Trees Shrubs Fruits Roots Flowers and Herbs Medicinal Aromatick or Esculent all Sort of Pulse and Corn as groweth in England the latter indeed not in the same Quantity nor Perfection Pulse and Corn being generally here of a smaller Size Since the great Improvement of Cidar there is so little Malt made in this Island and consequently so little Barley converted to that Use that it serves to the poorer People to make Bread of which to the Eye appears indeed black and course but is very wholsome and nourishing and not ungratefull to the Palate When Dr. Heylin came into this Island he found the People more addicted to Tillage and Husbandry than to Manufactures and Navigation And accordingly in his Cosmography he says That the Island is generally very fruitfull of Corn whereof the Inhabitants have not only enough for themselves but some Overplus to barter at St. Malo's with the Spanish Merchants The matter is much altered since the Doctor was here The People have changed their Inclination And the Island doth not now produce that Quantity as is necessary for the Use of the Inhabitants who must be supplied from England or France in time of Peace or from Dantzick in Poland to which Last they did very much resort of late invited thither by the Cheapness of the Market This Decay of Tillage amongst Us has sprung from a Coalition of such Causes as these As 1 From the Improvement of Navigation and Foreign Commerce which took away many hands which were before imployed in working at the Ground and which brought us Corn from Outlandish Markets cheaper than the Husbandman could afford it at home 2 From the increase of the Stocking-Manufacture which to speak truth has rendered the generality of our poorer People idle and lazy and has given them an aversion to Husbandry as a more painfull Occupation 3 From the conversion of the best Arable grounds into Gardens and Orchards for the groweth of Cidar a Commodity with which we are now over-stockt while we want the more necessary Support of Life Tho' it must be confessed that since the present War which has ruined our Trade our People sensible of their Error and press'd by the evident Necessity of the thing have applied themselves with more Industry to an Exercise which they had neglected and have begun to put their hands again to the Plough So that we may soon grow up to a condition of subsisting if not wholly from our selves yet with a little help from England I may 't have named another great Obstruction to Tillage but such a one as can hardly now be removed 'T is the prodigious augmentation of Inclosures Fences Hedge-rows and Highways which tho' they add much to the Beauty and perhaps Strength of the Island yet hold they no Proportion with the Bigness thereof and waste a great deal of good Land which may 't be turned to better Account For I am of Opinion that these which I have mentioned together with the Gardens Orchards Situation Avenues and Issues of Houses take up very near one Third of the whole Island One is not to imagine such Fences here as in England but great Bulwarks of Earth for so I think I may properly call them raised with great Labour and Expence from 6 to 8 and sometimes 10 Foot high with a Thickness and Solidity answerable to the Height planted with Quick-sets or Timber-Trees many of them faced with Stone to a competent Height as you see the outside of a Curtain or Rampart in a Fortification And for such they may 't serve against a prevailing Enemy to whom we may 't dispute every Field But still I say they are attended with this Inconvenience that they are too much multiplied and take up too much Ground in a Country where there is already little enough in Proportion to the inhabitants These Inclosures are great Enemies to the Pleasure and Diversion of Gentlemen who cannot well hunt especially on Horseback but about the Sea-coasts where a few of the worse Grounds remain open or inclosed with low Fences Having mentioned the many Highways as great wasters of the Ground I shall add that there are three Sorts of them in this Island 1 Le Chemin du Roy i. e. The King's High-way which is to be 12 Foot broad besides 2 Foot more on each Bank or Side in all 16 Foot 2 Le Chemin de 8 pieds i. e. The 8 Foot way of 8 Foot in the middle and 4 Foot by the sides in all 12. 3 Le Chemin de 4 pieds i. e. The 4 Foot way like the Roman Actus serving only for Carriages on Horseback Over all these there are in every Tything particular Officers appointed to inspect them And yearly about Midsummer there is a Perambulation of the Magistrates in one or more of the Parishes to inquire in what Repair these ways are kept which is performed very solemnly The Constable of the Parish where the Perambulation is to be takes with him 12 of the Principal Men of his Parish and meets the Judge attended by 3 or more of the Jurats on Horseback Before whom rideth the Viscount or Sheriff with his Staff of Office erected one End thereof on the Pommel of his Saddle In ancient times it was cum Lanceâ with a Launce He keeps the middle of the way the Constable and his 12 Men walking on foot by his side and when his Staff encountereth with a Bough or Branch hanging on the way the Owner of the hedge is Fined But if the fault be in the bottom of the way not the Party bordering but the Over-seers for that Tything are amerced We had anciently another way and of very different Use called Perquage from the word Pertica because it was exactly 24 Foot broad which is the measure of a Perch There were but XII of them in the whole Island beginning one at every Church and from thence leading straight to the Sea The Use of them was to conduct those who for some Capital offence had taken Sanctuary in any of the Churches and had been forced to abjure the Island according to an ancient Custom practised amongst Us in those days Having abjured they were conducted by the Church-men along those Perquages to the Sea which Perquages were still a Sanctuary to them for if they stray'd never so little they lost the benefit of the Sanctuary and were liable to the Law These Perquages may be ranked among the Singularities of this Island but the Reformation that abolished Sanctuaries abolished these also Our manner of Agriculture differs from that of England I shall mention one thing onely which I thought singular to This and the adjoyning Islands till I found it used likewise in those of Feroe Which is that Nature having denied Us the benefit of Chalk Lime and Marl has supplied Us with what fully answers the end of them in Husbandry 'T is a Sea-weed but a Weed more valuable to Us than the
AN ACCOUNT Of the Isle of JERSEY This may be Printed Novemb. 28. 1693. EDWARD COOKE AN ACCOUNT Of the Isle of JERSEY The Greatest of those Islands that are now the only Remainder of the ENGLISH DOMINIONS IN FRANCE WITH A New and Accurate MAP of the Island By PHILIP FALLE M. A. Rector of St. SAVIOUR in the said Island and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty At the Parliament holden at Westminster the Wednesday next after the Translation of St. Thomas the Martyr An. 14. Edw. III. Remembrances for the King c. To keep the Sea and to purvey for the Navy and to defend the Isles of JERESEY and Guernezey Sir Robert Cotton's Abridgment of the Records in the Tower of London fol. 29. n. 28. LONDON Printed for John Newton at the Three Pigeons over-against the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleet-street 1694. TO THE KING SIR THe Design of this Book humbly laid at YOUR MAJESTY's Feet is to give some Account of an Island which tho' subject to Your Royal Predecessors upwards of Six hundred years and seated in the Channel is less known than some other of YOUR MAJESTY's Dominions and Islands that are latter Acquisitions and remov'd to a greater Distance The Knowledge of Us may be of some Use to YOUR MAJESTY's Service and may minister to some of those Great Ends of Providence for which God has rais'd You up and which are one day to be wrought by Your Means Ever since our Ancient DUKES exchang'd their Coronet for that Imperial Crown which YOUR MAJESTY now wears we have been noted for Our Fidelity to Our KINGS We Glory not in the Extent or Riches of Our Country which cannot be brought into Parallel with the meanest of those Provinces that constitute Your Great Empire but we Glory in Our Loyalty which we have kept unblemish'd to this Day What profound Veneration then must we now have for a Matchless Pair of Incomparable Princes whom God has given to these Nations in his Love That Heaven would preserve YOUR MAJESTY from the many Dangers to which You daily expose Your Sacred Person and crown with Success the Justice of Your Arms is the hearty Prayer of May it please YOUR MAJESTY YOUR MAJESTY's Most humble and most faithful Subject and Servant Philip Falle THE PREFACE THE Island of JERSEY with the Others adjacent is of that Importance to England and the Loss of it would be attended with Consequences so prejudicial to this Crown that 't is fit the Nation should understand the Interest it has in the Preservation of that Place which of all other Their Majesties Territories is by its Vicinity to France the most exposed to an Invasion from thence Therefore I presume it will not be so much wondered at that an Account should be given of it now as that none should have been given heretofore The only thing that has appeared in Print concerning this Island besides what is found scattered in Cambden and others is Dr. Heylin's Survey containing the Relation of a Voyage which he made to JERSEY and Guernzey in the Year 1628. We must own the Doctor 's candid and ingenuous dealing in the Report he gives of Vs tho' being a Stranger and sojourning but Six days in JERSEY he could not so throughly acquaint himself with our Constitution The want of a due Knowledge whereof has led him into some Errors not to mention the greater Defects of that Work For having written that Book only for the Vse of Archbishop Laud then Bishop of London and without any design of making it Publick as appears in that it was not Printed till after the Archbishop's Death viz. Anno. 1656 almost Thirty years after it was written 't is evident he aimed not so much at an Account of Vs as we are a Frontiere and a Garrison under which Notion we ought chiefly to be considered now as to lay before that great Prelate the State of Religion in these Islands in Order to bring them to a full Conformity to the Church of England The Presbyterian Government being then established in Three of them Guernzey Alderney and Serck However in the main we have reason to be satisfied with his undertaking and to applaud our selves in the Character he gives of Vs in relation to these great Points viz. Our constant Affection to the English Nation our just aversion to the French our inviolable Fidelity to the Crown to which we are Vnited and the great advantage these Islands are of to England for the security of the Channel These Islands says he are the only remainder of our Rights in Normandy unto which Dukedom they did once belong Ever since they were annexed unto the English Crown they have with great Testimony of Faith and Loyalty continued in that Subjection The Sentence or Arrest of Confiscation given by the Parliament of France against King John nor the surprizal of Normandy by the French Forces could be no perswasion unto them to change their Masters Nay when the French had twice seized on them during the Reign of that unhappy Prince and the State of England was embroyled at home the People valiantly made good their own and faithfully returned unto their first obedience In after-times as any War grew hot betwixt the English and the French these Islands were principally aimed at by the Enemy and sometimes also were attempted by them but with ill Success And certainly it could not but be an Eye-sore to the French to have these Islands within their Sight and not within their Power to see them at the least in possession of their ancient Enemy the English a Nation strong in shipping and likely by the opportunity of these Places to annoy their Trade For if we look upon them in their Situation we shall find them seated purposely for the Command and Empire of the Ocean The Islands lying in the chief Trade of all Shipping from the Eastern Parts unto the West and in the middle way between St. Malo's and the River Seine the only Traffick of the Normans and Parisians At this St. Malo's as at a common Empory do the Merchants of Spain and Paris barter their Commodities the Parisians making both their passage and return by these Isles which if well aided by a small Power from the King's Navy would quickly bring that Inter-course to nothing An opportunity neglected by Our former Kings in their Attempts upon that Nation as not being then so powerfull on the Seas as now they are but likely for the future to be husbanded to the best advantage if the French hereafter stir against Us. Sure I am that my Lord Danby conceived this Course of all others to be the fittest for the impoverishing if not undoing of the French and accordingly made Proposition by his Letters to the Council that a Squadron of Eight ships might be employed about these Islands for that purpose an Advice which had this Summer took effect had not the Peace betwixt both Realms been so suddenly concluded And a
