Everything about Guernsey totally explained
The
Bailiwick of Guernsey is a
British Crown dependency in the
English Channel off the coast of
Normandy.
As well as the
island of Guernsey itself, it also includes
Alderney,
Sark,
Herm,
Jethou,
Brecqhou,
Burhou,
Lihou and other
islets. Although the defence of all these islands is the responsibility of the
United Kingdom, Guernsey isn't part of the UK but rather a separate possession of the Crown, comparable to the
Isle of Man. Guernsey is also not part of the
European Union. The island of Guernsey is divided into . Together with the
Bailiwick of
Jersey, it's included in the collective grouping known as the
Channel Islands. Guernsey belongs to the
Common Travel Area.
History
Rising sea levels transformed Guernsey first into the tip of a
peninsula jutting out into the emergent
English Channel, then, around
6000 BC, into an
island when it and other promontories were cut off from
continental Europe.
At this time,
Neolithic farmers settled the coasts and created the
dolmens and
menhirs that dot the islands. The island of Guernsey contains three
sculpted menhirs of great archaeological interest; the dolmen known as
L'Autel du Dehus also contains a
dolmen deity known as
Le Gardien de Tombeau.
During their migration to
Brittany, the Britons occupied the
Lenur Islands (former name of the Channel Islands including
Sarnia or
Lisia (Guernsey) and
Angia (Jersey). It was formerly thought that the Island's original name was
Sarnia, but recent research indicates that may have been the Latin name for
Sark; although
Sarnia remains the island's traditional designation. Coming from the
Kingdom of Gwent, Saint
Sampson (abbot of
Dol, in Brittany) is credited with the introduction of
Christianity to Guernsey.
In
933 the islands, formerly under the control of the kingdom, then
Duchy of Brittany were annexed by the
Duchy of Normandy. The island of Guernsey and the other
Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Duchy of Normandy. In the islands,
Elizabeth II's traditional title as
head of state is
Duke of Normandy.
During the Middle Ages the island was repeatedly attacked by French pirates and naval forces, especially during the
Hundred Years War when the island was occupied by the French on several occasions, the first being in
1339.
In 1372 the island was invaded by
Aragonese mercenaries under the command of
Owain Lawgoch (remembered as
Yvon de Galles), who was in the pay of the French king. Lawgoch and his dark-haired mercenaries were later absorbed into Guernsey legend as an invasion by
fairies from across the sea.
During the
English Civil War, Guernsey sided with
Parliament, while
Jersey remained
Royalist. Guernsey's decision was mainly related to the higher proportion of
Calvinists and other Reformed churches, as well as
Charles I's refusal to take up the case of some Guernsey seamen who had been captured by the
Barbary corsairs. The allegiance wasn't total, however, there were a few Royalist uprisings in the Southwest of the island, while
Castle Cornet was occupied by the Governor, Sir Peter Osbourne, and Royalist troops. Castle Cornet was the last Royalist stronghold to capitulate, in 1651.
During the wars with France and Spain during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Guernsey shipowners and sea captains exploited their proximity to mainland Europe, applying for
Letters of Marque and turning their
merchantmen into
privateers.
The nineteenth century saw a dramatic increase in prosperity of the island, due to its success in the global maritime trade, and the rise of the stone industry. One notable Guernseyman,
William Le Lacheur, established the
Costa Rican coffee trade with Europe.
During
World War I approximately 3,000 island men served in the
British Expeditionary Force. Of these, about 1,000 served in the
Royal Guernsey Light Infantry regiment which was formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey was
occupied by German troops in
World War II. Before the occupation, many Guernsey children were evacuated to England to live with relatives or strangers during the war. Some children were never re-united with their families. During the occupation, some people from Guernsey were deported by the Germans to camps in the southwest of
Germany, notably to
Biberach an der Riß and interned in the Lindele Camp ("Lager Lindele"). There was also a concentration camp built in
Alderney where forced labourers, predominantly from Eastern Europe, were kept. It was the only concentration camp built on British soil and is commemorated on memorials under the Alderney's name in French: 'Aurigny'.
