Hougues, 
 mean merely any elevated ground, and that the word itself is of Ger- 
 man derivation, and comes from the same root as the English word 
 high, height, &c. The Latin altus and the French haut are probably 
 of the same origin ; that derivation may also lead us to suppose that 
 those barrows are not of a more ancient date than the invasion of the 
 Norman Pagans in the ninth century.— The Rev. E. Dur ell's new 
 edition of Falle's History— Note 193. 
 
 T 
 
220 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 up with men's hands : the most part of them not much higher 
 than those which are to be seene in many parts of England, 
 thought to be sepulchers of eminent men slayne in battaille : 
 those in Jersey seeme to have beene made for a farre different 
 use, that is for Specula, or hills to espye a farre off, from the 
 land into the sea, which necessity brought the Islanders to pro- 
 vide for theire security at the time, when the Danes, Vandalls, 
 and other Northerne people, invested the coast of France, and 
 other southerly parts of Europe, not long after the time of Charles 
 the Great, to the end that the inhabitants discovering theire 
 shipps a farre off, might have time to hide such things as they 
 desired to preserve. It may be objected that the sea is not seene 
 from some of them, which is against my conjecture, but the 
 cause is the improvement made since those times of the ground, 
 by the planting of trees, and enclosing of ground, which have 
 quite changed the surface of the Island, where as in antient time* 
 it was all champain and open ground. Of these Hogues there 
 are two of more especiall notice : the one more commonly knowen 
 standing allmost in ye roade from St. Helery to Mont Orgeuil, 
 soe high that it is seene for some leagues into the land of Nor- 
 mandy, having a chappell on ye top of it, built not long since 
 after the modell of ye Sepulcher at Jerusalem, by one Mabon,* 
 who had been a pilgrim there ; concerning which there is a fabul- 
 ous report, that a gentleman of Normandy, whose title or sur- 
 name was De Hambye, having killed a dragon, which had done 
 much mischief to the Island, and being afterwards treacherously 
 killed by his servant, and being buried there, his lady caused 
 the sayd Hogue to be raised over him, to the end that she might 
 behold it from her house beyond the sea ; and from the latter 
 part of the gentleman's name, viz. bye, it was afterwars called 
 Hogue-bye, some part of which story may very well be true ; but 
 for ye other, sit fides penes authores. The other is in the north 
 part of ye Island, taken notice of but by fewe persons, as being 
 quite out of ye waye, in a corner of the Island; though in my 
 
 * Mabon was Dean of Jersey about the year 1530. 
 
ROMAN WORKS. 221 
 
 opinion as considerable, if not more than the former : wee call 
 it Castell de Lecq, placed on ye top of a naturall eminence, just 
 over the sea, at a much greater height and compasse than ye 
 other; from whose top one may discover very farre towards 
 Guernsey. The very name implyes that it was made for defense, 
 but it might alsoe serve for a watch-tower, as well as a place for 
 retreate : however I dare say it caryes the face and stateliness of 
 a Roman worke, trencht and bulwarke from ye land-side accord- 
 ing to the manner of those times, which appears yet plainely. 
 The number of these Hogues is not soe easily knowne, some hav- 
 ing been default and ruined, by ye proprietors of ye ground. 
 I guesse them to have been about a douzen, more or lesse. 
 
 The third sort of monuments of antiquity are to be seen in 
 Trinity parish, towards the north-east part of ye Island, hard by 
 Dielamen one, and the other neerer ye sea. The first is by the 
 people thereabouts called le Chasteau de Sedman, Sedman's 
 Castel, noebody can tell why, for who this Sedman was, or when 
 he lived appears not. Sure the forme of this worke is farre dif- 
 fering from that of a Castel, unless perhaps our ancestors called 
 all fortifications Castels, especially those that are made to encampe 
 in, from ye Latin word Castra, which signifies a camp, fortifyed 
 after the Roman waye, as this seemes to have sometimes been. 
 It is a great worke raised in ye manner of a bulwarke, with a 
 deepe ditch without it, making a square, whose length is neere 
 an aker, and ye breadth above half an aker. In ye foure corners 
 were, I conceive, four Hogues, or round hillocks, whereof one 
 is yet entire ; ye rest, with a great part of ye worke have been 
 evened by the owners for theire benefit. It is of ye one side upon 
 even ground, and then it falls by degrees till it meets a bottom, 
 where a gentleman hath two fish ponds : about ye midle of it is a 
 spring, and close by it the remainder, that is the best halfe of 
 another worke, perfectly round, high, and proportionally thick, 
 with a ditch outside, part of it is thrown down and levelled. 
 This is the part of it which is called Le Chasteau de Sedeman. 
 It seems to have been as it were the Praetoriu, fort or retiring 
 place upon occasion of disorder in ye camp. At another place 
 
222 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 called Le Vallet, close to ye shore, not farre from Bouley bay, 
 in the same parish, beginneth another worke, reaching from 
 thence all along the browe of steepe hills, as farre as Rozel- 
 haven, very thicke, high, and strong, about two or three hun- 
 dred paces in length, where it begins; because nature having 
 been sparing to fortifye that place, it was necessary that art 
 should supplye it ; but in other parts the hills are a sufficient for- 
 tification, except close to that haven, where the work is conti- 
 nued downe to the sea. It hath the sea on the one side, and a 
 deepe valley on ye other, and soe makes a peninsula about a mile 
 in length, but not above half so broad : the ground none of the 
 best, with a good spring of water, but noe appearance of any 
 ancient building within that compasse. The people thereabouts 
 will have it to be the retrenchment of some who had invaded the 
 Island ; but I take it to be ye work rather of a flying than pur- 
 suing enemy ; it being made for defence not for offence. — MS. 
 
 As Mr. Poindextre was a jurat, he had access to all the 
 ancient insular documents that could give information 
 on this subject ; and as he was a learned man, he doubt- 
 less availed himself of every thing that was accessible 
 to him. It may therefore be presumed that he presented 
 all that was known at his time ; any further remarks 
 would therefore be mere speculation. 
 
 Although Mont Orgueil Castle is evidently of Norman 
 architecture, yet as there is a part still called lefort de 
 Cesar, it furnishes strong probability that a Roman castle 
 formerly stood on the present site : there was a tradition, 
 which has been preserved, that Julius Caesar crossed over 
 from Gaul to some islands, and took possession of them. 
 The rampart already described as La petite Ctesaree, and 
 the part of the old castle still bearing the name of Caesar, 
 present strong indications of the fact that they were both 
 the works of the Romans, although it is impossible at 
 this distance of time, to fix the date with any certainty. 
 
ROMAN WORKS. 223 
 
 The building of the castle, as it now is, has been ascrib- 
 ed to Robert, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, 
 who was so barbarously treated by Henry I. his younger 
 brother: but he may have built on the old founda- 
 tion, and a portion of the original building may have re- 
 mained, and which still retains its ancient name. Mr. 
 Poindextre does not sanction this opinion in his account 
 of Mont Orgueil Castle, but it is to be observed that he 
 says very little in any part of his work of the Romans 
 having continued possession of the Island ; and seems 
 rather to avoid admitting the fact. The following is his 
 description of the Castle. 
 
 " On the south side lies the village of Gouray, with a faire 
 castle called by the same name, but more modernly Mont 
 Orgueil, being indeed a stately peece of building and making a 
 proud shewe as you approach it from Grouville Church ; seated 
 upon a steepe rock, having the sea on the south side and a hill 
 overlooking it, at too neare a distance, on the other." 
 
 Grosnez Castle is also supposed, by some, to be a Roman 
 work ; but too little of it remains for any decisive opinion 
 to be formed : it is only known to history as a military 
 post, held by Philip de Carteret againt the French, while 
 they had possession of half -of the Island, from 1461 to 
 1467. 
 
 EARXY CHRISTIAN EDIFICES. 
 
 It may be scarcely necessary to remark, that in using 
 the term Christian, it must be understood merely as a 
 distinction from Jews, Pagans, and Mahomedans, and not 
 in that restricted sense when it was said " The disciples 
 were first called Christians at Antioch;" at a time when 
 Christianity prevailed by its own excellence, which com- 
 
 t 3 
 
224 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 mended itself to the hearts and consciences of men ; and 
 not as it was afterwards propagated by the Emperor Con- 
 stantine, as a state engine, and when the means of its 
 propagation was human authority, effected by the sword, 
 and aided by that too powerful incentive — self-interest. 
 
 However we may lament that monkish institutions have 
 departed from their original object, and no longer, at least 
 in a very small degree, accomplish the useful purposes for 
 which they were designed ; yet were they originally chris- 
 tian in the strictest sense: a distinction worthy to be noticed, 
 by the different effects produced — the one causing men to 
 be holy, harmless, and without rebuke ; the other leading 
 them, as might be expected, to acts of aggression, and 
 producing a superstitious and misguided zeal for objects, 
 not warranted by the Scriptures of truth; and ending in 
 those disastrous and senseless expeditions to the holy land, 
 and now degenerated into a merely formal profession. 
 
 It may be inferred that the Chapels in Jersey, which[are 
 about to be noticed, were built at a time when Christianity 
 retained much of its original purity, and that in them 
 were offered up sacrifices to the only true God, from sin- 
 cere and devoted hearts : at a time when true religion 
 was to be found in monasteries, and while they retained 
 the object for which they were instituted — not that men 
 should spend their time in sloth and licentiousness, but 
 devote themselves, and the talents given to them, to the 
 service of God— that they should live apart from the dis- 
 tractions of the world, and the temptations that abound 
 in it. In allusion to the benefits derived from monasteries, 
 it should be observed, that in them were preserved, not 
 only the writings of the Fathers, but even the Scriptures, 
 which probably would otherwise have been lost : that they 
 afterwards fostered all kind of abuses, cannot be denied, 
 
EARLY CHRISTIAN EDIFICES. 225 
 
 and woefully degenerated from the original object of their 
 institution ; but even during the worst of their times were 
 to be found in them holy men, who doubtless understood 
 and lamented the evils that prevailed, but who wanted 
 either zeal or courage to expose them, and attempt their 
 removal; until God, in his providence, raised up Luther, 
 that morning star of the reformation, and caused the trans- 
 lation of the Scriptures into modern languages ; and thus 
 opened to mankind the blessings they have since enjoyed. 
 The time above alluded to, as will be presently shown, 
 was about the 6th century, and Jersey must at that time 
 have been populous, to have required so many as twenty- 
 five chapels, besides the abbey and conventual houses, 
 that will be hereafter noticed ; but there are no means of 
 ascertaining more than these data furnish. 
 
 It can excite no surprise that so little is known of the 
 early British Christians, when Gildas, the most ancient 
 of our historians, and who lived in the sixth century, said 
 that he could find no British records of ecclesiastical affairs : 
 the little, therefore, that is known, must be collected from 
 the writers of other nations. Both Tertullian and Euse- 
 bius affirm, that the gospel had penetrated into Britain in 
 the apostolic age; Theodoret also adds his testimony, 
 when he says, " these, our fishermen, publicans, and 
 tentmakers, persuaded, not only the Romans, but the 
 Britons, Cimmerians, and Germans, to embrace the reli- 
 gion of him who was crucified :" Gildas, who wrote about 
 a century after Theodoret, fixes the time of its first intro- 
 duction at the period of the revolt under Boadicea, a.d. 
 61 : whether he obtained the information from tradi- 
 tion, or from other writers, we are not informed; but 
 there is sufficient proof that the Christian religion was 
 planted in Britain about that time, from the fact that 
 
226 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Pomponia Graecina, the wife of Aulus Plautius, was accus- 
 ed of having embraced a strange and foreign superstition, 
 which there is every reason to suppose was Christianity : 
 she was tried, and pronounced innocent of any thing im- 
 moral. Pomponia lived many yenrs after this trial, but 
 in a state of seclusion, and great innocence of manners, 
 which furnishes the best evidence that can be produced, 
 that it was not superstition, but real Christianity, by which 
 she was influenced. As her husband was governor of Bri- 
 tain from a.d. 43 to 47, it may be supposed that she was 
 one of the first who brought the light of the gospel to the 
 Island. The small grain of mustard seed may then have 
 been sown, but did not spring up so as to appear, until, 
 by the ministrations of others, it was afterwards publicly 
 proclaimed to the people. 
 
 Admitting the above to be fact, it is still a doubt — for 
 the learned writers of antiquity are not agreed — by whom 
 the gospel was first proclaimed in Britain, as the glad 
 tidings of salvation to a lost world ; but all agree that it 
 by one of the apostles ; St. James, Simon Zelotes, St. Peter, 
 and St. Paul, have all been mentioned ; but the latter is 
 of all the most probable. There is reason to believe that 
 the labours of the other apostles were in the east ; and St, 
 Peter may at once be excluded, as his were directed mostly, 
 if not entirely, to the Jews : but from the year 58, when 
 St. Paul was set at liberty from his imprisonment, to the 
 year 67, when he suffered martyrdom at Rome, there are 
 no particulars of him recorded, except that he preached 
 in Spain ; but can it be supposed, with his holy zeal, 
 and devotedness to the object of his apostleship, that he 
 confined himself to the continent; may it not be affirmed, 
 not only with the highest probability, but we can scarcely 
 suppose otherwise, that he visited the British Islands. 
 
EARLY CHRISTIAN EDIFICES. 227 
 
 This conjecture, so strong in itself, is borne out by the 
 many traditions respecting the introduction of the gospel 
 into Britain s many of these may be rejected as mere fables, 
 but taken as a whole they may be allowed to add some- 
 thing to the reasoning on the subject, and strengthen con- 
 jecture. 
 
 Although the accounts that have reached the present 
 time, of the early buildings appropriated to christian 
 worship in England, are very slender, yet they inform us 
 that they were merely wooden structures, which may well 
 be supposed from the poverty of the natives, and the small 
 progress that the arts had made among them. Mean as 
 their edifices were, the British christians were not altoge- 
 ther unknown to the Churches on the continent, as we 
 find them represented in the council of Aries by three 
 bishops, a.d. 314. Their early buildings were, however, 
 destroyed, whether by time or by the desolating hand of 
 the Saxon invader, does not appear, but it is probable that 
 the latter had the greater share in their destruction, and 
 finished what the former had begun, so that no traces of 
 them were to be seen, at the time when the first authentic 
 account begins. 
 
 The most ancient building known that was erected 
 for the purpose of christian worship, is that of St. Paul's, 
 at Rome ; it was built during the reign of Constantine. 
 The original form of christian churches, even at that 
 early age, was not unlike the present, consisting of what 
 is now called a nave and two side aisles. This mode of 
 constructing ecclesiastical buildings, during the infancy 
 of the art, was adopted as a convenient method of 
 supporting the roof, by diminishing the span : the cru- 
 ciform was not introduced till some time after, and 
 doubtless owed its origin to Romish superstition, what- 
 
228 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 ever opinion may be formed of its beauty. Great zeal for 
 building churches prevailed in England during the 7th 
 century; the Saxon invaders, when they became converted 
 to the profession of Christianity, found no fit buildings 
 for religious worship, but with the zeal that usually attends 
 the first profession of religion, and probably to atone for 
 the wanton destruction perpetrated by their forefathers, 
 they built a number of churches, in different parts of 
 the kingdom : they were, however, of a character very 
 inferior, as it regards both extent or magnificence, to 
 that which afterwards prevailed. 
 
 Very few of the which that flourished among the Romans 
 were introduced into Britain by that people, but they taught 
 a more substantial mode of building; hence the improve- 
 ment of using stone instead of wood, and which was 
 afterwards adopted by the Saxons. Foreign workmen were 
 employed, and mechanics were even brought from Rome 
 after that people had evacuated the Island, 
 
 From this account of early christian places of worship 
 in England, it may well be supposed that they were build- 
 ings of no exterior beauty ; without ornament, and with 
 scarcely any decoration whatever ; it was that which is 
 now called " the depraved Roman style." The Saxons 
 afterwards improved on this style, until they produced that 
 which now bears the name of " Saxon architecture," and 
 which was principally adopted until the time of the Con- 
 quest, soon after which it was supplanted by a more light 
 and elegant style — the " Gothic" or " Saracenic."* 
 
 It can scarcely be doubted that the chapels in Jersey, 
 of which Mr. Poindextre says there were twenty-five in 
 * See a more particular account of the introduction of Christianity, 
 and of the style of architecture, which prevailed previously to the build- 
 ing of the churches in the Channel Islands; in " Sarnia, The Anti- 
 quities of Guernsey." 
 
EARLY CHRISTIAN EDIFICES. 229 
 
 the Island, belonged to the former class, and that they were 
 built during the sixth and seventh centuries. That this is 
 the period, is not only highly probable, from the circum- 
 stance already alluded to — the zeal for building places for 
 christian worship, — but is confirmed by the style, so 
 far as it can be ascertained from the very small remains 
 which now exist : there is however another circumstance 
 that will fix their erection at a very early period. It was 
 at this time that the practice prevailed of painting figures 
 on the walls, representing scripture subjects : the internal 
 walls of old St. Peter's, at Rome, were painted in this 
 rude manner, under Formosus, in 890, but the custom 
 may have prevailed long before that time. Figures of a like 
 kind are still to be seen in a chapel in St. Brelade's church 
 yard, although many are too much effaced to allow the 
 subject to be explained with any certainty. Mr. Plees, 
 who wrote an account of Jersey, in 1815, thus describes 
 them as they were at that time : — 
 
 The interiour of the chapel has been ornamented with a variety 
 of figures, displaying different scenes from the New Testament. 
 These figures are about four feet in height, and painted in colours 
 on the plastered walls ; but time, accident, and perhaps wanton- 
 ness, have nearly effaced them. On the right is still distinguish- 
 able an angel, having in one hand a scroll, on which is an inscrip- 
 tion in Gothic characters. He holds this towards a female, whose 
 hands are uplifted in the attitude of praying : behind her, on a 
 curvated pole, is a reading desk, with a book open, in which are 
 some nearly illegible letters. We may venture to suppose this 
 to represent the annunciation. On the left-hand wall is a man, 
 crowned, with an antique sword in his right hand : from his mouth 
 issues a scroll, on which is incribed, TfytxoS Ic rog. His garments 
 are of an olive colour, and over them is a scarlet robe flowing to 
 the ground. On a lower part of the same wall is Jesus Christ, 
 bearing his cross, depicted with yellowish hair, and his head sur- 
 
230 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 rounded with a glory. Over the entrance, which is opposite to 
 the west, is the figure of a man, robed, with a number of naked 
 persons round him ; some at full length, others just emerging 
 from the ground. This is doubtless a representation of the gene- 
 ral resurrection. The figures of this composition are smaller 
 than those on the side walls. All are tolerably well proportioned ; 
 but, like many other ancient religious portraits, there is little 
 expression in the features of the personages. The figures are 
 mere sketches ; but the colours appear to be well preserved. The 
 chapel is now employed as an armory for the parochial artillery, 
 so that the whole of those antique designs cannot be seen, unless 
 when the guns, &c. are drawn out ; and even then, the greater 
 part of the figures being nearly effaced, it is difficult to identify 
 the occurrences to which the paintings refer. 
 
 In the History of the Island it has already been re- 
 lated,* that an abbey stood on the site of that on 
 which Elizabeth castle now stands : it afterwards became 
 a priory to the abbey de Veto at Cherburg. At that 
 time it was connected with the main land ; but when the 
 land which surrounded it was ingulfed, and the bay as it 
 is at present was formed, no authentic account has reached 
 the present time; the abbey was standing in the time of 
 Henry the Eighth, and was suppressed by him.f 
 
 Besides the twenty-five chapels already noticed, there 
 were four others, depending on the great Abbey of Mont 
 St. Michael, situated at St. Clement, Noirmont, De Lecq, 
 and Bonne Nuit ; and La Hogue Bie stands on the site of 
 
 * See page 43* 
 
 f la a work lately published by l'Abbe Manet, he has stated that it 
 was in the year 709 that a violent inundation took place, along the coast 
 of France, by which the bay of St. Michael was formed : supposing 
 this to be the fact, there can be no doubt that the same catastrophe 
 inundated the low-land on the coast of Jersey, formed the bay of St. 
 Aubin, and thus separated the rock, on which the abbey stood, fnrn 
 the main land of the Island. 
 
EARLY CHRISTIAN EDIFICES. 231 
 
 one of them, according to Mr. Poindextre,* who thus de- 
 scribes those that were yet remaining at his time : — 
 
 " That near Rozel House is yet whole, and soe is another by 
 Havre des Pas, so called from a tradition of the footsteps of 
 the blessed Virgin, seene thereabouts in an aparition of hers ; 
 St. Thomas his chappell, by Longueville, is yet standing, and 
 entire ; I do not remember any other undefaced : there remaining 
 at this day nothing but the very foundations, to be seene, of above 
 twenty more, dedicated to divers saints, whome it would be easie, 
 but needless to rehearse." 
 
 It has been asserted, but probably without any foun- 
 dation, that these were chapels of ease to the present 
 churches : it is not likely, that at any time since the erec- 
 tion of the churches, the Island has been so popu- 
 lous as to need this addition to them ; and besides the rea- 
 son already given, in proof of their antiquity, it may be 
 observed that one of the chapels stands in St. Brelade's 
 church-yard, so as to be a convincing proof it could not 
 have been an appendage to it, as a chapel of ease. 
 
 Of the present churches little need be said : not one of 
 them possesses any architectural beauty, that will require 
 particular notice: — nine of them were built during the 
 12th century, and in the style that is now termed Norman, 
 or early Gothic : the other three were erected during the 
 14th century, but none of them can lay any claim to 
 the improved style that prevailed at that time. 
 
 * Mr. Falle's opinion is, that a considerable part of the original build- 
 ing remains, and that the part which appears more modern, was only 
 additions to it, made by Dean Mabon, about the year 1520-30, 
 
T 
 
 232 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ANCIENT PRIVILEGES, 
 
 Sanctuary, (Perquages,) Clameur de Haro, Neutrality. 
 
 It is admitted that an objection may be taken to the term 
 " Ancient Privileges ;" and the reader will proba- 
 bly observe, that all the privileges are ancient, and the 
 changes that have been made, have rather abolished those 
 that formerly existed, than created new ones : this is cer- 
 tainly true, but the term is used to distinguish those which, 
 though ancient in their origin, still remain in force for 
 the benefit of the Islanders, from those which have been 
 abrogated, or allowed to fall into disuse. 
 
 One of the most ancient privileges of Jersey, was that 
 which belonged to the Church, of affording protection — 
 a sanctuary to criminals, while endeavouring to escape 
 from the hands of justice. The privilege of Sanctuary cer* 
 tainly was not confined to Jersey, but there were some 
 peculiarities connected with it in the Island, that did not 
 obtain in other countries, where it was allowed. The pro- 
 tection afforded was sometimes only temporary, but when 
 the rights of the Church were in any way implicated, the 
 protection was continued, and became permanent. This 
 privilege was not confined to the walls of the church ; but 
 there were certain roads, called Perquages, which also 
 afforded protection to the criminal. There were twelve of 
 
ANCIENT PRIVILEGES* 233 
 
 these roads, one extending from each of the churches to 
 the coast : they were twenty-four feet in width, and hence 
 called Perquages ; from Pertica, a perch. 
 
 The object of this privilege, in its original intention, 
 was not only unobjectionable, but had the authority of 
 Scripture for its exercise ; though certainly extended be- 
 yond the limit which that authority prescribed. The law 
 of Moses appointed cities of refuge, to afford protection to 
 the manslayer only — to him who had killed a fellow crea- 
 ture unawares,* and was never intended to protect crimi- 
 nals of all grades and character ; but when Judea became 
 subject to the Roman power, the privilege of the cities 
 of refuge was abolished in that province. 
 
 We learn, however, from Tacitus, that Asyla, and the 
 privilege of sanctuary, were allowed by the Greeks, who 
 doubtless adopted it from the patriarchs ; but while they 
 followed the custom, they changed the object ; reverence 
 was attached to the building, and criminals were protect- 
 ed because it should not be violated. The Romans too 
 had their Asyla, but they were not so common as in the 
 states of Greece : the privilege was, however, so much 
 abused in the asylum at Ephesus, at the time of the em- 
 peror Augustus, that he suppressed it ; and Tiberius abo- 
 lished them altogether.! 
 
 The privilege was, however, revived under the Chris- 
 tian dispensation, and was extended to all crimes : the 
 object was doubtless humane, though not sanctioned by 
 divine authority. Its original intention was to afford pro- 
 tection to any one who sought it, not only as a criminal, 
 but as a penitent who desired to confess his sins, and to 
 
 * Deut. xix. 1—10; xxxii. 35; Num. xxxv. 9—29. 
 f This is the account given by Suetonius; Tacitus says that Tibe- 
 rius only regulated them. — Archteologia, vol. viii. 
 
234 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 record his solemn promise before the altar, that he would 
 not again commit a like transgression. The Romish priest- 
 hood first added to this simple act of confession, and 
 assumed the power of absolution ; and as the power of 
 the church of Rome increased, until it became a spiritual 
 hierarchy, she used it as an engine against temporal autho- 
 rity : it was during the seventh century that it began to 
 assume this obnoxious character. Pope Boniface V., see- 
 ing the great advantage that would accrue to the church 
 by the extension of the privileges of sanctuary, added to 
 them, and appointed all religious buildings as sanctuaries ; 
 the protection was only to Catholics — all Jews, infidels, and 
 heretics were excluded, but given in its fullest extent to 
 its own members ; unless the crime was committed within 
 the walls of the church. 
 
 It is to be observed that in some instances, where the 
 principle of sanctuary was acted on, it was more or less 
 rigid, according to the institutions of the asylum to which 
 the criminal fled : like as in monasteries, where the rules 
 were less strict, and more in accordance with common 
 sense ; thus we find that the laws of one of them states 
 " if a man be a thief or a robber, let him restore what 
 he hath unjustly taken, if he hath it in his possession; or 
 if he hath wasted or embezzled it, let him make it good 
 from his own property, if he be able." 
 
 Before the time of the emperor Charlemagne, all 
 churches were sanctuaries; but this extensive privilege 
 led to such an abuse of power, that that monarch 
 limited the privileges to certain monasteries, and other 
 ecclesiastical buildings, as well as specified the crimes for 
 which they were to afford protection, which greatly checked 
 the evil. 
 