strong for they are all of Stone The meaner sort are of the common Stone of the Island Houses of Gentlemen and rich Merchants are usually faced with smooth wrought Stone either fetched from Chauzé the small French Island mentioned before which also supplies St. Malo or digged out of Mont-Mado which is a rich inexhaustible Quarry of Excellent Stone in the N. of the Island The Chauzé Stone inclines to a Blue the Mont-Mado to a reddish Gray somewhat like the common Porphyry Either of them make a handsome shew These Buildings will last 2 or 3 Hundred Years and would surpass what I have seen in other Countries were the Contrivance and Furniture within answerable to the Strength and Beauty without But our People value themselves more upon what is solid and lasting than upon what is only ornamental Of which this Reason may be given that the Tenure of Houses and Lands here is not for Life or a certain Term of Years only but in perpetuùm So that a Man being perfectly Master of what he possesses no wonder if he takes care that his Layings-out and Improvements be made in such a way as that they may not only last his own Time but may pass also to his Posterity who are to enjoy the Tenement after him The chief Seats in the Island are the Mannors of St. Oüen Samarés Trinity c. The Language is French All publick Preaching and Pleading is in that Tongue and tho' I cannot say that we speak it with the same Purity and Elegancy which they do in France yet if it be considered what Jargon is used in some Provinces of that Kingdom as in Dauphiné Provence Languedoc Gascogne Bretagne c. one will the less wonder that a few uncouth Words and Phrases should still be retained in This and the neighbouring Islands So bad as it is 't were in my opinion safer and more advisable for English Gentlemen to send their Sons hither to learn the Language tho' at the hazard of carrying back a Barbarism or two than to send them as they usually do into France where they are exposed to the Artifices of Men that lie in wait to deceive and from whence they seldom return but with Minds so alienated from the Customs Laws and Religion of their Country that the publick Mischief which results there-from can never be compensated by a few fine Words which they bring home Tho' French be the common Language of the Island there are few Gentlemen Merchants or Principal Inhabitants but speak English tolerably Trade is the Life of an Island And our People accordingly had before the War with good Success applied themselves to the Improvement of it They were become owners of good Ships with which they traded not only into England and France but likewise into Spain Portugal Holland Norway into the Baltick-Sea and into the English Plantations in America But the Neighbourhood of St. Malo that famous Retreat of French Corsaires has ruined our Navigation The constant and standing Manufacture of this Island is that of Stockings tho' that be also brought down very low since the War They are wrought of English Wooll whereof a certain Quantity is by Concession of Parliament allowed to be exported yearly and manufactured in these Islands I have heard that 6000 some say 10000 Pair have been weekly made in JERSEY which were bought up every Saturday at St. Helier by the Merchants who dispersed them afterwards into all Parts of Europe From England we are supplied with all Kind of Mercery and Grocery-ware Houshold-stuff fine Iron-works Leather c. for which we bring in ready Mony to a considerable Value Estates here cannot be great since 't is not easie for a Man tho' never so industrious to enlarge his Patrimony in a Country so full of People and where Land is seldom worth less than 30 years Purchase And the equal sharing of both real and personal Estates betwixt Sons and Daughters which in England is call'd Gavelkind and is the Ancient Use of this Island destroys many a fair Inheritance amongst Us by mincing it into so many little Parcels which in the next Generation that is perhaps 20 Years after must be subdivided again into lesser Portions and so on till an Estate is almost dwindled into nothing Real Estates here consist either in Lands or Rents but generally the latter which are for the most part constituted thus The Proprietor of a Tenement lets it out to another for so many Quarters of Wheat to be paid every Michaelmas for ever Yearly This is called a Rent which may be paid in specie from the said Term of Michaelmas till St. Lawrence's Day next following After which it must be paid in Mony according to a certain Rule or Standard set by the Royal Court which always meets upon that Day and from an Account that is laid before it of the several Rates which Corn has been sold at in the Market every Saturday throughout the Year determines and fixes the Price of the Rents that remain unpaid And so the way of reckoning an Estate with us is not by Pounds but by Quarters of Wheat Therefore when 't is ask'd what Estate a Man hath the Question with us is not How many Pounds as in England but how many Quarters of Wheat he is worth yearly The yearly value of a Quarter of Wheat seldom exceeds 12 Livres French Mony currant in this Island which is about 18 Shillings English But in cheaper and more plentifull Years 't is hardly worth 9 Livres which is less than 14 Shillings This makes Estates variable and uncertain since they must rise or fall according to the Price that Corn bears each Year in the Market Another way of creating a Rent is this A Man that has an Estate and wants Mony and cannot or will not borrow any sells a Summ of Wheat upon himself that is he chargeth himself and his Heirs for ever with the Annual Payment thereof And these Rents have been so multiplied that 't is thought there is more Wheat due on that account every Year in this Island than can grow upon the Island in two Years All Bonds are not Personal as in England but real and carry an express Hypotheca or Mortgage upon the Estate both real and personal of the Debtor In this Island are many very Ancient Families not only among the Seigneurs and Gentlemen of the first Rank but even among those of Inferior Quality several of whom can reckon a Descent which in some other Countries very good Gentlemen would be proud of It appears by Names and Ancient Records that most of the Families of this Island are come out of Normandy or Bretagne Tho' from K. John's time downwards some are found of English Extraction Gentlemen that have Seigneuries or Fiefs in this Island are usually call'd by the Names of them Thus Sir Charles de Carteret Seigneur of St. Oǔen is with us called Monsieur de S. Oǔen and so of others
the Count or Governor Loyescon and all the Inhabitants came over to the Faith He died in this Island and was buried in a little Chappel erected to his Memory in the Parish of St. Saviour hard by the Free-School called from him to this day St. Magloire corruptly St. Manlier About 250 years after this Island being much infested by the Danes and Normans his Body which after the manner of those times was visited by Pilgrims from all Parts was by command of Neomenius King of Bretagne transported thither and deposited in the little Priory of Lehon near Dinant built for its Reception where it rested 66 years But the Normans entring into Bretagne also it was removed again and translated to Chartres and at last to Paris where it lies in the Royal Chappel of St. Bartholomew now become an Abby under the Name of St. Barthelemi Saint Magloire This was the Instrument which God was pleased to make use of to bring the Inhabitants of this Isle to the knowledge of himself who were before Gentiles and Idolaters While St. Magloire was living and doing the Work of an Evangelist amongst Us Pretextatus Archbishop of Rouen in Normandy oppressed by the hatred and Calumnies of Fredegund Wife of Chilperic King of France was banished here into JERSEY He associated himself to St. Magloire and with great Zeal and Fervency laboured with him in Preaching the Gospel and carrying on the work of God in this Island Being recalled from Banishment and restored to his See he was sometime after murdered in his Church by Command of that cruel Woman for which he has been deservedly reputed a Martyr according to the following Distych of Orderic Uticensis Occubuit Martyr Pretextatus Fredegundis Reginae Monitu pro Christi nomine Jesu What progress Christianity made in JERSEY appears from the Foundation of Twelve Parish-Churches which have a Beauty and Solidity beyond what is usually seen in ordinary Country Churches A noble and stately Abby that of S. Helier Four Priories viz. Noirmont S. Clement Bonnenuit and de Leck and above twenty Chappels of which the greater part are now in rubbish Of those that are left standing there are two of special Note The one is La Chapelle de Nostre Dame des Pas so called from a pretended Apparition of the blessed Virgin and the impression of her Footsteps in the Rock whereon the Chappel stands The other is la Hougue so called from a high Artificial Hill on the top whereof it is loftily seated For Hougue in French is properly what the Latines call Agger or Tumulus i. e. a Mount of Turf or Earth made with hands and raised more or less above the circumjacent Level And those Aggeres or Tumuli were in former days raised on the Bodies of Heroes and Great men slain in the Wars raised I say in the Field and on the very place where they fell And such I take the Hougue in JERSEY to be The Old Tradition is that a Gentleman of Normandy coming into this Island was there slain and that his Wife caused this noble Monument to be erected over him carrying it up to that height purposely that from her house in Normandy she might have a prospect of the Place where lay the Ashes of him whose Memory was so dear to her even then when he was but cold Earth The Chappel on the top I guess to have been added for Masses to be said therein for the Soul of the