Guernsey in 1974 – Part 1
This is an extract from Peter Haining’s guide book of 1974, which is as much interest today for the historian as to the tourist, as many of the places and industries described in his book have long vanished. Please do not take it as a current guide. I have taken time to annotate some of the changes in italics.
Introduction
Guernsey is sometimes referred to as the “Island of Greenhouses” —and certainly should you be flying to it the view from above is of acre upon acre of glass. The impression is not altogether correct, however, for only about one fifteenth of the island is devoted to greenhouses, and in the remainder are houses for the population of 50,000, some delightful wooded and rural areas, plus enough beaches, bays and attractions to keep the average visitor happy for weeks.
The description of Guernsey as an "Island of Greenhouses" is largely outdated due to the collapse of the island's commercial horticultural industry, leaving many structures derelict rather than actively cultivated. Additionally, Guernsey's population has increased from the historical estimate of 50,000 to approximately 64,600 residents today.
The island is the second largest of the Channel Island group and covers 24 square miles. It is seven miles long by three miles wide and has over 25 miles of coastline. The ancient name for Guernsey was Greneze, “Green Isle” and as the visitor makes use of the 300 miles of roadway he will soon see how true this is.
The Claim: That the ancient name was Greneze, meaning "Green Isle." This is a persistent folk-etymology myth. The name "Guernsey" is actually of Old Norse (Viking) origin. The suffix -ey is the Viking word for "island" (seen also in Jersey and Alderney). While older medieval records used spellings like Gernesey or Gernezeye, the root Guern- is believed to stem from a Viking personal name like Grani, or the Old Norse word grǫn (meaning spruce or pine)—not "green". To the Romans, the island was known as Lisia or Sarnia.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes Alderney, Sark, Herm and Jethou, is a self-governing community and the people have a fierce spirit of independence. They make their own laws (some of which have a distinctly feudal severity about them), impose their own taxes and even mint their own currency. The island has its own Norman-French patios which, although not used a great deal today, can still be heard spoken in the outlying communities.
When this guide was written, this was a direct nod to Sark, which was famous for being the last feudal state in Europe. Sark was ruled by a Seigneur and a parliament (Chief Pleas) made up of hereditary landowners. However, in 2008, Sark officially abolished its 450-year-old feudal system and held its first fully democratic elections to comply with modern human rights laws. While ancient customary laws still influence the islands, the "feudal severity" is a thing of the past.
The guide is referring to Guernesiais (Guernsey French). In the 1970s, it could still be heard naturally among older generations in rural parishes like Torteval or St. Saviour's. Today, it is no longer spoken as a primary community language and is classified as critically endangered, though intensive language revitalization efforts are being made in local schools.
The spirit of independence has persisted throughout much of the island’s history and smuggling between the Continent and Britain was one of the islanders’ chief methods of earning a living during the 17th and 18th centuries. Throughout the island the visitor can find caves and cellars where the ‘‘free traders” hid their booty. The climate on Guernsey is particularly suited to maturing wines and spirits and consequently huge quantities of raw liquor found its way onto the island—and helped to put considerable fortunes into the pockets of local cask makers and smugglers.
The historical narrative regarding Guernsey's 17th- and 18th-century smuggling economy is largely accurate, serving as a primary economic driver due to the island's strategic tax-exempt status rather than its climate. While romanticized caves are tied to smuggler lore, contraband was primarily stored in merchant cellars.
Today there is no need for smuggling spirits either in or out of the island, because prices here are as low as anywhere in the world. The main bone of contention, however, is over licensing hours. During the summer period the permitted hours for hotels and inns are 10.00 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. But on Sunday all bars are closed and you can only get a drink in the hotel where you are staying or with a meal. This is a point to remember if you are out on that day. (Just as it is to remember that petrol is not sold in Guernsey on Sundays.)
Guernsey's historical restrictions regarding Sunday alcohol sales and petrol availability are heavily outdated and have been completely dismantled. Standard venues can now legally serve alcohol on Sundays from noon until late, and fuel stations operate regular Sunday hours.