 Although the privilege of sanctuary was held sacred — 
 
ANCIENT PRIVILEGES. 235 
 
 if such a term can be used, when so much iniquity was 
 practised to defeat its object — and was not to be violently 
 assailed, yet was it often rendered of no effect by deceit 
 and fraud : thus Basilicus was induced to quit his sanc- 
 tuary on a promise by the emperor Zeno^;not to shed his 
 blood, but he was cast, with his wife and children, into 
 a dry cistern, where they perished ; and thus the well- 
 known fact of Henry VII., who induced Perkin Warbeck 
 to leave the sanctuary where he had taken refuge, on a 
 promise of protection ; but on quitting it he was seized 
 and ultimately executed. 
 
 Although the privilege was not peculiar to Jersey, yet 
 it pertained to every church in the Island, and all pos- 
 sessed it, until it was finally abolished, in the British 
 dominions, soon after the reformation had become fully 
 established. It had, however, this peculiarity in Jersey ; 
 that while the felon in England was obliged to confine 
 himself to the sanctuary, or to a prescribed distance from 
 it; or, if he had abjured his country, to go to the sea 
 " by the most direct road," and to quit the kingdom : in 
 the Island he was protected while he was on one of 
 the Perquages, one of which, as has been observed, ran 
 in a direct line from every church to the sea. 
 
 In those countries where the privileges of sanctuary 
 were carried to the greatest extent, debtors were protected, 
 while within the prescribed limits, with all their goods 
 and chattels, and even their cattle— so great was the influ- 
 ence of the Church, and so great its power over the minds 
 and consciences of men. It cannot now be ascertained 
 whether this privilege was carried to this great extent in 
 Jersey, but it seems highly probable, both from the cha- 
 racter of the Islanders, and the peculiarity that pertained 
 to their Perquages, 
 
 u3 
 
236 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 There seems to have been another privilege of sanc- 
 tuary peculiar to Jersey ; the criminal was always under 
 the protection of the Church, while found on one of these 
 Perquages. In England the criminal held a crucifix in 
 his hand, to show that he was under the legal protection 
 of the Church, and was allowed only forty days to quit 
 the kingdom, which he must previously have abjured. 
 In Jersey, as all the churches were sanctuaries, so were 
 all the Perquages to him at all times privileged. 
 
 It is to be observed that all the parishes not only bor- 
 der on the sea, but present a large coast to it, except St. 
 Saviour's, and even that has one point of contact, and to 
 which point, doubtless, the Perquage ran ; and it is more 
 than probable that in the division of the Island into 
 parishes, a regard was had to this privilege in their for- 
 mation, as the privilege of sanctuary unquestionably 
 existed before the Island was so divided. 
 
 As the reformation proceeded in England, and the light 
 
 of truth was diffused, the absurdities of the Romish church 
 
 became more apparent, and this much abused privilege 
 
 was seen to be not only absurd in itself, when viewed as 
 
 a protection against crime, but to be rather an incentive 
 
 to it :* thus it lost its sanctity in the eyes of the nation 
 
 at large, and the privilege being much restricted by Henry 
 
 VIII. and Edward VI, fell, in great measure, into,disuse, 
 
 but it was not finally abolished till the first of James I. ; 
 
 and the Perquages were afterwards given by Charles II. to 
 
 * It may not be amiss here to state an instance of the great abuse 
 of sanctuary, as it exists at the present day, where the privilege still 
 prevails, in catholic countries; Smolletthus writes: — " I saw a fellow, 
 who three days before had murdered his wife, in the last month of preg- 
 nancy, taking the air with great composure and serenity, on the steps 
 of a church in Florence ; and nothing is more common than to see the 
 most execrable villains diverting themselves in the cloisters of some 
 convent at Rome." — Smollet's Travels. 
 
ANCIENT PRIVILEGES. 237 
 
 Edward de Carteret, son of the celebrated Sir Philip de 
 Carteret, for their eminent services rendered to the royal* 
 cause ; and he afterwards sold them to the Seigneurs on 
 whose lands they abutted, who brought them into culti- 
 vation ; so that all traces of them must necessarily be 
 lost. 
 
 Mr. Poindextre's MS. does not furnish many particulars 
 of this privilege, but enough is said to corroborate the 
 foregoing remarks : 
 
 " I never heard of such ways any where else ; for albeit the 
 custom of taking sanctuary, and forswearing the country, were 
 the same with that of Normandy ; yet the old custom book says, 
 onely, that those who had forsworn, were to be conveyed along 
 the highway, from deanery to deanery, till they were out of the 
 confines of the province : and so, I think, I may place this kind 
 of way among the singularities of the Island." 
 
 A proceeding still obtains in the criminal courts of Jer- 
 sey, which is probably a remanet of the ancient privilege 
 of sanctuary : its character is eertainly changed from super- 
 stition, and of protecting crime, to that of political expe- 
 diency. The following extract from Mr. Durell's notes 
 on Falle, will at once explain the practice, and furnish an 
 apology for its use ; " A custom still exists in our criminal 
 proceedings, probably derived from, or at least modified 
 from that ancient practice, which is, that when a prisoner 
 is first brought to the court, he demands that in order to 
 stop all further proceedings, he may be allowed to leave 
 the country (a vuider le pays J which when the offence 
 is not very serious is often granted, and the prisoner is 
 then generally banished either for three or five years. This 
 
 * The grant of these Perquages is found among the records of the 
 royal court, dated May 30th, 1663.— Durell's notes. 
 
238 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 practice might appear, at first sight, like a compounding 
 for felony, but in a country abounding with strangers, it 
 is an expeditious way of getting rid of many notorious 
 characters, whom it might be very difficult to convict; and 
 it is further to be remarked, that this indulgence is never 
 granted to persons charged with offences which would 
 amount to felony." 
 
 The following regulations, and mode of proceeding, which were 
 adopted in Normandy, will not be uninteresting to the English reader, 
 and they doubtless formed a part of the custom in Jersey, as far as they 
 were applicable to the Island : its early dependence on the duchy, and 
 the practice already alluded to, which still prevails, is strong evidence 
 of the fact : — " Se aucun damne ou fuytif a leglise ou en cymitiere, ou 
 en lieu saint, ouil se aert a unecroix qui soit fichee en terre, la justice 
 laye le doit laisser en paix pour le privilege de leglise, si quelle mette 
 la main a luy, mais la justice doit mettre gardes quil ne senfuye dillec. 
 Et sil ne se veult dedans neuf jours rendre a la justice laye ou forjurer 
 Normendie, la justice ne souffrira dillec en avant que on luy apporte 
 que mengier a soustenir sa vie jusques a ce quil soit rendu a justice pour 
 en ordonner selon sa desserte, ou jusques a ce quil offre a forjurer le 
 pays. Et il forjurera en ceste forme. II tendra les mams sur les 
 Saintes Evangiles et jurera que il partira de Normendie et que jamais 
 ny reviendra, quil ne fera mal au pais ne aux gens qui y sont pour 
 choses qui sont passee, ne les fera grever, ne grevera, et mal ne leur 
 fera, ne pourchassera, ne fera faire ne pourchasser pour soy, ne par 
 autre en nulle maniere. Et que en une ville ne gerra que une nuvt, 
 ce n'est par grande deffaulte de sante, et ne se faindra daller tant qu'il 
 soit hors de Normandie, et ne retournera aux lieux qu'il aura passez, 
 ne a autres pour revenir, ainsi ira toujours en avant. Et si comencera 
 maintenant a sen aller, et se doit dire quelle part il vouldra aller, si 
 luy tauxsera Ion ses journees selon la force et la grant quantite et lon- 
 gueur de la voye. Et si remaint en Normendie depuis que le terme que 
 on luy donnera sera passe, ou se il se retourne une lieue en arriere, il 
 portera son jugement avec soy, car desque il sera alle contre son serment, 
 Saincte eglise ne luy pourra plus ayder." — Coutumes de Normendie. 
 
ANCIENT PRIVILEGES. 239 
 
 CLAMEUR DE HARO. 
 
 The next ancient privilege, in order of time, is that of 
 " Le Clameur de Haro ;" this has been already noticed 
 in the History of the Island ;* but, as it is necessary to 
 give it place among its ancient privileges, a few particulars 
 will be added, which have been preserved in the chroni- 
 cles of Normandy. 
 
 In the general history, the character of Eollo, the first 
 duke of Normandy, was alluded to. He was the leader of 
 a band that invaded that province, without legitimate 
 grounds ; yet he by no means deserved the character that 
 usually attaches to an invader, without pretensions to 
 right. He was remarkable for his administration of jus- 
 tice among his followers, and so strict in maintaining and 
 enforcing it, when he obtained legal possession of Nor- 
 mandy as chief, by the cession of it to him by Charles IV., 
 that a bare appeal to him by name, even at a distance from 
 the scene of contention, was sufficient to protect from 
 present wrong ; and the supposed oppressor was obliged 
 to desist, whatever was the subject in dispute. 
 
 The chronicles of Normandy, from which the informa- 
 tion is derived, do not furnish any evidence of the origin 
 of the custom — whether from his own appointment, or by 
 the influence of his name and character ; but the effect 
 was an immediate protection against wrong, until the sub- 
 ject had been heard and determined :f Ha~Rou was the 
 
 * See General History, page 10. 
 f " Pour la bonne paix et justice, qu'il maintint en sa Duche, ses 
 subjects prindrent une coutume, tant de son vivant, comme aprez son 
 mort, quandon leur faisoit force au violence, its crioyent Au Rou, &c." 
 Chron. de Normand., ch. 26. 
 
$40 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 exclamation used, and which the oppressor immediately 
 respected; but the usual addition " a Vaide mon prince" 
 would lead us to suppose that it had reference to the cha- 
 racter and justice of the prince, in calling upon him per- 
 sonally to aVenge a wrong. 
 
 There was a remarkable instance of its efficacy at the 
 funeral of William the Conqueror. Henry, in his History 
 of England, relates some minute particulars of the death 
 of William, but does not notice this at his funeral ; the 
 particulars are, however, preserved in the Chroniques de 
 Normandie, and are given by Baker in his Chronicles of 
 the Kings of England ; they are briefly these : — The abbey 
 of St. Stephen, in Caen, was built by William the Con- 
 queror, and he caused several houses to be demolished, 
 in order to allow sufficient space for the building ; but 
 compensation was not, in every case, made for the pro- 
 perty destroyed. According to the directions that William 
 had given, th&t he should be interred in this abbey, the 
 royal corpse was brought thither, " but when the divine 
 service was ended, and the body was ready to be laid in 
 the grave, one Anselm Fitzarthur stood up, and claimed 
 that ground to be the floor of his father's house, which 
 king William had violently wrested from him ; and there- 
 upon charged them, as they would answer before the face 
 of Almighty God, not to cover the body with the earth 
 of his inheritance : whereupon, after some pause, three 
 pounds was paid in hand for the ground broken up, and 
 one hundred pounds more afterwards, for the ground itself, 
 paid him by Henry, the king's youngest son, who only, 
 of all his sons, was present at the funeral."* The chroni- 
 cles of Normandy give the words of the address. " While 
 the officiating priest was addressing the people, saying, 
 * Baker's Chronicles. 
 
AKCIENT PRIVILEGES. 241 
 
 * Lei us pray that the sins of this prinee be remitted ;' — 
 the ceremony was stayed by the power of the Clameur de 
 Haro: uprose then the bold young yeoman, Arthur, the 
 son of Asselin ; * Hold,' with a loud voice he exclaimed, 
 ' on the spot on which you stand, was the house of my 
 father ; he, for whom you pray, then duke of Normandy, 
 seized it by violence, denied retribution, and on its site 
 erected this edifice : the land, therefore, in presence of 
 the ravager, I claim ; and in the name of Hollo,* forbid 
 to rest the body of the oppressor beneath my turf, or his 
 tomb to encumber my estate/ " 
 
 Another version of this speech, in which Arthur Asse- 
 lin is made to assume a higher tone of defiance, is given 
 by Paulus iEmylius, who says he addressed the company 
 in these words : — " He who oppressed kingdoms by his 
 arms, has been my oppressor also, and has kept me under 
 a continual fear of death. Since I have out-lived him 
 who injured me, I mean not to acquit him now he is dead. 
 The ground whereon you are going to lay this man is mine ; 
 and I affirm that none may, in justice, bury their dead 
 in ground which belongs to another. If after he is gone 
 force and violence are still used to detain my right from 
 me, I appeal to Hollo, the father and founder of our 
 nation, who though dead, lives in his laws : I take refuge 
 in those laws, owning no authority above them." 
 
 In a work lately written by Mons. Lecanu, we learn se- 
 veral interesting particulars relative to the funeral of Wil- 
 liam ; and from which the following extract is given, in a 
 translation : — 
 
 * It should seem that Baker was not informed of this appeal to jus- 
 tice, by the Clameur de Haro, therefore he assumed that it was made to 
 Almighty God; and he has not quoted the name correctly; but there 
 <;an be no doubt that the same circumstance is alluded to. 
 
242 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 " As soon as the Conqueror was dead, his courtiers and atten- 
 dants plundered his effects, stripped his corpse of his apparel, 
 and leaving him naked went away. Nobody remained to sit by 
 him ; and when at length a sufficient number of bearers were 
 found to render him this last office, after the service for the dead 
 had been chaunted over him with great precipitation, on account 
 of the infectious effluvia that filled the chureh, which could not 
 be removed, notwithstanding the clouds of smoke from the burn- 
 ing frankincense : this was occasioned by the corpse having been 
 ruptured, by forcing it into a coffin which was made too small. 
 It was then that a citizen of Caen opposed its interment, by the 
 protest, or Clameur de Haro, until he had been paid for the ground 
 in which the remains were to be deposited; as the claim was just, 
 a compliance with it was indispensable. It was thus, that he who 
 had lately been the possessor of two crowns, was left almost with- 
 out a sepulture, a shroud, a coffin, a priest, or even hands to 
 lower him into his grave."* — Lecanu, Eveques de Coutances. 
 
 The more modern processes in courts of law have not 
 altogether superseded this ancient mode of obtaining jus- 
 tice ; it is still, in some cases, a first proceeding to bring a 
 disputed question of right to issue. 
 
 " Trials on this Clameur de Haro are still brought be- 
 fore the royal court of this Island. It is a remarkable fea- 
 ture in that law, that the prosecution is carried on by the 
 crown, and that the losing party, whether plaintiff or 
 defendant, is mulcted in a small fine to the king, because 
 the sacred name of Haro is not to be carelessly invoked 
 with impunity. It is the usual form in Jersey, to oppose 
 all legal encroachments on landed property, and the 
 first step to be taken, by which an ejectment may be finally 
 obtained." — Durell, note 20. 
 
 * Pope, in his " Windsor Forest," alludes to this circumstance :— • 
 " But see the man, who spacious regions gave 
 A waste for beasts, himself denied a grave." 
 
ANCIENT PRIVILEGES. 243 
 
 NEUTRALITY. 
 
 We learn from the charter of Elizabeth, that will be 
 hereafter quoted, that the Islands enjoyed peculiar pri«* 
 vileges before the reign of king John, partly owing to 
 their situation, and partly to their not being subject to 
 many of those claims which bore so heavily on the peo- 
 ple on the continent, and in England, during the time 
 of feudal service ; which privileges they possessed both 
 from the ancient dukes of Normandy, and from the 
 sovereigns of England, but that granted by the above- 
 mentioned monarch, is the first known to exist. It 
 may justly be styled the Magna Charta of Jersey; 
 and it may here be observed, that it was not extorted from 
 John, as in England, but granted to the Islands on account 
 of his peculiar favour to them, and to the inhabitants. 
 Later charters are little more than repetitions of that by 
 John; except in some instances, the privileges were en- 
 larged, and the preamble to the charters generally states 
 the conduct of the Islanders, in their allegiance to Eng- 
 land's sovereign, as deserving the marks of royal favour : 
 they are declared to be a free people, subject to no autho- 
 rity but what emanates immediately from the crown ; and 
 the great importance of the Islands to the monarchs of 
 England, not only secured them from the exercise of any 
 despotic power those monarchs possessed, but was the 
 cause of their privileges being maintained. The charters 
 declare that they should be considered, throughout the 
 king's dominions, citra vel ultra mare, near, as well as 
 beyond the seas, not tanqitam alienigence, as foreigners 
 and strangers, but tanquam indigence, as native English- 
 
244 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 men; this was a great benefit to the Islanders, as regarded 
 their intercourse with foreign nations, while at the same 
 time they retained many privileges, which were not pos • 
 sessed by the English themselves. 
 
 The privilege that we have now to treat of was of a 
 later date than the reign of John, and was probably grant- 
 ed, not so much in reference to the advantage of the Islands, 
 as for the mutual benefit of belligerents, during a state 
 of hostility; for it can scarcely be supposed that the Eng- 
 lish and French monarchs, while their respective nations 
 were at war, would in. any way make important conces- 
 sions in favour of Islands so comparatively unimportant ; 
 unless they did, at the same time, secure to themselves some 
 reciprocal benefit ; or it is not unlikely that the English 
 monarch was induced, on religious grounds, to concede 
 the right of free access to the subjects of France, for 
 reasons that will be hereafter stated. 
 
 The privilege alluded to, is that of Neutrality during 
 war, which comprehended, not merely the harbours of 
 the Islands, but to the most distant point that could be 
 seen from the land, " as far as the eye of man can reach." 
 This remarkable privilege has been already noticed, and 
 where it was stated that a more particular account of it 
 would be given, when the ancient privileges should be 
 treated of.* It had its origin during the time of Edward 
 IV. who began his reign in 1471, but for what reason is 
 now lost to posterity ; although, probably, with a view 
 somewhat similar as that with which the Hanse Towns, 
 and their privileges, were established ; or by the interfer- 
 ence of the Pope, in reference to the connexion which then 
 subsisted between the Islands and the bishop of Cou- 
 tance, as they were still subject to that suffragan in all 
 
 * See page 141. 
 
ANCIENT PRIVILEGES. 245 
 
 ecclesiastical affairs, notwithstanding they belonged to 
 the crown of England ; and this is the more probable as 
 we find a bull issued by Sixtus IV., in 1483, not only con- 
 firming the neutrality, but denouncing the anathemas of 
 the church against all who should infringe it : and the 
 privilege was probably conceded, to allow free access to 
 the Islands, which their connexion required, without be- 
 ing prevented by the usual prohibitions of war. That 
 the privilege was continued after the Islands were trans- 
 ferred to the see of Winchester, was probably occasioned 
 by the belligerents having found the advantage of neutral- 
 ground, independent of the original object. 
 
 In introducing this remarkable privilege more particu- 
 larly to the reader, we shall first give a translation of that 
 part of the charter of Elizabeth relating to the subject, 
 which, it will be observed, refers to former charters grant- 
 ed to the Islands, and among others to that of Edward IV. 
 conceding this privilege ; the charters alluded to in this of 
 Elizabeth, are not now known to be in existence, but the 
 bull of Pope Sixtus IV., which confirmed the privilege 
 as regarded the authority of the Church, and denounced 
 anathemas against those who infringed it, proves it to have 
 been originated by Edward IV. 
 
 " — And, Whereas some other privileges, jurisdictions, immu- 
 nities, liberties, franchises, have been indulged, given, granted, 
 and confirmed, to the aforesaid Isle,* by our forementioned pro- 
 genitors and predecessors, formerly kings of England, and dukes 
 of Normandy, and others, and have, from time immemorial, been 
 inviolably used and observed, within the Island maritime places 
 aforesaid ; one of which is, that in time of war, the merchants 
 of all nations, and others, as well foreigners and natives, as well 
 enemies as friends, may and shall be permitted freely, lawfully, 
 and without fear or danger, to resort, accede to, and frequent 
 * Jersey. 
 
246 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the foresaid Isle and maritime places, with their ships, merchan- 
 dises, and goods, as well to avoid tempests, as to pursue their 
 other lawful affairs ; and there to exercise a free commerce, irade, 
 and merchandizing; there safely and quietly to stay and remain; 
 and thence to return and come back at any time, without any 
 damage, molestation, or hostility whatsoever, in their wares, 
 merchandises, goods, or bodies; and that not only within the 
 Island, and maritime places aforesaid, and the precincts of the 
 same, but also all-a-round them, at such space and distance as 
 is within man's ken, that is, as far as the eye of man can reach : 
 We approving and allowing the said immunity, impunity, liberty, 
 privilege, and all the premisses last mentioned, do, by these pre- 
 sents, indulge and grant the same, for us, our heirs and succes- 
 sors, as much as in us lies, to the said bailly aud j urates, and 
 other indwellers, inhabitants, merchants, and others, as well 
 friends as enemies, and to each of them, and by our royal autho- 
 rity do renew, reiterate, and confirm the same, in as ample 
 form and manner as the said indwellers and inhabitants of the 
 said Island, the said natives and foreigners, merchants and others, 
 have in time past »used and enjoyed, or ought to have used and 
 enjoyed them. We do therefore by these presents charge and 
 strictly enjoin all and every of our magistrates, officers, and 
 subjects, throughout our whole realm of England, and other our 
 dominions, and places subject to our government, wheresoever 
 constituted, that they do not presume rashly to infringe, or any 
 way violate this our grant, concession, and confirmation, or any 
 thing therein expressed or contained; and if any one dares or 
 attempts to do ought to the contrary, We will and command, as 
 much as is in our power, that he not only restore the things un- 
 justly taken, but also that he be compelled, by any remedies of 
 law, to make full amends and satisfaction for the loss, interest, 
 and expences, and be severely punished, as a presumptuous con- 
 temner of our royal authority, and of our laws." 
 
 It has been doubted by some writers, whether the neu- 
 trality was ever carried into effect, with much strictness ; 
 and their opinion seems to have been founded on the cir- 
 cumstance of its occasional infraction. The objections 
 
ANCIENT PRIVILEGES. 247 
 
 of the present day are not new ; they were urged at 
 the time of Mr. Poindextre : he considers them at great 
 length in his MS., and proves that it was enforced, not 
 only by his reasoning, but by the facts that he produces : 
 it will not be necessary here to detail his arguments — the 
 facts will be sufficient. One of the main objections is to 
 be found in the new edition of Falle's History: it is 
 there observed : — " The bull of Sixtus did not produce 
 the effect of restoring security to the Islanders. There is 
 a curious act of the Eoyal court, of the twenty-first of 
 October, 1545, by which the inhabitants are enjoined to 
 carry sticks for their protection, (porter des batons. J 
 It was not many years before, that according to the Jersey 
 chronicler, Richard Mabon, the then dean of the Island, 
 had been dragged out of his bed, taken on board of a 
 Spanish freebooter, and been obliged to pay a heavy ran- 
 som for his release. It is nugatory to talk of the neutra- 
 lity, which our ancestors are reported to have enjoyed, 
 among whom such a disorganized state of society was 
 tolerated." — Durell, note 182. 
 
 It may, however, be observed, that although this neu- 
 trality might be respected, as it regarded the vessels of 
 belligerents, either in the harbours, or within ken of the 
 Islands, for the benefit of the trade of both nations, it 
 might not preclude a general hostile attack ; and it may 
 be inferred from an extract that will be inserted, from 
 Mr. Poindextre's MS., that this arming with batons, may 
 have been rather to enforce the neutrality, by furnishing 
 them with the means of attack on those who may have 
 dared to infringe it. It is by no means improbable, that 
 there were occasional attempts to break it, and that these 
 attempts might, either by fraud or for want of sufficient 
 power to repel them, have sometimes succeeded ; but there 
 
 x 3 
 
248 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 can be no doubt that it was generally respected, and that 
 the instances quoted are rather to be taken as exceptions 
 to the rule, than as proofs that the privilege was slightly- 
 regarded. Even the strong instance of its infraction, 
 in the case of dean Mabon being taken from his bed, by 
 a Spanish freebooter, was the act of a pirate, whom no 
 laws, however enforced by legitimate authority, will bind. 
 This, however, does not rest on conjecture ; there are 
 several instances on record, to prove that it was not only 
 respected, but when any attempt was made to infringe it, 
 the authorities of the Island interposed, to enforce its 
 observance, and in every instance compelled the assailing 
 party to obedience. The instances subjoined have the 
 high authority of Mr. Poindextre ; and it is to be observ- 
 ed, in reference to the latter case, that as it occurred dur- 
 ing his time, he must have been fully cognizant of the fact, 
 
 " Moreover we have an act, of the year 1524, made in the 
 assembly of the three estates of the Isle ; the then governor, and 
 the commissioner, sent over hither from the king, being present; 
 how that a prize, made by one Dennis Pointy, within the precinct 
 of these Isles, contrary to ye neutrality, was judged tortionary 
 and illegall ; and the said Pointy condemned to make restitution, 
 with costs, which was accordingly done." — MS. 
 
 " It happened, in the duke of Somerset's time, when the war 
 was very hot with France, some French vessels were then in the 
 port of St. Aubin's, laden, and ready to sett sayle ; it happened 
 that some English privateers, with 300 men on board, then arriv- 
 ed thither, and offered to seize on them as enemies, which Henry 
 Cornish, the deputy-governor of the sayd duke, being informed 
 of, caused the strength of the Island to be gathered together, 
 and had layd them by the heeles, had they not prevented by 
 departing thence.'' — MS. 
 
 " In the year 1628, when a barque, laden with goods from St. 
 Malos, and addressed to Mr. Baillefranch, an inhabitant, was 
 
ANCIENT PRIVILEGES. 249 
 
 sett upon by one captain Barker, in ye port of St. Aubin, being 
 at anchor there ; the court ordained that it should be released 
 for many reasons, but especially for this of neutrality." — MS. 
 
 If the principal object of this neutrality was of a reli- 
 gious character, in order to preserve a free and uninter- 
 rupted communication between the Islands and their 
 suffragan at Coutance, it is certainly probable that it be- 
 came relaxed, in a great degree, after they were trans- 
 ferred to the see of Winchester by Elizabeth. From 
 this time, when the power of the Pope was no longer fear- 
 ed, and his threats could no more be enforced, the privi- 
 lege came to be disregarded ; and we learn that the Is- 
 landers finding the system of privateering would be more 
 gainful to them, they adopted it, without being checked 
 by the British sovereigns : thus it was virtually relin- 
 quished, and finally abolished by an order in council, by 
 William III.* removing the restriction, and allowing the 
 Islanders to act for themselves. 
 