Deceased according to the Superstition of those days And this I take to be the best account that can be given of this ancient Chappel and the Moles on which it is erected which differs from that of Mr. Poingdestre who thinks this Eminency was raised at the time that the Danes and other Northern Nations made their inroads into this Island and was designed for a Specula or Watch-Hill to discover them at Sea and to give Notice of their approach and that the Chappel was built long after by one Mabon who was Dean of this Island about the Year 1520 Mabon indeed did cause the East end to be new built and a passage with a Repository under ground and under the Altar to be made in imitation of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem where he had sometimes been I shall pass over those dark Ages of Popery which too soon followed the Planting of Christianity in this Island and shall hasten to give some account of the State of Religion here from the Reformation The same Change of Religion that was made in England in the Reign of K. Edward VI was made here also The English Liturgy was translated into French and sent hither In Q. Mary's time the Mass was set up again as it was in England But through a singular Mercy of God the Persecution did not rage here as it did there While that Queen made Bonfires of Protestants in England Richard Averty a Popish Priest in this Island was hanged for Murder by Sentence of the Royal Court He was a great Enemy and Persecutor of the married Clergy but himself at the same time kept a Whore who being brought to bed he to conceal his Shame murdered the Infant unknown to the Mother for which he was apprehended and notwithstanding the opposition of Pawlet the Popish Dean who would have had him convened before the Bishop of Coûtance as his proper Judge suffered as he deserved This must seem an Action of great Boldness and Resolution in the Court at that time to any that considers the Power and Interest of the Popish Clergy under that Reign It was not so in Guernesey There such an Act of Cruelty was committed as is not to be matched by any thing we meet with in ancient or modern Martyrologies A poor aged Widow and her two Daughters whereof one named Perrotine Massey was the Wife of a Minister who was fled because of the Persecution were condemned to be burnt for Heresie The Ministers Wife was big with Child When she came to suffer her Belly burst through the violence of the Flame and a lovely Boy issued forth who falling gently on the Fagots tumbled off without receiving any injury from the Fire The Child was taken up and carried to the Dean and Magistrates who sent it back and ordered it to be thrown in with the Mother The cruel Command was obeyed and the innocent Babe was baptized in Fire Upon Q. Elizabeth's happy Inauguration her first Care was the Settlement of Religion But in this Island we fell into the other extreme 'T is well known what Persecutions the French Protestants suffered under the Reigns of Francis I Henry II Francis II Charles IX and Henry III. The Neighbourhood of this Island invited great numbers of them and among them some of their Ministers to take Sanctuary here and their Example soon begot in the minds of too many of our People a dislike of the English Reformation wherein also they were too much
Daughter of the Queen of Castile who was Sister of Richard I. and K. John that to compound the matter he was forced to quit his Title to Normandy but never made any Cession of these Islands On the contrary he had so tender a regard to their Safety that he issued forth his Royal Mandate to the Barons of the Cinque Ports commanding them when-ever these Islands were attack'd and upon Notice thereof from the Warden or Governor to hasten to their Succour And the reason the King gives for this extraordinary Care of them is very remarkable ità quod Dominus Rex eos viz. Insulanos meritò debet commendare cum gratiarum Actione i. e. for that the King in Justice owes them Commendation and thanks for their Loyalty and good Service In the 2d Year of this King Philip de Aubigny Lord or Governour of these Islands obtained a great Naval Victory over the French who were going over into England with Supplies to Prince Lewis In the time of K. EDWARDI Son of Henry III the French enraged to see themselves Masters of the rest of Normandy and not of these Islands made a fresh Assault on them but with no better Success than before There is still to be seen in Ancient Records the Provision that was made by Order from the King for the Widows and Orphans of such of the Inhabitants as were slain in the Repulse they gave to the Enemy with Gratifications to others that had signalized themselves or sustained any considerable Loss on that Occasion Which Gratifications were among others extended to some of the Clergy who in these Islands have always been Examples to others of Zeal and Affection to the English Government I shall pass over the Reign of EDWARD II and come to that of EDWARD III wherein some things more memorable occurr concerning these Islands in relation to the French No sooner did K. Edward III proclaim his Title to France and thereupon a War ensued betwixt him and Philip de Valois but the French to make a Diversion invaded these Islands again Hugh Queriel Admiral of France made a Descent upon Guernezey An. 1339 laid siege to Castle Cornet took it and held it 3 Years The Loss of that Island did but minister an Occasion to the Inhabitants of JERSEY to shew their Fidelity to the Crown of England They raised a Contribution of 6400 Marks which was a great Summ in those Days for so small an Island for the Recovery of Guernezey and upon the Approach of the English Fleet under command of Reynold of Cobham and Geffrey de Harcourt who were sailing into Normandy with Recruits for the King and in their way were ordered to attempt the Reduction of Guernezey went out joyned the Fleet and assisted the English in retaking both the Island and Castle of Guernezey Many JERSEY-Men of Note losing honourably their Lives upon that Occasion as the Seigneurs de Vinchelez de Matravers des Augrez de Garris de La Hougue Lempriere and other Leaders named for their special Service besides private Adventurers Not long after Alain le Breton a famous Sea rover infested both Islands especially Guernezey though rather in the way of Piracy than of down-right Invasion Of him it is that Guillelmus Brito an Ancient Poet speaks in his Philippidos Et qui rostratis Navibus secat aequor Alanus Piratas secum assumat quibus utitur ipse Cum Grenesim rebus juvat expoliare So many repeated Hostilities of the French against these Islands had awakened the Parliament in England and had produced a Resolution still extant upon Record to move the King to set out his Fleet and provide for the Defence of the Isles of JERSEY and Guernezey Anno 1354 an Interview was agreed on betwixt K. Edward and the King of Navarre who was then fallen off from the French and the Place pitched upon by both Kings for that Interview was the Isle of JERSEY Accordingly K. Edward sets out from the Thames towards JERSEY with a Royal Navy but by contrary Winds was put back to Portsmouth where understanding that the King of Navarre had reconciled himself to the French and declined the Meeting he sailed to Calais and we lost the honour we should have received from the Presence of those two Great Kings and the Splendor of their Courts amongst Us. While the Victorious Edward pursued his Conquests and dyed the Fields of Cressy and Poitiers with the best Blood of France these Islands were safe under the Protection and Shade of his Lawrels But when in the declining time of that great King and after the Death of his Son the Noble Prince Edward commonly called the Black Prince the Fortune of the English in France began to forsake them these Islands were exposed to greater Danger than before In the Year 1372. Evans the pretended Prince of Wales sailing from Barfleur in Normandy with a Fleet of French Ships Landed in Guernezey but finding greater Resistance from the Castle than he expected gave over the Design and departed out of the Island Four Years after the two Admirals of France and Castile attacqued the same Island The French ransomed it for a Summ of Money but the Castillan returning carried away all he could The Strength and brave Defence of the Castle being still the Preservation of the Island and a means to keep it in the Possession of the English Nor was JERSEY less exposed to these Insults than Guernezey Anno 1374 three Years before K. Edward died Bertrand du Guesclin Constable of France famous for his many Victories over the English in that unlucky Turn of their Affairs in France at the Head of an Army of above 10000 Men wherein were the Duke of Bourbon and the Flower of the French Chivalry passed suddenly from Bretagne into JERSEY and encamped before Gouray Castle the same that is now called Mont-Orgueil into which the Principal Persons of the Island had retired upon landing of the French The Siege lasted some Months and was carried on with great Bravery on both Sides That Fortress being as valiantly defended by those within as it was vigorously assaulted by those without After many violent Attacks the Constable withdrew leaving many of his best Men slain under the Walls This was almost the only Place which in that general Defection from the English withstood the Arms of that fortunate and renowned Commander There had been before this a Treaty wherein the King had laid down his Claim to Normandy but being deeply sensible of the Importance of these Islands and much pleased with that constant Fidelity they had always expressed to him he caused an especial Clause to be inserted in the Treaty that those Islands which he possessed on the Coast of France should remain his as before I find little Action relating to these Islands in the time of RICHARD II Son of the Black Prince nor much in that of HENRY IV. This only
