Jersey As It Is - Part 8

This Friday is a blog in which I have transcribed a translation of an essay called "Jersey as It Is", published in 1844, as the result of a winning entry by F. Robious de La Trehonnais which won first prize in the competition of the Jersey Emulation Society.

This tour sweeps along the Northern coast, then the Eastern, reaching Gorey Castle. Two singular points worth noting. The oyster season runs only in the Autumn, Winter and Spring months from "1st of September, and is closed on the 31st of May". And French fishing limits were guarded by French war-cutters! It is not clear how the fishing limits were agreed upon, but it appears they may have been roughly half way between the coasts of Jersey and France.


Jersey As It Is - Part 8
The northern coast of the island is indented by many small bays and creeks, the principal of which are the Greve de Lecq, so celebrated in picnic remembrances ; in the neighbourhood of which are the beautiful Plemont rocks, pierced with deep and mysterious caves.-

Boulay-bay, which is most admirably calculated for a military harbour, and whose perpendicular rocks conceal their base under a water deep enough to float men-of-war; indeed, one of the greatest advantages that England might draw from the possession of Jersey, would undoubtedly be the establishment of that naval station which, in case of a war with France, would counter-balance powerfully the strength of Cherbourg, and would serve as an observatory to watch the enemy's proceedings in that part of the channel. 

The establishment of this port becomes even necessary, if we consider that St. Malo also is being fortified with an immense dock, capable of sheltering a powerful squadron. But dropping these questions of war and politics, let us go and rest our thoughts on the sweet and graceful Rozel-bay, with its verdant cliffs, its misty and gradually-fading distances, having for its horizon the bright shores of Normandy. Then rapidly passing through the shadowy roads leading to the beautiful Rozel manor-house, let us go down along that path, winding amidst orchards and cottages, and let us admire again at St. Catherine those lovely shores, those old Martello towers, looking so peaceful, notwithstanding the silent guns that surmount their summit; and let us listen with delight to the warbling of the birds, answering the deep bass of the beach.

Next comes Mont-Orgueil castle, sitting on its headland, mournful and silent, like a mausoleum. The great part that this old fortress has played in Jersey history, the whole of which seems written on its walls, deserves a detailed description. 

The monuments of the past are the best guides of history, whose philosophy is never so well understood as when studied on ruins. That splendour of by-gone days, which time bands down to us on these remains, enlightens our mind in the chaos of past centuries, notwithstanding the dust of ages that stain it, the ever-invading ivy that covers it. The dates, sculptured on their fronts formerly so haughty, guide our researches and corroborate or belie written history and tradition and the legends so original, so graceful, that emanate from all the old ruins, show much better than the most authentic documents the manners of generations who now are not even dust. 

Such appears Mont-Orgueil, a vast and gloomy structure, hearing in the style of its architecture all the severe character of the age in which it was erected. None of those vain ornaments which elsewhere charm our eye with their fine and delicate carvings : here everything is strong ; it is an old knight covered with his battle armour; gold does not sparkle on his shield : iron all over,-iron only !

Placed on that part of the island the nearest to France, its construction unites all that constituted an impregnable fortress in the times it was built. It is defended on the sea-side by inaccessible rocks, capriciously shaped by the waves, and incessantly beaten by rapid currents formed by the tides confined within the narrow channel between the two coasts. This part of the castle is destitute of ramparts; narrow windows strongly barred alone open to the sea like loop-holes. 

Towards the land strong walls are built on the rock, of which they seem to be a continuation. The entrance is rather strange, though skilfully directed : it is formed by a road between two ramparts, close to the western part of the castle, ending in a vaulted gate, furnished with towers and all the means of defence then in use. The other extremity is formed by another gate, opening on the outer yard. 