 This singular privilege furnished the learned Selden with 
 an argument, which he employed in his celebrated work, 
 Mare Clausum, to prove that England always possessed 
 a right to the dominion of the narrow seas : his argument 
 is founded on the assumption that this country had pos- 
 session of these Islands, from a very early period, and 
 consequently had maritime dominion in the channel ; which 
 every authority that can be quoted, proves to be incor- 
 rect. It is somewhat singular, that Selden should have 
 used it ; but there can be no doubt that such was his 
 opinion : his words are, " The kings of England have 
 always possessed the Islands aforesaid, lying near the 
 coast of Prance, and consequently been masters of the 
 sea in which they are situate." Mr. Morant, the learned 
 * Gough's edition of Camden's Britannia. 
 
250 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 antiquarian, addressed a letter to Mr. Falle, in 1733, in 
 which, while he admitted the fact of England having the 
 dominion of the narrow seas, he proves the incorrectness 
 of that particular argument adduced hy Selden, who quotes 
 some ancient documents, and refers to former customs in 
 proof. Mr. Morant examines all the arguments in the Mare 
 Clausum, bearing on this point; and shows, however 
 high the authority of Selden is, and how conclusive gene- 
 rally his arguments are, in this instance he was wrong.* 
 
 * The reader who may wish for more information on this subject, 
 may consult Falle's History, by the Rev. E. Durell, in which Mr. Mo- 
 rant's letter is reprinted at length. 
 
 For many other ancient privileges, but which are in exercise in the 
 present day, the reader is referred to chapter viii. 
 
 i 
 
251 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Although some few particulars have reached the present 
 time, of the general history of the Islands, yet nothing 
 is known of those persons who nourished in them before 
 the Conquest, and comparatively very little from that period 
 till the 17th century. At the time that they were taken 
 possession of by the Romans, Me are not informed that 
 the Islanders were marshalled on the shore, like their now 
 fellow subjects, the Britons, to repel the assailants ; 
 and we may trace the page of history in vain for a 
 patriot Carteret, prepared to oppose a landing, or a brave 
 Pierson, who sacrificed his life in repelling an insolent 
 invader : — every thing anteriour to the Conquest, which 
 respects individual history, must be left to imagination. 
 But it may not be unduly exercised, in picturing to itself 
 the IslaDders of ancient days engaged in heroic deeds, 
 which only wanted a chronicler to transmit to posterity, 
 and to give them an interest equal to the most famous of 
 later times. Even the story of De Hambie, whatever of 
 truth the credulous may attach to it, is nothing more than 
 an ingenious, and, as given by Mr. Bulkeley, a beautiful 
 fiction, although it may have had some truth for its origin. 
 In comparing the names of those who accompanied 
 
252 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 William the Conqueror, in his expedition to England, with 
 those who are at this time natives of the Islands, the 
 ancestry of some of the present generation, could the 
 line be followed, may be traced to that distant period ; 
 but the renowned families must be satisfied with having a 
 right to the claim, without being able to prove it : — to 
 attempt the proof would be fruitless, and uninteresting 
 to an English reader could it be effected. 
 
 It is intended, in the present Biographical Sketch of Jer- 
 sey, to give the Memoirs of Individuals in chronological 
 order, from the earliest period at which any individual 
 history is known, to that of the present time. It is pre- 
 sumed, however unusual this plan may be, that it will be 
 found to combine some advantages which no other can 
 furnish. There have been many characters, who were 
 eminent in their day and generation, and in the sphere in 
 which they acted, sufficiently so to deserve a place in the 
 Biography of the Islands ; but the scenes in which they 
 acted were too decidedly of a temporary character, and 
 consequently uninteresting to posterity, to allow a sepa- 
 rate memoir; it is therefore intended, in the proposed 
 sketch, to give them a place in the order in which they 
 lived, with such particulars of them as the annals of the 
 Islands will furnish, and which may be deemed interesting 
 at the present time ; reserving for those who are better 
 known, a separate sketch of their lives. 
 
 The proposed plan will also have another advantage. 
 The general history could only narrate the great leading 
 events in which the Islands have been engaged ; the limited 
 space allotted for it, would not allow much to be introduced 
 of individual action. In giving the lives of Individuals 
 in chronological order, the characters who took part in 
 public transactions will be introduced, and their separate 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 253 
 
 history given, as connected with those events ; not omit- 
 ting those persons who passed their lives in literary retire- 
 ment; or those who, although in high stations in the 
 church, took little or no part in the politics of the day. 
 
 If, in the early period of its history, Jersey furnished 
 any eminently literary characters, their names are, with 
 one exception, lost to posterity. Neither of the Chan- 
 nel Islands can be called classic ground. Jersey had 
 no institutions of a public character, besides the two 
 already mentioned, St. Manliers and St. Athanasius, where 
 little more than the mere elements of learning were taught 
 on the foundation: from thence students were usually 
 transferred to the University of Saumur, where they were 
 instructed in the learning of the age. Even at the present 
 time it has no colleges, or rich endowments for the promo- 
 tion of learning — no scholarships to attract, no fellowships 
 to reward talent and persevering industry. For all these 
 advantages, her sons are indebted to England, and her 
 munificent University of Oxford ; they are found in the 
 three colleges of Exeter, Jesus, and Pembroke, in which 
 are fellowships to reward the talent of the more favoured 
 Jersey scholars.* 
 
 But to encourage learning among his fellow subjects, 
 the celebrated historian of his native Island, Falle, left, 
 at his decease, his large collection of books, — a valuable 
 bequest, as before his time the Island had no public library 
 whatever; and Dr. Dumaresq has since added to the col- 
 lection a considerable number of volumes. An annual 
 grant has also been voted by the States, for the purchase 
 of more modern books, so that at present it forms a very 
 respectable collection. 
 
 It has already been observed that nothing is known of 
 * See Ecclesiastical History, page 49. 
 
254 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 individual history, before the time of William, the Norman, 
 who held the sovereignty of these Islands, previously to 
 his conquest of England. The person who: claims the first 
 place in this Biography, flourished in the 12th century; 
 Robert Vaice, or Wace, (1) as his name is now written, the 
 
 (1) Robert Wace. 
 
 Robert Wace was born in the 12th century, as we learn from 
 his writings, but he does not inform us in what year, neither does 
 he give any account of his parentage, or of his early years, ex- 
 cept that he left Jersey, where he was born, while young.* In 
 the few extracts that will be given from his writings, those parts 
 will be selected, that furnish particulars, from which the informa- 
 tion respecting his life has been taken ; and the reader will, at 
 the same time, have a specimen of his poetry : — 
 
 " Ie di et dirai ke je suis, 
 Vaice de lisle de Gersui ; 
 Ki est en raer vers loccident, 
 Al fieu de Normendie apent. 
 En lisle de Gersui, fui nez 
 A Caem fui petit portez, 
 Illoques fui a letres mis, 
 Puis fui longues en France apres." 
 
 Thus we learn that he was born in Jersey, that he was sent to 
 Caen while he was young, and where he commenced his studies : 
 from thence he went to France ; but as no particular place is men- 
 tioned, it is probable that he employed his time in travelling, and 
 in collecting information for his future labours. 
 
 Although Wace informs us that he was born in Jersey, he does 
 not state precisely the time ; it must, however, have been early 
 in the 12th century, and during the reign of our first Henry : 
 " Treis reis Henriz vi et connui, 
 Et clerk lisant en leur tens fui, 
 Rei d' Engleterre la garnie, 
 Et due furent de Normendie." 
 
 * In an allusion he makes of his parents, he intimates that he lost his father 
 while a youth, and prohably before he left his native Island. 
 " Querjeoui dire a mon pere, 
 Bienm'ensovintmez varletere." 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 255 
 
 Anglo-Norman poet, was born in Jersey, and his poems 
 were of so much celebrity in his day, that they furnished 
 the chief amusement of crowned-heads and their courtiers, 
 and perhaps excited as much interest, and afforded as 
 much amusement, in that illiterate age, as either the Iliad 
 or JEneid of more ancient times. 
 
 Here he informs us that he lived during the reigns of three kings 
 Henry :* that he had some public appointment, which he terms 
 " clerk lisant ;" what this meant cannot now be correctly ascer- 
 tained — whether it was an officiating priest, as a reader, or an 
 engagement of somewhat a higher character, analogous to a pro- 
 fessorship, or a lecturer on some subject, probably history — but 
 whatever this appointment was, it must have been in Normandy. 
 He received it from the king of England, as duke of that 
 province, and who endowed it ; as the term " garnie" probably 
 signifies. 
 
 '■' Quant jo de France repairai, 
 A. Ciiaem lungues conversai, 
 De remanzf faire m' entremis, 
 Mult en eciis, et mult en fis." 
 
 These lines inform us, that on his return from his travels, he 
 again settled at Caen, where he continued his engagements a long 
 time, and was much occupied by his writings, and his official 
 duties, whatever they were ; — " Mult en ecris, et mult en fis." 
 
 After he had finished his " Roman de Rou," the work best 
 known in England, and which will be hereafter noticed ; Henry II. 
 
 * The reader should be informed that it is not here meant that he lived dur- 
 ing the reigns of our first, second, and third Henry ; for this would have made 
 to be 81 years of a^e, even if born the last year of Henry I, and died the first 
 of Henry III, which is not likely ; but the eldest son of Henry II, also named 
 Henry, "was crowned, during the life time of his father, and died before him 
 in 1183; consequently he never actually reigned, but having been crowned, 
 was in that sense king. 
 
 tit may here be observed that the word " Eemanz," though literally trans- 
 lated by the English Llomance, has a very different meaning : it originally meant 
 a history of the knights Crusaders, and by an easy change, became to mean a 
 more general history ; and hence we may trace the origin of the term romantic. 
 Wace gives his authorities like any other historian, who desires that his 
 work may be deemed authentic, and thus avoids the charge of its being a fic- 
 tion. 
 
256 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Robert Wace had not a Plutarch or a Johnson, to trans- 
 mit his name and his talents to posterity; all that is 
 known of his individual history is gathered from his 
 poems, in which he incidentally alludes to himself ; but 
 enough is told us to satisfy the curiosity of the present 
 day, and his poems still live to prove his claim to celebrity. 
 
 to whom he had dedicated it, presented him with a prebendal 
 stall in the cathedral of Bayeux : we learn by the cartularies of 
 the church, that he held this preferment nineteen years ; und pro- 
 bably to the day of his death. 
 
 After he had written " The continuation of the History of the 
 Dukes of Normandy," he rested for a time from his labours, and 
 he then received very flattering invitations to continue the history ; 
 but in his next poem, he assigns a reason for the delay — he com- 
 plains that he had not met with encouragement : his complaint is 
 that his patrons amused him with ample professions, and had 
 not fulfilled their promises to him : — 
 
 " De dons e de pramesse chescun d' els m' asoage, 
 Mes besuing vient, qui tost sigle et tost nage, 
 E suvent ine fet metre li denier el gage." 
 
 He charges the Maecenases of the age, with confining them- 
 selves to barren compliments, and not giving him sufficient to 
 defray a month's wages of his amanuensis ; he reminds them of 
 happier days, when the barons and their ladies knew how to 
 honour and reward the historian, who consecrated their names 
 in his works, and transmitted them to posterity. Henry II. was, 
 however, exempted from this charge ; for besides the stall in the 
 cathedral at Bayeux, he conferred on him other favours, as a 
 reward for his talents, and for the amusement he afforded to the 
 court. 
 
 As Wace was present at the coronation of the son of Henry 
 II., he must have resided for a time in England, and was personally 
 known in the court of his patron : it has, indeed, been asserted 
 that he died in England ; the authority, however, is not stated. 
 His death occurred about the year 1184, but as the time of his 
 birth is not known, we are, of course, ignorant of his exact age. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 257 
 
 The island of Jersey must, however, be satisfied with 
 having given birth to the poet : he does not in any part 
 of his poems allude to his having visited the Island, after 
 he was sent to Caen ; but it is an honour that is undis- 
 puted. While more than one city of Greece claim to be 
 distinguished, as having given birth to Homer, and claim 
 
 Of the writings of Wace, the first that will be noticed is — 
 
 " Le Brut d' Angleterre," so called from Brutus, the first king of 
 the Britons; it is a translation in verse, and was originally written 
 in Latin, by Geoffrey of Monmouth, or, as some suppose, translated 
 into Latin by him, from the language of Lower Britany, in which it 
 was originally written, by an author now unknown : this translation 
 was first published — if the modern term will apply — first known to the 
 public, in 1155, as may be inferred from the following lines, or it may 
 indicate the year in which he began it : — 
 
 " Poiske Dex incarnation 
 Prist por nostre redemption, 
 M. C. L. et cinq ans, 
 Fist mestre Wace cest remanz." 
 Wace continued this history of the British Kings to the close of the 
 7th century ; but as the early part is in a translation, he is not, of 
 course, answerable for its accuracy, which would certainly implicate 
 its authenticity, as Geoffrey.is by no means entitled to this merit. There 
 is in the royal library at Paris a very superb copy of this work, sup- 
 posed to be coeval with the author : in the same library there are other 
 MSS. of it, of a later date ; it is also in the library of the British Mu- 
 seum. It contains 1800 lines of octo-syllabic verse. 
 
 The next was an original work, " The History of the irruption of 
 the Normans into England, and the northern provinces of France ." 
 Mon. De la Rue, who has critically commented on the writings of 
 Wace, observes that in this work " the author discovers a prodi- 
 gious knowledge of history, and the revolutions of empires." * The only 
 copy known of this work, is in the royal library of Paris : it is written 
 in lines the same length as the last. 
 
 The third performance of Wace is the famous " Roman deRou;" 
 the name is derived from Rollo, the first duke of Normandy, who is 
 the hero of the history. Some annotators on Wace have confounded 
 this work with the preceding, describing them as one work; this is evi- 
 
 * Mon. De la Rue presented a paper to the Antiquarian Society, on the life 
 of Wace and his writings, which was published in the Archceologia, vol. 12. 
 
258 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the distinction on that single fact, no one denies that Jer- 
 sey was the birth-place of Kobert Wace. 
 
 The paucity of means, already noticed, doubtless re- 
 pressed much rising genius : could we penetrate the recesses 
 of their church-yards, and bring to view the latent, be- 
 cause untutored talent, during what may be called the 
 
 dently an error, for not only is the subject perfectly distinct, but the 
 two poems are composed in lines of different lengths. He informs us, 
 in another of his poems, that he composed it in 1160; it is written in 
 verses of twelve syllables, called Alexandrine, and is to be found in 
 the library of Paris : it was transcribed early in the 18th century, and 
 the orthography adapted to that time ; and an edition has lately been 
 printed at Rouen, in two vols. 8vo., with notes and comments by M. 
 Pluquet. 
 
 His fourth work is " The Romance of William Longsword, son of 
 Rollo :" this also has been considered as a part of the " Roman deRou," 
 and with more propriety, as the lines are of the same length, and it may 
 be considered as a continuation of that work; but we prefer viewing it 
 as a distinct, as it ie in fact a separate, history; and is generally found 
 separated in libraries, although sometimes placed at the end of the other 
 work, as is the case of the one in the library in Paris. 
 
 The fifth is " The Romance of duke Richard 1. son of William Long- 
 sword:" the same remarks will apply to this work as to the preceding, 
 and the same reasons for making it separate are also applicable; this 
 is considerably longer than the former, and is also written in lines of 
 eight syllables. 
 
 The sixth is " A continuation of the History of the Dukes of Nor- 
 mandy," comprehending a space of time from duke Richard I. to the 
 sixth year of the reign of Henry I. : that is, to the period at which he 
 took his brother Robert prisoner, and thus became possessed of both 
 England and Normandy. In this work he informs us that he saw the 
 eldest son of Henry II. crowned, during the life of his father:* this 
 fully explains what has been already observed, that he lived during the 
 time of three kings Henry. This event took place in the year 1170, 
 so that the poem was written after that time : it is the longest of all his 
 poems, taken separately; it contains 12,000 lines, and is in the library 
 of the British Museum. 
 
 His seventh work is a sort of compendium or abridged chronicle of 
 the History of the dukes of Normandy. In this work he again alludes 
 to himself, and the time that he commenced his history of the dukes of 
 
 * The fact is admitted by Hume, History of England, vol. 1. page 291, 4o edit. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 259 
 
 dark ages of the Island, probably it may be said 
 
 " Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest." 
 and we may, with more certainty, add, judging from the 
 bravery and the known loyalty of the Islanders, 
 
 " Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood." 
 but history has not presented the name of any one of note, 
 
 Normandy, which it appears was in 1160; 
 
 " Mil chente e seisante ans ont tie tems e d espace, 
 Pois ke Dex en la Virge descendi par sa grace, 
 Quant un Clerc de Caem qui ot nora Mestre Wace, 
 S entrerait de lestoire de Rou e de setrace. 
 
 This work is in Alexandrine verse, and is in the library in Paris. 
 
 The eighth is " The Origin of the Feast of the Conception of the 
 Virgin :" tradition states that this feast was established by William the 
 Conqueror, and that poetical games were instituted, analogous to 
 what are now called prize essays were 'appointed in honour of it. 
 This work of Wace gave rise to many canticles that have since been 
 written on the miraculous conception. There are several MSS. of this 
 poem in the royal library in Paris. 
 
 Wace's ninth work is " The Life of St. Nicholas :" this poem is in 
 verses of eight syllables. There is a copy in the library of Trinity 
 College, Cambridge ; and in the Bodleian library, Oxford. 
 
 His tenth work is " Roman de Chevallier au Lion;" some suppose 
 that this was written by another person, and ascribe it to Chrestien de 
 Troyes ; but others, with more probability, give him only the honour of 
 translating it, but the authorship to Wace. He alludes to some other 
 lighter works that he composed, but it is not known that any have come 
 down to the present time. 
 
 We shall conclude this account of the writings of Wace, by giving 
 his very graphic description of the person of William Longsword :— 
 
 " Willame Lunge Espee fu de hautte estature 
 Gros fu par li espaules, greile par la chainture, 
 Gambes ont lunges dreites, large la forcheure 
 Nesteit mie sa char, embrunie ne oscure, 
 Litez porta hault, lunge out lachevelure 
 Oils dreits et apers out, e dulce regardeure, 
 Mez a sis enemiz semla multe fiere e dure, 
 Bel nez e bele boucbe, e bele parleure, 
 Fors fu come Jehanz* e hardiz sans mesure, 
 Ki son colp atendi, de sa vie nont cure." 
 
 * Fort commeun geant. 
 
 Y 3 
 
260 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 till the 17th century: it will, however, be observed, that 
 as the reformation became extended to the Islands, it 
 brought with it its attendant advantages; the light of 
 truth shone not on them in vain, but elicited talent that 
 would have remained undiscovered, had the ignorance 
 and superstition of popery continued to prevail. From this 
 period many eminent men arose, who either by their ta- 
 lents or their learning, shed a lustre on the Islands, and 
 caused them to be better known to the British public. 
 
 It will, however, first be necessary to notice some few 
 individuals, who, by their patriotism or benevolence, 
 claim a place in this history. Philip de Carteret, who 
 has been already noticed in the General History, distin- 
 guished himself during the war of the Roses, as an adherent 
 of the House of York, and opposed for six years the 
 Compte de Maulevrier, who was of the Lancastrian party, 
 and being supported by the French, got possession, by 
 treachery, of Mont Orgueil Castle, and a considerable por- 
 tion of the Island ; but which de Carteret, assisted by Sir 
 Richard Harliston, afterwards recovered. He was Seigneur 
 of St. Ouen, and progenitor of a long line of celebrated 
 men : his son married the heroic Margaret de Harliston, 
 by whom he had twenty sons and a daughter; this son 
 died young, or rather while several of his children were 
 under age. One of his grandsons was Helier de Carteret, 
 the celebrated bailly of the Island, who died in 1640. 
 
 In the search after the names of eminent men, natives 
 of the Island, the next we find, after de Carteret, is that of 
 John Neel : he was born in Jersey, and was the first to 
 bestow on the Island any benefit of a literary character. 
 The two schools of St. Magloire (St. Manlier,) and St. 
 Anastase(St. Anastasius) were founded by him, conjointly 
 with one Tehy, who was also a native of Jersey, and set- 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 26 i 
 
 tied in Southampton as a merchant. Very few particulars 
 have reached the present time of the life of Neel, but we 
 find that he graduated in the. university of Paris, and 
 was afterwards treasurer to William Waynfleet, bishop of 
 Winchester, and dean of Prince Arthur's chapel, which 
 appointment he held till the time of his death, which oc- 
 curred in 1497. 
 
 Dean Mabon has already been mentioned, but it is 
 necessary again to notice him here, as having added to that 
 beautiful structure " La Rogue Bie ;" the part that he 
 built retains his name ; it is called Dean Mabon's Chapel. 
 The Jersey Records state that he had presided at a Royal 
 Court, as Juge co?n?nis, or deputy Bailly, during the 
 reign of Henry VIII. ; it appears by this that he acted 
 in a civil, as well as ecclesiastical, capacity ; unless the 
 appointment was only temporary, during the absence or 
 illne&s of the official. He must have died towards the 
 latter part of the reign of Edward VI., or in the first 
 year of Mary, as that queen cancelled the presentation to 
 a living of one Gouray', that dean Mabon had given him — 
 doubtless to make way for a papist. 
 
 In the list of benefactors to the Island, the name of 
 Laurens Baudeyn must not be omitted ; he added to the 
 benefit of Neel and Tehy's bounty, by giving a certain sum 
 in wheat-rents,* to assist young men, whose means would 
 not otherwise be sufficient to obtain a university education. 
 This is indeed only a part of Baudeyn's original plan, 
 which was to found a college, but the amount was insuffi- 
 cient for the purpose. 
 
 In the ecclesiastical history it has been stated that the 
 Island was subject to the Genevan discipline and mode of 
 
 * For an explanation of this term, the English reader is referred 
 to page 135. 
 
262 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 worship, during part of the reign of Elizabeth and James 
 I.,* but episcopacy was restored during that of James, 
 when Dr. Bandinel was the first dean ; he would there- 
 fore claim a place in this part of the general sketch ; but 
 so little is known of his private history, and he was so 
 much mixed up with the politics and commotions of the 
 Island, during the time of the great rebellion, that his 
 name is now passed with this notice, and the part he took 
 in public affairs, will find a more appropriate place in the 
 life of the Carterets. 
 
 But we must now leave the contemplation of poets and 
 benefactors, to view scenes of contention and strife ; and 
 to consider persons who also devoted themselves to the 
 service of their native Isle, but certainly employed far less 
 tranquil means ; the result, however, in the subsequent 
 prosperous state of the Island, proves their endeavours 
 were not without a good effect. 
 
 Sir Philip de Carteret, (2) whom it will be our province 
 first to mention in this warfare, sprang from an ancient 
 and considerable family in Jersey. It will, however, be 
 necessary to include the life of his nephew, afterwards Sir 
 George Carteret, (2) who took such a distinguished part 
 
 (2) Sir Philip de Carteret. — Sir George Carteret. 
 
 The family of De Carteret was originally from Normandy, 
 and consequently is of high antiquity ; and had been distinguish- 
 ed in Jersey, previously to the time of the subject of the present 
 memoir. Sir Philip de Carteret was born in the isle of Sercq, 
 in 1584, and must have exhibited considerable abilities, even 
 while young, for as soon as he was of an age to be entitled to the 
 honour, he was elected a Jurat of the Royal Court of Jersey. 
 Although the Island, during the early part of the 1/th century, 
 
 * See page 46. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 263 
 
 in opposition to the Parliament ; as the events in which 
 
 was not disturbed by any commotions, but such as she bred with- 
 in herself, yet these were at this time somewhat rife ; and two 
 commissioners, named Conway and Bird, were appointed to exa- 
 mine into the state of the Island, and report to the privy-council ; 
 Sir Philip de Carteret must have rendered very able assistance to 
 the commissioners, as in their report, which was made in 1617, 
 they speak of him in the highest terms of praise. He was soon 
 after appointed by the States to confer with the privy-council, 
 and to arrange with them the settlement of the canons of the 
 Church,* which had been previously drawn up, by the dean and 
 ministers of the Island ; and it was principally owing to his exer- 
 tions and influence that the arrangement was brought to a favour- 
 able result. In 1626 he was appointed Bailly, and while he held 
 that office, to the military post of Lieutenant Governor, during 
 the time that Sir Thomas Jermyn had the supreme command, 
 as Governor : this latter appointment he held during the remain- 
 der of his life. 
 
 Having thus traced his progress through his official gradations 
 of rank and honour, we have now to notice the part he took in 
 those stirring events in which the Island was concerned, during 
 the latter part of his time. The faithfulness of history requires 
 the admission that Sir Philip de Carteret had his faults, and among 
 others that his manners were austere — that he carried himself 
 with a haughty demeanour towards the Jurats on the bench ; but 
 it may be assumed that his distinguished position in the Island, 
 and his impartiality in administering justice, raised him up ene- 
 mies, who sought an opportunity to lessen his reputation, and 
 deprive him of his power : it is, however, a subject of regret, 
 that some of the charges against him were not without foundation; 
 they were, principally, that he contrived to secure for himself 
 " various offices incompatible in one person, for the indifferent 
 administration of justice," and that " he intrusted those of his 
 own name and family, with the chiefest places and offices ;" at 
 the same time granting reversions of places to his own relations : 
 
 * See Ecclesiastical History, page 47. 
 
264 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 both were concerned are so connected, that they in fact 
 
 this was deemed contrary to the law, at least contrary to the an- 
 cient practice, of the Island. 
 
 In this sketch of his life, it cannot be expected to enter into 
 an examination to what extent these charges were true ; that they 
 had some foundation there can be no doubt, but that they were 
 greatly exaggerated may be fairly inferred, from the fact that 
 Prynne, who was confined in Mont Orgueil Castle while he was 
 Lieutenant Governor, and who it may be supposed would not 
 openly, at least, vindicate any arbitary stretch of power, under- 
 took his defence against his enemies : and the Royal Court, in 
 1668, some years after his death, on the occasion of a cause be- 
 ing before it, in which his relations were concerned, passed on 
 him much encomium : the following testimony to his character, 
 which, while it admitted the fact that he held various offices of 
 trust, declared that he administered justice with integrity : — " II 
 posseda les premieres places ; et au gouvernement et en 1* admi- 
 nistration de la justice, il s'enquitta toujours avec tant d' honneur 
 et d' integrite, qu'il ne se rendit pas moins considerable par son 
 propre merite, qu'il l'etait par l'importance de ses charges." — 
 Cours de Samedi. 
 