Convoy Which brought so great an Interruption to Trade and Charge to the Nation that it was then understood of what Consequence the keeping of these Islands is to England and a Resolution was taken to spare no Cost for the Reduction of JERSEY This is an example which methinks should never be forgotten and I purposely insist thereon to shew what a fatal Error it would be to suffer the French to possess themselves of these Islands seated as they are in the Channel where instead of their own shallow Bays and Creeks they would find good Roads and safe Harbours if not for their greatest Fleets at least for their Pyracies While matters stood thus in England Prince Charles who was afterwards King Charles II came to JERSEY where he was received with a Joy equal to the Honour we received from his Presence amongst Us tho' even this was not without a great mixture of Sorrow for the Detention of his Royal Father who was then close Prisoner in Hurst Castle a most unhealthy place seated on a Point of Land that shoots far into the Sea destitute of fresh water and annoyed with the Salt and stinking Vapours that arise out of the neighbouring Marshes and for that very reason probably made choice of by the infamous Regicides to weary the good King out of his Life whom they were resolved one way or other to remove out of the World A Project was formed by some of our Loyal Islanders to rescue the afflicted King out of his Captivity and to bring him to JERSEY where the Prince then was The King was priviâ—y acquainted with the Design and was pleased to Consent to his removal to JERSEY But when the thing came to be executed it was unhappily defeated by the vigilancy of his Majesty's Keepers or rather by an unsearchable Providence which had decreed to make of that best of Kings the greatest Example of injured and oppressed Innocence that has been in the World since our blessed Saviour It is nevertheless no small satisfaction to Us that while too many others of his Majesty's Subjects looked unconcerned on his unparallel'd Sufferings we did our honest endeavours for the Preservation of his sacred Life so that at whosesoever door the Guilt of that Blood may lie we of this Island have blessed be God no otherwise contributed to the shedding of it than by our sins in general which added to the heap of the sins of the Nation drew down that heavy Judgment on Us all After the barbarous Murder of that blessed King his Son the undoubted Heir of all his Dominions was immediately Proclaimed and his Title recognized in JERSEY His Majesty was pleased once again to make some residence amongst Us. He came the Second time to JERSEY attended by his Royal Brother the Duke of York and several of the Loyal Nobility that adhered to him in his Exile Neither must I omit a very singular Honour which his Majesty did our little Island during his abode there He himself took a Survey of it and being well skilled in the Mathematicks did with his own Royal hand draw a Map of it so accurately done that to this day it is carefully preserved among a Collection of other noble Curiosities of Art and Nature in the Heer Van Adlershelm's famous Cabinet at Leipsich in Germany where it is seen by Travellers About this time Charles Fort was built which is an Out-work to Elizabeth Castle that commands the entrance and approach to it on the Land-side His Majesty being invited to a Treaty with the Scots he left JERSEY again but so highly satisfied with those many Demonstrations of duty and affection which in his greatest Distress he had received from the Islanders that while he lived he was pleased to retain a gratefull and a generous Sense of them The Treaty with the Scots went on successfully The King was Crown'd at Scoone Jan. 1. 1650 and soon after came into England at the head of a Royal Army to dispute his Right with the Usurpers of his Kingdoms The two Armies encountred at Worcester Sept. 3. 1651 where it pleased God again to give the Rebels such Success that the King not only lost the day but was forced to abscond with great danger of his Person till he found a passage into France where he Landed the 22d of October following In the mean while the Parliament in England was making great Preparations for the Reduction of JERSEY being strangely alarmed at the taking of so many of their Vessels by the Privateers of this Island who continued to annoy the Channel and were grown so bold that they would set upon English Ships in the very Harbours A Fleet of about Eighty Sails increased afterwards to a greater Number was set out for that Expedition under command of Admiral Blake while Major General Hains headed the Forces designed for the Descent The Fleet appeared in sight of the Island October 20. 1651. and the same day came to an Anchor in St. Oüen's Bay The Bay lies open to a Westerly wind which blows in so violently the greatest part of the Year and rolls in such a Sea that 't is very unsafe for Shipping But the same unaccountable Success that used to attend the Rebels in other places attended them here All the time they lay in this Bay they had so smooth a Sea that in the Memory of man the like had not been known at that Season of the year Which was no small Discouragement to our People who thought it in vain to sight against men that seemed to have the very Winds and Seas to sight for them But that indeed which quite dispirited them was the unhappy News they received at that time of the King's defeat at Worcester which came accompanied with a Report tho' false of his being taken in endeavouring to escape This brought such a Consternation amongst them and so sunk their Courage that they who at another time would have most gladly sacrificed their Lives to promote his Majesty's Affairs were ready to have laid down their Arms had not the extraordinary Conduct and Gallantry of their Governor Sir George de Carteret brought them on to fight The first day and the night following nothing was attempted by the Enemy The next day Octob. 21. early in the Morning their Cannon began to play which was answered by several little Forts and Redoubts in the Bay and by twenty four Brass-Field-Pieces which attend the Militia upon occasion Some of the lesser Frigats drew so near the Shore that they made use of their Small-shot which was answered with equal Bravery by our Men who wading into the very water fired briskly upon the Enemies calling them Rebels and Traitors and Murderers of their King The Battery lasted Four hours after which the whole Fleet drew off and went to St. Brelard's Bay distant about a League from that of S. Oüen where being all come to an Anchor they sent back a Squadron to St. Oüen the place where
of JERSEY and Garnsey did of ancient time belong to the Dutchy of Normandy but when King Henry I. had overthrown his elder Brother Robert Duke of Normandy he did unite to the Kingdom of England perpetually the Dutchy of Normandy together with these Isles And albeit King John lost the Possession of Normandy and King Henry III. took Money for it yet the Inhabitants of these Isles with great Constancy remained and so to this day do remain true and faithful to the Crown of England AND THE POSSESION OF THESE ISLANDS BEING PARCEL OF THE DVTCHY OF NORMANDY ARE A GOOD SEISIN FOR THE KING OF ENGLAND OF THE WHOLE DVTCHY CHAP. II. Description of the Island THE Island of JERSEY is seated in the Bay of St. Michael betwixt Cap de la Hague and Cap Forhelles the first in Normandy the last in Bretagne both which Promontories may be seen from thence in a clear Day The nearest Shore is that of Normandy to which the Cut is so short that Churches and Houses may be easily discerned from either Coast It lies according to Mr. Samarâ—s his new Survey in 49 Deg. and 25 Min. of Northern Latitude which I take to be right enough But when he gives it but 11 Deg. and 30 Min. of Longitude I cannot conceive where he fixes his first Meridian For to say nothing of the Isles of Azores or those of Cap Verd which are at a much greater Distance if he takes it with Sanson and the French Geographers from the Isle of Feró the most Western of the Canaries it must be a great deal more than he says viz. 18 Deg. at the least Or if he takes it even from Tenarif which according to the best and latest Observations is 18 Deg. from London still the Longitude of JERSEY cannot be less than 15 Deg. 30 Min. It seems to me to have near the same Longitude as Bristol in England In Length it exceeds not 12 Miles The Breadth where it is broadest is betwixt 6 and 7. The Figure resembleth somewhat an Oblong long Parallelogram the longest Sides whereof are the North and South the narrowest are the East and West The North Side is a continued Hill or ridge of Cliffs which are sometimes 50 Fathoms high from the Water and render the Island generally unaccessible on that Side The South side is much lower and in some Places level as it were with the Sea I cannot better compare it than to a Wedge or to a Triangle Right-angle the Basis whereof may be supposed to be the Sea the Cathetus those high and craggy Cliffs which it hath on the North and the Hypothenusa the Surface of the Island which declines and falls gently from North to South according to the following Diagram JERSEY It receives two great Benefits from this Situation The First is that those Rivulets for I cannot call them Rivers with which this Island abounds do by this means run further and receive a greater Increase and Accession of Waters whereby they become strong enough to turn betwixt 30 and 40 Mills that supply the whole Country than they would do should the Island rise in the middle and all the Streams by an equal Course descend on every side to the Sea This Consideration would be of no great Moment to a larger Country but is of unexpressible Use and Advantage to so small an Island The Second Benefit which we receive from this Situation is that by this Declivity of the Land from N to S the Beams of the Sun fall more directly and perpendicularly thereon than if either the Surface was level and Parallel to the Sea or which is worse declined from S to N as it doth in Guernezey For there by an odd opposition to JERSEY the Land is high on the S and low on the N which causes if I may so speak a double Obliquity the one from the Position of the Sun it self especially in time of the Winter Solstice the other from the Situation of the Land and is probably the Reason of the great Difference observed in the Qualities of Soil and Air in both Islands GUERNEZEY This Declivity of JERSEY is not a smooth and even Declivity as some may 't think The Surface is extremely broken and unequal rising and falling almost perpetually For as on the N it is an entire Hill with few and short Vales so on the S SE and SW it is cut into sundry fruitfull Valleys narrow at the Beginning but growing wider as they draw still nearer and nearer to the Sea where they end in several Flats of good Meadows and Pastures Mr. Poingdestre thought that this Unevenness and Inequality of the Surface added much to the Quantity and Proportion of the ground and that the Island was so much the more Capacious and Productive by how much the more the Surface was expanded rising with the Hills and descending with the Valleys But herein I must take the Liberty to depart from so great a Man It being demonstrable that a Country that is exactly level will contain as many Houses and Inhabitants will produce as many Trees Plants c. as another Country whose Surface is as uneven and unequal as can be but whose Basis or Plane is equal to the other Therefore the true Dimension of any Country is not to be taken from those Gibbosities that swell the Surface in one Place or those Profundities that depress it in another but from the true Basis or Plane of that Country The Nature of the Mould and Soil admits great Variety which proceeds from this Difference of higher and lower Grounds The higher Grounds are gritty gravelly and some stony and rocky but others are Excellently good The Lower are deep heavy and rich Those near the Sea are light and sandy yet not equally so in all Places But generally there is little barren Ground in the whole Island almost none that is not capable of receiving some profitable Culture and recompensing one way or other the Pains of the Labouring Husbandman We must except a large Tract of once Excellent Lands in the West of the Island which within these 200 Years have been so over-run with Sands that the Island on that side beareth the Image of a Desart This is said to have happened by Divine Vengeance on the Owners of those Lands for detaining the Goods of Strangers that had been shipwrackt on that Coast though injoyned by the highest Censures of the Church to restore them There must be from time to time such publick Examples of Divine Justice among Men that the Inhabitants of the Earth may learn Righteousness And yet I confess it may 't be also the Effect of a Cause not Preternatural I mean of those high Westerly winds that blow here almost at all Seasons of the Year and which on this side of the Island are daily seen to drive the Sands from the Bottom to the Top of the highest Cliffs The Island produces all Manner of