Guernsey was very heavily fortified during World War II out of all proportion to its strategic value. There are German defences visible all round the coast and additions were made to
Castle Cornet and a
windmill. Hitler became obsessed with the idea that the Allies would try to regain the islands at any price, and over 20% of the material that went into the
Atlantic Wall was committed to the Channel Islands. Most of the German fortifications still remain intact and although the majority of them are on private property several are open for the public to explore.
Politics
The States of Guernsey, officially called the
States of Deliberation, consists of 45 People's Deputies, elected from multi- or single-member districts every four years. There are also two representatives from
Alderney, a self-governing dependency of the Bailiwick, but
Sark sends no representative. There are also two non-voting members: the Attorney General and the Solicitor General, both appointed by
the monarch.
Laws made by the States are known as
Projet(s) de Loi before they're passed and
Loi or
Law(s) afterwards (for example
The Human Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2000.
A Projet de Loi is the equivalent of a UK Bill or a French projet de loi, and a Law is the equivalent of a UK Act of Parliament or a French loi. Laws have no effect until promulgated by Orders-in-Council of the Crown. They are given the Royal Sanction at regular meetings of the
Privy Council
in London, after which they're returned to the Islands for formal registration at the Royal Court.
The States also make delegated legislation known as 'Ordinances (Ordonnances)' and 'Orders (Ordres)' which don't require Royal Assent. Commencement orders are usually in the form of Ordinances.
The Lieutenant Governor is the representative of
the Crown. The
official residence of the Lieutenant Governor is Government House. Since
18 October,
2005 the incumbent is Vice-Admiral Sir Fabian Malbon, born in Southsea, Portsmouth, in 1946 and a serving naval officer 1965-2002. His last naval posting before retirement from the Royal Navy was deputy commander-in-chief of fleet.
Each parish is administered by a Douzaine. Douzeniers are elected for a six year mandate, two Douzeniers being elected by parishioners at a Parish Meeting in November each year. The senior Douzenier is known as the Doyen. Two elected
Constables carry out the decisions of the Douzaine, serving for between one and three years. The longest serving Constable is known as the Senior Constable and his or her colleague as the Junior Constable.
The legal system is Guernsey customary derived from
Norman French customary law, heavily influenced and overlaid by
English common law, justice being administered through a combination of
Magistrates Court and the
Royal Court. The legal profession is fused - there's no difference between
solicitors and
barristers as in
England and
Wales: Guernsey
Advocates fulfill both roles. The Royal Court is presided over by the
Bailiff and twelve
Jurats (a permanent elected jury), the ultimate court of appeal being the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Several European countries have consulate presence in the island. The French Consulate is based at
Victor Hugo's former residence at Hauteville House. The
German Honorary Consulate is based at local design and advertising agency
Betley Whitehorne.
Geography
At, Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands have a total area of 30
square miles (78 km²) and a coastline of about 30
miles (50
km). By itself, the island of Guernsey has a total area of 25 square miles (63 km²). Guernsey is situated 30
Statute miles (48 km) west of France's
Normandy coast and 75 statute miles (121 km) south of
Weymouth in England and lies in the Gulf of
St Malo.
Lihou, a
tidal island, is attached to Guernsey by a
causeway at low tide. The terrain is mostly level with low hills in southwest.
Elevation varies across the bailiwick from sea level to 375
feet (114
m) at Le Moulin on Sark. The highest point in mainland Guernsey is Hautnez (363 ft; 110 m), in Alderney at Le Rond But (306 ft; 93 m), in Jethou (248 ft; 75.6 m) and Herm (322 ft; 98 m). Natural resources include cropland.
Guernsey itself contains two main geographical regions, the
Haut Pas, a high southern plateau, and the
Bas Pas, a low-lying and sandy northern region. In general terms, the
Haut Pas is the more rural of the two, and the
Bas Pas is more residential and industrialised.
There is a
large, deepwater harbour at
St Peter Port.