 Dean Bandinel, who has already been mentioned, was a violent 
 opponent of Sir Philip de Carteret. Sir Philip had been charged 
 with endeavouring to deprive the Dean of part of his tythes ; 
 this, as may be supposed, raised the opposition against him, as 
 it was said that he sought to effect it by stretching his right be- 
 yond due bounds : and thus were the two heads — the one of the 
 civil, the other of the ecclesiastical power — in mutual conflict. 
 
 We must now introduce to the reader the celebrated Sir 
 George Carteret; he was son of Elie de Carteret, nephew to 
 Sir Philip, and his son-in-law. Sir George was born in the year 
 1599, he entered young in the service of the navy, and we first 
 hear of him as Captain Carteret in the Mediterranean, where he 
 signalized himself against the pirates of the Barbary States ; but 
 we know little of him afterwards, until he appeared in Jersey 
 with the king's commission as Lieutenant Governor, in November 
 1643, soon after the death of his uncle : there is, however, one 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 265 
 
 form one continued history, and thus the transactions of 
 
 fact recorded, which shows his great zeal and activity in favour 
 of the royal cause. Having heard that the king's army, in the 
 south of England, was in great want of powder, and cut off from 
 its supply, Captain Carteret went over to France, and ohtained 
 a considerable quantity, which he caused to he conveyed to the 
 army. For this timely and very important service, he received 
 the honour of knighthood, while the king was at Oxford : he 
 was afterwards created a baronet ; the patent is dated May 9th, 
 1645. 
 
 Previously to the death of Sir Philip, some of the malcontents 
 had shown strong symptoms of disaffection to the authority of 
 the king, and the parliament having sent over commissioners, their 
 disloyalty was fomented until it broke out into two parties, which 
 seemed prepared to set themselves in array against each other. 
 The insurgents had possession of the town, while Sir Philip was 
 shut up in Elizabeth Castle, and his wife in Mont Orgueil, which 
 two fortresses were held for the king. At this time Bandinel was 
 considered the head of the parliament-party, and evinced his per- 
 sonal animosity to Sir Philip. All supplies were refused to either 
 of the castles, but they were amply supplied by Capt. Carteret, 
 who was at St. Malo, making active preparations against the 
 storm that he apprehended ; but which did not, in fact, break over 
 the Island until some years after. This was the state of things, 
 when Sir Philip, borne down by grief and vexation at the malig- 
 nity of his enemies, and anxiety for the cause in which he was 
 engaged, was attacked by illness, which, in fourteen days, carried 
 him to his grave, at the age of sixty years. It was during his 
 illness, that Dean Bandinel showed his animosity, although his 
 conduct was attempted to be vindicated on the ground of policy : 
 he, and others who were associated with him, not only refused 
 Sir Philip being supplied with those things which would tend to 
 lessen the sufferings of a dying man, but for a long time refused 
 his wife to visit him, or to receive from a minister of his choice, 
 what he deemed the consolations of religion ; and when at last 
 his wife was allowed to pass into the Castle, it was only in time 
 to witness his dying agonies ; and the only consolation she had, 
 
266 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 that time will be brought as it were to a focus, and avoid 
 
 was the recognition of her presence, by his gently raising his hand : 
 he died the 23rd of August, 1643. 
 
 Before the news had reached England of the decease of Sir 
 Philip de Carteret, the parliament sent over one Major Lydcott 
 as Lieutenant Governor, with orders to arrest him ; but death 
 had already placed him beyond human power or controul. When 
 the king heard of the death of Sir Philip, he appointed Captain, 
 now Sir George Carteret, Lieut. Governor : his commission bears 
 date Get. 3rd, and he landed on the Island, from St. Malo, on the 
 19th of November following. During the interval the -pseudo 
 Lieutenant Governor Lydcott had lost much of his influence, 
 and even some of the officers whom he brought over with him, 
 had gone over to the Dowager Lady de Carteret, who was still 
 in Mont Orgueil Castle; and finding that the Islanders were 
 generally well affected towards the royal cause, he, together with 
 other functionaries appointed by parliament, fled the Island, and 
 as many of their party as had the means of escape went with them : 
 and thus the Island was, without bloodshed, brought under sub- 
 jection to the king. 
 
 The character of Captain Carteret was in such repute, that 
 previously to his declaring for the king, the parliament had offer- 
 ed to raise him to the rank of vice-admiral, and to place him un- 
 der the Earl of Warwick, who then had the command of the 
 fleet ; but he preferred adherence to the royal cause, and subse- 
 quent transactions justified his choice ; although it has been assert- 
 ed, that had he obtained a command in the fleet of the parliament, 
 he might have brought it over to the service of his royal master : 
 how far this line of conduct could be reconciled even to political 
 integrity, may well be questioned. 
 
 The authority of Sir George Carteret being now fully esta- 
 blished in the Island, he began to adopt the best means of an- 
 noying those, whom he now considered his enemies ; his profes- 
 sion, and the situation of the Island, soon suggested the most 
 likely method. He fitted out several vessels, as privateers, some 
 of which were of a class almost equal to frigates -, with these he 
 made captures of vessels, trading under passports from the officers 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 267 
 
 much repetition. The Restoration having quelled the dis- 
 
 of the parliament, and did considerable injury : these furnished 
 him with the means of further annoyance, till at last it excited 
 the alarm of the English merchants. The prizes did not, how- 
 ever, supply him with sufficient means for the defence of the 
 whole Island, and he was obliged to levy a forced loan on the in- 
 habitants ; which was subsequently paid, by fresh captures that he 
 made, and by the property of some of the malcontents that had 
 been confiscated. 
 
 This was the state of things when the king sent the prince, af- 
 terwards Charles II., to Jersey, as a place of safety, accompanied 
 by several distinguished men ; among others Sir E. Hyde, after- 
 wards Earl of Clarendon. The prince did not remain in the Island, 
 at this time, more than two months ; but Sir Edward was there 
 upwards of two years, during which time he wrote a considerable 
 part of his celebrated history. It was during his stay on the Is- 
 land, that the prince formed his high opinion of Captain Carte- 
 ret's character and talents, and which he afterwards so bountifully 
 rewarded. 
 
 Among those who did not flee the Island, when Captain Car- 
 teret arrived with the king's commission, were Dean Bandinel 
 and his son : these men had offered too much opposition to the 
 royal cause, and were too well disposed for mischief, to be allow- 
 ed their liberty, even if the Lieutenant Governor felt no inclina- 
 tion to visit on them their conduct towards his uncle. They were 
 both apprehended on a charge of high treason, and confined in 
 Elizabeth Castle, but afterwards removed to Mont Orgueil : after 
 somewhat more than a twelvemonth's imprisonment, they formed 
 a plan for their escape. Having previously made preparations, 
 they waited for a stormy night for its execution, and the 10th of 
 February, 1644, was favourable to their purpose : having tied 
 together the bed-clothes, and whatever cordage they could obtain, 
 to make the line sufficiently long to reach the ground, they forced 
 themselves through the grating of the window : the height was 
 immense — they must have miscalculated the distance to the rocks 
 below. The apparatus was too short, and the younger Bandinel, 
 who first made the attempt, fell on the rocks, and was dreadfully 
 
 z 
 
268 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 sensions of parties in the state, and brought peace and 
 
 bruised ; but a more awful fate awaited his father. Before he had 
 reached the end of the line, the rope broke, and he was dashed 
 on the cragged rocks, where he was discovered by the sentinel 
 on duty the next morning, in a state of insensibility, but still 
 alive : he lingered a few hours, and expired the next day. The 
 younger Bandinel escaped into the interior of the Island, and was 
 secreted in the house of a friend and partizan, where he was dis- 
 covered, and again consigned to prison. On the eve of his 
 trial he was seized with a delirious fever, which caused it to be 
 postponed; but the attack terminated his troublesome life, July 
 26th, 1645. 
 
 Sir George Carteret having completely established the au- 
 thority of the king on the Island, he scrupled not, on the execu- 
 tion of Charles, to proclaim his son as Charles II. : this was 
 indeed a bold step, and worthy of his intrepid character, consi- 
 dering that the parliament had now triumphed, and that the com- 
 monwealth was completely established throughout England. On 
 the September following the king's death, Charles paid his second 
 visit to Jersey, and remained on the Island till May in the next 
 year : it was during this time that he was first appointed control- 
 ler of the navy* — a somewhat ludicrous appointment, when the 
 whole navy consisted of privateers, and the few small frigates 
 that he had himself fitted out. 
 
 But the privateering expeditions, and the numerous captures, 
 increased the alarm of the English merchants ; and the parlia- 
 ment dispatched a large force, under Admiral Blake and Major 
 General Haines, in 1651, to reduce the Island : the particulars 
 of their descent and success have already been given, in the Gen- 
 eral History .f The parliament troops had, at first, only posses- 
 sion of the country ; Mont Orgueil was, however, soon reduced : 
 Sir George Carteret shut himself up in Elizabeth Castle, in 
 which he had a garrison of about three hundred and fifty men, 
 
 * This is gravely stated by Chalmers ; but it was probably an instance of 
 the " merry Monarch's" jocularity, who could amuse himself amidst his 
 greatest misfortunes, though with certainly more of indifference than philo- 
 sophy. 
 
 t See page 26. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 269 
 
 tranquillity to Jersey, as well as to other parts of the Bri- 
 
 and provisions for eight months : here he determined to hold out 
 till the last extremity, and the situation of the Castle favoured 
 his determined resistance. Built on a rock, nearly a mile distant 
 from the land, and surrounded by the sea at every tide, it could 
 not be attacked by regular approaches, and a distant cannonad- 
 ing did but little injury to the wall, which was soon repaired ; but 
 a shell having been thrown from a mortar on the town-hill, it fell 
 on the church, under which was a magazine of powder, and burst 
 the vaulting ; the explosion was terrific — upwards of fifty men 
 were killed, which reduced his small garrison, and spread dismay 
 among the survivors, some of whom urged Sir George to capi- 
 tulate, representing to him that such must be the issue ; but he 
 was not a man to yield to fear, although he may have formed the 
 same opinion as his officers. 
 
 In this extremity Sir George dispatched the Rev. J. Durel, 
 who was at that time chaplain to the garrison, to communicate 
 the intelligence to the king, and to solicit assistance from the 
 French monarch. As this could not be obtained, Charles advis- 
 ed him no longer to offer a fruitless resistance, but to capitulate 
 on the best terms he could obtain : still, however, he was unwill- 
 ing to submit ; but seeing no hope of a successful opposition, he 
 at last yielded to the representations of his officers and the wishes 
 of the king, and capitulated on honourable terms, after a siege 
 of almost two months. 
 
 It is somewhat remarkable that Sir George obtained such terms 
 as he did ; but doubtless the Parliamentarians were willing to ob- 
 tain possession of the fortress, to prevent a further effusion of 
 blood ; and by which the whole Island would be reduced to sub- 
 mission. The substance of the terms was — That Sir George should 
 receive full indemnity for all that he had done against the parlia- 
 ment — that all his possessions on the Island should be secured 
 to him, or that he should have the power to dispose of them — 
 that he should have free ingress and egress from the Island — that 
 he be allowed to reside in any country subject to the parlia- 
 ment, without taking the oath of allegiance — that he be allow- 
 ed to retain the grants made to him by the late king — and that 
 
270 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 tish dominions, it produced other characters, who either 
 
 he be furnished with a vessel for himself, his effects, and those 
 of his adherents who chose to accompany him to France. Such 
 were the terms he obtained for himself, personally; those on 
 behalf of the royalists, generally, were equally favourable, of 
 course giving security that they did not again take arms against 
 the parliament. Elizabeth Castle was the last fortress that yield- 
 ed to the Commonwealth ; thus was Sir George gratified in the 
 great object of his ambition — that as he was one of the most stre- 
 nuous supporters of the royal cause, so he was the last to submit 
 to the enemies of the king. The Castle was delivered up Dec. 
 15th, 1651. 
 
 After the surrender of the Island, Sir George retired to France, 
 and where he must have exerted himself, however fruitlessly, to 
 serve his royal master. Some transaction in which he was en- 
 gaged gave offence to Cromwell, and by the Protector's influence 
 with Cardinal Mazarin he was thrown into the Bastile ; he was, 
 however, soon released : this occured in 1657. Two years after 
 we find him at Rheims ; from thence he joined the king at Brus- 
 sels, preparatory to his embarkation for England, to take pos- 
 session of his throne. Sir George acted a prominent part in the 
 procession of May 29th, 1660, on the restoration of the exiled 
 monarch to his dominions : on the following day he was appointed 
 Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, and likewise sworn a Mem- 
 ber of the Privy-Council j and afterwards Treasurer of the 
 Navy. 
 
 In the first parliament that assembled after the Restoration, Sir 
 George was chosen, by the corporation of Portsmouth, to repre- 
 sent that borough ; and he was an active Member of the House. 
 He continued from this time in the faithful discharge of duties 
 attendant on these numerous engagements, until the year 1673, 
 when he was appointed one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and 
 in 1676 one of the Commissioners of the Board of Trade, and 
 Treasurer to the Military force in Ireland. This frequent suc- 
 cession to posts of honour and responsibility, were not only marks 
 of royal favour, but prove his capacity for the highest offices in 
 the state, and show that he possessed habits of business, and 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 271 
 
 shone in the paths of literature, or were champions who 
 
 extensive information on other subjects than those connected with 
 his profession. 
 
 There was, however, a still higher honour in reserve for him. 
 The king intended to raise him to the dignity of the peerage, as 
 a peculiar mark of personal esteem, for his past and present ser- 
 vices ; and the patent was actually ordered to be made out : but 
 before it was issued, he was compelled to forego all earthly honors 
 and titles : death released him on January 14th, 16/9, when he 
 was near 80 years of age. 
 
 On the 11th of February following, a royal warrant was issued, 
 stating " That whereas Sir George Carteret died before the patent 
 of his baronry was sued out, his Majesty authorises Elizabeth his 
 widow, and their youngest children, James Carteret, Caroline, 
 wife of Sir Thomas Scott, knt., and Louisa, wife of Sir Robert 
 Atkins, knt., to enjoy their precedency and preeminency, as if 
 the said Sir George Carteret had actually been created a Baron." 
 Thus his nearest connections were not deprived of their rank in 
 society by his death, before he was himself possessed of it ; and 
 his descendants were not only allied by marriage with nobility of 
 high rank, but were actually enobled in their own persons. His 
 eldest son, Philip, married the daughter of Edward Montague, 
 the first Earl of Sandwich, and perished with that celebrated 
 nobleman in the great sea-fight with the Dutch, in Solbay, in 
 1672 ; the eldest son of Philip was the first Lord Carteret, created 
 1681, and the eldest son of Lord Carteret was created Earl Gran- 
 ville, and took his seat in the House of Peers in 1711 : on the 
 accession of George L, he was appointed one of the Lords of 
 the Bedchamber, and afterwards Lord Lieutenant of Devon. — 
 Records of Jersey j Clarendon's History of the Rebellion ; 
 Chalmers's Biog. Diet, j DurelVs Notes on Falle; Collins' 's 
 Peerage. 
 
 z 3 
 
272 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 fought with less deadly weapons than those of war ; but 
 whose exertions were equally in support of order and legi- 
 timate authority : the scene of their warfare was the blood- 
 less field of controversy. Of literary characters, the first 
 in the order of time is Dr. Isaac Basire. (3) 
 
 (3) Dr. Isaac Basire. 
 
 The subject of this memoir, Dr. I. Basire, was an extraordinary 
 man, whether in respect to his abilities and literary attainments, 
 or the zeal with which he devoted himself to the fulfilment of 
 his duties as a Christian minister — indeed it may be said that in- 
 stances are very rare of men who have so distinguished themselves 
 by their learning, and at the same time given themselves up to 
 their sacred calling with a devotedness that seems akin to apos- 
 tolic. 
 
 Dr. Basire was born in Jersey, in the year 1607- We have no 
 certain account where he received his early education, but proba- 
 bly at the protestant University of Saumur, to which it was usual 
 to send the Jersey youth for instruction, previously to the foun- 
 dation of the fellowships in Oxford, by Charles I. The first pub- 
 lic employment in which we find him engaged, was as master of 
 a free school in Guernsey — that which was founded by queen Eli- 
 zabeth, and which has since been exalted to the higher dignity 
 of a college. It is no where stated at what time he took holy 
 orders, but we first find him officiating as chaplain to Dr. Morton, 
 Bishop of Durham, who gave him the rectory of Stanhope and 
 the vicarage of Egglescliff, both in the county of Durham. In 
 July 1640 he had the degree of Doctor of Divinity conferred on 
 bim by mandate at Cambridge, and was incorporated in the same 
 degree at Oxford, in November following. " In December 1 643 
 he was installed into the seventh prebend in the Church of Dur- 
 ham, to which he was collated by his generous patron Bishop 
 Morton, and the next year he was collated to the Archdeaconry 
 of Northumberland, with the rectory of Howick annexed." 
 These high honours and preferments, as they suppressed not the 
 zeal that he afterwards manifested in devoting himself to the best 
 interests of his fellow mortals, shed a lustre on his character that 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 273 
 
 It is somewhat doubtful whether the next should have a 
 
 is both rare and praiseworthy, and more worthy of praise because 
 so rare. 
 
 In 1646 we find him in Oxford, at which time he was chaplain 
 to the king, and where he preached several times before his ma- 
 jesty, who " granted him, with several other learned divines, 
 under the public seal of the University, a license to preach the 
 Word of God, throughout the kingdom." On the surrender of 
 the Oxford garrison, we are told that " he was sequestered, pur- 
 sevanted, plundered, and forced to fly ;" he followed, however, 
 the fortunes of the king, and was shut up with him in the Castle 
 of Carlisle, during the siege of that city, and suffered confinement 
 for some time in Stockton Castle. The turbulent state of the na- 
 tion did not allow him the exercise of his sacred duties, in a way 
 that he held to be conscientious : but he could not remain inactive 
 while there was a field to labour in ; and he chose one that re- 
 quired no small degree of labour, and the greatest self-denial. 
 He quitted England, where he left his family, and sought for 
 himself a scene for his christian exertions in the east : he first 
 directed his course to the. small island of Zante, where lie settled 
 and remained some time, preaching the gospel to the Greeks and 
 Arabs, and it appears with much success : here he translated 
 the Church Catechism into Greek, and which he left as a sum- 
 mary of Christian principles. He had long suffered opposition 
 from the Roman Catholics, but when this translation appeared, 
 which was intended to work with a more quiet effect on the minds 
 of the ignorant than his public ministrations, it raised such a 
 violent persecution against him, that he was compelled to quit 
 Zante, and he went over to the Morea, where he was well receiv- 
 ed by the Metropolitan of Achaia, who invited him to preach in 
 the Greek language. We are not informed how long he remained 
 in these parts, but we next hear of him in Italy and Sicily, where 
 he laboured for a time ; and from thence he embarked for Syria : 
 he prolonged his stay at Aleppo several months, where he 
 held frequent conferences with the Patriarch of Antioch, and 
 here he translated the Church Catechism into Arabic. In 1652 
 we find him at Jerusalem, and during his residence in that city 
 
274 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 place in this work, and still more doubtful whether the 
 
 he traversed the whole of Palestine, preaching the doctrine of 
 the cross and proclaiming the gospel to the benighted Jews. The 
 Patriarch of the Greek Church paid him peculiar respect, and 
 evinced his desire to hold communion with the Church of Eng- 
 land : he gave him his bull or patriarchal seal, as a testimony of 
 his favour; and he even found favour from the less bigotted 
 Roman Catholics of those parts, as we are told that " the Latins 
 received him most courteously into their convent, though he did 
 openly profess himself a priest of the Church of England." It 
 was not however all peace, as disputes were raised by some on 
 the subject of the English ordinations, and their validity was 
 questioned : to what length these disputes were carried we have 
 no means of ascertaining, but it may be concluded that they 
 were conducted with no great degree of acrimony, as we find 
 that he received many favours from the catholics, which were 
 not usually granted except to those of their own communion. 
 On his departure from Jerusalem, the Pope's Vicar gave him his 
 diploma and public seal, in which he is styled " a Priest of the 
 Church of England, and Doctor of Divinity," which must have 
 been a mark of esteem for his talents and character, as it was 
 unusual : it was, however, condemned by his opponents, especially 
 by the French ambassador at Constantinople. After a time he 
 returned to Aleppo, and from thence he crossed the Euphrates 
 into Mesopotamia — into the land where the gospel had been many 
 centuries before proclaimed in type, when Abraham, in a figure, 
 offered up his son Isaac : from this country he returned to Aleppo, 
 where he wintered, and while there he received many civilities 
 from Mr. Riley the English consul, and much assistance during 
 his journeys into the interior of Asia, from the ambassador at 
 Constantinople, Sir Thomas Bendyche. 
 
 In the year 1653 he left Aleppo, and came to Constantinople 
 by land, travelling a space not less than 600 miles without any 
 attendant of his own, but in the company of a few Turks, who 
 treated him well, not indeed without a motive, as the knowledge 
 that he had acquired of medicine caused him to be a useful com- 
 panion. On his arrival at the Turkish capital, he was invited by 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 275 
 
 sober-minded Islanders would claim him as a native ; 
 
 the French Protestants to become their minister, who offered to 
 settle on him a liberal stipend : it does not appear that he under- 
 took this charge, and it is likely that he did not, as the discipline 
 by which that Church was governed, was on the Genevan plan ; 
 and Dr. Basire was too strenuous an advocate for the constitution 
 of the Church of England, to make any concessions. He formed 
 the design while he was in Constantinople, of visiting Egypt, in 
 order to survey the Churches of the Coptics, and to confer with 
 the Patriarch of Alexandria : he relinquished the design, but 
 for what reason is not stated. From Turkey he passed over to 
 Transylvania, where he remained seven years, and was highly ho- 
 noured by George Ragotzi, the prince of that country, who placed 
 him in the divinity chair of Alba Julia, where he had lately found- 
 ed a University, and endowed him with a liberal salary. During 
 his travels he collected and collated the various confessions of faith 
 of the different sects of Christians with whom he became acquaint- 
 ed. He was very zealous in the endeavour to correct their errors, 
 and to prove that the constitution of the Church of England was 
 founded in truth, and supported by the authority of Scripture. 
 
 On the Restoration, Charles wrote a letter to Prince Ragotzi, 
 requiring the services of his faithful and zealous adherent ; but 
 that prince dying soon after, and before Dr. Basire had quitted 
 his territories, he was detained by his relict, the Princess Sophia, 
 who committed to his care the solemn obsequies of the departed 
 Prince : and other duties devolving on him, he was detained a 
 considerable time in Transylvania, and did not reach England till 
 1661, when he was graciously received by the restored monarch, 
 again put in possession of all his dignities and preferments, and 
 made chaplain in ordinary to the king. He continued in the quiet 
 and conscientious discharge of the ecclesiastical duties, which 
 devolved on him by his station in the Church, the remainder of 
 his days. He died October 30th, 1676, and was buried in the 
 yard of the Cathedral of Durham, where a tomb was erected over 
 his grave, with an inscription in Latin ; translated : — 
 
276 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 notwithstanding he was justly entitled to the praise of deep 
 erudition, which would have shed a lustre on the Island, 
 
 " Here lie the remains of 
 
 ISAAC BASIRE, D. D., Archdeacon of Northumberland, 
 
 Prebendary of this Church, and 
 
 Chaplain to their Majesties, King Charles I. and II. 
 
 Who fell on sleep the 12th day of October, in the year of our Lord, 1676, 
 
 And in the 69th year of his age. 
 
 1 Thes. iv. 14. — ' Them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.' " 
 
 This memoir of Dr. Basire shows his great zeal, not only in 
 the performance of his sacred duties, but in adherence to his 
 principles ; and to so great an extent did he carry his zeal for the 
 Church, and his attachment to monarchical government, that he 
 declined considerable advantages offered him by the Consul, at 
 Smyrna, because, as he observes, he " could not be allowed to 
 exercise his function, where the duty of praying for the king 
 should be prohibited;" and in a letter to his friend Sir R. Brown, 
 he writes* " I should now long for a comfortable return to my 
 family ; yet I am resolved rather to die in these toilsome ecclesi- 
 astical peregrinations, than to decline the least on either from my 
 religion or allegiance." He was no less eminent for his great 
 learning, as is testified in the public register of the University 
 of Cambridge, in which he is styled " Vir doctissimus ingenu et 
 doctrinae ornamentis preditus." 
 
 His principal works are ; — 
 
 . " Diatriba de antiqua Ecclesiae Britannicae libertate." This work 
 was originally written in Latin, and published at Bruges in 1656 ; it was 
 translated into English by Richard Watson, in 1661, under the title 
 of" The Ancient Liberty of the English Church, and its exemption 
 from the Roman Patriarchate ;'' the original MS. was found in Lord 
 Hopton's library. 
 
 2. " The History of the English and Scotch Presbytery." 
 
 3. "Sacrilege arraigned and condemned by St. Paul:" — besides 
 other minor pieces, and single sermons. 
 
 — Wood's Athena Oxon. j Biog. Brit, j Walker's Sufferings of the 
 Clergy j Lowndes's Bib. Man. 
 
BIOGRAPHY, 277 
 
 Henry Jacob (4) was so " shiftless," as he is described by 
 his biographers ; it is, however, stated by Wood that he 
 
 It is right to observe, that some doubt is expressed by the wri- 
 ter of the memoir of Dr. Basire, in the Biographia Britannica, 
 whether he was a Jerseyman ; and it is supposed that he was a 
 native of France : this doubt is said to be confirmed, from the 
 circumstance that the parish registers of the Island have been 
 searched, and his name does not appear : it is not improbable 
 that he was of French extraction, but the above is no proof that 
 he was not born and baptised in Jersey, as no reliance is to be 
 placed in the registers previously to the Restoration. During 
 the time of the grand rebellion, they were very imperfectly kept : 
 in some parishes there is an entire gap from 1645 to 1660; 
 and although before 1645 the entries are more regular, yet they 
 are by no means in that perfect state as to' warrant the assumption 
 that because Dr. Basire's name does not appear, he was not born 
 and baptised in Jersey. The proofs in favour of the assertion, 
 that he was a native, are strong : it is not likely that any one, ex- 
 cept a native of one of the Islands, would have been appointed 
 master to a public school in Guernsey ; and his very zealous attach- 
 ment to the discipline of the Church of England, and his many 
 preferments in the Establishment, are strong evidences that he 
 received his early impressions within her pale. 
 