An interesting item to look out for when you are in a bar is the “Black List’ pinned up behind the counter. This is a selection of photographs and descriptions of islanders who have been barred from the local taverns. Guernsey takes a very strong view over drunkenness and to go on this list (which is circulated to every inn keeper and hotel proprietor on the island) is considered the severest and most effective form of punishment. Some offenders have even been known to plead in court that they are put on the list in order to halt their excessive drinking!
The account of Guernsey’s historical "Black List"—a court-mandated registry of individuals barred from local taverns under the Intoxicating Liquor (Prohibition Orders) (Guernsey) Law, 1960—is historically accurate. Chronic offenders occasionally requested inclusion on the list as a legal deterrent to curb excessive drinking, though the practice was eventually phased out in favour of modern privacy frameworks and health initiatives.
Guernsey is divided up into ten parishes and although they have not been dealt with separately in this book, all the interesting sights and attractions they contain are mentioned in the various sections. The bays and beaches have also been treated individually—with their facilities and accessibility—so as to simplify selecting a spot. The coastline is probably Guernsey’s outstanding feature, particularly along the southern edge which has few accessible beaches but provides breath-taking views. Along many other stretches there are ancient remains to be seen and some incredible caves with histories of smuggling and piracy.
Of all the caves on the island the one which should not be missed is the Creux Mahie at Havre du Bon Repos which can be reached from the road named Chemin le Roi going to Torteval. The cave, which is the largest on the island, is entered by a small hole which suddenly breaks out into a passage some 200 feet long and varying in height from 20 to 60 ft. A torch is needed to explore the cavern, but don’t waste time wondering about the mysterious black marks on the walls—they were caused by the Fire torches carried by fishermen using the place in the past. In the bay below this there is a beautiful rock pool called the ‘““Venus Bath” where bathing is possible.
The guidebook implies you can simply walk in with a torch. This is no longer true. Le Creux Mahié sits entirely on private land and is closed to the general public due to safety, land ownership, and steep, dangerous cliff descents. The only way to access it today is via specially permitted eco-tours, such as those occasionally organized by Outdoor Guernsey.
The author has mixed up two different islands. The famous, deep-water tidal rock pool known as the Venus Pool (or Venus Bath) is actually located on the neighbouring island of Sark (specifically on the rugged headland of Little Sark). It is not at the foot of Creux Mahié
The visitor will obviously spend time in the capital town, St. Peter Port with its tiers of ancient buildings (many of which were built with the spoils from smuggling and piracy), and a separate section is devoted to it.
No visit would be complete, either, without a trip to the huge reservoir at St. Saviour’s. This is one of the finest pieces of construction work on the Channel Islands and no less impressive because it has been created by such a comparatively small community. The reservoir holds 240 million gallons of water and covers over 38 acres. Beneath its tranquil surface lie three valleys in which there were seven farmhouses and approximately 600 trees. The total cost of the project was £400,000 which is quite a sum for a small island to raise! Guernsey also has its own £257,000 sea water distillation plant which was opened in 1960 and now produces 500,000 gallons of fresh water each day if required.
While the sea water distillation plant opened in 1960 at a cost of £257,000 to produce up to 500,000 gallons daily, it proved uneconomical and was permanently decommissioned in 1970.
But despite progress such as this, the island still clings tenaciously to many old customs and superstitions. For instance the author was told that many islanders believe that a criminal can be exposed by using a Bible and a key. This is effected by placing the key upright on a certain text in the Bible and then getting two people to hold the key upright with their marriage fingers. The name of the suspected criminal is now spoken and if the Bible moves under the key, the person is guilty. More customs are mentioned later in the book, including details of witchcraft, which has long been practised on the island and is still believed to exist in the more remote areas.