The climate is temperate with mild winters and cool sunnier summers. The hottest months are August and September where temperatures are generally around 20 °C (68 °F). On average, the coldest month is February with an average weekly mean air temperature of 6°C. Average weekly mean air temperature reaches 16°C in August. Snow rarely falls and is unlikely to settle, but is most likely to fall in February. The temperature rarely drops below freezing, although strong wind-chill from Arctic winds can sometimes make it feel like it. The wettest months in terms of rainfall are on average December (average 108mm), November (average 98mm) and January (average 89mm). July is on average the sunniest month with 250 hours recorded sunshine; December the least with 50 hours recorded sunshine. 50% of the days are overcast.
The
Casquets, a group of islets, are notable for the
lighthouse facility constructed there.
Parishes
The island of Guernsey is divided into ten
parishes (the
parish of
St Anne, Alderney isn't generally included in the enumeration of parishes in the Bailiwick):
Economy
Financial services, such as
banking,
fund management, and
insurance, account for about 32% of total income.
Tourism,
manufacturing, and
horticulture, mainly
tomatoes and cut flowers, especially
freesias, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular
offshore finance centre for
Private equity funds. However while Guernsey isn't a member of the
European Union, the EU is forcing Guernsey to comply more and more with its own rules. As with other offshore centres, Guernsey is also coming under increasing pressure from bigger nations to change its way of doing business in many ways. Guernsey is currently changing the way its tax system works in order to remain OECD and EU compliant. From 1 January 2008, it'll operate a Zero-Ten corporate tax system where most companies will pay 0% corporate tax and a limited number of specific banking activities will be taxed at 10%. As a result it's confronting what it terms a financial "black hole" of forty-five million pounds or more according to some estimates which it aims to fill through economic growth and indirect taxation. Guernsey now has the official
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code
GG and the official
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code
GGY;
market data vendors, such as
Reuters, will report products related to Guernsey using the alpha-3 code.
Guernsey also has a thriving non-finance industry. It is home to
Specsavers Optical Group, which manages the largest optical chain in the UK and Ireland and also operates in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Australia and Spain. Healthspan also has its headquarters in Guernsey.
Guernsey issues its own
sterling coinage and
banknotes. UK coinage and English and Scottish banknotes also circulate freely and interchangeably.
Public services, such as electricity, water, and postal services have been commercialised by the States and are now operated by companies wholly owned by the States of Guernsey. Guernsey Telecoms which provided telecommunications was sold by the States in a 'fire sale' to
Cable & Wireless. Wave Telecom, (owned by Jersey Telecom) also provides some telecommunications excluding local loop services. Gas is supplied by an independent private company. Both the
Guernsey Post postal boxes and the telephone boxes are painted blue, but otherwise are identical to their British counterparts, the red
pillar box and
red telephone box.
Transport
Ports and harbours exist at
St Peter Port and
St Sampson's. There are two paved airports in the bailiwick (
Guernsey Airport and
Alderney Airport), and 3 miles (5 km) of railways in
Alderney.
The
Guernsey Railway, which was virtually an electric tramway, and which began working on
20 February 1892, was abandoned on
9 June 1934. It replaced an earlier transport system which was worked by steam, and was named the Guernsey Steam Tramway. The latter began service on
6 June,
1879 with six locomotives. This leaves
Alderney as the only Channel Island with a
working railway.
Demographics
The population is 65,573, as of 2007.
Guernsey people are traditionally nicknamed
donkeys or
ânes, especially by Jersey people (who in turn are nicknamed
crapauds – toads). Inhabitants of each of the parishes of Guernsey also have traditional nicknames, although these have generally dropped out of use among the English-speaking population. The traditional nicknames are:
| St Peter Port |
Cllichards |
(spitters) |
| St Sampson's |
Rôines |
(frogs) |
| Vale |
Hann'taons |
(cockchafers) |
| Castel |
Ânes-pur-sàng |
(pure-blooded-donkeys) |
| St Saviour's |
Fouormillaons |
(ants) |
| St Pierre du Bois |
Etcherbaots |
(beetles) |
| Forest |
Bourdons |
(bumblebees) |
| St Martin's |
Cravants |
(ray fish) |
| St Andrew's |
Les croinchaons |
(the siftings) |
| Torteval |
Ânes à pids d'ch'fa |
(donkeys with horses' hooves) |
The
Guernsey Lily Nerine sarniensis (
Sarnia is the traditional name of the island of Guernsey in
Latin) is also used as a symbol of the island.