 (4) Henry Jacob, 
 
 was born in the year 1608 : his father was a learned man, though 
 a non-conformist, and wrote a work which he dedicated to James 
 I., recommending a reformation of the Church of England ; and 
 " A treatise on the sufferings of Christ," in answer to a work by 
 Bishop Bilson : he was the founder of the first independent or con- 
 gregational church in England.* Henry, his son, first studied at 
 Leyden, under the celebrated Erpenius : at the age of twenty- 
 two he came to England, when his great attainments attracted 
 the attention of the Earl of Pembroke, then Chancellor of the 
 University of Oxford, and on his recommendation, was created 
 * Strype's Life of Whitgift. 
 
278 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 was born in Jersey, and there is colour for the assertion, 
 as his mother's name was Dumaresq, and it is not impro- 
 
 B. A. in 1628 : he was also patronized by the Earl's successor, 
 Archbishop Laud, by whose influence he was elected fellow of 
 Merton College ; and on the following year he was appointed to 
 some honourable post ; but he so neglected his duty that he was 
 suspended. Notwithstanding this failure, he soon acquired a 
 character for profound erudition among his cotemporaries. He 
 was deeply skilled in the Hebrew and other oriental languages, 
 and became the intimate friend of the learned Selden, who pa- 
 tronized him on account of his great acquirements ; and so high 
 an opinion had he of Jacob's talents, that he adopted several of 
 his emendations, and especially some suggestions in reference to 
 his Mare Clausum. It is said that he even instructed Selden in 
 the Hebrew language. 
 
 In 1648 he was ejected from his fellowship by the parliamen- 
 tary visitors ; and here he suffered for his recklessness of charac- 
 ter, for he had little either of prudence or economy. Wood says, 
 " he was a shiftless person, as most mere scholars are," and the 
 benefactions of his friends not sufficing him, he was obliged to 
 sell a patrimony he had in Kent ; but he died before the money 
 it produced was expended : thus was he saved from the evils of 
 absolute penury, for he had quite exhausted the liberality of his 
 friends. He died in 1652. 
 
 Some of his works were published during his life-time, by his 
 friend Henry Birkhead, as he had not the means of publishing 
 them himself; more have been published since his death, but 
 still many more remain in MS. It is deemed unnecessary to give 
 a list of these works, as they are mostly in Latin ; the only one 
 that would interest the English reader is " A description of Oak- 
 ley Hole," near Wells, in verse ; and which he probably wrote, 
 like the lamented Cowper, when he composed the diverting " His- 
 tory of John Gilpin," as an alleviation either from severer studies, 
 or a more mournful state of mind.* — Wood's Athena Oxon. ; 
 Biog. Brit. 
 
 * Dr. Dickenson published some of Jacob's works after liis o>ath, from his 
 MSS., but so altered as to make them appear as his own. — fruit's Bib. Brit. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 279 
 
 bable that his father retired to Jersey, and married there : 
 but, before presenting the lives of the champions alluded 
 to, some notice must be taken of John Poindextre, Esq., (5) 
 
 (5) John Poindextre, Esq. 
 
 has already been noticed in this work., as the author of a very inter- 
 esting MS. account of Jersey : he was the son of Edward Poin- 
 dextre, and was born in the Island in the year 1609. But little 
 is known of his early life : the first authentic account that we 
 have of him is that he was elected fellow of Exeter College, Ox- 
 ford, and was the first who partook of the benefit, after the 
 foundation of the Jersey fellowships. It is indeed to be regretted 
 that so little of him has been preserved, as he was a man very 
 eminent in his day, and seems to have possessed all the qualities 
 requisite to adorn private and public life, when called to act on 
 a scale so limited as a small Island in the British Channel. He 
 was esteemed one of the best Grecians in the University, and it 
 was understood that he was employed on a new edition of Hesy- 
 chius, as the work was expected from him ; it has, however, never 
 appeared. He was not only well skilled in the Greek language, 
 but so beautiful was his penmanship of the Greek character, that 
 Falle has observed that the very exquisite types of Stephens 
 scarcely excelled it. As a magistrate he was remarkable for his 
 impartiality and his strict justice, and his deep acquaintance with 
 the Norman laws, which he had made his peculiar study, as well 
 as the laws and customs of his native Island, caused every case 
 to be familiar to him, and rendered him a most valuable person 
 to be at the head of the magistracy of the Island. 
 
 The few particulars that have been preserved of the life of Mr. 
 Poindextre, are that he held some office under Lord Digby, who 
 was secretary of state in the reign of Charles I., but the nature 
 of the appointment is not exactly known; that he was ejected 
 from his fellowship by the parliamentary visitors, when he retired 
 to Jersey ; he was shut up in Elizabeth Castle during the siege, 
 and was dispatched to France by Sir George Carteret, to confer 
 with Charles on the state of the Island ; he was, however, in the 
 Castle at the time of its surrender : but there is reason to believe 
 
 A a 
 
280 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 a magistrate of no little ability and integrity, during the 
 preceding times of commotion ; and although he never 
 appeared before the English public as an author, he left 
 several valuable MSS. relative to his native Island. 
 
 that after this event he banished himself from Jersey, and pre- 
 ferred living in exile, than under the dominion of those who had 
 subverted every thing he held dear in his native Island. During 
 the interregnum the partisans of Cromwell filled all offices, whe- 
 ther military or judicial ; but after the Restoration, and on the 
 death of Mr. Le Geyt in 1668, who was Lieutenant Bailly, he 
 succeeded to that office, under Sir Edward de Carteret.* There 
 seems to have been some inaccuracy in his appointment, to be 
 Lieutenant Bailly ; and it is said that some arbitrary stretch of 
 power was exercised in setting aside the usual mode ; but pro- 
 bably the peculiarity of circumstances at that time will satisfac- 
 torily explain, if not fully vindicate, the informality. He retired 
 from this office towards the close of his life, but kept his seat on 
 the bench, as Jurat, until the day of his death, which occurred 
 in 1691. 
 
 It is understood that Mr. Poindextre left several MSS., but 
 the only one accessible is that in the British Museum :f the others 
 are supposed to be in possession of his family ; " they consist 
 principally of a commentary on the Norman code, or the Grand 
 Coustumier de Normandze j showing how far it has been changed 
 or modified by the local laws and usages of the Island, where 
 with those exceptions, it may be said to be the law of the land." 
 And we may here be allowed to remark, that it would be doing 
 justice to his name and talents, and a service to the public, if 
 they were submitted to some gentleman capable of extracting 
 from them the information they may contain. That which has 
 been so frequently quoted in this work, does not so much refer 
 to events, as to the state of the Island in his time, — to its 
 buildings and other monuments of antiquity ; and however the 
 
 * This Sir Edward de Carteret was Gentleman Usher of the Black Red, in 
 the reign of Charles II., and died in 1681. 
 
 t This MS. is the one so often referred to in this work, and from which large 
 extracts have been given. It is noticed in page 61. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 281 
 
 The first of the divines who entered the field of contro- 
 versy, was the Rev. Dr. Brevint, (6) a man eminent for 
 
 former may have been so amply supplied by the Rev. E. Dwell, 
 in his notes on Falle, it is more than probable that the MSS. of 
 Mr. Poindextre, unknown to the public, may contain information 
 very interesting, and explain some doubtful points in the History 
 of the Island. — Fane's Preface j Durell's Notes on Falle j Pri- 
 vate Information. 
 
 Should any apology be needed for the large extracts given in 
 this work from the MS. account of Jersey, which this celebrated 
 man left, it will be found in the intimate knowlege that he had of 
 the Island, and the deserved commendation by Falle, who observes 
 in his preface, " his long exercising the Magestrature, had made 
 our laws and judicial proceedings, our customs and usages, fami- 
 liar to him. He had transcribed all our Charters, and reduced 
 our privileges into a sort of a system, branching them out into 
 proper heads ; and as to historical antiquities and researches, he 
 had, from his earliest days, been collecting all he could find of 
 that kind, in print or upon record, relative to us." 
 
 (6) Dr. D. Brevint. 
 
 Daniel Brevint, the subject of the present memoir, was origi- 
 nally of French extraction, but was born in Jersey, in the parish 
 of St. John, in the year 1616, of which parish his father was 
 rector : he received his early education at the University of Sau- 
 mur, where he studied logic and philosophy, and took his degree 
 of Master of Arts. From thence he came to England, and stu- 
 died at Oxford ; in 1638 he was incorporated in the same degree 
 as he had taken at Saumur : in the same year Mr. Brevint was 
 chosen to the first fellowship at Jesus College, founded by Charles 
 I., as already noticed. One of his biographers states that he was 
 ejected from his fellowship by the parliamentary visitors, in 1647, 
 but he must for some reason have quitted the University before 
 that time, for he relates himself that " he was kept by the times 
 of rebellion, seventeen years abroad among the Romanists." As 
 
282 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 his talents, and which discovered themselves at a very 
 early period, as is shown by the high recommendation he 
 
 he returned to England at the Restoration in 1 660, he must have 
 retired to France in 1643 : during the time of his absence from 
 England, he prosecuted his studies ; and thus he gained a more 
 perfect knowledge of the doctrines and superstitions of the Ro- 
 man Catholics, which he there saw in all their deformity, and 
 which fitted him for exposing their errors, and vindicating the 
 Church of England, in which he was afterwards so preeminent, 
 both in his preaching and by his writings. At this time he was 
 employed in the incongruous and fruitless attempt to reconcile 
 the protestant and popish religion, and this made him, as he 
 observed, " acquainted with every corner of that church." He 
 settled in Normandy, and was minister of a protestant congre- 
 gation there, and was soon after appointed chaplain to Vicomte 
 de Turenne, afterwards the distinguished Marshal of that name, 
 whose lady was one of the most pious and exemplary women of 
 her time. 
 
 On his return to England, he was presented to a prebend's 
 stall in the Cathedral of Durham, by Charles II., who had known 
 him abroad ; he was installed March 15th, 1660, and in February 
 of the following year, he was created Doctor of Divinity in Ox- 
 ford; and presented to the rectory of Brandspath. 
 
 His works were mostly of a controversial character, and direct- 
 ed against the errors and superstition of popery : one he wrote, 
 entitled " The Depth and Mystery of the Roman Mass," brought 
 up a furious papist, who replied to it ; and the reply is dedicated 
 to " the Rev. Doctors of the University of Oxford." After com- 
 plimenting the University for its antiquity, learning, and build- 
 ings, the author breaks out into a lamentation, directed against 
 Dr. Brevint and his work, " that the magnificent structure of 
 the unparallelled theatre should be abused and defiled by such 
 an unseemly imp, as the late Dr. D. Brevint has hatched under 
 its roof." The learning and other eminent qualities of Dr. Bre- 
 vint caused him to be highly esteemed, and to be in great favour 
 with his sovereign, by wbom he was promoted to the Deanery 
 of Lincoln, on the recommendation of the ecclesiastical commis- 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 283 
 
 received from the dean and ministers of his native Island, 
 to one of the Oxford fellowships, and he had the honour 
 
 sioners, in 1681 and was installed the seventh of January in 
 the following year, with some other preferments annexed to 
 it. He lived in the enjoyment of these favours, and the es- 
 teem in which he was held, till the year 1695 ; he died May 5th 
 of that year, and was buried in the Cathedral Church of Lincoln, 
 behind the high altar. The monumental stone bears the following 
 modest and pious inscription, in Latin, translated : — 
 
 " Here lieth the body of 
 
 DANIEL B RE VINT, D, D., 
 
 Late Dean of the Cathedral Church of Lincoln, 
 
 Who departed this life May bth, 1695. 
 
 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord." 
 
 There can scarcely be a higher testimony of his talents and 
 character, than the following recommendation of him to Arch- 
 bishop Laud, to be preferred to the newly instituted fellowship. 
 It was signed by the Dean and all the ministers of the Island : — 
 
 LETTER TO THE ARCHBISHOP. 
 
 Most honourable and most -reverend Father in God, 
 
 Having credibly understood that your Grace hath 
 been pleased to procure and settle three fellowships, in several colleges 
 of Oxford, for the advancement and maintenance of young students, 
 born in these remote Islands; we acknowledge ourselves, with all duti- 
 ful humility, much bound and obliged to your Grace, for this, your un- 
 deserved care and kindness: and we had sooner expressed our humble 
 and hearty thankfulness, for so great and unexpected a benefit, had 
 we not waited for a fit person to prefer to your Grace, to reap the fruits 
 of that gift His Majesty hath been pleased to bestow upon us, by your 
 gracious hands. There was none fitter to present and recommend to 
 your most honourable acceptance, than the very hopeful young man, 
 Mr. Daniel Brevinr, of whom we conceive a good opinion, for his 
 learning and piety, so that he shall be capable, within a short time, to 
 serve in the ministry in this our Isle, for we trust that is the end and 
 intent of the bestowing of these places. We therefore, with all humble 
 submission, bespeak your Grace to be pleased to accept of him, seeing 
 he hath been persuaded to leave his hopes of preferment in the Univer- 
 sity of Saumur, in France, where he hath proceeded Master of Arts, 
 
 Aa 3 
 
284 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 of being the first who partook of the benefit : he was soon 
 succeeded by another, or who was rather his contemporary, 
 and better known in England, Dr. J. Durel, (7) who enjoy- 
 
 with good approbation, and hath promised to be ready for the Island's 
 service, when occasion shall be offered. Thus, with our hearty prayers 
 unto God, for your long life and prosperity, we ever remain. 
 Jersey, April ]st, 1637. 
 
 His principal work, that is known at the present time, was 
 nritten at the particular request of La Comtesse de Turenne, and 
 La Duchesse de Bouillon ; it was in Latin. 
 
 " Ecclesiae primitivse Sacramentum et Sacrificium a Pontificiis cor- 
 ruptees et exinde natis controversiis liberum-" 
 — Wood's Athence Oxon. j DurelVs Notes on Falle ; Biog. Brit, j 
 Wilkins's Concilia. 
 
 (7) Dr. John Durel. 
 The celebrated John Durel was born at St. Helier's, in the year 
 1625 : it is probable that he received the rudiments of his 
 learning in his native Island, but he came over to England at an 
 early period of his life, as we find him entered in Merton Col- 
 lege, Oxford, in the year 1640 : after remaining two years he 
 went to France, on occasion of the city being besieged by the forces 
 of the parliament. He commenced his studies at Caen, where 
 he took his degree of Master of Arts, in the Sylvanian College 
 of that place, on the 8th of July, 1644 : from Caen he went to 
 Saumur, where he applied himself to the study of divinity, under 
 the famous Moses Amyraldus, divinity reader of that University. 
 In the year 1647 he returned to to his native Island, and conti- 
 nued there some time, as we find him Chaplain of Elizabeth Cas- 
 tle, during the siege in 1651, and was dispatched to France by 
 Sir George Carteret to communicate with the king on the peril- 
 ous state he was in ; but on the subjection of the Island to the par- 
 liament, he retired, or rather he was expelled, on account of 
 his adherence to his sovereign. We next find him at Paris, 
 where he received episcopal ordination, from the Bishop of Gal- 
 loway, at the Ambassador's Chapel : from Paris he went to St. 
 Malo, and while there he was invited to Caen, to succeed the 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 285 
 
 ed so much of his sovereign's favour, and the patronage 
 that he had to bestow, and to which he was justly entitled, 
 
 learned Bochart, who had received an invitation from Queen 
 Christiana to go to Sweden : about the same time the Landgrave 
 of Hesse, having applied to the ministers of Paris, to send him 
 a protestant, who could preach in the French language, he was 
 recommended as a fit person, but he declined both appointments : 
 no specific reason is given, but he says himself that " the provi- 
 dence of God did not permit him to go to either of these places." 
 He afterwards became chaplain to the Due de la Force, father of 
 the Princess of Turenne, with whom he remained eight years. 
 On the restoration Mr. Durel came over to England, where he 
 was greatly instrumental in establishing the episcopal French 
 church, in the Savoy, under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of 
 London, in which he performed the first service, July 14th, 1661, 
 assisted by the Rev. Mr. Le Couteur, and where he officiated for 
 some years, highly to the satisfaction of his congregation. At 
 this time he was chaplain in ordinary to the king; and in 1663 
 he was preferred to a prebend's stall in the Cathedral of Salis- 
 bury, and in the following year made a canon of Windsor : these 
 several preferments show how highly he was esteemed by his 
 Majesty, to whom he had been a faithful adherent. On July 
 1st, 1668, he was installed a prebendary of the Cathedral church 
 of Durham, and had a rich donative conferred on him. In 1669 
 he took his degree of Doctor of Divinity, by creation ;* in 1677 
 Charles II. gave him the Deanery of "Windsor, in which he was 
 installed July 27th, of that year. He is described not only as 
 a learned man, but as a " perfect courtier :" one of his bio- 
 graphers says, " he was skilful in the arts of getting into favour 
 with great men." Had he lived a few years longer, he would, 
 doubtless, have been promoted to a bishoprick, for which he 
 
 * The following extract from a letter, will show how highly he was esteemed 
 by the University ; it was written by the Duke of Ormond, the then Chancel- 
 lor : he said " his fame was well known to them, for the great pains he had 
 taken in the Church, that he could hardly propose any thing that they would 
 not be willing to accord to him :" adding, " of his parts and learning they were 
 better judges than himself, but had not so much experience of his loyalty and 
 fidelity to his Majesty." 
 
286 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 "by his unshaken loyalty, and attachment to the order of 
 things as established at the reformation. 
 
 seemed to have been so well qualified, at least according to the 
 estimate of qualifications entertained by the authorities of that 
 age ; and it must be admitted that he possessed many of the real 
 qualifications. 
 
 A further eulogy is passed on him, more consonant to his minis- 
 terial character : it has been observed " that no one of late years 
 hath more plainly manifested, or with greater learning more suc- 
 cessfully defended, against its most zealous opponents, the con- 
 stitutions of the Established Church." Even Louis du Moulin, 
 his principal opponent on theological points, gives him the fol- 
 lowing high commendation, that he is " in familiari progressu 
 vir civilis ingenio, ore probo, pectore niveo, oratione profluente 
 et lenocinante, &c." It is admitted that he " was well versed 
 in all the controversies on foot between the Church and the disci- 
 plinarian party." 
 
 Among the many works that Dr. Durel published, the one 
 mostly known to the English reader, is " A view of the Govern- 
 ment and public Worship of God, in the reformed churches be- 
 yond the seas, wherein is showed their conformity and agreement 
 with the Church of England, as it is by law established." This 
 work called up many opponents, who wrote against it, principally, 
 as may be supposed, among the presbyterians and independents ; 
 but it was highly commended at the time, and often quoted : it 
 was afterwards abridged, and published in 1705. He likewise 
 showed his adherence to the Church of England, in a Sermon 
 that he published, entitled " the Liturgy of the Church of Eng- 
 land vindicated." He translated the " Book of Common Prayer" 
 into French and Latin, and the " Whole Duty of Man" into 
 French ; in the execution of this last work, he was mainly assist- 
 ed by his wife. 
 
 He died June 8th, 1 683, and was buried in the collegiate cha- 
 pel at Windsor, in a vault, over which is a flat black marble 
 stone, with an inscription in Latin, which, if dictated by himself, 
 though short, does credit to his faith and piety ; translated : — 
 
feiOGRAI*HY. 287 
 
 Some mention must here be made of Philip Dumaresq, 
 Esq., (8) a celebrated man in his native Island, though 
 
 " Here lyeth 
 
 JOHN DUREL, D. D., Dean of Windsor, 
 
 Waiting for a Happy Resurrection : 
 
 He died June 8th, 1683, in the bSth year of his age." 
 
 Of his general character, that of untainted and steady loyalty 
 is the most prominent : he is described " as constantly adhering 
 to the sinking cause and interest of his sovereign, in the worst of 
 times ; who dared, with an undaunted and unshaken resolution, 
 to stand up, and maintain the honour and dignity of the Church 
 of England, when she was in the lowest and most deplorable 
 condition." — Biog. Brit, j Athence Oxon j Willis's Cathedrals of 
 York and Durham j his own work, View of the Government, Sfc. 
 
 (8) Philip Dumaresq, Esq. 
 
 Very little is known of Philip Dumaresq, of whom such an ho- 
 nourable mention has been made by the Rev. Mr. Falle, the his- 
 torian of Jersey, and by his recent editor the Rev. Mr. Durell. 
 The name of Mr. Dumaresq is principally entitled to the notice 
 of his countrymen, for an unpublished survey of Jersey, which 
 he presented to James II. in 1685, and from which Mr. Durell has 
 given large extracts. The work itself is but small, but it is re- 
 presented as giving a correct account, not only of Jersey, but of 
 the other Channel Islands, such as they were under Charles II. 
 
 The life of a private gentleman, living in a remote part of the 
 kingdom, can furnish but very few incidents. He was Seigneur 
 of Saumarez, in St. Clement's parish, a considerable and exten- 
 sive estate : he represented the eldest branch of the Dumaresq, 
 one of the most ancient and most honourable families in the Is- 
 land ; his grandfather Henry Dumaresq was a Jurat, or magis- 
 trate, and acted a prominent part in the troubles which agitated 
 Jersey during the calamitous reign of Charles I. ; his father 
 Philip Dumaresq became also a Jurat soon after the Restoration. 
 His son Philip Dumaresq, the subject of the present sketch, 
 was born about 1650 ; he entered into the navy, in which he rose 
 
288 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 unknown to an English reader, as the work he wrote, and 
 which will be noticed in the subjoined sketch of his life, 
 was never published. 
 
 The Rev. Philip Falle (9) will next claim attention, the 
 
 to the rank of post-captain. If we judge from his writings, he 
 must have been an able and skilful officer : his chapter on the 
 tides, about the Island, &c. is a very masterly performance. On 
 its being shown to a naval friend, a few years ago, he was so 
 much struck with its accuracy, that he immediately pronounced 
 that it must have been written by a professional man : nothing 
 is known about the motives which induced him to write this work, 
 or if he had any official suggestion to present it to his sovereign. 
 
 Mr. Dumaresq was then resident on his estate, and it was a 
 very natural consequence that his countrymen should elect him 
 to the magistracy, into which office he was sworn on the 2nd of 
 February 1681-2. The year of his death is not exactly known, 
 but it must have taken place about 1690 ; he left a daughter and 
 heiress Deborah Dumaresq, who was a minor, and according to 
 the law of Jersey, had a guardian appointed for her in 1694. 
 This lady was afterwards married to a kinsman, Philip Dumaresq, 
 but had no issue. At an advanced period of life, she conveyed 
 the Saumarez estate, by a deed of gift, to the Rev. Mr. Seale, 
 the then rector of St. Clement, from whom it passed by sale, 
 about 1750, into the family of the Hammonds, or Hamons, the 
 present owners. 
 
 It may be observed that the map of Jersey prefixed to Falle's 
 History, edition of 1734, was constructed by Mr. Dumaresq, and 
 that its accuracy was such, that nearly all the more recent maps 
 of Jersey have been copied from it, with scarcely any alterations, 
 except such as new roads or other improvements required. — E. D. 
 
 (9) Rev. Philip Falle. 
 
 The remark that has been made in the preceding memoir, will 
 
 equally apply to the subject of the present. Few incidents oc- 
 
 cured in the life of the Rev. Philip Falle, to claim the attention 
 
 of a biographer ; but he was a man of considerable talent, and 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 289 
 
 celebrated historian of Jersey, and the first who published 
 a detailed account of his native Isle; this work is justly 
 esteemed, and has been referred to as an authority by all 
 subsequent authors, Although some inaccuracies have been 
 
 was highly esteemed in his native Island, although he may not 
 have possessed the distinguished abilities of the divines whose 
 lives have been already given. 
 
 The Rev. Philip Falle was the son of Thomas Falle, and was 
 born in Jersey, in the year 1655 ; he was related, on his mother's 
 side, to the ancient insular family of Dumaresq. We have no 
 account of him till he was fourteen years of age ; but his early 
 days were probably spent in his native isle : in 1669 we find 
 him a commoner in Exeter College, and learn from Wood that 
 he " translated himself afterwards, for the sake of Dr. Narcissus 
 Marsh, to St. Alb-hall, and as a member thereof, took the de- 
 grees in arts, that of master being completed in 1676." On tak» 
 ing holy orders he retired to Jersey, and became minister of 
 Trinity parish; and in 1690 he succeeded the Rev. Thomas 
 Poindextre as rector of the parish of St. Saviour, in which his 
 patrimonial estate was situated, and where he continued in the 
 regular discharge of his clerical duties. 
 
 In the early part of the reign of William III., an occurrence 
 took place in the life of Mr. Falle, slight in itself, but which led 
 to his future advancement in the Church. The French having 
 obtained a temporary superiority at sea, the Islands in the British 
 Channel were considered in danger ; and they were by no means 
 prepared for a sudden attack. In this emergency the States re- 
 solved to send a deputation to England to solicit aid : Mr. Falle 
 was one, and he is supposed to have drawn up the address to the 
 King which was voted ;. in this loyal address, he tells his Ma- 
 jesty that " though their tongues be French, their hearts and 
 swords are truly English." Mr. Falle, and Mr. Nicholas Durell, 
 the king's solicitor on the Island, who was joined with him in the 
 deputation, were admitted to a private audience of the Sove- 
 reign, to whom they were introduced by Lord Jermyn, who was 
 at that time governor of Jersey : they were most graciously re- 
 
290 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 discovered in the publication, and some deficiences ascer- 
 tained, yet this does not materially detract from the credit 
 of the work ; as it may fairly be presumed, that when other 
 men entered into his labours, with the light he had afforded 
 
 ceived, and commanded by the King to assure their countrymen 
 of his care and protection : the Island was soon after supplied 
 with a large quantity of warlike stores ; and on this occasion Mr. 
 Falle was appointed chaplain in ordinary to the King. 
 
