Top historic sites in Jersey
Jersey Museum
The Jersey Museum and Art Gallery is located in St Helier. It presents history from 250,000 years ago when the first people arrived in Jersey and continues through the centuries to explore the factors that have shaped this unique island and the people who live there. Find out why Jersey remained loyal to the English Crown despite being so close to France; listen to Jersey-French being spoken; learn about the Island"s ...
Founded: |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
Mont Orgueil
Mont Orgueil is a castle in Jersey Island. The site had been fortified in the prehistoric period, but the construction of the castle was undertaken following the division of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204. The castle was first mentioned in 1212. The castle was the primary defence of the Island until the development of gunpowder which then rendered the castle ultimately indefensible from Mont Saint Nicholas, the adjacent hi ...
Founded: 1204 |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
St. Helier Church
St Helier's Church, known as the Town Church, is one of the 12 parish churches of Jersey. Helier was a Belgian saint who lived as a hermit on an islet in St Aubin's Bay, about three quarters of a mile off the south coast of Jersey. In AD 555 he was killed by pirates, beheaded by their leader who feared his men would be converted by Helier's preaching. In consequence Helier soon came to be venerated by the Islanders, and e ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
Jersey War Tunnels
Jersey War Tunnels, often abbreviated to Hohlgangsanlage 8, also known as the German Underground Hospital was a partially completed underground hospital complex, built by German occupying forces during the occupation of Jersey during World War II. Over 1 km of tunnels were completed. After the liberation of the Channel Islands, the complex was converted into a museum detailing the occupation and remains a visitor attracti ...
Founded: 1941 |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
Elizabeth Castle
Elizabeth Castle was built to the site of earlier Catholic St. Helier abbey. The monastic buildings were finally taken over by the Crown at the Reformation. Surviving buildings were used for military purposes. The construction of the Elizabeth castle was started in 1594 when the power of cannon meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St. Helier was vulnerabl ...
Founded: 1594 |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
Grosnez Castle Ruins
Grosnez Castle is a ruined castle built by Sir John des Roches around 1330. The castle's purpose was to provide local farmers with a place of refugee from French attacks. The French captured however the castle in 1373 and 1381. The castle was probably demolished around the time of the French occupation of Jersey (1461–1468). In 1483 the Seigneur of St Ouen was allowed to fortify his manor house and it is unlikely he wou ...
Founded: 1330 |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
Fort Regent
The construction of the Fort Regent fortress we see today began on 7 November 1806, during the Napoleonic Wars, with the laying of a foundation stone by George Don the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. The fort was built using local workers and men from the Royal Engineers, with an average of 800 men working at any given time. This enabled the substantial amount of work to be completed 8 years later, in 1814. It was given th ...
Founded: 1814 |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
St. Brelade's Church
The date of the present St. Brelade's is unknown, but it is mentioned in deeds of patronage. In AD 1035, Robert of Normandy confirmed the patronage of the church to the monastery of Montivilliers, which shows that the church was here before 1035. The chancel is the oldest part of the building. The original building extended some six feet into the nave. It was then only a small monastic chapel. Early in the 12th century St ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
Battery Moltke
Battery Moltke was an uncompleted World War II coastal artillery battery. It was constructed by Organisation Todt for the Wehrmacht during the Occupation of the Channel Islands. The battery structures include bunkers, gun emplacements and the Marine Peilstand 3 tower, which are located on Les Landes, a coastal heathland area at the north end of St Ouen"s Bay. The bunker was left unfinished at the end of the war, when ...
Founded: 1941 |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom
La Hougue Bie
La Hougue Bie is a Neolithic ritual site which was in use around 3500 BC. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a 'mound' and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. The site consists of 18.6m long passage chamber covered by a 12.2m high mound. The site was first excavated in 1925 by the Société Jersiaise. Fragments of twenty vase supports were found along with the scattered remains ...
Founded: 3500 BC |
Location:
Jersey, United Kingdom