choicest Plant that grows in our Gardens We call it Vraic in ancient Records Veriscum and sometimes Wreccum and it grows on the Rocks about the Island 'T is gathered only at certain times appointed by the Magistrate and signified to the People by the publick Cryer on a Market-day There are two Seasons of cutting it the one in Summer the other about the Vernal Equinox The Summer Vraic being first well dried by the Sun on the Sea shore serves for Fuel and makes a hot glowing fire but the Ashes are a great improvement of the Soil and are equivalent to a like quantity of Lime The Winter Vraic being spread thin on the green Turf and after buried in the furrows by the Plough 't is incredible how with its fat unctuous Substance it ameliorates the ground imbibing it self into it softning the Clod and keeping the root of the Corn moist during the most parching heats of Summer In stormy weather the Sea doth often tear up from the Rocks vast quantities of this Weed and casts it on the Shore where it is carefully laid up by the glad Husband-man there being particular Officers appointed for the Distribution thereof to all by certain fixed and adequate Proportions The Genius of the Soil is naturally much inclined to Wood and the humour of the People suits with the Genius of their Soil The whole Island especially the more inland Part is so thick Planted that to any that takes a Prospect of it from some higher ground it looks like an entire and continued Forest altho' that in walking through it not a Wood nor hardly a Coppice is to be seen but many Hedge-rows and Orchards Nothing can be imagined more delightful than the Face of this Island when the Trees which are set along the High-ways and in the Avenues of Houses are covered with Verdure and the Orchards are full of Blossoms For as the one affords a pleasant shade so the other recreates the Eye and perfumes the Air with a sweet Fragrancy But still it must be confessed that so much shade is prejudicial to the growth of Pasture and Corn. Tho' we have much Wood we have but little good Timber For almost all our Trees are Pollards which is not so much an effect of Choice as of necessity The Husband-man being obliged to bring his Trees to a Standard by Lopping of those spreading and Luxuriant branches which if let alone would cover his little Plots and Inclosures and suffer nothing to grow under them The ordinary Drink of this Island is Cidar an ancient Liquor since we find it mentioned both by Tertullian and St. Augustine The former calls it succum ex pomis vinosissimum The other writing against the Manichees who objected to the Catholicks that they were men addicted to Wine whereas themselves abstained wholly from the Use of it he answers not by denying the Objection but by telling those Hereticks That altho ' they refused to drink Wine they would quaff very freely of another Liquor made of the Juice of Apples far more delicious than Wine or any other Liquor whatsoever From these Passages of Tertullian and St. Augustine who were both Africanes Cardinal Du Perron who by the way was born in JERSEY of Protestant Parents thinks this Liquor was first known in Africa and from thence passed into Spain among the Biscainers whose Northern Situation and Icy Mountains were too cold for the tender Vine and who therefore improved this hardy Tree that lives and grows under any Climate The Normans who are almost the only People in France unacquainted with the Grape transplanted the Apple from Biscay into their Province from whence we have it in this Island I do not believe there is any Country in the World which on the same extent of ground produces so much Cidar as JERSEY Mr. Samarés his way of guessing at the quantity of Cidar made in the whole Island was to allow one Vergée which is about half an English Acre of Orchard to every house which will amount to 3000 Vergées that being near upon the number of Habitations in this Island Now allowing two Tuns to a Vergée it will arise to 6000 Tuns or 24000 Hogsheads which is 500 Tuns or 2000 Hogsheads for every Parish one with an other 'T is not to be imagined the Island should produce the same quantity every Year The years alternate A good Year is usually succeeded by a bad one But a good Year commonly supplies Us for that and the next ensuing beyond use and necessity even to Excess and Debauchery For this vast quantity of Cidar must be wholly consumed among Our selves little or none being exported abroad tho' it be the onely product of the Island of which we have an Overplus to spare For a remedy to this Evil there was an expedient once found by some of our Merchants which was to buy up this Supernumerary Cidar and distill it into Brandy which they afterwards sold into England But the new Additional impost laid upon those Liquors by Act of Parliament has obstructed that Trade which serv'd to take off from our hands a superfluous Commodity that ministers now only to Drunkenness Many of our Orchards are planted after the manner of the famous Quincunx and all of them in an Order that gives them a Beauty beyond what I have observed in Glocester or Herefordshire where appears little Exactness in the Position and mutual Aspect of the Trees Nor is there better and larger more generous and vinous Fruit than what grows in this Island but we have it in such Plenty that 't is not possible we should use the same nice Exactness in gathering it and improving afterwards by Art such a Sea of Liquor as is drawn out of it which is used in other Parts where there is less Fruit and consequently less Work required about it But were the same method practised here as in England viz to cull the choicest Fruit whereas we mix all confusedly together and then ferment rack and bottle our Cidar I do not doubt but a great deal of it might for Tast and Colour dispute it with the so much admired Red-strake I have often drank some that was not at all inferior to it About 140 years ago there was so little Cidar made in this Island that the Inhabitants were necessitated to apply themselves to Queen Mary then Reigning for leave to transport yearly out of England among other Provisions 500 Tuns of Beer for their Use Custom-free besides 150 Tuns more for the Garrison which she granted in the First year of her Reign Our ancient Drink was Mead. For then this Island abounded with large and numerous Apiaries which thrived exceedingly but since the increase of Cidar they are much decayed tho' to this day Honey made in this Island surpasses all I have Tasted elsewhere Could Men be satisfied with the common Drink of Nature Water I mean no People in the World are more liberally stored with that than
we of this Island 'T is in my Opinion the great Wonder of this Island that whereas 't is but as it were a great Rock standing in the midst of the Salt Sea it abounds beyond what is seen in any other Country under Heaven with fresh and excellent Springs which gush out of the hard Rock and bubble up every where running in a thousand pretty Brooks and Streams among the Dales till they lose themselves in that great Receptacle of waters the Ocean There is hardly a house that has not such a Spring or Brook near it Such as have them not tho' seated on the top of the highest Hills or Cliffs have Wells and they â—eldom need to dig above six or seven Fathoms ere they meet with most pure and wholsome water Nor do we want water for Physick no more than for common Use We have a Fountain of excellent Mineral water in the Judgment of the Learned Dr. Charleton late President of the College of Physicians in London now residing in this Island who has tried the water and approved it Beef and Mutton here is of the smallest kind but so tender and good that I have heard many English Gentlemen preferr it to that which is eaten in most Parts of England whereof I can imagine no other reason than the shortness of our Grass which has not that Rankness in it which is peculiar to richer Pastures Those famous Sheep with six horns three of each side one whereof bent forwards towards the Nose another backwards towards the Neck and the third stood erected right upwards in the midst of the other two mentioned by Writers as one of the Singularities of this Island are become very rare Horses we have more than enough for the Use of the Cart and Plough but not many good for the Saddle Such as they are they are no doubt exceeding hardy and strong and will endure more Fatigue than those of a more generous Breed I never heard of any Mad-Dogs in this Island Our constant Game is only the Hare and Rabbit There are neither Bucks Stags Deer Foxes nor Wolves in this Island which require larger and more spacious Countries to range in Of Fowl we have Plenty enough of all sorts whether Barn Fowl Wild Fowl or Sea Fowl whose different Species I need not enumerate Here are to be seen the famous Sorland Geese whose Equivocal Generation from a rotten piece of Wood tossed long in the Sea and impregnated with Nitre and Salt is received by many amongst Us for Truth I have met with very credible Persons who have assured me that they have often seen those Birds yet sticking to the Plank some no bigger than Mushrooms and almost of that shape others a little more brought into form others perfectly â—ledged and just ready to fly We call them Bernacles and they are only seen about the Sea and in very cold Weather The JERSEY-Partridge with red Feet Pheasant's Eyes and Feathers of various Colours is one of the beautifullest Birds in Nature and is usually sent alive into England to Persons of Quality as a great Rarety but the flesh is not much better than that of the common gray English Partridge The many Hedges in this Island breed and afford shelter to an infinite Number of small Birds who chant it merrily all Spring and Summer-long and delight the Traveller with their pretty Melody But the poor Husbandman pays dear for that Musick for they are very destructive to his Corn and Fruit. Our Market is all the year long well stored with Excellent Fish some common to Us with England other peculiar to this Place For Shell-fish we have Oysters Lobsters Crabs c. in great Plenty and extraordinary Cheap We have also the Ormer which is a Fish scarce known out of these Islands Ormer says Mr. Poingdestre is a Contraction of Oreille de Mer Auris Marina a Name given to it because of its Form which resembleth the Ear of a Man The Fish within the Shell is a solid Lump of white Pulp very sweet and luscious The Shell in the inside is of the Colour of Mother of Pearl and is used in carved Works It has no Under-shell like the Oyster but the Fish clingeth to the Rock with the Back and the Shell covers the Belly 'T is only found at low Water-marks in great Spring-tides For flat Fish we have infinite store of Rays some with Prickles some without them large Turbots Soles Flounders and Plaise of 2 or 3 Sorts For Scale-fish we have Base which come by Shoals so near the Shore that Cart-loads have been taken at a Draught some a Yard long Mullets both grey and red the Last a firm and most delicious Fish But the most common and to be had at all times is a Fish we call Vrac in shape and taste very much like a Carp and may be called the Sea-carp with several others For coated Fish such as are known amongst us by the Names of Haus Rousses Roussets c. we have them in great Abundance and they are bought by the poorer People for they are but a course Fish or by those of the better sort for Servants and Labourers almost for nothing But the Sea about JERSEY and Guernezey may be styled the Kingdom of Congers They are found there at all Seasons and some of them have been known to weigh from 40 to 50 l. Otho de Grandison Lord or Governour of these Islands in the time of Edward I and Edward II forc'd an Impost upon Congers and Mackarel taken about these Islands and salted for Transportation and it amounted to 400 Livres Tournois in one Year at a Penny Tournois for every Conger above 10 l. weight so transported Did I intend a natural History of this Island I may 't enlarge further on this Argument and mention divers more taken hereabouts and very rarely if at all heard of in other Places as that little Fish we call Lanâ—on as much as to say a little Lance for 't is somewhat like one which has this property that 't is never found in the Water but in some moving Sand-bank which is left dry by the Sea at a low Ebb and there it hides and buries it self pretty deep till the Sand being stirred with an Iron it leaps up and is taken by handfulls the Night also being best for this sport for the Fish glitters when 't is on the Sand and is easily seen in the Dark Tingrels arm'd with very dangerous Teeth and Prickles Another of a perfect blood Colour with a Head and Throat almost as big as the rest of the Body our Fishermen call it Gronnard from the grunting Noise it makes The Sirene or Mermaid so called because 't is said to have Breasts and Teats like a Woman but this not so commonly seen as the others Having so constant a supply from the Sea we may the better be without Fresh-water Fish whereof we have indeed no great Plenty because we want