 This visit to England not only paved the way for Mr. Falle's 
 promotion in the Church, but induced him to write the history 
 of his native Island : he found that great ignorance respecting it 
 prevailed in England, and to remove that ignorance was the cause 
 of the undertaking : he says in his preface, " it was an honest 
 zeal for my native country suggested the thought of something 
 that might place us in a better light, remove prejudices, and rec- 
 tify misapprehensions concerning us :" this work is entitled 
 " Ceesarea, or an account of Jersey, the greatest of Islands re- 
 maining to the crown of England of the antient dutchy of Nor- 
 mandy :" it is of considerable repute — is considered a standard 
 work, and is the foundation of all others, though more recent re- 
 search has discovered some errors in it, and the author has not 
 always exercised that impartiality which the public has a right 
 to expect from a historian. 
 
 Mr. Falle was never married : a disappointment in an attach- 
 ment he had formed, in the person of a young lady, the daughter 
 of the Dean of the Island, and who was also connected with the 
 Carteret family, was severely felt ; and was probably the cause of 
 his remaining single during the remainder of his life. It is 
 not unlikely that disputes which afterwards arose between him 
 and De Carteret, as to the right of nomination to St. Manlier's 
 School, may be traced to this circumstance, as the opposition of 
 De Carteret was the principal cause of his disappointment. In 
 this dispute Mr. Falle ultimately succeeded ; for although 
 the Royal Court of Jersey decided in favour of De Carteret, he 
 appealed to the King in Council, M r hen the decision of the Court 
 was reversed. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 291 
 
 them, they may have discovered imperfections, and even 
 errors, which had escaped either his vigilance or research : 
 or should the charge he made against those omissions 
 which are more common and ohvious, he may be sheltered 
 
 In April, 1692, he preached a sermon to the soldiers in the 
 garrison of Elizabeth Castle, which was afterwards published, 
 from Luke hi. 14 : " The soldiers likewise demanded of him, say- 
 ing, what shall we do ?" This was a question put by the soldiers 
 to John the Baptist ; and the preacher, in commenting on the 
 passage, makes a distinction between those in garrison, and 
 those engaged in actual warfare : he applies the text to the for- 
 mer, and then elucidates this difficult passage of Scripture, 
 which enjoins soldiers to do no violence — when, it should seem, 
 that violence was the main object of their profession — by observ- 
 ing they were not to exercise undue authority over peaceful citi- 
 zens, among whom they were located, by reason of their power, 
 but to demean themselves peaceably and without rebuke. In this 
 sermon he states some few historical facts, not noticed by him in 
 his history. He remarks incidentally, that the population of the 
 Island was " 15,000 souls, all protestants," and all of the Church 
 of England, as he further observes, " there is not one separate 
 sect of any congregation whatsoever in the whole Island." This 
 is somewhat remarkable, considering that the Island but a few 
 years before was entirely under the controul of non-conformists. 
 In the following passage he seems to make an allusion to the time 
 when an attempt may be made to recover Normandy from the 
 French : addressing the English garrison, as part of the nation, 
 he says " While we are yours, the enemy cannot boast that they 
 have regained, or that you have lost all, and when you shall think 
 fit to attempt a recovery of your antient rights, we are a better 
 title than any authentic records can furnish." This may be very 
 well as an argumentum ad hominem, but would not be considered 
 valid by the law of nations. 
 
 He afterwards preached a visitation sermon, before the Bis- 
 hop of Lincoln, from Acts xiii. 3 : " And when they had fasted 
 and prayed, he laid hands on them and sent, them away." This 
 
 B b 
 
292 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 by the high authority of Dr. Johnson, who observes, as 
 an apology for any omissions in his dictionary, " he that 
 is searching for rare and remote things, will neglect those 
 that are obvious and familiar ; thus many of the most 
 
 sermon was so much approved by his lordship, that he ordered it 
 to be printed : it is not now to be found, except in private libra- 
 ries. 
 
 On being presented to the rectory of Shenley, in Hertfordshire, 
 he left Jersey and took possession of his living ; but still retained 
 that of St. Saviour's, having appointed a curate to perform the 
 duties of the parish. This must have have been considered no 
 violation of the Jersey canons, which do not allow of pluralities, 
 as one of the livings was in England ; but the spirit of the eccle- 
 siastical law was doubtless infringed. In 1699 he was collated 
 to a stall in the Cathedral of Durham, the only preferment he 
 held during the remainder of his life, which was extended to the 
 very- advanced age of 87. His death occurred in May 1/43. 
 
 Besides the work on his native Island, and the sermons already 
 noticed, Mr. Falle preached one, which was also published, be- 
 fore the Lord Mayor, April 21st, 1695; and he was engaged by 
 Bishop Gibson to revise the part of Camden's Britannia which 
 related to the Channel Islands. 
 
 In the review to be taken of Mr. Falle's character, there can- 
 not be much difficulty : as he was never married, it is not exhi- 
 bited to us in the domestic and more endearing relations of life. 
 That he was a learned and laborious man, a faithful and devoted 
 subject, a zealous adherent to the Church of England, his writ- 
 ings fully testify ; and there is reason to suppose that he was con- 
 scientious in the discharge of his clerical functions ; but the faith- 
 fulness of history compels the admission that there was a trait in 
 his character it were wished did not exist. He certainly did not 
 live on the best terms with his parishioners. His name is to be 
 found very often occurring in the proceedings of the Court of 
 Jerse}', for the recovery of his tithes, which would lead us to 
 think he was somewhat too exact : and although no one would go 
 the length of saying a clergyman shouldnever resort to legal process 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 293 
 
 common and cursory words have been inserted with little 
 illustration, because in gathering the authorities, I forbore 
 to copy those I thought likely to occur when they are 
 wanted." 
 
 The Kev. Edward D'Auvergne (10), though he is less 
 
 for the recovery of his just dues ; yet when such proceedings are 
 frequently adopted, a doubt is certainly suggested, that the minis- 
 ter is not always in the right ; and the question is raised whether 
 more forbearance and patience might not have secured payment, 
 as effectually as compulsory measures, and, in a manner, cer- 
 tainly more consonant to the ministerial character. 
 
 It is doubtless a redeeming quality that Mr. Falle had a sincere 
 desire to benefit the inhabitants of his native Island, and this he 
 did very effectually by the bequest of his library, as already nar- 
 rated,* and which may be said to have laid the foundation of other 
 benefits of a similar nature : a subsequent donation of Mr. Du- 
 maresq, of his library, and within a few years a vote of an an- 
 nual sum of ^100 by the States for the purchase of new books, 
 have now supplied the Island with a very good collection. 
 
 (10) Edward D'Auvergne, 
 a native of the island of Jersey, the son of Philip D'Auvergne, 
 was born about the year 1660, as we find him entered in Pem 
 broke College, Oxford, in Michaelmas term, 1679, and Master 
 of Arts, May 4th, 1686. But few particulars of his life have 
 reached the present day ; it is, therefore, probable that he spent 
 his life, principally, in the fulfilment of his clerical duties, and 
 others connected with them : he was rector of St. Brelade's, 
 in his native Island, chaplain in ordinary to their Majesties Wil- 
 liam and Mary, and to a regiment of Scotch guards, while it 
 was stationed in the Island. He is better known to the English 
 student by his writings, than any remarkable incident in his life : 
 he wrote several military histories ; ' The History of the Campaign 
 in the Spanish Netherlands, in the year 1694, with a Journal of 
 the Siege of Huy ;' and ' The History of the Campaign in Flan- 
 ders, in the year 1695, with an account of the Siege of Namur.' 
 See page 158. 
 
294 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 known than either of the learned men who preceded him, 
 as an author, must also be noticed. 
 
 It would be unjust to the memory of a celebrated man 
 altogether to omit his name in this Biography of Jersey, 
 although no very splendid action is recorded of him, and 
 the probable reason is, he had not sufficient scope for his 
 abilities. Dr. Shebbeare, from whom the information of 
 him is taken, says " Jersey was too small for such a man." 
 This man was Philip Le Geyt : his claim to notice is found- 
 ed, not only on his talents, but on the strict and uncom- 
 promising justice which he constantly exercised on all 
 occasions, and in the most trying and 3elf-denying cir- 
 cumstances. It is further said of him, in commendation 
 of his strict probity, " The opinion of his integrity, which 
 prevailed during the long time in which he was a judge of 
 a people, too indulgent in litigiousness, precluded the 
 advocates from advancing any thing of private interest. 
 All were convinced that such a conduct would render 
 them extremely culpable, and expose them to signal shame. 
 In consequence of this he was never troubled with unbe- 
 coming solicitations, and all the world had reason to be- 
 lieve that he was perfectly disinterested." 
 
 Mr. Le Geyt filled the several offices of Greffier to the 
 Eoyal Court, Jurat, Lieutenant Bailly, and Judge Dele- 
 gate ; and it is said might have been raised to the highest 
 judicial office in the Island, but which he declined. He 
 lived to the age of 80 years, in the bosom of his family ; 
 having for some years retired from all public business. 
 He died in 1716. The works that he has left in MS. are 
 numerous ; they are mostly on points of civil law, show- 
 ing wherein it corresponds with the law of Jersey. 
 
 We have now to notice several members of the Durell 
 family, who served their country in the profession of arms ; 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 295 
 
 and all of whom attained to the command of ships of war. 
 The first in the order of time is Thomas Durell, who was 
 appointed to the Sea-horse frigate, in 1720: we hear no- 
 thing more of Mr. Durell till the year 1731, when we find 
 him in the command of the Exeter, of 60 guns, and 
 employed to convoy a fleet of merchantmen to the West 
 Indies : while on the voyage he was attacked by two Spa- 
 nish ships of the line, which he engaged so long, that 
 only six, out of thirty-six of which the fleet consisted, 
 were taken, and he escaped himself, after seeing the re- 
 mainder of the fleet in safety. We next hear of him in 
 the command of the Kent, of 70 guns, when he sailed under 
 the command of Vice- Admiral Vernon, in the expedition 
 against Porto Bello, but was left to cruise off Cape Ortu- 
 gal, with the view of intercepting a convoy that was ex- 
 pected to arrive ; in this, however, he was not successful, 
 and he returned home, after cruising the time appointed 
 him. After refitting, he was again ordered on a cruise, 
 under Commodore Maine ; when they fell in with, and 
 captured, the Princessa, a Spanish ship mounting 70 guns ; 
 in this action, the Spaniard warmly contended against a 
 very superior British force, and Captain Durell had the 
 misfortune to lose his hand. On his return from this cruise, 
 the Kent was ordered into dock, and Captain Difrell was 
 appointed to the Elizabeth, a ship of the same rate as the 
 Kent, and sailed under the orders of Sir John N orris, in 
 1740. In this command he died at sea, in the year 1741. 
 Of the next, Captain John Durell, we have little more 
 to narrate than a list of his several promotions, for it does 
 not appear that he had an opportunity of signalizing him- 
 self in the service of his country. In 1 735 we find Captain 
 Durell in the command of the Centurion, and he sailed for 
 Lisbon under Sir John Norris : in 1741 he commanded 
 
 b b 3 
 
296 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 the Mary, a fifth, rate of 40 guns : in 1745 he was Captain 
 of the Eltham, of the same rate and force. He died in 
 England, in the year 1748. 
 
 The information that has reached the present time, of 
 the next of this family, is even more scanty. Captain 
 George Durell commanded the Liverpool frigate, in 1745, 
 and it is stated that he was afterwards appointed to the 
 Eltham ; but in this particular it is probable he has been 
 confounded with Captain John Durell, who commanded 
 that ship. Captain George died in England, on the 15th 
 of May, 1754. 
 
 Of Philip Durell (11), who attained to the rank of Vice- 
 Admiral, we have a more circumstantial account. 
 
 (11) Admiral Philip Durell. 
 
 Of the early part of his life we have no positive information., 
 but first hear of him in the command of the Gibraltar frigate, in 
 the year 1742. In 1747 he had command of the Gloucester, of 
 50 guns, and served under Admiral Hawke, when he defeated the 
 French fleet. In 1749 he was appointed to the Rochester, also 
 of 50 guns, just after she was launched. We do not find that 
 he was engaged in any particular service, while in this ship ; but 
 next hear of him in 1755, in the command of the Terrible, of 
 74 guns : in the month of May, in that year, he joined Admiral 
 Boscawen, in America, with the rank of Commodore. In 1/58 
 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the ships left to winter 
 at Halifax. In May following he was again under the command 
 of Admiral Boscawen, and hoisted his broad pendant on board 
 the Princess Amelia, of 80 guns, in the expedition against Louis- 
 bourg. On this occasion Admiral Durell was appointed to re- 
 connoitre the coast, and to point out the most convenient spot 
 for the disembarkation of the troops ; his recommendation was 
 adopted, which led to brilliant success, in the surrender of 
 the place. While absent on this service, he was promoted to be 
 Rear- Admiral of the blue, and subsequently of the red. In 1759 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 297 
 
 We have now to introduce to the notice of the English 
 reader a well-known name, the Rev. Philip Morant (12); 
 it is written Mourant in his native Island, where there are 
 still several families of the same name. We shall have to 
 record but few incidents in the life of this laborious anti- 
 quary — the account that will be given of him, will prin- 
 cipally relate to his academical honours, the preferments 
 in the Church that he at different times possessed, and his 
 
 he served under Vice-Admiral Saunders, who was sent out in 
 command of the fleet, to assist in the attack on Quebec. Admiral 
 Durell was not present at the siege, as he was dispatched by Sir 
 Charles Saunders to intercept a fleet of transports and victuallers, 
 that were expected from France : he captured only two, as the 
 others, seventeen in number, had entered the St. Laurence be- 
 fore his arrival ; but he received the highest praise from the Ad- 
 miral, for his advice and assistance, and was included in the 
 thanks of the House of Commons. On his return from America 
 in 1761, he was appointed Port-Admiral at Plymouth; and in 
 1762 was promoted to be Vice-Admiral of the blue. On the con- 
 clusion of peace, he was appointed commander-in-chief on the 
 American station, where he hoisted his flag on board the Laun- 
 ceston, of 44 guns, and in this command he ended both his mor- 
 tal and military career. He died at Halifax, in August, 1766. — ■ 
 Ckarnock's Nav. Biog. j Naval Chronicle. 
 
 (12) Rev. Philip Morant. 
 Mr. Morant is well known in England, as a learned man and 
 an indefatigable antiquarian : he was the son of Stephen Mourant, 
 of the island of Jersey, and born there October 6th, 1700, in 
 the parish of St. Saviour. Mr. Morant came over to England 
 at an early age, and was placed in a school at Abingdon j he af- 
 terwards entered at Pembroke College, Oxford, and took his 
 degree B. A. in June, 1721. In 1722 he was preferred to the 
 office of preacher in the English Church at Amsterdam, but 
 never entered on its duties. He took his degree M. A. in 1724 ; 
 and the same degree at Sidney College, Cambridge, in 1730, 
 
238 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 learned labours, by which he added to the literature of his 
 time, and especially the county in which he resided, by 
 his deep antiquarian research. It may be a subject of re- 
 gret that we have no other trait of Mr. Morant's character, 
 either as a divine, a husband, a father, or a friend ; but 
 without presuming to decide that he did not rightly fulfil 
 his duties in these several relations, it may be presumed 
 that he was so engrossed by his studies — without in the 
 
 He had successively the several benefices of Schellow-Bowels ; 
 Broomfield; Chicknel-Smeeley; St. Mary's, Colchester; Wick- 
 ham-Bishops ; and Aldham ; all in the county of Essex : these 
 were presented to him by Dr. Gibson, Bishop of London, who 
 was his particular friend and patron ; but he settled in Colches- 
 ter, of which place he wrote a history : this work is much esteem- 
 ed for its deep research into antiquarian subjects, to which Mr. 
 Morant was peculiarly attached. In 1751 he was elected F. S. A. 
 From this year till his death, he was a constant correspondent 
 of the well-known Mr. Bowyer, and the learned Dr. Ducarel, 
 on literary subjects: in 1752 he met with a severe domestic 
 loss, which he thus describes in a letter to Mr. Bowyer : " Within 
 the compass of three days, I was so unhappy as to lose my only 
 brother and sister-in-law, the former on the 9th and the latter 
 on the 11th of January: my good brother died, indeed, at a dis- 
 tance, and I could but seldom have the pleasure of seeing him ; 
 but my sister-in-law lived with us, and had been a constant and 
 inseparable companion to my good wife, of above 50 years, and 
 was withal a person of most amiable qualities, and the most faith- 
 ful friend, so that her loss is irreparable." 
 
 In 1762 he published the first part of his " History and Anti- 
 quities of the county of Essex," and in 1763 the second part; 
 but the third, which completed the work, did not appear till 1 "t^. 
 In 1768 he republished the " History of Colchester," and incor- 
 porated it with the general history of the county : the whole is 
 comprised in 2 vols, folio. The work is now become very scarce, 
 as it has not been reprinted ; although a recommendation to that 
 effect appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine, some years since. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 299 
 
 least meaning to detract from antiquarian pursuits, in their 
 general character — as in a measure to prevent the exercise 
 of less intense engagements, whether of duty or of study. 
 It may be that his biographers themselves, being mere an- 
 tiquarians, may fail to recognize any quality in man, ex- 
 cept that reflected by their favourite and engrossing pur- 
 suit, and thus overlook some traits of excellence in his 
 character, that he probably possessed : there are, indeed, 
 
 A copy of the work was placed by the author in the library of the 
 Royal Institution, with his M.S. notes, which would be valuable 
 in a future edition. 
 
 As a native of Jersey he was acquainted with the Norman 
 French ; this, together with his great antiquarian knowledge, led 
 to his employment in preparing for the press, a copy of the Rolls 
 of Parliament : he succeeded Mr. Blyke in this engagement in 
 1/68. He continued the Rolls of Parliament, from the period 
 that Mr. Blyke left them, till the 16th of Henry IV. : this must 
 have been a most arduous employment, but he persevered in the 
 engagement till his death. 
 
 His connection with the Channel Islands led him to examine 
 the arguments employed by Selden, in his " Mare Clausum," to 
 prove that England always had possession of those Islands, be- 
 cause she always had dominion of the narrow seas. Mr. Morant, 
 while he admits the latter fact, disproves the former assertion, as 
 it is well authenticated that they formed part of Normandy, and 
 came under the dominion of England at the time of the Con- 
 quest.* The paper on this subject was printed in the second 
 edition of Falle's History of Jersey, in 1734. 
 
 Mr. Morant's literary labours were mostly in translation and 
 compilation, and generally in relation to English history. He 
 employed a large portion of his time in comparing Rapin's His- 
 tory of England, with " Rymer's Fcedera," and " Acta Publica," 
 and all the ancient and modern historians, the result of which 
 furnished notes for the new edition of that work. He supplied 
 
 * See more on this subject, Chapter XV., Neutkality. 
 
300 
 
 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 some noticed in the inscription on his monument ; and to 
 this we would fain give due credence ; but it is too well 
 known that the partiality of surviving relatives, with a 
 desire to record either their feelings or their gratitude, go 
 to the opposite extreme of exhibiting qualities that were 
 scarcely known in life. The monument to his memory 
 was erected by his daughter and son-in-law. 
 
 The next of the natives whom we shall have to notice, 
 
 Dr. Kippis with several lives for the " Biographia Britannica :" 
 those marked C were written by him. 
 
 He resided in South Lambeth, for the convenience of attending 
 to his duties connected with his parliamentary labours : during 
 his residence there, being seized by a violent cold, on his return 
 from the Temple, it brought on a severe illness, which terminat- 
 ed his life. He died Nov. 25th, 17/0; and was buried in the 
 chancel of the Church at Aldham, where a monument was erected 
 to his memory. The Latin inscription may be thus rendered in a 
 
 free translation : — 
 
 " In memory of 
 PHILIP MORANT, A.M., Rector of this Church; 
 
 A man of admirable Simplicity and Integrity, ardently attached to 
 good men, and benevolent to all. The History of this County, and his 
 Biographical Compositions, the useful, though unostentatious, labours 
 of his whole life, attest his various and extensive erudition. He died 
 Nov. 25th, 1770, aged 70. 
 
 In memory also of Anne, his exemplary wife, descended from the 
 ancient families of Stebbing and Creffeld, who died July 20th, 1769, 
 aged 69. 
 To their excellent parents, T. & A. M. Astle, dedicate this Monument." 
 
 Besides the Histories and the other labours already mentioned, 
 Mr. Morant added many of the notes to Rapin's History of Eng- 
 land, and wrote an account of the Spanish invasion, in 1588, to 
 illustrate the tapestry hangings in the House of Lords, and the 
 King's Wardrobe ; " Geographia antiqua et nova, with Cellarius's 
 maps;" the " Life of Edward the Confessor;" some works on 
 miscellaneous subjects, and several sermons. — Chalmers's Biog. 
 Diet, j Aikin's Biography j Watts Bib. Brit, j Nichols's Lite- 
 rary Anecdotes; Gent's. Mag. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 301 
 
 is JDr. David Durell (13), who attained to the dignity of 
 Vice-Chancellor in an English University; and he has 
 
 (13) Dr. David JDurell. 
 
 David Durell, though not a lineal descendant of Dr. John 
 Durel, whose memoir has been already given, was of a collateral 
 branch of the same family ; the addition of the final I to his name 
 was probably adopted by him to give it a more English charac- 
 ter ; and may have been dictated by the true English feeling that 
 the Islanders possess. He was born in Jersey, in the year 1728 : 
 of his early life we have no information, but first find him enter- 
 ed a member of Pembroke College, June 20, 1753, in which 
 he took his degree M. A. : the next notice that we have of Mr. 
 Durell, of a public character, is that he was elected a fellow of 
 Hertford College, and on the resignation of Dr. Sharp, in 1757, 
 was admitted principal, and was afterwards Regius Professor of 
 Greek at the University, and rector of East Hampstead, in Berk- 
 shire. In April, 1760, Mr. Durell took his degree B. D., and 
 that of D. D., January 1764. In 1767 he succeeded Dr. Potter 
 as a prebendary of Canterbury, and at the latter period of his 
 life, we find him in the possession of the vicarage of Sysehurst, 
 in Sussex, which was the last preferment he had. 
 
 Dr. Durell was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, 
 in 1765 and the two following years, and while he held that high 
 and honourable office, a circumstance took place that gave rise to 
 much controversy at the time. Six of the students of Edmund Hall 
 felt it to be their duty, in obedience to the dictates of conscience, 
 to devote themselves, more than was usual at the University, to 
 exercises of devotion and acts of piety : it was asserted that in 
 these they transgressed the college rules, and complaints against 
 them were made to Dr. Durell, as V. C. Whatever may have 
 been the merits of the case, it was doubtless his duty to suppress 
 every thing irregular in the Colleges over which he presided : the 
 result was the students were expelled, and from this schism arose 
 those two sects so well known by the names of their founders — 
 Whitefield and Wesley ; whose exertions have been productive of 
 the greatest good, in a more spiritual exhibition of divine truth, 
 
302 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 excelled all others in the critical knowledge and exposi- 
 tion of the Scriptures. 
 
 and when received in sincerity, a consequent reformation of man- 
 ners, especially among the lower orders of society. 
 
 Having thus traced Dr. David Durell through the various gra- 
 dations of ecclesiastical preferments and rank that he held, we 
 have now to notice him as an author. The[first work that he pub- 
 lished appeared in 1763 : it was entitled " The Hebrew text of 
 the parallel prophecies of Jacob and Moses relating to the Twelve 
 Tribes, with a translation and notes, and the various readings of 
 near forty MSS. ; to which are added the Samaritan and Arabic ver- 
 sions of those passages, and part of another Arabic version, made 
 from the Samaritan text:" this is stated to be " a valuable work, 
 deserving a place in every critical library •" and in it the author 
 has evinced his great skill in oriental literature, and a capacity to 
 elucidate some difficult points in the sacred Scriptures. In 1/72 
 he again appeared before the public, in a work which gave further 
 proof of his great proficiency in biblical learning, — " Critical Re- 
 marks on the books of Job, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Can- 
 ticles :" in the preface to this work, the author makes some ob- 
 servations on the present translation of the Bible, and recommends 
 a new one. This is not the place to enquire how far this would be 
 advisable ; it may, however, be remarked, although it is admit- 
 ted there are some few imperfections, and perhaps inaccuracies, 
 in the present translation, there would be danger that still greater 
 errors, and far more important, than those which are now found 
 to exist, would appear in a new one. 
 
 Dr. Durell had projected other works on the prophetical Scrip- 
 tures, and made considerable preparation, but he did not live to 
 fulfil his purposes, as he died at a comparatively early age. These 
 papers may not, however, be lost to the public : they were sent 
 by his family to the Archbishop of Canterbury's library, at Lam- 
 beth, where they doubtless still remain. The subject of unfulfil- 
 led prophecy now engaging such an unusual measure of attention 
 in the religious world, it is certainly desirable that they should 
 be edited by some competent person, whose views and studies 
 have been directed to the subject. As Dr. Durell had devoted 
 so much time to the study of the Scriptures, and as he possessed 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 303 
 
 Although the lamented Admiral Kempenfelt, who was 
 drowned in the Royal George, at Spithead, cannot in strict- 
 ness claim a place in the Biography of Jersey, as a native, 
 yet as he was brought to the Island at a very early age, even 
 while an infant ; and as his father was Lieutenant Governor, 
 almost immediately after his birth, and his brother Augus- 
 tus, who was only two years younger, was born there, 
 the family is too much connected with the Island to allow 
 his name to be passed over without some notice. Jersey 
 certainly did not give him his natural birth, but she fos- 
 tered him in his earliest years, nurtured his opening talent, 
 and probably, by her insular situation and connection with 
 maritime affairs, first raised in his mind a desire towards 
 the naval profession, in which he afterwards attained to so 
 high a rank. 
 
 Eichard Kempenfelt, who was of Swedish extraction, 
 was born in Westminster, in the year 1818, and entered 
 early into the naval service. We first find him in the rank 
 of Lieutenant, in the year 1740 ; and he afterwards com- 
 manded a sloop of war._ In January, 1757, he was ap- 
 pointed to the Elizabeth, of 64 guns, and served under 
 the command of Commodore Stevens : he afterwards re- 
 moved to the Queenborough frigate, and was dispatched, 
 in conjunction with some transports, having on board 
 troops and ammunition, to Madras. This reinforcement 
 arrived while Count Lally was carrying on the siege of 
 
 no inconsiderable degree of critical acumen, these, his unpub- 
 lished works, may clear up many doubtful passages, indicating 
 the future state of the world, as spoken of by the prophets. 
 
