Jersey - St Helier
St Helier has been the principal town on Jersey only since the early 19th century when wealthy traders, fishermen and privateers began to build permanent homes here; as a result, the town gradually developed into the administrative centre and capital of Jersey, with the bulk of its architecture reflecting this fairly recent development - Regency, Victorian and Modern styles being very much to the fore.
The name St Helier commemorates the hermit Helerius, who sought out a solitary spot, known today as Hermitage Rock, in which to devote his life to prayer; he was murdered in AD 555 by pirates. St Helier's Town Church is 14th century in origin, Elizabeth Castle was constructed in the 16th century and a number of isolated buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries. However, it was many years before St Helier filled-out as a town or developed as a port, growth was slow. The town truly expanded in the late 18th century with the French and American Wars providing lucrative rewards for licensed privateers. Again, after the French Revolution of 1789 there was a sizeable influx of aristocratic refugees, and the following Napoleonic Wars resulted in a British garrison swelling the population of St Helier.
Many of the latter settled in the town with their families once Napoleon had been dispensed with. St Helier's port developed at an even slower rate, relying on continual dredging of its harbour throughout the 19th century, only receiving substantial modernisation in the 1970's. Opened by the Prince of Wales in 1995, Liberation Square has as its centrepiece Philip Jackson's sculptural tableaux representing Jersey's diverse interests; originally controversial, the sculpture has become a major landmark in the town. The much acclaimed Occupation Tapestry, unveiled on the same occasion, is housed in an adjacent 19th century warehouse; it relates the story of the German Occupation of Jersey during the Second World War. On the Esplanade is the Occupation Museum, housing an extensive collection of German military equipment remaining from the 1940's; it is one of a number of permanent Occupation exhibits scattered around the island. On the waterfront is the fascinating Maritime Museum with its many hands-on activities and high-tech displays. Very close by is the much expanded Jersey Museum, winner of two major national awards, relating Jersey history in all its varied aspects.
St Helier's Parish Church, built in reddish granite, dates mainly from the 14th century, while the chapels and transept originated from an older 12th century church. Major structural restoration was undertaken between 1864-8, and much of the silverware within is over 300 years in age. The church bell was employed to warn of imminent French attacks during the Hundred Years War.
The town's original market place was Royal Square, which periodically doubled as a place of state execution and incarceration. Witches were burnt here in the mid 17th century, and in the 18th century prisoners were publicly on show in an iron cage with the possibility of being pilloried. It is now an attractively shaded square, boasting a gilded statue of the Hanoverian King George II (1727-60) in the guise of a Roman emperor crowned with laurel; unveiled in 1751 to honour his financial aid toward harbour improvement, this regal statue resulted in Royal Square being thus called. The original Court House occupied the site from 1647, rebuilt in 1764; this has now been replaced by the Italianate Royal Court located on the south side of the square. The latter was built in 1866 and houses a number of interesting paintings. Royal Square is the site of the famous Battle of Jersey in 1781, when Major Francis Peirson, at the head of the local militia, defeated an invading French force.. The major died in the short engagement and his body is buried inside St Helier Parish Church.
Fort Regent, built in the shape of a coffin, was conceived during the Napoleonic scare of the early 19th century. By 1806, the Napoleonic Wars were in their thirteenth year and as Castle Gorey had been superseded by Elizabeth Castle, so the latter was replaced by the third of Jersey's great trio of military strongholds.
Overlooking the town and harbour, Fort Regent's extensive fortifications were built to the grand design of Leuitenant-General John Humfrey, Commander of the Royal Engineers. Work began on the stronghold in 1806 and eventually completed in 1814 at enormous expense, just one year before Napoleon was to meet his Waterloo. Nevertheless, the British Army garrisoned the fort for the next century, only relinquishing the post in 1927. Throughout the Nazi Occupation German soldiers were housed at Fort Regent, and in 1958 it was eventually sold back to the States of Jersey for the nominal sum of £14,500, the original purchase price of the land. In the 1960's, Fort Regent found itself being utilised in a far different way, when the enormous structure was converted into a sprawling leisure centre - a place now for energetic fun rather than contemplative history.