great Rivers Ponds we have and in those very good Carps There is a Pond especially in the West of the Island belonging to the Seigneur of St. Oüen where grows a Carp of so unusual a Largeness and of so excellent a Tast as is scarce to be equall'd in Europe Some have been brought into England that were 3 Foot 4 Inches Long. The great Deformity of this Island is that almost incredible Multitude of Toads that swarm in it and are chiefly seen in Summer and in moist Weather Doubtless they are a hated sight to a Stranger especially I cannot certainly say whether they are Venomous or not having never made any Experiment thereof But this I can affirm that after the most diligent Inquiry I could never hear they do the least harm tho' they lie in our best Water and among our best Fruit when it falls on the Ground So far indeed from it that 't is a received Opinion among our People that those ugly Creatures suck in the Impurities that are in the Elements and thereby contribute to health which they prove by the contrary Example of Guernezey which will not suffer a Toad to live in it and yet is thought not to be so healthy as JERSEY Whether it be so or no still it must be confessed that great is the Wisdom of God to set out the Beauty and Perfection of his other Works by such Deformities in Nature as these As for those pretty Lizards which in a hot Summer-day will come out and sun themselves on the side of a Bank looking earnestly and as 't were with pleasure upon a Man as he passes by scarce flying but when they are pursued they are rather to be counted a Decoration and an Ornament than a Deformity to this Island We receive a greater prejudice from Moles which abound with Us to the great Detriment of Corn but doubtless to the Benefit and Melioration of Fruit-trees by loosening and turning up the Earth about the Roots The Air is temperate and the Island generally praised be God very healthy And it must be so Naturally considering the Height and Declivity of the Land and as a Consequence of that the Rapidity of the Streams together with those salt and strong Breezes which blow almost continually from the Sea The Unsalubrity of any Country arising chiefly from a low Ground and a stagnating Air and Water Hence Men are often seen to live to a great Age amongst us if by Excesses which is the Fault of the better sort or by ill Diet which is the Misfortune of the Poorer they do not impair their Health and shorten their Lives I cannot say we are wholly free of Distempers The most usual with us is the Ague in the Spring and Autumn Neither is the Cold here so intense as in other Places under the same Latitude But we are more subject to Storms especially with a Westerly wind which blows here the greatest part of the Year and against which we have no nearer shelter than the great Continent of America the next Land to us on that side That vast and amazing Chain of Rocks that invironeth on all sides this Island some above some under Water and the many strong Currents and Tides that run betwixt these Rocks render the Access to the Island very difficult and full of hazard to those that are not well acquainted with the Coast And doubtless the Place is more beholding to Nature than Art for the strength of it 'T is very probable that a great part of these Rocks was some time firm Ground which the Violence of the Sea hath torn from the Shore washing off the softer and looser Earth and leaving only what it could not dissolve In the Parish of St. Oúen the Sea has within these 350 Years swallow'd up a very rich Vale where to this hour at Low-water the Marks of Buildings appear among the Rocks and great Stumps of Oaks are seen in the Sand after a Storm The Records of the Exchequer make mention of a People inhabiting this Tract And the little Islet upon which stands Elizabeth Castle was joyned to the Land about 1100 Years ago The Tides about these Islands differ from the rest of the Chanel and are very extraordinary They receive their first Motion from the Mouth of the Chanel and as they go on take different Impressions from the several Heads of Land and narrower Chanels through which they pass At the first flowing they all tend ESE to the Bay of St. Michael by reason of the flatness thereof The Sea flows and ebbs in that Bay ordinarily from 15 to 20 Miles and fills it almost in two Hours time Then the Motion of the Tides is check'd and they are conveyed Northwards along the Coast and so in 12 Hours time quite round the Island The Currents succeed so one another that there is no still Water here as in the Chanel at low Ebb. The chief Bays and open Places in the Island are St. Oüen St. Brelard St. Aubin Grouville St. Catharine Rosel Bouley besides other smaller Creeks noted in the Map The whole Island is divided into 12 Parishes which may be rank'd in this Order on the N. I. Trinity II. St. John III. St. Mary on the W. IV. St. Oûen V. St. Peter VI. St. Brelard or Breverlard for so I find it call'd in Ancient Records and not S. Brelad on the S. VII St. Lawrence VIII St. Helier IX St. Saviour on the E. X. St. Clement XI Grouville XII St. Martin These Parishes are subdivided again into Tythings which we call Vintaines noted in the Map The chief Town is St. Helier a neat well built Town seated near the Sea containing about a 1000 Inhabitants who are for the most part Merchants Traders and Artificers The Gentry and People of the best Fashion living generally in the Country 'T is the ordinary Seat of Justice and here is kept a Market in the Nature of a Fair every Saturday where Gentlemen meet for Conversation as well as for Business The next Town of Note is St. Aubin or St. Albin distant about three Miles from the former and standing in the same Bay This is also much resorted to by Merchants by reason of the Port which is the best in the Island Here they meet every Monday about matters relating to Navigation and Foreign Trade The Mole or Peere begun there some Years ago in imitation of that of Guernezey is a strong and massy Piece and when finished will be a great security to our Shipping which lay before too much open to a S and SE Wind. It were superfluous to enumerate other lesser Towns and Villages dispersed through the Island The whole being indeed so Populous and full of Habitations that it more resembleth a great Village than an open and champagne Country The Number of Inhabitants is betwixt 15 and 20 Thousand reckoning Men Women and Children Buildings both Private and Publick are substantial and
CHAP. III. Military Government THE Chief Officer in this Island He that more immediately represents the King's Person and that hath the Precedency of all others is the Governor While this Island was subject to the Kings of France of the First and Second Race the Governors were styled Comites and Duces i. e. Counts and Dukes Thus LOYESCON who commanded here in the time of Clothaire and Charibert an 560 is called Comes a Count as we learn from the Compilers of the Life of St. Magloire the Apostle of this Island And AMWARITH who had the same Command about 200 Years after viz. in the time of Charlemagne is called Dux a Duke as appears from that ancient Fragment mentioned before where 't is said concerning Geroaldus Abbot of Fontenelles that is quadam Legatione fungebatur in Insulam cui nomen est AVGIA JERSEY cui tempore illo praefuit Dux nomine AMWARITH Under the Dukes of Normandy and the first English Kings after the Conquest the Government of all these Islands was generally given to one Man who was called sometimes Dominus sometimes Ballivus sometimes Custos Insularum i. e. Lord Bailly or Warden of the Islands But K. Henry VI. gave them together with the Isle of Wight to Henry de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick with a very extraordinary Title viz. with that of KING as is seen from an ancient MS. Chronicle of the Abby of Tewkesbury mentioned by Mr. Selden where this Passage is found Obiit Dominus Henricus Nobilis Dux Warichiae Primus Comes Angliae Dominus le Dispenser de Abergevenny REX de Insulis Wight Gardsey JARDSEY Dominus quoque Castri Bristoliae cum suis annexis 3 Id. Junii A. D. 1446. Anno Aetatis suae XXII apud Castrum de Hanleyâ et sepultus est in medio Chori Theokesburiae When these Islands were separated and particular Governors assigned to each of them they were styled Captains and at last Governors which Title was fixed by a special Ordinance of Council June 15. 1618. This Office has been anciently held by Persons of very great Note and Eminency and we can reckon among our Governors the Sons and Brothers of some of our Kings As 1 John Earl of Mortain afterwards King who had these Islands given him in the Nature of an Appanage by K. Richard I his Brother 2 Prince Edward afterwards K. Edward I. Son and Successor of Henry III who held them in the same Right in the time of his Father 3. John Duke of Bedford and 4. Humphrey Duke of Glocester Brothers of Henry V. I shall only give an Account of the Governors of JERSEY from the time of Edward IV ever since which time this Island has always been a separate Government Sir RICHARD HARLISTON Vice-Admiral of England who assisted Philip de Carteret in the Reduction of Mont Orgueil Castle which had been seized by the French and had thereupon the Government given him for his good Service He died in Flanders MATTHEW BAKER Esq Groom of the Bed-Chamber to K. Henry VII ejected afterwards for Misdemeanors THOMAS OVERAY lyeth buried in St. George's Chappel in Mont-Orgueil Castle then the Residence of the Governors Sir HUGH VAUGHAN who was also at the same time Lieutenant of the Tower of London Captain of the King's Life-guard c. Resigned the Government to Sir ANTHONY UGHTRED whose Wife was nearly related to Q. Anne Bolein He came in by that interest and lies interred in St. George's Chappel in Mont Orgueil Sr. ARTHVRD ARCY who sold the Government to THOMAS Lord VAVX of Harrowdon and he soon after to Sir EDWARD SEYMOVR Viscount Beauchamp afterwards Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector Sir HVGH PAWLET Treasurer to K. Henry the 8th's Army at the Siege of Bologne Governor of Havre de Grace an 1563. that Town being then in the hands of the English Reputed one of the best and most