 Dr. Durell died October 19th, 1775, at his College in Oxford, 
 in the 47th year of his age, and was buried at St. Peter's in the 
 East. 
 
 c c 
 
304 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 that place, and the supply being immediately thrown into 
 the garrison, gave such a decisive change in the aspect of 
 affairs, that the Count immediately raised the siege, and 
 this led to the expulsion of the French from India. Ad- 
 miral Stevens having hoisted his flag on hoard the Grafton, 
 of 68 guns, Kempenfelt removed to this ship as his cap- 
 tain, and afterwards, when the Admiral shifted his flag to 
 the' Norfolk, Captain Kempenfelt accompanied him ; and 
 while in this ship, he distinguished himself at the siege of 
 Manilla, where he superintended the debarkation of the 
 troops, and on its surrender was appointed Governor of 
 the place, in which capacity he acted for a short time, and 
 was afterwards sent home with dispatches : he, however, 
 returned to India, and resumed his station as Captain of 
 the Norfolk, in 1763. He was successively appointed to 
 the Buckingham, of 74 guns, and to the Alexander 
 of the same rate. In 1779 we find him First Captain, 
 or, as it is termed, Captain of the Fleet, in the Victory, 
 under Admiral Sir Charles Hardy. On the 26th of Sep- 
 tember, in the same year, he was promoted to the rank of 
 Rear- Admiral. - In 1781, with his flag still on board the 
 Victory, he commanded a squadron of twelve sail of the 
 line and some frigates, sent out for the purpose of inter- 
 cepting a French fleet which was expected home: he 
 fell in with this fleet, but it proved of much greater force 
 than was supposed — consisting of nineteen sail of the line, 
 and two of 64 guns, armed en-flute : these had a convoy 
 under their protection. The Admiral deemed it prudent 
 to decline an engagement, but looking out for an oppor- 
 tunity of cutting off part of the convoy, he happily suc- 
 ceeded, having captured fifteen sail, and sunk four. He 
 continued in the Victory till he removed to the Royal 
 George, and in her he made a cruise in the channel, under 
 
feroGRAPHt. 305 
 
 Lord Howe ; but the ship being discovered to be leaky, was 
 sent home. On her arrival at Spithead, she was ordered 
 to be repaired without being brought into dock — this led 
 to the lamentable occurrence so well known : in the en- 
 deavour to ascertain the extent of the leak, she was lower- 
 ed too much on one side, and a gust of wind rising at the 
 same moment, she was further impelled to leeward ; the 
 water rushed into the port-holes, and in the space of eight 
 minutes, she disappeared with 1200 hundred people on 
 board, including women and children, of whom not more 
 than 300 were saved.* The Admiral was writing in his 
 cabin at the time the lamentable occurrence took place, 
 and consequently perished. The event occurred August 
 29th, 1782. 
 
 A monument was erected to his memory, in the church- 
 yard at Portsea, with an appropriate inscription, which 
 finishes with this short, but not undeserved eulogy: — 
 
 " 'Tis not this stone, regretted chief, thy name, > 
 Thy worth, thy merit, shall extend thy fame ; 
 Brilliant achievements have thy name imprest, 
 In lasting characters on Albion's breast." 
 
 Admiral Carteret (14), the circumnavigator, will be the 
 
 (14) Rear-Admiral Philip Carteret, 
 was born in Jersey in the year 1 733, and was a branch of the 
 family of Lord Carteret. He entered the navy very young, in 
 which profession he rose to the rank of admiral. On the death 
 of his elder brother, 1 760, he succeeded to the fine estate of 
 Trinity Manor, in Jersey, but it was so encumbered, that he may 
 almost be said to have repurchased it. Previously to the voyage 
 that he made round the world, as commander, he had sailed in 
 
 * The reader need scarcely be informed, that a considerable portion 
 of the Royal George has, very lately, been recovered ; the several parts 
 of the ship having been detached by submarine explosions, and raised 
 by means of the diving bell, and mechanical power. 
 
306 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 next to be introduced to the reader ; and Admiral 
 Dumaresq (15), who was a native of Jersey, will suc- 
 ceed him. 
 
 a similar expedition, as lieutenant, under the Hon. Commodore 
 Byron : and on his return from this voyage he married Miss Sil- 
 vester, the daughter of a French protestant physician, and sister 
 to Sir John Silvester, the late Recorder of London. 
 
 His voyage round the world, as Commodore, was performed 
 in the years 1 766- 7-8-and-9; his commission bears date July 1st, 
 1766, when he was appointed to the sloop Swallow, and left Eng- 
 land on the 22nd of August following, in company with the Dol- 
 phin and Prince Frederick, store ships : during this voyage he dis- 
 covered a cluster of islands in the South Seas, to which he gave the 
 general name of Queen Charlotte's Islands, distinguishing four 
 of them by the names of New Jersey, New Guernsey, New Al- 
 derney, and New Sark: they are situated lat. 1 1 ° 10' S. ; long. 
 164° 43' E. : he also discovered other islands, the particulars 
 of which are fully detailed in the voyage written by himself, and 
 published in Dr. Hawkesworth's collection. He had constantly to 
 sustain attacks on the ship by the savage natives, by the neces- 
 sary reprisals on whom, great numbers lost their lives. On 
 his return to England Captain Carteret made the Cape of Good 
 Hope, on the 28th of November, 1768, and on the 20th of March, 
 1769, anchored at Spithead. 
 
 After this expedition Captain Carteret resided at Southampton, 
 where he died, July 20th, 1 796, and was buried in the catacombs 
 of All Saints' Church. His promotion to the rank of Rear- Ad- 
 miral took place a very few years before his death. — His own Voy- 
 age j Private Information. 
 
 (15) Admiral Dumaresq. 
 
 The name of Dumaresq often occurs in the course of insular 
 history and politics ; and we have now to record one who distin- 
 guished himself in a naval engagement, with which all are fami- 
 liar. Thomas Dumaresq, a native of Jersey, proceeded through 
 the different gradations of rank in the British service, till he at- 
 tained that of Admiral of the blue : he commanded the Repulse, 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 307 
 
 The next who has appeared before the English public 
 as an author, is Dr. J. Bandinel, (16) who is principally 
 known as having been chosen to preach the Bampton Lec- 
 tures, in 1780; but he had other claims to the character 
 
 of 64 guns, in the memorable action of Lord Rodney, when he 
 defeated the French fleet, under the Count de Grasse, on the 
 12th of April, 1782. Admiral Dumaresq ended his days at 
 Pilham Place, in Hampshire, 1802, at the advanced age of 73 ; 
 and during that long period, he never, as he said towards the 
 close of his life, " had occasion to pay either a lawyer or phyis- 
 cian a fee." Probably there are few circumstances in the life of 
 mortals, above the lowest condition, so truly enviable as this. 
 
 (16) Dr. James Bandinel 
 was born in Jersey, in the parish of St. Martin, in the year 
 1740. This is all that is known of his early days. History 
 first finds him a fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, where he took 
 his degree M. A. 1758, and B. D. in 1767. During this interval 
 we find him rector of Wiggintoh, in Oxfordshire, and public 
 Orator of the University; and in 1777 he took his degree D. D. 
 After this time he was presented to the two valuable livings of 
 Netherbury and Beamister, in Dorsetshire, by his relative the 
 Rev. Dr. Dumaresq, in whose patronage they were, as attach- 
 ed to the prebendal stall in the Cathedral of Salisbury, but Dr. 
 Bandinel dying before his patron, they were given to the Rev. 
 W. Brookland, who had married his neice. 
 
 In 1780 Dr. Bandinel was chosen to preach the Bampton Lec- 
 tures for that year. These Lectures were afterwards printed, ac- 
 cording to the will of the testator, and in the same volume is 
 printed a sermon, preached by him before the University, in 1 77S, 
 on Romans ix. 2, 3, intitled " A Vindication of St. Paul from 
 the charge of wishing himself accursed." The learned preacher 
 begins this sermon with an assertion somewhat startling : after 
 alluding to the text, in which St. Paul says, " I could wish that 
 myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen 
 according to the flesh ;" he observes, " I cannot be induced to 
 
 c c 3 
 
C08 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 of a learned divine. He was a lineal descendant of Dean 
 Bandinel, who has been already noticed in this work ; but 
 he was by no means guilty of the inconsistency of his pro- 
 think, that it ever proceeded from the great Apostle to whom it 
 is attributed :" To receive this remark in its literal interpretation, 
 would be to question the divine inspiration of the Scriptures ; 
 this, however, cannot be Dr. Bandinel's meaning, as he proceeds 
 throughout, in this and in all his sermons, on the assumption 
 that the Scriptures are not to be mutilated, but, as we now have 
 them, they are to be received in all their parts, as a revelation 
 from God. It is not intended here to discuss the Apostle's mean- 
 ing, but merely to give the preacher's interpretation, and how 
 other commentators understand the passage. Dr. Bandinel thinks 
 the Apostle alludes to his state of ignorance, when he was in 
 appearance accursed from Christ, and that he meant to represent 
 himself as a type of the Jews, who are now accursed as a nation, 
 but that they will in the latter days be brought to a knowledge 
 of Christ the Saviour. Others think the Apostle's meaning to be 
 that he would willingly be cut off from all the privileges of the 
 Christian dispensation, as enjoyed in this present life, so that he 
 could benefit his brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh. 
 Of these two explanations the reader will form his own opinion ; 
 but probably he will be inclined to think the latter, the more in- 
 telligible, and likely to be the correct one. 
 
 At the time that the Bampton Lectures were published, it 
 was asserted that they savoured of popery : this charge must have 
 come from an enemy regardless "of the truth, for it is almost a 
 sufficient refutation to observe that Dr. Bandinel held the writ- 
 ings of the learned Mede in high estimation. The Lectures are 
 certainly of a character that is termed orthodox, or more properly 
 High Church, which may have given countenance to the opinion ; 
 but when we read of such a passage as the following, which occurs 
 in the last of the eight lectures, and at its close — always premis- 
 ing that the free grace spoken of, is the first moving principle 
 which influences the fallen and rebellious nature of man to any 
 thing that is really good towards God in a scriptural sense — Dr. 
 Bandinel is at once relieved from the charge of a tendency to- 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 309 
 
 genitor, of opposing episcopal authorty and discipline, 
 while he held an office, the duties of which he was bound 
 to fulfil. 
 
 We now pass from the warriors and divines, whose lives 
 have been given, to one who was a divine, but who devoted 
 the time he could spare from his clerical engagements 
 to benefit his native Island, on a subject by no means in- 
 consistent with the duties of a clergyman. The Rev. F. 
 Le Couteur (17) devoted thirty years of his life to expe- 
 
 wards popish doctrines ; he says, " It ill becomes us to pry too 
 curiously into, and dogmatically pronounce upon, God's secret 
 decrees ; but it is every man's bounden duty, written in plain 
 characters on the mind of every man, to obey with awe and re- 
 verence his express commands. Scripture cannot be at variance 
 with itself; we ought, therefore, so to temper the sense of pas- 
 sages, seemingly contradictory, as to rob it neither of that honour 
 and submission, which is due to every part of the Word of God. 
 When, therefore, salvation is ascribed to his free grace, we ought 
 to conclude that our own endeavours ought to co-operate with it ; 
 when we are exhorted to work out our salvation, we ought not 
 to exclude the concurrence of his grace, by which * his strength 
 is made perfect in our weakness.' When we are said to be justi- 
 fied through faith, we should understand such a faith as is pro- 
 ductive of good works : when we read of the glorious promises 
 made to good works, we must confine them to such works only 
 as spring from a true lively faith in Christ Jesus." 
 
 In a review of the Bampton Lectures at that time, it was ob- 
 served of them, that " they discover sense, ingenuity, learning, 
 and critical power in their author, and are written in a style ge- 
 nerally easy, accurate and impressive." Dr. Bandinel died Dec. 
 1804.- — Chalmers's Biographical Diet. ; Bampton Lectures. 
 
 (17) Rev. F. Le Couteur. 
 The author of the life of the Rev. Mr. Le Couteur, from which 
 this sketch is taken, has observed that " the lives of literary men, 
 and indeed of all such w r hose actions are not of a public nature, 
 
310 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 riments in the culture of the Apple tree, and to improve 
 the manufacture of Cider, which he has given in a work 
 
 as to be linked with the history of their country, are generally 
 barren of interesting incidents, and are little more than a detail 
 of dates and publications :" this is true as applied to the subject 
 of the present memoir j but he was well known to the inhabitants 
 of Jersey, as a skilful agriculturist ; and to his parishioners and 
 intimate friends, as a pious divine, fulfilling the duties of his 
 sacred office, under a full consciousness of their value and im- 
 portance. 
 
 Among the ancestors of Mr. Le Couteur, we find two who had 
 arrived at the highest ecclesiastical station in the Island — that of 
 Dean ; and during the early part of his life his maternal uncle, 
 of the name of Payn, possessed the same insular dignity. 
 
 The Rev. Francis Le Couteur was born in the year 1 744 ; he 
 was early intended for the Church, to which his own inclinations, 
 the discovery of his early talent, and by his influential family con- 
 nections, naturally led. It may be presumed that he received 
 the rudiments of his education in his native Island. We first 
 find him entered in Jesus College, Oxford, where he obtained an 
 exhibition, through the influence of his uncle : he afterwards be- 
 came a fellow of Exeter College. He resided some years in Ox- 
 ford, but when he took orders he went to serve a church at 
 Shrewsbury, where he remained between two and three years. 
 It appears that Mr. Le Couteur had formed an engagement to 
 make the tour of Europe, as tutor to a young gentleman ; but 
 having met with a serious accident, in the fracture of his thigh, 
 he was compelled to relinquish it, and he retired to his native 
 Island, where he was presented to the living of St. Martin, but 
 which he afterwards exchanged for that of Grouville. 
 
 Among the few incidents of Mr. Le Couteur's life, we must 
 not omit to notice his patriotic conduct at the time of the French 
 invasion in 1/81. As he did not reside at St. Helier's, he had 
 not the opportunity of joining those who refused to affix their 
 signatures to the capitulation. But his merit consisted in his de- 
 cided and patriotic conduct, which led to the recovery of the 
 battery of La Platte Hogue, which a French detachment had 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 31 1 
 
 not unknown to the English reader : this alone would en- 
 title him to a place in this work, but he has other claims, 
 
 occupied on their landing : this took place before the attack 
 on the French by Major Pierson ; and while other^weye labouring 
 under the consternation of this unexpected surprise, Mr. Le 
 Couteur encouraged the commanding officer of the troops at 
 Gouray, while hesitating whether he should recognize the capitu- 
 lation by the Governor, to attack the battery : Mr. Le Couteur 
 provided him with two parish field-pieces, and offered to in- 
 demnify him for his commission, if he should lose it for dis- 
 obedience to orders. This led to the bold attack by which the 
 battery was recovered, and in which six gallant British soldiers 
 fell, whose names are still recorded on a monument in Grouville 
 Cemetery. It is needless to observe, that Mr. Le Couteur's firm 
 and patriotic conduct was the more commendable, as he would 
 have been exposed to the rigour of a military execution, for a 
 breach of the capitulation, had the French retained possession of 
 the Island. 
 
 Previously to the residence of Mr. Le Couteur in Jersey, the 
 character of the cider made in the Island was far from good ; and 
 he employed the time that he could spare from his clerical and 
 other duties, in endeavouring to improve it, by the experiments 
 he made in the manufacture of the article. He ascertained that 
 its inferiority was owing, not so much to the fruit as to the neg- 
 ligent manner of preparing it. He devoted thirty years of his 
 life to this branch of rural economy, and he lived to see the re- 
 sult of his labours, the staple commodity of the Island having in- 
 creased in character and reputation. In 1801 he published a work 
 on the subject, which he dedicated to Sir J. Sinclair, and a se- 
 cond edition with considerable additions in 1806 ; this was trans- 
 lated into English, and is highly esteemed in England where it 
 is known : it is generally bound up with Pitt's Survey of Wor- 
 cestershire. The work is continued through twenty-eight short 
 chapters, in which the author treats, not only of the art of mak- 
 ing cider, and the mode of preserving and bottling, the various 
 disorders to which it is subject, and its method of cure, but the 
 culture of the apple itself, and the best sorts for the purpose of 
 
312 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 to notice, which will be recorded in the subjoined me 
 moir. 
 
 making cider, and the soil best adapted to the growth of the tree. 
 For this work Mr. Le Couteur received the most flattering testi- 
 monials of approbation from the" President of the Board of Agri- 
 culture ; and he had the thanks also of the Society for the encou- 
 ragement of Arts and Manufactures. 
 
 Although the constitution of Mr. Le Couteur was naturally 
 robust, yet was it impaired by the accident already alluded to, 
 and still more weakened by the pressure of domestic afflictions. 
 The last was the loss of his second son, Captain Philip Le Cou- 
 teur, who died in the East Indies. Notwithstanding he was sup- 
 ported under these trials, as his reverend biographer states, by 
 religion, yet, as he continues, " the human constitution cannot 
 fail of being impaired under such circumstances ; and worn out 
 as he was by bodily infirmities, he did not recover from the shock : 
 he was seized with a typhus fever, a few weeks after, and a mor- 
 tification at the same time taking place in one of his thighs, he 
 expired without a groan, May 15th, 1808, being then in the 
 64th year of his age." 
 
 The character of Mr. Le Couteur cannot better be given than 
 in the words of his friend and biographer : " As a clergyman no 
 one ever discharged his duty more conscientiously ; his piety was 
 lively and unaffected, without either ostentation or enthusiasm : 
 he was no orator, but the earnest and forcible manner of delivery, 
 which proceeded from his conviction of the awful truths of Christ- 
 ianity, never failed to arrest the attention of his hearers. His 
 duty required him to visit the sick, and he administered advice 
 and consolation to the afflicted. He was at the same time free 
 from pride and superciliousness, which are never so contemptible 
 as in the person of a clergyman." 
 
 " In his limited sphere as a public man, he never suffered con- 
 siderations of private interest to come in competition with public 
 good : this was his rule of conduct for more than thirty years 
 that he was a valuable member of the States of Jersey." — 
 Abridged from his Life, in Pitfs Survey of Worcestershire; 
 Private Information. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 313 
 
 Jersey certainly cannot exhibit many proofs that she has 
 excelled in the fine arts : she has, however, produced a 
 painter, who was highly esteemed in his native Island, 
 and is not unknown in England, where he exercised his 
 profession the greater part of his life. Mr. Jean was of 
 low extraction, and was brought up to some menial trade ; 
 but, like another Opie, he surmounted his early difficul- 
 ties, and by the strength of his native, though untaught, 
 genius, soon acquired distinction in his art. Mr. Jean 
 seeking a larger sphere for his talents than Jersey, came 
 to Southampton, and he was eminently successful. He 
 afterwards removed to London, where he continued in the 
 exercise of his profession to the end of his days. He died 
 in the year 1813. Mr. Jean's liberality to his native place 
 must not be left unrecorded. He executed a whole-length 
 portrait of George III., for which his majesty graciously 
 condescended to sit to him: this he presented to the States, 
 and it now adorns the hall of the Royal Court. But 
 his liberality was not unrewarded. The States, by an act 
 August 20th, 1796, voted the sum of £1 00 to be expended 
 in the purchase of a piece of plate, to be presented to him 
 as an acknowledgment of his merit and liberality. 
 
 We have now to introduce to the reader a native of Jer- 
 sey, who was not only of the rank of Admiral in the 
 British service, but a prince in his own right : the Duke 
 of Bouillon (18) was no less distinguished by his rank 
 
 (18) Rear-Admiral D'Auvergne, Due de Bouillon. 
 
 Philip D'Auvergne, Prince and Duke of Bouillon, was bora 
 in Jersey, November the 22nd, 1754. He showed, a very early 
 predilection for the naval service, and first served on board one 
 of the Royal yatchs. In 1772 he joined the Flora frigate, as a 
 midshipman, under the command of Sir George Collier ; she made 
 a voyage up the Baltic, and while in Russia, Mr. DAuvergne 
 
314 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 and honours, than by the vicissitudes that chequered his 
 course ; the waves of the sea, on which he rode the greater 
 
 had the honour of being presented, with the other officers of 
 the ship, to the Empress Catherine. He next made a voyage of 
 observation to Spitsbergen, in the Race-Horse, commanded by 
 the Hon. Captain Phipps, afterwards Lord Mulgrave : for this 
 expedition Mr. D'Auvergne' s previous studies well qualified him ; 
 the drawings, which accompany Captain Phipps's voyage, were 
 made by him, and he was charged with the Meteorological Re- 
 gisters. On his return to England, he was under Captain 
 Vandeput, in the Asia, and- proceeded in her to Boston, from 
 thence he was appointed to the Kingfisher sloop, as acting Lieu- 
 tenant, during which time he shared in several arduous services, 
 previously to the battle of Bunker's-hill ; at the seige of Boston, 
 and in the expedition against Falmouth, in Casco Bay, where he 
 was slightly wounded : he afterwards served on board the Preston, 
 and on the arrival of Admiral Shuldham, to command on the 
 American station, with his flag on board the Chatham, of 50 
 guns, Mr. D'Auvergne removed to her, as acting lieutenant : here 
 we find him constantly engaged ; sometimes on land, but always 
 in boat expeditions on the rivers, and may other important ser- 
 vices, for which Lord Howe, in 1777, sent him a commission as 
 Lieutenant, to command the Alarm, an armed cutter, fitted for 
 the river service. In July, 1778, he was acting as Brigade Ma- 
 jor, to the Brigade of Seamen and Artillery, on Rhode island ; 
 circumstances having compelled the destruction of the Alarm, 
 and other vessels on the coast. In November in the same year 
 he returned to England, in the Leviathan. 
 
 A few days after his arrival, Mr. D'Auvergne was appointed 
 first Lieutenant to the Arethusa frigate, of 32 guns, commanded 
 by Captain Everitt, and while in this ship, he was wrecked on 
 the coast of France, after an action with the Aigrette French fri- 
 gate, near Ushant. During his captivity, occasioned by this dis- 
 aster, he was recognized and claimed by the then reigning Duke 
 of Bouillon as his heir, and some tempting offers were made 
 him to leave the service of England, and join that of France ; 
 but which, to his credit as a subject of the British Sovereign, he 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 315 
 
 part of life, are not an unfit emblem of the constant and 
 successive changes by which his onward way was marked ; 
 
 declined. On being exchanged in the summer of 1780, he was 
 appointed to the Lark, armed cutter, and in the next year we 
 find him under the command of Commodore Johnstone, in the 
 expedition to the Cape of Good Hope. Although the attempt 
 against the Cape was, at that time, unsuccessful, the Commo- 
 dore destroyed a number of Dutch vessels, in Saldanha Bay, and 
 the fleet was afterwards ordered to rendevouz at St. Helena : 
 while there Mr. D'Auvergne received his commission as Master 
 and Commander, and he was sent home in the Rattlesnake, with 
 the dispatches of the ill success of the expedition. 
 
 Captain D'Auvergne next proceeded to the West Indies, in the 
 Rattlesnake, where he was wrecked on the Island of Trinidad, 
 during a tornado ; and he suffered great hardships while residing 
 three months on the Island : but he received high commendation 
 for his conduct on that trying occasion, when the enquiry was 
 made into the loss of the ship. On his arrival in England, in 
 January, 1784, Captain D'Auvergne had conferred on him Post 
 rank. 
 
 This was an important era in the life of Captain D'Auvergne ; 
 on his arrival, he found the Duke of Bouillon waiting his return, 
 who having traced, to his entire satisfaction, the filiation of this 
 branch of the family, which he had been pursuing for many years, 
 he recognized and admitted the Captain as his heir and successor, 
 after his son who was then living. 
 
 Captain D'Auvergne' s health having materially suffered while 
 he was at Trinidad, he was advised to make a tour on the conti- 
 nent j and while abroad he was complimented with the honorary 
 degree of L. L. D. by a German University. He passed the win- 
 ter at the Duke of Bouillon's seat in Normandy, and continued 
 his tour in search of health during the summer of 1786; and 
 returned to England in the spring of the following year, when 
 he was appointed to the command of the Narcissus frigate, on 
 the channel station : he was the same year elected a Fellow of 
 the Royal Society. His state of health having obliged him to 
 relinquish his command, he was persuaded by the Duke to 
 
 D d 
 
3l6i THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 and it may be said, that the one which ended in disap- 
 pointment, was that which ruined all his hopes, and in 
 
 reside with bira in France, in order to arrange the private affairs 
 of the Duchy, which even at that early period seemed to be in 
 some jeopardy. 
 
 The reigning Duke died in December, 1 793, and was succeeded 
 by the hereditary Prince, James Leopold ; to whom the oaths 
 of allegiance and fidelity were taken, as well to the Prince his 
 successor, the subject of the present memoir. 
 
 On his return to England, Captain D'Auvergne, now Prince 
 of Bouillon, became a member of the Society of Arts ; and in 
 1793 was elected a member of the Society of Antiquarians. 
 
 The high rank to which he had now risen, did not prevent his 
 taking an active part in the service of his country. In June, 
 1794, the Prince was appointed Captain of the Nonsuch, and 
 commander of a Flotilla of gun boats stationed for the defence 
 of the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, with orders to commu- 
 nicate with the Royalists party on the coast of France : the as- 
 sistance he rendered to the Royalists in this, and in other respects, 
 vt a .s the cause of the opposition and ill treatment he met with in 
 Paris, when he went there after the peace of Amiens to prose- 
 cute his claim to the Duchy of Bouillon. 
 
 In the year 1 798, the Prince was honoured with the distinction 
 of a broad pendant, under which he continued to command the 
 defensive Flotilla at Jersey. In November, 1805, he was pro- 
 moted to be Rear-Admiral of the Blue; in July 1810, to be 
 Vice; and in November, 1813, to be Vice- Admiral of the White : 
 we have put all these several promotions together, that the fol- 
 lowing relation respecting the opposition he experienced at Paris, 
 and his future services, may not be interrupted. 
 