The interior construction astonishes by its strange irregularity ; the accidents of the rock are remedied by steps, many of which are cut in the stone. The most singular fancy seems to have actuated the builders in the erection of the castle itself: here, some turrets, now clothed with ivy,-there, some broken arches,-elsewhere, windows all differing one from another, some made double, with a slight stone shaft in the middle,-others single, but barred with iron half eaten by old age 

On the left of the first court is a bastioned gate, giving entrance to the interior; above the door-way may be seen the arms of Edward the Sixth, with the red dragon, and the date 1553. 

On the right is a passage, lined on both sides with a stone seat, where it is said sat the judges in the trial of criminals,-a simple court, like the justice of those days; opposite this tribunal is a narrow cell, where the prisoner was confined, at the vault of which is a book which served as a gibbet to put an end to his life. 

Still ascending the steps, in the wall of the rampart a gloomy vault is found, at its extremity is a very deep well, the water of which is the purest in the island. Farther on, visitors are shown into a small yard newly cleared up, where, under a vault for a long time unknown, exist some stalactites of a marvellous whiteness. At last are reached the ramparts;-here all the majesty of the reminiscences of Mont-Orgueil is summoned up by the imagination.

Upon these walls, enveloped on all sides with ivy, formerly fought Carteret and his valiant islanders, who had to struggle against two of the most famous warriors of France;-Duguesclin, the hero of Brittany, and the duke of Bourbon. These valiant leaders, though assisted by the flower of French chivalry, found in that weak garrison obstacles to which they were not accustomed. 

The arrangements within correspond with those without; the apartments are small and gloomy. The room where the unfortunate Charles resided during his exile may still be seen ; under this room lies the dungeon where was confined Prynne, the poet, so well known in the history of Charles the First, for the bitterness of his writings and the severity of the punishment they brought upon him. This dungeon has a gloomy and dismal aspect, the vault is uneven and green with moisture, the floor is a damp and slippery earth, light penetrates into it only through a grated loop-hole, situated in the angle of an adjoining cell. 

Happily for the poor captive that opening overlooked the watery expanse, which, sometimes calm and blue, gladdened his heart with bright beams of hope, and sometimes furiously lashing the rocks beneath, harmonized with the stormy strain of his own thoughts. Amidst this stern appearance, this display of strength, on the armour of this old hero, there is a place for the cross of Christ, there is a religious thought in this warlike stronghold. 

In the first court may be remarked the remains of a chapel of the highest antiquity, the only entrance has been made in the roof, the depth of the nave having been filled. There has been discovered in it a rough statue of the Virgin Mary, now enclosed in a glass case for the benefit of visitors, who may still wonder at the brilliant colouring of her drapery. The exact time when this castle was built is rather uncertain; some name Robert, son of William the Conqueror, as its founder.

The name of Mont-Orgueil was given to it, according to some historians, by Henry the Fifth, king of England, and on the most creditable authority by the duke of Clarence. Its history, from the famous attack of Duguesclin and its occupation by Maulevrier, presents to us only secondary occurrences ; prisoners sometimes of importance came by turns to its dungeons; noble and royal exiles have found an asylum within its walls; and at length, from age to age, time has handed it over to us, rich with souvenirs, and firm still, notwithstanding its antiquity. 

Beneath the stern ruins of Mont-Orgueil lies the little town of Gorey, whose harbour shelters, in the season, the oyster fishing-boats employed on that fishery between the coast of France and Jersey. The season begins on the 1st of September, and is closed on the 31st of May. During that period the harbour is all life and motion, upwards of 250 boats bring to it daily the result of their toil. 

As the fishing-ground lies almost midway between the two coasts, it has been necessary to fix upon limits beyond which the English fishermen cannot cruise without being seized by the French war-cutters, who are constantly on the look out to protect their countrymen in the lawful exercise of their industry ; but as the most productive part of the bank is within the French limits, it happens that the English often take the opportunity of foggy weather to drag on their neighbours' ground ; and this accounts for so many of their boats being detained at Granville during the fishing season.