experienced Captains of his Time A zealous Promoter of the Reformation in this Island of which he was Governor about 24 Years was succeeded by his Eldest Son Sir AMIAS PAWLET Privy Councellor to Q. Elizabeth Ambassador in France an 1576 who had also for Successor Sir ANTHONY PAWLET his Son and he Sir WALTER RALEIGH whose very Name is an honour to this Island But the unfortunate Gentleman held the Government not long it being forfeited together with all his other Great Offices and Preferments by his Attainder in the First year of K. James I. Sir JOHN PEYTON Lieutenant of the Tower c. Sir THOMAS JERMYN who in his Life-time did also obtain the Reversion of the Government after him for his younger Son HENRY JERMYN created first Lord Jermyn then Earl of St. Alban's Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter c. To whom was afterward joyned in the same Patent and with equal Authority Sir GEORGE DE CARTERET who with so great Valour held the Island for the King against the whole force of the Parliament in the late Civil Wars After the Restoration in 1660 made Vice-Chamberlain and one of the Lords of the Privy-Council and lastly created Baron Carteret of Hains in Bedfordshire After the said Restoration the Earl of St. Alban's remained sole Governor but a War ensuing with France an 1665 the Earl was allowed 1000 l. per annum out of the Exchequer And Sir THOMAS MORGAN that renowned and valiant Commander was sent into this Island and made Governor by special Commission After whose Decease the like Commission was directed to Sir JOHN LANIER recalled upon the Earl of St. Alban's Death to make way for The Right Honourable THOMAS Lord JERMYN Baron of St. Edmund's Bury who claimed the Government by virtue of a Grant to him formerly made by Letters Patent under the Great Seal in case he survived his Uncle the said Earl of St. Alban's He holds it as the Earl did for Life This Office has been held sometimes Quamdiù Domino Regi placuerit sometimes Quamdiù se benè gesserit sometimes for a certain and determinate number of Years sometimes during Life sometimes during Life and five years beyond it and at other times again without Condition or Limitation of time For the support of this Dignity the King allows the Governor his whole Revenue in the Island a small part thereof only deducted for Fees and Salaries to the Officers of the Court. In ancient times this Revenue consisted of seven Mannors which were the Patrimony of the Dukes of Normandy These Mannors were by K. Henry II. let out in Fee-farm to several Tenants at the rate of about 460 Livres Tournois yearly which with many other old Money-Rents expressed in the Extent or Register of the King's Revenue made an 1331. amounted to more than 1000 Livres Tournois per annum A Livre Tournois Libra Turonensis being then worth as much as an English l. Sterling is now This together
countenanced and encouraged by the Governor who whether out of Inclination or Affectation of Popularity or which I rather think the hope of adding to his Government the Revenue of the suppressed Deanry favoured that Party They possessed themselves of the Parish Church of St. Helier where the Sieur de la Ripaudiere a French Minister preached and gave the Sacrament after the manner of Geneva and soon after a solemn Deputation was made to the Queen for leave to have all the other Churches in the Island modell'd after that way This the Queen denied allowing them only that Church of which they were possessed and strictly Commanding that Form and Order of Service which was set forth within her Realm to be continued in the Residue of the Parishes of this Isle as appears from the following Letter sent by the Council to the Bailly and Jurats bearing Date Aug. 7. 1565. After our very hearty Commendations unto you Whereas the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty understandeth that the Isles of JARSEY and Guernezey have anciently depended on the Diocese of Constance and that there be certain Churches in the same Diocese well Reformed agreably throughout in Doctrine as it is set forth in this Realm Knowing therewith that you have a Minister who ever since his Arrival in JARSEY hath used the like Order of Preaching and Administration as in the said Reformed Churches or as it is used in the French Church at London Her Majesty for divers Respects and Considerations moving her Highness is well pleased to admit the same Order of Preaching and Administration to be continued at St. Helier's as hath been hitherto accustomed by the said Minister Provided always that the Residue of the Parishes in the said Isle shall diligently put apart all Superstitions used in the said Diocese and so continue there the Order of Service ordained and set forth within this Realm with the Injunctions necessary for that Purpose wherein you may not fail diligently to give your Aids and Assistance as best may serve for the Advancement of God's Glory And so fare you well From Richmond the 7th Day of August Anno 1565. Signed N. Bacon R. Leicester R. Rogers Will. Northampton Gul. Clynton Fr. Knolls Will. Cecil Notwithstanding this Letter all the other Churches in the Island soon followed the Example of that of St. Helier and the English Liturgy came to be generally disused This gave mighty Encouragement to the Puritans in England who hoped to draw great Advantages from it and indeed grew very insolent upon it To improve the Opportunity Cartwright and Snap those Two great Incendiaries of the English Church were sent into these Islands At whose coming a Synod of the Ministers and Elders of JERSEY Guernezey Serk and Alderney was Convened at the Town of St. Peter-Port in Guernezey June 28 1576. And there in Presence of both Governors a Form of Classical Discipline digested into twenty Chapters and each Chapter into several Articles was agreed on to be used from thenceforth in the four Islands Which Discipline was again confirmed in another Synod held at Guernezey the 11 12 13 14 15 and 17th Days of October 1597. It was a bold Step in the Governors not only to tolerate that unlawful Assembly but to countenance as they did all the Acts of it by their Presence and their Signature I call it an unlawful Assembly because it met and enacted Laws Ecclesiastical binding the Subject without the Royal Authority throwing the Liturgy out of those Churches where by Express Command of the Queen it had been injoyned to be continued to make way for their Model which was only indulged to St. Helier in JERSEY and to St. Peter-Port in Guernezey But the Governors got well by it for by that means the Spoils of the poor Deanries fell into their Hands Timely Application was made by that Party to K. James at his coming to the Crown to whom it was falsly suggested that the Discipline had been permitted and allowed by Q. Elizabeth Whereupon a Letter under the Privy-Seal dated Aug. 8. 1603. was easily obtained confirming that pretended Permission and setling the Discipline in both Islands as it was alledged to have been in the Days of that Queen The Letter was as followeth JAMES R. JAMES by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland c. Vnto all those whom these Presents shall concern Greeting Whereas We Our Selves and the Lords of Our Council have been given to understand that it pleased God to put it into the Heart of the Late Queen our most dear Sister to permit and allow unto the Isles of JARSEY and Guernezey parcel of our Dutchy of Normandy the Vse of the Government of the Reformed Churches in the said Dutchy whereof they have stood possessed until our coming to this Crown For this Cause we desiring to follow the Pious Example of our said Sister in this behalf as well for the Advancement of the Glory of Almighty God as for the Edification of his Church do will and ordain that our said Isles shall quietly enjoy their said Liberty in the Vse of the Ecclesiastical Discipline there now Established forbidding any one to give them any trouble or impeachment as long as they contain themselves in our Obedience and attempt not any thing against the Pure and Sacred Word of God Given at our Palace at Hampton-Court the 8th Day of August Anno Dom. 1603 and of our Reign in England the First 'T is plain the Grant in this Letter was void and null from the beginning being founded on an Allegation manifestly untrue viz. that Q. Elizabeth had given way to the Establishment of the Discipline throughout all the Churches in these Islands The contrary whereof appears from the very Words of the Letter written by her Council However matters stood thus till a New Governor coming to JERSEY and clashing with the Colloquy about the Right of collating to vacant Benefices which both Sides layed equally claim to He in the Right of the King as the true Patron They by Virtue of the Discipline which empowered them to confer Orders and fill up vacant Livings with such only as had a Call from themselves the Altercation grew so high that it endangered the publick Peace and many of the Principal Inhabitants became humble Suiters to His Majesty to restore to them the Liturgy and to settle among them a Form of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction suitable to that of the Church of England with regard to their ancient Customs and Priviledges to which they prayed His Majesty at the same time not to derogate The Address was well received at Court The Liturgy was restored and the Office of Dean which had been above 60 Years disused was Revived and conferred on the reverend Mr. David Bandinel one of the Ministers of the Island The New Dean and Ministers were injoyned to draw up a Body of Canons to be approved by the King which after several Corrections and Amendments made therein by
Turon Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers duodecimam Garbam Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Garbam Rector habet IV Virgas Eleemosynae valet XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Laurentii Patronus Abbas de Blancâ Landâ percipit tertiam partem Decimae Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Episcopus Aurensis medietatem Rector habet XVI Virgas Eleemosynae valet XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Salvatoris Patronus Archidiaconus Vallis Viris in Ecclesiâ Constantiensi Et est ibi Vicarius qui reddit Archidiacono annuatim XX Lib. Turon Dominus Episcopus Constantiensis percipit medietatem Decimae Archidiaconus tertiam Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Et habet Vicarius XXIV Virg. Eleemosynae Ecclesia Sancti Clementis Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecom Rector percipit quartam quintam Garbam Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers residuum Et ibi XXIV Virg. Eleemosynae valet XL Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Martini Veteris Patronus Abbas Caesariensis percipit ibi C. solid de Pensione Rector percipit tertiam partem Decimae habet XXVI Virgas Eleemosynae Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Garbam Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers quartam partem valet LXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia de Grovillâ Patronus Abbas de Exaquio percipit quartam Garbam Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers medietatem Rector percipit nonam Partem habet XII Virgas Eleemosynae Et valet communibus Annis L. Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Helerii Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecom percipit medietatem Decimae ex quâ medietate percipit Rector quintam Garbam Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers quartam partem Rector habet .... Virgas Eleemosynae valet XL. Lib. Turon Quod autem vidimus legimus hoc Testamur In cujus rei Testimonium sigillum magnum Curiae Episcopalis Constantiensis praesentibus duximus apponendum Datum Constantiae A. D. 1461. 