 James Leopold having died in 1802, during the short interval 
 of peace, Admiral D'Auvergne repaired to Paris to claim his rights 
 to the domains and emoluments of the Duchy of Bouillon, which 
 had been seized and annexed to the French republic by an act of 
 the National Assembly, in 1796 ; but on his arrival he was arrested 
 •and committed a prisoner to the Temple, and all his papers 
 seized. He was lodged in the same apartment which Princess 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 317 
 
 fact ended his days. His rights, and indeed his life, were 
 sacrificed to a policy that governed the Congress of Vienna: 
 
 Elizabeth had inhabited, but was treated with the greatest indig- 
 nity : it was only by the interposition of his legal adviser that 
 he was allowed any indulgence whatever. He was arrested on 
 mere suspicion ; there was no ground whatever for his deten- 
 tion : the suspicion was, that he was employed by Mr. Pitt on 
 some secret service against the French government ; but the real 
 cause, it is supposed, was the refuge he had afforded the French 
 emigrants, and the annoyance that the French marine suffered 
 by him while he had the eommand on the Jersey station ; and it 
 may be readily believed that such was the case, when the conduct 
 of the Consular government, during the short interval of peace, 
 is considered. After some days of confinement he was released, 
 with orders to leave France within twenty-four hours. After this 
 treatment by the French authorities, it was useless for him to pro- 
 secute his claim ; and the war, which was almost immediately 
 after renewed, put an end to his hopes : he therefore again be- 
 took himself to the service of his country. In September, 1803, 
 he was appointed to the Severn, of 44 guns, on board which he 
 hoisted his broad pendant ', and the States of Jersey, to manifest 
 the high opinion they had of him, and his services to the Island, 
 voted a sum as a bounty to any seamen who should serve under 
 him. He was again appointed to the Jersey station. 
 
 It is a remarkable circumstance in the life of Admiral D'Auver- 
 gne, that three of the ships that he commanded should have been 
 wrecked ; but it does not appear that in either case it was owing 
 to any want of experience or neglect on his part : two of the 
 instances have been already stated ; the third was the Severn : 
 this occurred in December, 1804 ; during a tremendous storm, 
 while she was riding in Grouville bay. Having broken the moor- 
 ing chain of a ship of the line, and parted a twenty-two inch 
 cable, she drifted on the rocks which surround the bay. The 
 Commodore was on shore ; but his brother the Lieutenant, used 
 every exertion to get her off without effect, till the rising of the 
 tide floated her on the beach, but she was a complete wreck : all 
 the men and stores were, however, saved by the boats of the 
 
318 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 If the peace of Europe required the sacrifice, it would be 
 right to acquiesce in the decision ; but probably it was 
 
 Alcmene, which was also on the coast, but rode out the storm. 
 Whatever enquiry was made into the loss of the Severn, Admiral 
 D'Auvergne must have been exonerated from all blame, as we 
 again find him employed on the Jersey station, in 1808, and he 
 continued in this command till towards the close of the war. 
 
 Although the life of the Duke of Bouillon does not present any 
 striking and peculiar feature to command the attention of poste- 
 rity, yet few men have experienced greater vicissitudes in their 
 passage through life. He had served in almost every part of the 
 world ; he had been raised to high rank in the British service, 
 and he was depressed by the ignominy of a prison ; he had the 
 prospect of succeeding to a duchy, but it ended in disappointment 
 by the rapacity of the French government. Another is yet to 
 be related, which put an end to his hopes of succeeding to the 
 sovereignty of Bouillon. 
 
 After the restoration of the Bourbons, he was in possession of 
 his rights, and governed the duchy during several months, until 
 he was dispossessed of the territory, by an Act of the Congress 
 of Vienna, " upon considerations of general policy."* On the 
 return of peace Prince Charles de Rohan, due de Montbazon, 
 also set up a claim, founded on a greater degree of consangui- 
 nity, as descended from one of the former dukes. The Admiral's 
 claim rested not only on his relationship, but on his adoption by 
 the duke who died in 1793. The greater part of the evils of feu- 
 dal times has happily passed away — the sovereignty contended for 
 was too unimportant to be decided by the sword : the rights of 
 the respective claimants were submitted to the Courts of Austria, 
 Prussia, and Sardinia for decision, and Admiral D'Auvergne 
 appointed Sir John Sewell to be his commissioner at the Court of 
 Arbitration, who with great talent supported his right ; but the 
 Court decided in favour of the Due de Montbazon, and he was 
 put in possession of the duchy. Sir J. Sewell, on the part of 
 the Admiral, entered a protest against the decision ; but this, as 
 may be supposed, was a mere brutum fulmen, and when it is 
 
 *This -was the reason given for the decision in favour of the Prince de Rohan. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 319 
 
 made on some personal grounds, which are so well under- 
 stood by the term favouritism, and even then a compen- 
 sation should have been made to Admiral D'Auvergne, as 
 his right had been most fully recognized, by the best 
 and most legitimate authority — the actual possessor of 
 the duchy. 
 
 F. J. Le Couteur, Esq. (19), the son of the Rev. F. Le 
 
 considered that it was made " on considerations of general policy," 
 it may be easily supposed that the actual right of individuals 
 formed but a small part of them. 
 
 Admiral D'Auvergne outlived this disappointment but a very 
 short time : he died at Holmes's Hotel, in London, September 
 1 8th, 1816, and was buried in St. Margaret's Church, West- 
 minster. 
 
 Of the Admiral's merits, as a commander, we have certainly 
 no decisive proofs, except the testimony in his favour that he was 
 almost constantly employed. Of his character as a gentleman 
 and a friend, evidence is not wanting : the high esteem in which 
 he was held in his native Isle, and which is still attached to his 
 memory, furnish the best that can be given. 
 
 Admiral D'Auvergne had only one son, who died on board the 
 Africaine, in 1815, in the 17th year of his age; and was buried 
 with military honours at Columba : and he had a brother, who 
 was a Major-General in the British service, and Equerry to George 
 III., he died at Southampton, in 1799. — Naval Chronicle; 
 Family Documents ; Other private information. 
 
 (19) Francis John Le Couteur, Esq. 
 This gentleman was born in 1773, and after having received a 
 classical education at Berkhampstead, in Hertfordshire, under the 
 late Rev. Dr. John Dupre, he was sent at a proper age to Paris, 
 to study jurisprudence. It was during the horrors of the Revolu- 
 tion, that he witnessed the execution of the unfortunate Louis 
 the Sixteenth, and most of the other unhallowed scenes of that 
 disastrous period. Being naturally of an ardent and inquisitive 
 
 D d 3 
 
?20 THE CHAKNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Couteur, must not be omitted. He is the only Jersey man 
 that is known, since the time of Wace, who has attained 
 to any eminence as a poet, and even in this character he 
 
 mind, and relying on his character of a British subject, that it 
 would protect him, he remained longer than was prudent : he was 
 made a prisoner, and confined indiscriminately with the victims 
 of the Reign of Terror. He was then exposed to the most immi- 
 nent danger, expecting daily that it would be his fate to be sum- 
 moned to the Revolutionary Tribunal. One day, while beguiling 
 the dreary hours of imprisonment with a game at whist, his part- 
 ner, a lady, was sent for to appear before those tyrants : she 
 received the order with the greatest composure, and only request- 
 ed to be allowed to play out her cards ; she left the party, but 
 returned no more. After the downfall of Robespierre, he was 
 allowed to return to his native country ; but his constitution had 
 so suffered from his confinement, that he never entirely recovered 
 from its effects. Soon after his arrival in Jersey he published a 
 detailed and an affecting account of his sufferings : in the same 
 work there appeared several beautiful and pathetic pieces of 
 French poetry, which he had written during his captivity. 
 
 Mr. Le Couteur soon after married, and confining his views to 
 the Island, became a distinguished and eloquent member of the in- 
 sular bar. In 1817 he was appointed the King's Solicitor- Gene- 
 ral of Jersey, which office he held till 1823, when ill health com- 
 pelled him to resign it. He survived scarcely a twelvemonth, 
 and died in 1824, at the age of 51. 
 
 Mr. Le Couteur was eminent as a poet, and for his extensive 
 acquaintance with French literature. Some of his pieces were 
 printed in his life time, as already noticed, but many are still in 
 MS.; and it may be remarked, as a subject of regret, and, 
 indeed, surprise, that these have not been added to the former, 
 and given to the public. He possessed a remarkable retentive- 
 ness of memory, and could quote passages from the French clas- 
 sics, to elucidate or exemplify a subject, and express them with 
 a taste and pathos, that has often delighted the writer of this 
 sketch of his life.— E. D. 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 321 
 
 is scarcely known in England, but his pieces shine in the 
 galaxy of French poetry ; and this is the more worthy of 
 notice, as it is not usual to find a native of either Island, 
 possessing a correct taste, and capable of giving expres- 
 sion to his sentiments, in that language, with the refine- 
 ment and elegance which mark some of his pieces. 
 
 Of the few persons, natives of Jersey, that remain to 
 be noticed, there is nothing sufficiently marked either in 
 their lives or character to require a separate memoir ; the 
 scene in which they acted presents nothing of peculiar 
 interest to the public ; but they stand too much out from 
 among their contemporaries to be altogether passed by. 
 
 Dr. John Lempriere so well known in England, as the 
 compiler of the Classical Dictionary, was a Jerseyman. 
 He was born on his paternal estate, in the neighbourhood 
 of the town of St. Helier, about the year 1 766 ; he began 
 his education at the Grammar School of St. Manlier, and 
 afterwards became a scholar on the Morley foundation in 
 Pembroke College, Oxford : while there he was noticed 
 by the Rev. Dr. Valpy, of Reading, who employed him 
 as an assistant in his school. Mr. Lempriere having 
 taken his degree, was soon after admitted into holy orders, 
 and by the recommendation of Dr. Valpy, was elected 
 master of the Free School, at Blackbourne, where he re- 
 mained some years, and during which time he had under 
 his tuition several members of the Peel family. In 1788, 
 while yet young, he published the Classical Dictionary, 
 which is so well known to every student of the classics, 
 that nothing more need be said of it : it is on this book 
 that the claim of Dr. Lempriere to notice principally 
 rests. He afterwards obtained the mastership of Abing- 
 don Grammar School ; and, on the resignation of the Rev. 
 
322 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 Robert Bartholemew, in 1808, became master of the Exe- 
 ter School, in which situation he continued till 1818, when 
 he retired, or was removed — we scarcely know which term 
 to use, as his removal was a subject of litigation — and 
 went to Teignmouth, where he had a small benefice, 
 and took private pupils. There he remained, till a fit of 
 apoplexy ended his days, in 1822. Dr. Lempriere was 
 three times married, and had a numerous family. 
 
 The talents and acquirements of Drs. John and Edward 
 Dupre, are too well known and appreciated by many per" 
 sons now living in Jersey, to allow their names to be pass- 
 ed over without some notice. Dr. John was a fellow of 
 Exeter College, Oxford; and afterwards head master of 
 the Grammar School, at Berkhampstead : he was a good 
 classical scholar, and an elegant writer ; he published a 
 volume of sermons, which have been much admired. He 
 died at Weymouth, only a few years since. 
 
 Dr. Edward Dupre was a fellow of Pembroke College ,* 
 in 1783 he succeeded his father in the living of St. Helier. 
 He was a man of a cultivated mind, and had a true taste 
 for poetry, as his translation into French of " Pope's dy- 
 ing Christian" testifies ; and his pulpit talents were of no 
 mean order. He was preferred to the Deanery in 1802, 
 and died in 1824. 
 
 The last to be mentioned of the many Jersey men who 
 have served their country in arms, and signalized them- 
 selves in their profession, is Sir Philip Carteret, bart. 
 who afterwards took the name of Silvester, on the death 
 of his uncle, Sir John Silvester, the late Recorder of Lon- 
 don. Sir Philip was one of the younger sons of the Admiral, 
 the circumnavigator, and was born in the year 1776. He . 
 
BIOGRAPHY. 323 
 
 entered the navy young, under Captain Gore, and was in 
 the fleet which accompanied Lord Macartney to China. 
 He was made Post at an early age, and particularly distin- 
 guished himself in the attack on Boulogne, in 1805, when 
 the part of the fleet in which he commanded, attracted 
 the marked attention of Napoleon, who saw it from the 
 adjoining coast : and he afterwards took a French vessel 
 of superior force, after a gallant and well fought action. 
 Sir Philip was not only eminent in his profession, but a 
 man of considerable talent and information, which would 
 doubtless have secured him higher rank, had he lived to 
 become entitled to it ; but during a peace promotions are 
 slow. He died in London, in 1 828, after only two days 
 illness, in 52nd year of his age. Sir Philip was never 
 married, and the title became extinct ; but the landed pro- 
 perty of Trinity manor, in Jersey, devolved on his sister, 
 Lady Symonds, the lady of Sir William, the present Sur- 
 veyor of the Navy. 
 
 The Rev. Edward Valpy was a younger brother of the 
 Rev. Dr. Valpy, and was born in St. John's parish, in 
 Jersey. He was during many years, in the early part of his 
 life, with his brother as his second master ; but on the 
 death of the late Dr. Foster, in 1810, he was elected head 
 master of the Grammar School at Norwich, the character 
 of which he greatly raised, by his persevering assiduity 
 and talents. Mr. Valpy was patronized by the late bishop 
 Bathurst, who appointed him his domestic chaplain, and 
 preferred him to a valuable benefice. His classical attain- 
 ments were of the highest order : he compiled a work, 
 well-known in schools, " Elegantiae latinae," and a Greek 
 Testament, from Griesbach's text, with English notes, 
 from Hardy, Schleusner, and others, which has gone 
 
324 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 through several editions. Frequent attacks of hereditary 
 gout, compelled him to resign the mastership of the school, 
 some years before his death, which occurred in 1834. It 
 should not be left unnoticed, that the Corporation of Nor- 
 wich voted him a valuable piece of plate, on his retiring, 
 as a token of the high esteem in which they held him, 
 and his meritorious conduct in the management of the 
 school. 
 
 There are few persons in England, who have had the 
 instruction of youth, so well known as the Rev. Dr. Valpy, 
 of Reading, whether from the number of scholars he has 
 had under his tuition, or the still greater number he has 
 instructed by the means of the useful books that he com- 
 piled. Dr. Valpy was born in Jersey, in 1754 ; he received 
 his early education and his knowledge of the French lan- 
 guage at Valogues, in Normandy, which he both spoke 
 and wrote with ease and purity ; he was afterwards at the 
 Grammar School, at Southampton, and here he showed 
 early talent, having obtained the Stanley prize, given 
 by Hans Stanley, Esq. the member of the town at that 
 time. We next find him entered on the foundation of 
 one of the Morley scholarships, in Oxford. He was or- 
 dained in 1777, by the Bishop of Hereford, and in 1781 
 was appointed to the Grammar School at Reading, found- 
 ed by Henry VII. Here it was that Dr. Valpy exercised 
 his peculiar talent — that of instructing youth : he raised 
 the school from the very low state in which he found 
 it, to be one of the most known and most celebrated of 
 any of the public schools in England. In 1 787 he was 
 preferred to the living of Straddishall, in Suffolk. His 
 duties at Reading required his almost constant attendance 
 there, but he yisited his parishioners twice every year, 
 
UlOGRAPHY. 325 
 
 at Midsummer and Christmas ; to whom he addressed , 
 and afterwards published, " An Address from a Clergy- 
 man to his Parishioners," for which he was complimented 
 by the Bishop, and so highly was it esteemed, that, 
 though of a somewhat local character, it ran through 
 seven editions. Age, and increasing infirmities, com- 
 pelled Dr. Valpy to resign his charge at Reading, some 
 years before his death, to which one of his sons was im- 
 mediately appointed. He spent the remainder of his days 
 in the society of his children, dividing his time alter- 
 nately between them. He died at his eldest son's house, 
 in Kensington, March 28th, 1836, and was buried in the 
 new Cemetary at Ken sail Green, where a Mas oleum has 
 been erected to his memory by his children. 
 
 Dr. Valpy was twice married, but survived both his 
 wives, and left a numerous family. Two of his sons have 
 distinguished themselves as authors and printers, and 
 have revived the days of the Stevenses and the Elzivirs. 
 
 We close the Biography of Jersey with the sketch of 
 the life of Sir Thomas Le Breton. Many advocates at the 
 Jersey bar have discovered considerable talent, and would 
 justly claim notice in a more extended work ; but it will 
 be by no means considered invidious to introduce one, 
 who, by his eminent talents and his rank in society, has 
 an especial right to be noticed. Thomas Le Breton, was 
 the eldest son of the very Rev. Francis Le Breton, rector 
 of St. Saviour's, and dean of the Island ; he was born in 
 the year 1763. He received his early education at Win- 
 chester College : from thence he removed to Pembroke 
 College, Oxford ; and while there obtained the Chancel- 
 lor's prize for Latin verse. He was elected fellow of the 
 same College in 1786; but declining to take holy orders, 
 
326 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 
 
 he retired to his native Isle, to prosecute his studies for 
 the insular bar. In 1799 Mr. Le Breton was admitted a 
 pleader of the Jersey Royal Court, and his rise was most 
 rapid : for thirty years he maintained his high character 
 for talent ; and so great was his influence, that he may be 
 said to have had the largest share of the civil administra- 
 tion of the Island. He was appointed Attorney- General 
 of the Island in 1802, and Lieutenant-Bailly in 1816, 
 while Lord Carteret was Bailly. In 1824 he was deputed 
 by the States of Jersey, to plead the cause of the Islanders, 
 before the English government, against the encroachments 
 of the French on the local oyster fishery : on this occasion 
 he had conferred on him the honour of knighthood. On 
 the death of Lord Carteret, in 1826, he succeeded to the 
 office of Bailly, in which he had for so many years admi- 
 nistered justice as his Lieutenant. He died in the year 
 1838. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 T. Huhauhon. Pi inter, 
 
 2. Tovk's Court, Chancery -lane, Lond 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 JERSEY. 
 
 Names of the Principal Military and Civil Officers, Consuls, 
 Situation of Public Offices, SfC. 
 Governor . , . . . Viscount Beresford. 
 Lieutenant Governor Major Gen. Sir E. Gibbs, K.C.B. 
 
 Bailly Sir J. De Veulle 
 
 Lieutenant Bailly . . P. Marett, Esq. 
 
 Dean The very Rev. F. Jeune, LL.D. 
 
 Attorney General . T. Le Breton, Esq. 
 Solicitor General . John W. Dupre, Esq. 
 
 Vicompte M. Gossett, Esq. 
 
 Deputy Vicompte . . P. Le Gallais, Esq. 
 
 Greffier F. Godfray, Esq. 
 
 Advocates : — John Hammond, Esq. — F. Le Couteur, Esq. 
 
 F. Godfray, Esq. — Peter Le Sueur, Esq. — John Aubin, Esq. 
 
 James Godfray, Esq. 
 
 Foreign Consuls : — C. Helgren, Esq., for Sweden and Nor- 
 way. — P. J. Simon, for France. — Nicholas Le Quesne, Esq., 
 for Portugal. — John Moisson, Jun., for the Netherlands. — 
 Ed. De La Taste, Esq., for Brazil.— Frs. De St. Croix, Esq., for 
 Hanover. — Chs. Le Quesne, Esq., for Spain. — P. Warne, Esq., 
 for the Hanse Towns. — T. Duhamel, Esq., for Belgium. — J. De 
 St. Croix, Esq., for Denmark. — P. De St. Croix, Esq., for 
 Prussia. — W. F. Blanchard, Esq., for America. 
 
 Agent for Lloyd's : — T. Mallet, Esq. 
 
 Agent of Droits of Admiralty: — A. Gosset, Esq. 
 
 Post Office, — Minden Place, open from 9 in the morning, to 
 10 in the evening. — Packets arrive every Sunday and Thursday. 
 The Mails for England are made up every Monday and Friday 
 evening. 
 
 Office for collecting the Duties on Wines and 
 Spirits : — Hue Street, open from 10 to 4. 
 
 Custom House Office : — No. 9, Bond St., open from 9 to 4. 
 
328 APPENDIX. 
 
 Benevolent and other Societies. 
 
 The Jersey Savings Bank : — Treasurer, Mr. D. Janvrin. 
 Secretaries, Messrs. F. Le Breton, and James Hammond. 
 Actuary, Mr. Wm. Janvrin. — Office opened every Saturday, 
 from 1 1 till 1, at % No. 31, Broad Street. 
 
 Agricultural and Horticultural Society : — Patron, 
 Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria. — Vice-Patrons, 
 The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Bailly. — President, 
 Colonel Le Couteur. Board of Management, to meet the 
 first Saturday in every month, at 1 1 o'clock. — Horticul- 
 tural, the first Wednesday in every month. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce : — President, Fras. Le Breton, Esq. 
 
 The Jersey Athenaeum : — President, His Excellency Sir 
 Edward Gibbs, K.C.B. 
 
 Benefit Society for the Merchant Seamen of Jer- 
 sey : — President, James Robin, Esq. 
 
 Jersey National School: — Patron, Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 District Committee of the Society for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge : — Patron, Bishop of Winchester. 
 
 Auxiliary Bible Society :— Patron, Bishop of Winchester. 
 
 Naval and Military Bible Society. 
 
 Female Auxiliary Bible Soc. : — Patron, Lord Bexley. 
 
 Parochial Sunday School : — Patron, Bishop of Winchester. 
 
 Provident District Society : — President, Sir J. De Veulle. 
 
 Parochial Lending Library. 
 
 Benevolent Society. 
 
 Seaman's Friend Society. 
 
 Church Missionary Society. 
 
 Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews. 
 
 Ladies Association to the Irish Society of London. 
 
 Religious Tract Society. 
 
 Gorey Daily and Sunday National School. 
 
 Providence Girls' School. 
 
 Providence Boys' School. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 329 
 
 List of Churches and Dissenting Chapels, with the .time of 
 performing Divine Service. 
 
 Town Parochial Church. 
 
 Sunday 
 
 Morning 
 
 Afternoon 
 
 Evening 
 
 Morning 
 
 Evening 
 
 at 1 1 in French, 
 at 2 in English, 
 at 7 in French, 
 at 11 in French, 
 at 7 in French. 
 
 Wednesday . 
 Thursday 
 
 Chapel of Ease, All Saints' Parade. 
 Sunday . . . Morning . . at 11 in English. 
 
 . . . Afternoon . at % past 2 in French. 
 
 St. Paul's, New Street. 
 Sunday . . . Morning . . at 11 in English. 
 
 . . . Evening . . at 7 in English. 
 
 St. James's, St. James' Street. 
 ► . . Morning . . at 11 in English. 
 
 . Evening . . at i past 6 in English. 
 
 at 11 in English. 
 
 Sunday 
 
 Thursday . . Morning 
 
 Independent, Upper Halket Place. 
 Sunday . . . Morning . . at i past 10 in French. 
 
 . . . Evening . . at i past 6 in French. 
 
 Thursday . . Evening . . at 7 in French. 
 
 Independent, Grove Place. 
 Sunday . . . Morning . . at i past 10 in French. 
 . Evening . . at i past 6 in French. 
 
 Zion Chapel, Union Street. 
 Sunday . . . Morning . . at 11 in English. 
 
 . Evening . . at i past 6 in English. 
 
 Baptist, New Street. 
 . Morning . . at 11 in English. 
 . Evening . . at i past 6 in English. 
 . Evening . . at 7 in English. 
 
 Salem Chapel, Ann Stret. 
 Sunday . . . Morning . . at 1 1 in English. 
 
 . . . Evening . . at i past 6 in English. 
 
 The Wesleyan Methodists have also their places of worship 
 in Peter Street and Don Street, both in English and French. 
 Roman Catholics — Hue Street in English, Castle St. in French. 
 
 Sunday 
 Thursday 
 
330 APPENDIX. 
 
 JERSEY STEAM PACKETS, 
 
 FROM SOUTHAMPTON TO JERSEY. 
 
 The Atalanta leaves Southampton every Tuesday and Friday 
 evening at 7 o'clock, and returns from Jersey every Monday 
 and Thursday. W. J. Le Feuvre, French consul, Agent. 
 
 The Lady de Saumarez leaves Southampton every Monday 
 and Thursday at half past 7 o'clock, and returns every Wed- 
 nesday and Saturday. Mr. Priaulx, 78, High Street, Agent. 
 
 *** Both these Vessels stop at Guernsey going and returning, 
 to land and take on board passengers. 
 
 One of the Company's Packets proceeds to St. Malo from Jersey 
 every Wednesday and Friday on the arrival of the Steamers 
 from Southampton, and to Granville every Monday morning, 
 returning Thursday and Saturday from St. Malo, and on 
 Tuesday from Granville. 
 
 FROM WEYMOUTH TO JERSEY. 
 
 Her Majesty's Mail Packets, Wildfire, Fearless and 
 Dasher, leave Weymouth alternately every Wednesday and 
 Saturday evenings at 9 o'clock, and return every Saturday and 
 Tuesday ; they stop at Guernsey going and returning. The 
 Agency is conducted at the Post Office. 
 
 FROM PLYMOUTH TO JERSEY. 
 
 Sir Francis Drake leaves Plymouth every Thursday evening 
 at 6 o'clock, arrives the following day, and returns the same 
 afternoon ; takes passengers for Guernsey and Falmouth. 
 
 *£* Traders are constantly sailing to London, Bristol, Poole, 
 Southampton, and several ports in France. 
 
 Inns : — British, Broad-street. — Britannia, Hill-street. — LJnion, 
 Royal Square. — Caledonia, Pier. — Commercial, Esplanade. 
 
 Boarding Houses : — Blanchard, 15, Halkett Place. — York, 
 Royal Square. — Norman, Belmont Road. 
 
 Bankers : — Csesarea Bank, Bond-street. — Godfray, Hugh, 
 Sons, and Co., Old Bank, Hill-street, draw on De Lisle and 
 Co., London. — Janvrin and Co., Commercial Bank, Broad- 
 street, draw on De Lisle and Co., London. — Nicolle, De St. 
 Croix and Co., Jersey Banking Company, Broad- street, draw 
 on J. Thomas, Son, and Le Feuvre, London. — Jersey Mer- 
 cantile Bank, King-street, draw on Pickstock, London. 
 
 LONDON : RICHARDSON, PRINTER, TOOK's COURT. 
 
 JAN 141949 
 

 
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