A local delicacy is the
ormer (
Haliotis tuberculata), a variety of abalone harvested from the beach at low spring tides, although strict laws control their harvesting.
Of the many traditional Guernsey recipes, the most renowned is a stew called
Guernsey Bean Jar. It is a centuries-old stew that's still popular with Islanders, particularly at the annual '
Viaer Marchi' festival, where it served as one of the main events.
Guernsey Gâche is a special bread made with raisins, sultanas and mixed peel.
In July 2006 smoking in enclosed public places was banned, a law put in place to protect workers' right to a healthy working environment.
Sport
Guernsey participates in its own right in the
Commonwealth Games.
Guernsey participates in the bi-annual
Island Games, which it hosted in 1987 and 2003. In sporting events in which Guernsey doesn't have international representation, when the British
Home Nations are competing separately, islanders that do have high athletic skill may choose to compete for any of the Home Nations – there are, however, restrictions on subsequent transfers to represent another Home Nation. The football player
Matt Le Tissier for example, tried out for the
Scotland national football team but ended up playing for
England.
The island's traditional colour (for example for sporting events) is
green. The Corbet Football Field donated by Jurat Wilfred Corbet OBE in 1932 has fostered the sport greatly over the years. Although more recently the island has upgraded to a larger, better quality stadium, called Footes Lane.
BBC photo of Guernsey Stadium
The Guernsey Football Association runs Guernsey football. The top tier of Guernsey football is the Sure Mobile Priaulx league where there are 7 teams (Belgrave Wanderers, Northerners, Sylvans, St Martin's, Rovers, Rangers and Vale Recreation). The champions in 2006-07 were Northerners. The second tier is the Jackson league which is a mixture of top league players, lower players and youth players. The third tier is the Railway League, featuring three extra teams, Alderney, Guernsey Police and Port City.
Guernsey also has one of the oldest softball associations in the world. The Guernsey Softball Association was formally established in 1936, it's now one of the oldest and longest running softball associations to be found. Affiliated to the International Softball Federation (ISF) the GSA has both fast & slow pitch leagues with over 300 members is a very popular island sport.
(External Link)
Guernsey was declared an affiliate member by the
International Cricket Council (ICC) in
2005.
Guernsey also enjoys various motor sports. In season, regular races take place on the sands on Vazon beach on the west coast. Le Val des Terres, a steeply winding road rising south from St Peter Port to Fort George, is often the focus of both local and international
hill-climb races. In addition, the 2005, 2006, and 2007 World Touring Car Champion
Andy Priaulx is a Guernseyman.
The
racecourse on
L'Ancresse Common was re-established in 2004, and races are held on most
Bank Holidays, with competitors from Guernsey as well as Jersey, France and the UK participating.
Notable Guernsey people
Gallery
Image:Little_chapel,_Guernsey_(1993).jpg|Little Chapel, Les Vauxbelets, Guernsey
Image:Little chapel (inside), Guernsey (1993).jpg|Little chapel interior
Image:Fountain Bordage signs St Peter Port Guernsey.jpg|Fountain Bordage signs St Peter Port Guernsey
Image:Guernésiais BBC sticker.jpg|Guernésiais BBC sticker
Image:Fête d'la Maïr Guernesy.jpg|Festival of the Sea (in Guernésiais)
Image:Victor Hugo-Exile.jpg|Victor Hugo in exile in Jersey
Image:Victoria Tower St Peter Port Guernsey.jpg|Victoria Tower
Image:Guqe2marina.jpg|QE2 Marina, St. Peter Port
Image:Guernsey_small.PNG|Relief map of Guernsey from SRTM data
Further Information
Get more info on 'Guernsey'.
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