6 tâ Die Mensis Februarii At present the best Revenue of the Clergy arises from the Improvement of Fruit-Trees and Cidar But all Years are not equally productive nor does Cidar bear always the same Price which renders the said Revenue very uncertain By a long and immemorial Prescription the Clergy of this Island have injoyed an Exemption from payment of First-fruits and Annates or Tenths to the King The impropriated Tythes of the Parish of St. Saviour by special Grant from the Crown have been annexed to the Deanry To each Church belongs a Fund or Annual Revenue of about 15 or 20 Quarters of Wheat-Rent given in ancient Times by Pious and Charitable Persons for the Support of those Fabricks and other Sacred and Religious Uses But it is now more generally applied to the Publick Necessities of the Island To supply the Church with able Men from among the Natives there are two Publick-Free-Latin and Greek Schools set up almost in the two Extremities of the Island viz. St. Magloire corruptly St. Manelier and St. Anastase or Athanase each of them being designed for the Instruction of the Youth of six Parishes We have also three Fellowships and five Exhibitions or Scholarships in Oxford belonging to JERSEY and Guernezey by Alternate Turns The first Founded by K. Charles I. of Blessed Memory induced thereunto by Archbishop Laud who intended by those Encouragements to draw off our young Students from Foreign Universities whither they generally went before and from whence they too often returned with Minds very much prejudiced against the Church of England The last the bountiful Gift of the Reverend Dr. Morley our late honoured Diocesan CHAP. VI. Convention of the Estates THat common Observation that in the Forms and Models of Government a little City differeth not from a great one is verified by the Constitution and Practice of this Island where in a very small State one may see the Figure and Image of a great Empire For here we have our Conventus trium Ordinum i. e. Our Convention or Meeting of the three Orders or Estates of the Island in imitation of those August Assemblies known by that or some other Name in great Kingdoms and Monarchies In a word this Convention is the shadow and resemblance of an English Parliament being composed of the Jurats or Court of Justice as the First and noblest Body the Dean and Clergy as the Second and the XII High-Constables as the Representatives of the Commons The King's Procurator the Viscount and the King's Advocate tho' they represent no Estate being also admitted propter Dignitatem This Convention cannot be held but by Consent and Permission of the Governor or of his Deputy who has a Negative Voice therein as the Parliament cannot meet but at the Pleasure of the King nor pass any thing into Law without his Royal Assent The Bailly or his Lieutenant is the perpetual Prolocutor in these Meetings as the Speaker is in Parliament and every Member Present has Voice Deliberative No Estates can be held without Seven of each Body at the least nor can Foreigners preferred to Benefices be Members of this Convention unless naturalized it not being thought safe to intrust Strangers with the Secrets of the Island till they have given good Proof of their Affection to the Government they live under There has been some Dispute formerly about the Power claimed by the Governor in calling these Assemblies and influencing their Debates by his Negative Voice The result whereof was a Regulation of that Power by two Consecutive Orders of Council in the Reign of K. James I to this Effect First Order Anno 1618. There shall be no Assembly of the States without the Consent of the Governor or of his Lieutenant in his Absence In which it is to be understood that the Governor or his Lieutenant in his Absence have a Negative Voice To the end it may be provided that no Ordinance may be agreed upon prejudicial to his Majesty's Service or the Interests of the People Second Order Anno 1619. Modifying the former For the better Explanation of the Article concerning the Assembly of the States which was ordered not to be done without the Consent of the Governor or of his Lieutenant in his Absence it is now finally Ordered for Causes made known unto Vs and for the avoiding of all future Question that the foresaid Article shall continue in Force with this Qualification That if the Bailly or Justices shall require an Assembly of the States the Governor shall not defer it above fifteen days Except he have such cause to the contrary either in respect of the Safety of the Island or Our special Service otherwise as he will answer to Vs or the Lords of Our Council whereof he shall give as present Advice as possibly wind and weather may serve And concerning the Governor's Negative Voice in the making of Ordinances it is now also
Ordered that he shall not use his Negative Voice but in such Points as shall concern Our special Interest the rather in regard that such Acts as are made in their Assembly are but Provisional Ordinances and have no Power or Property of Laws until they be confirmed by Vs The great Business of these Meetings is the raising of Mony to supply publick Occasions For as in England Mony cannot he raised upon the Subject but by Authority of Parliament so here 't is a received Maxim that no Levies can be made upon the Inhabitants but by their own Consent declared by their Representatives assembled in Common Council Nor have the States a Power of themselves to Create new Subsidies or Imposts but only upon extraordinary Emergencies when the common Safety and Defence of the Island requires it or Application must be made to the King by Persons sent over at the publick Charge to Levy what they judge sufficient for those Uses by fixed and equal Proportions according to the ancient Rate In these Assemblies Accounts of the publick Revenue and Expences are stated and Audited Differences arising about the Disposal and Administration of the Church-Treasuries are examined and determined Deputies are appointed to represent Our Grievances and sollicite Our Affairs at Court good and wholsom Ordinances against Profaners of the Lord's day Blasphermers of God's holy Name common Swearers and Drunkards and other riotous and disorderly Persons are made and enacted under severe Penalties And in a word all other Matters are transacted therein as are thought to conduce most to preserve the Honour and Reverence that is due to God and to Holy Things the Fidelity and Obedience we all owe to their Majesties and those that Act in Subordination to their Authority the Peace and Tranquility the Wellfare and Happiness of the whole Island And yet it must be confessed that most of these things are of the Competence and Jurisdiction of the Court but Our Magistrates think it Prudential to take the Advice and Council of these Assemblies considering wisely that their Concurrence must add a Force and Vigour to these and the like Sanctions I must not forget to observe that the Constables who make so considerable a Body in these Assemblies and are the true and proper Representatives of the People are Officers of better Account with us than they are in England They are generally Men of the best Qualifications in the respective Parishes for which they serve And the Office it self is so far above Contempt that 't is sought and Ambitioned by those whose Birth and Abilities add at the same time a Credit and a Reputation to it The Office is Triennial tho' some continue in it much longer and to those that discharge it with Honour it is a step to the Magistracy The following Scheme with the Explanatory Table here underneath will shew the manner of sitting in these Assemblies A The Governor or his Deputy B The Bailly or his Lieutenant C C C C c. The XII Jurats D D D D c. The Dean and Ministers E Their Majesties Procurator F Their Majesties Advocate G The Viscount H H H H c. The XII Constables I The Gressier K One of the Denunciators attending L The Vsher of the Court. M The Table N A large Silver gilt Mace carried before the Bailly and Jurats O The Vestibulum The States of the Isle of JERSEY CHAP. VII Priviledges Few Places can boast of greater Priviledges than this Island The Reasons alledged in the Preambles of Our Charters as the Motives inducing Our Kings to grant Us these Priviledges are especially these Three 1. To reward Our Loyalty and Fidelity to the Crown of England We have merited these Priviledges by Our good Services 2. To engage Us to be Loyal and Faithfull still We can have no Temptation while we enjoy these Priviledges to change Our Masters 3. To make Our Condition easie and comfortable which under the Circumstances and Disadvantages of Our Situation would otherwise be most intolerable There would be no living in this Island for English Subjects without great Freedoms and Immunities Which few would envy if they knew at what price we purchase them Our want of Records beyond the Time of King John will not let Us know what were Our Priviledges under Our more ancient Dukes and Kings his Predecessors From him therefore we must date the Aera of Our Liberties and Franchises And forasmuch as his Constitutions are the Ground and Foundation of all Our Subsequent Charters I shall set them down here at large as they are found among the Records of that King's Reign in the Tower of London under this Title Inquisitio facta de Servitiis Consuetudinibus Libertatibus Insul de GERESE Guernese Legibus Constitutis in Insulis per Dominum Johannem Regem per Sacramentum Roberti Blondel Radulphi Burnel c. qui dicunt c. Then follows Constitutiones Provisiones Constitutae per Dominum Johannem Regem postquam Normannia alienata fuit Imprimis Constituit Duodecim Coronatores Juratos ad Placita Jura ad Coronam spectantia Custodienda II. Constituit etiam concessit pro Securitate Insularium quod Ballivus de coetero per Visum Dictorum Coronatorum poterit Placitare absque Brevi de nova Disseisinâ factâ infrà annum de morte Antecessorum infrà annum de Dote similiter infrà Annum de Feodo invadiato semper de incumbreio Maritagii c. III. Ii debent eligi de Indigenis Insularum per Ministros Domini Regis Optimates Patriae scilicet post Mortem Vnius eorum alter fide dignus vel alio casu legitimo debet substitui IV. Electi debent jurare sine conditione ad manutenendum salvandum Jura Domini Regis Patriotarum V. Ipsi Duodecim in quâlibet Insulâ in Absentiâ Justiciariorum unà cum Justiciariis cùm ad Partes illas venerint debent Judicare de Omnibus Casibus in dictâ Insulâ qualitercunque Emergentibus exceptis Casibus nimis Arduis siquis Legitimè convictus fuerit à Fidelitate Domini Regis tanquà m Proditor recessisse vel manus injecisse violentas in Ministros Domini Regis modo á¸ebito Ossicium exercendo VI. Ipsi Duodecim debent Emendas sive Amerciamenta omnium praemissorum Taxare praedictis tamen Arduis Casibus exceptis aut aliis Casibus in quibus secundùm Consuetudinem Insularum merè spectat Redemptio pro Voluntate Domini Regis Curiae suae VII Si Dominus Rex velit certiorari de Recordo Placiti corà m Justiciariis ipsis Duodecim agitati Justiciarii cum ipsis Duodecim debent Recordum facere de Placitis agitatis corà m Ballivo ipsis Juratis in dictis Insulis ipsi debent Recordum facere conjunctim VIII Item Quod nullum Placitum infrà quamlibet dictarum Insularum coram quibuscunque Justiciariis inceptum debet extrà dictam Insulam adjornari