70 Years ago: Noirmont and the Letters Patent

As the year draws to a close, a look back to 70 years ago

A letter in the JEP on 22nd August 1945 suggested that Noirrmont headland should be purchased for the people of Jersey. Prior to the war, the headland was privately owned and off limits to the public.

This letter led to a lengthy debate in the States, ending on 22nd January 1947, when they finally agreed to purchase the headland on condition it be retained as a War Memorial to all those Islanders who lost their lives during WWII - some 450 men, women and children. The price of the headland was £9,000 of which £1,187 and 16 shillings was made up of public subscriptions.

And so it was that on November 22nd 1949, 70 years ago, a document called Letters Patent was signed and sealed by George VI. It recorded a petition to the King from Hope May de Gruchy and Catherine May Miller, widow of Guy Fortescue Burrell de Gruchy, of Noirmont Manor, St Brelade have petitioned the King “that they be allowed to sell land belonging to the Fief, Manor and Seignory of Noirmont, St Brelade to the States of Jersey with the proviso that it be preserved as a memorial to the men and women of Jersey who perished in the Second World War.”

So what is “Letters Patent” and why was it needed? Letters patent (always in the plural) means an open letter or document issued by a monarch or government to record a contract, authorize or command an action, or confer a privilege, right, office, title, or property. In the case of Noirmont, because the land belonged to a Fief Manor, the sale had to be approved by the monarch. The Bailiff is also appointed by letters patent.

Letters patent are so named from the Latin verb “pateo”, to lie open, exposed, accessible. The originator's seal (in wax) was attached to hang from the document, so that it did not have to be broken in order for the document to be read. The opposite of letters patent is “letters close” where a document is closed and sealed, and can only be read by breaking the seal.

In later use, which we are more familiar with, such a document grants for a set period the sole right to make, use, or sell some process, invention, or commodity. That is when, for instance, someone gets a patent for an invention.

And just a note: the Memorial Stone that we see today was placed by the Public Works Dept. on 9th May, 1970 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Liberation, at a cost of £25.