Known formally as coscinomancy or bibliomancy, this was a widespread European folk custom. While the guidebook treats it as a uniquely local superstition, 19th-century accounts compiled in Sir Edgar MacCulloch's seminal book Guernsey Folk-Lore confirm that old islanders heavily relied on the "Bible and key" to resolve neighbourhood thefts without involving the courts. It is no longer practiced or believed by modern islanders, existing purely as an entry in historical folklore archives.
Guernsey has one of the darkest histories of witch trials in the British Isles. Between 1560 and 1640, the Royal Court of Guernsey tried over 100 people for sorcery, resulting in 44 people being tortured, hanged, and burned at the stake. By 1974, these supernatural beliefs had effectively vanished from daily life, making the guidebook's claim that witchcraft "is still believed to exist" a massive exaggeration designed to sell books to tourists.
The author's claim that people were still actively using the "Bible and key" or hiding from witches in 1974 is a romanticized embellishment. The last actual legal trial involving witchcraft in Guernsey occurred in January 1914 (the case of Aimée Lake, who was prosecuted for fraud and fortune-telling after selling charms to ward off evil spirits). By the 1970s, the island was fully modernized, highly educated, and transitioning rapidly into a global financial centre. No one in 1974 was seriously consulting a Bible and a key to solve a local crime.
The tourist trade now probably accounts for a large percentage of Guernsey’s income, but the tomato growing industry is not far behind. The industry has grown up over a comparatively short time and there is a story told on the island that when the first tomatoes were introduced from Spain in 1865 and grown locally, many housewives refused to have anything to do with them, believing they were poisonous! Today Guernsey tomatoes are popular all over Great Britain and the Continent and bring in an annual revenue of about £9,500,000 from the millions of trays which are exported. The particularly mild climate of Guernsey (snow and frost are very rare and it is often possible to bathe on Christmas Day) mean that the plants can go in the ground in December and be ripe for sale before any other competitors. There are plenty of opportunities to visit tomato greenhouses, and an inquiry to a grower will almost certainly result in an invitation to a conducted tour.
The author’s story about 1865 housewives refusing to touch tomatoes because they believed they were poisonous is 100% historically true. Because tomatoes belong to the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, they were widely feared across Europe for centuries. Wealthy Europeans also mistakenly blamed the tomato for lead poisoning—not realizing that the fruit's high acidity was actually leaching toxic lead out of their fancy pewter dinner plates!Guernsey did not embrace them commercially until the 1870s and 1880s once these fears were debunked.
The collapse of Guernsey's commercial tomato industry is one of the most dramatic economic turnarounds in the island's modern history. At its peak, the "Guernsey Tom" was a massive economic engine, utilizing over 2,000 vineries and employing 30% of the island's male workforce.
To beat UK and European competitors to market, Guernsey growers planted seeds in December. This required keeping millions of square feet of glasshouses intensely heated through the cold winter months using heavy oil boilers. When the global oil crises of the 1970s struck, the price of fuel skyrocketed, making the cost of heating the glasshouses mathematically unsustainable.
1979: The Second Oil Crisis and the Breaking Point. Fuel costs surge to a level where it officially costs more to grow and heat a Guernsey tomato than it is worth on the open market. Total acreage dedicated to tomatoes drops immediately by more than half, falling from 567 acres down to 240 acres over the next few years.
While Guernsey struggled with soaring oil costs, the Netherlands discovered vast reserves of cheap North Sea natural gas. The Dutch government heavily subsidized heating costs for their own greenhouse growers. Combined with advanced massive-scale automation, Holland completely undercut Guernsey's prices on the UK market.
Historically, Guernsey tomatoes were rushed from the harbour at St. Peter Port to English ports, then distributed nationwide via efficient British Rail fruit-train networks. Changes and cuts to the UK railway system disrupted these classic distribution lines, driving up transport freight costs.
July 1992: The official tourist-facing Guernsey Tomato Centre, which had opened in 1977 to champion the history and heritage of the crop, permanently winds up operations and shuts its doors
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