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
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
excepted viz. that Penhouet Admiral of Bretagne having worsted the English in a Sea-sight pursued his advantage and entred the Isles of JERSEY and Guernezey which he plundered but durst not sit down before the Castles This happened An. 1404. HENRY V was no sooner on the Throne but he renewed the Claim to France and with much Glory recovered all that had been lost since the Death of the Black Prince with considerable Accessions That brave and warlike King knowing the advantageous Situation of these Islands made great use of them in the Prosecution of the War He added much to the beauty and strength of Gouray Castle in JERSEY gave it the proud Name of Mont-Orgueil which it bears this day made it a place of Arms and one of his chief Magazines of War and resolved so far as Art could do it to render it impregnable This strong Castle fell nevertheless into the hands of the French in the latter end of the weak Reign of King HENRY VI. which happened thus During the Contestation betwixt that unfortunate Prince and Edward IV for the Crown a French NObleman named Peter de Brezè Count de Maulevrier raised Forces in France and brought them with him into England to support the Title of Henry against that of Edward He had before contracted with Queen Margaret Wife of Henry who was a French Woman and had called in the Count to the Assistance of her Husband that in consideration of so important a Service the Islands of JERSEY Guernezey Alderney and Serk should be made over to him to hold them for himself and his Heirs for ever independently from the Crown of England The Bargain being struck the Count sends one Surdeval to seize upon Mont-Orgueil Castle in JERSEY The French coming in the Night got into the Castle by surprize or as others think by the connivence and Treachery of the English Commander who being a creature of the Queen had secret Orders to deliver it up The Count himself came some time after into this Island and tho' he shewed all imaginable kindness to the Inhabitants inviting them by the offer of many large Grants and Priviledges to acknowledge him and renounce their Allegiance to England he could never prevail on the Inclinations of a People who were inraged to see themselves sold to the French a Nation which they hated insomuch that in about Six years time he could never make himself Master of above half the Island Philip de Carteret Seigneur of S. Oüen maintaining the King of England's Authority in the other half during which time frequent Skirmishes happened betwixt both Parties In this State things remained till the Death of Henry VI. and the quiet Possession of the Throne by EDWARD IV. For then Sir Richard Harliston Vice-Admiral of England coming to Guernezey with a Squadron of the King's Ships Philip de Carteret sent to him for Succour They agreed that while the English Fleet blockt up Mont-Orgueil Castle by Sea the Islanders should besiege it by Land The Castle was reduced by Famine and the French were once more driven quite out of the Island The Islanders got much Honour by this Siege and had thereupon a new Charter granted them with special mention of their good Service on this occasion and the said good Service hath ever since been inserted in all our Charters to this Day in perpetuam rei Memoriam So many ill Successes one after another made the French lay aside for a-while the thoughts of these Islands so that we hear no more of them under the Reigns of EDWARDV RICHARDIII HENRY VII and HENRY VIII But I must not omit to mention the Coming of Henry VII to JERSEY in this Interval He was then only Earl of Richmond and fled from the Cruelty and Tyranny of Richard Whether out of Design or forced by contrary Winds in his Passage into Bretagne he put into this Island where he lay concealed till he found an Opportunity to get over Being a wise and discerning Prince he observed some Defects in our Constitution which he amended when he came to the Crown enlarging our Charter and enacting several Ordinances for the better Government of this Island A War breaking out betwixt our King EDWARD VI and Henry II. of France the French re-assumed their former Thoughts of bringing these Islands under their Subjection flattering themselves with greater hopes of Success than ever from the Minority of that King and the Troubles with which his Government was then perplexed In the Year 1549 they set a Fleet out from St. Malo's a Town the ill effects of whose neighbourhood we have often resented and seized on the little Isle of Sark which was then Un-inhabited where they planted Colonies and built Forts That Island is seated in the Middle and Center of the rest which made the French believe that by securing that they would with continual Alarms and Incursions so harrass the others that they would not long hold out against them They began with Guernezey where they set upon a Fleet of English Ships which were at Anchor in the Road before the Town Most of the Captains and Officers were ashore asleep in their Beds which gave the French some advantage in the beginning of the Fight But the whole Town being awakened with the noise of the Canon and the Ships soon mann'd the Fight was maintained and the French repulsed From thence they sailed to JERSEY and landed at Bouley-Bay in the North of the Island but through the Courage and Bravery of the Islanders were beaten back to their Ships many being kill'd and wounded on both Sides Among the Slain on our side was found a Popish Priest of this Island whose Love to the English Government and the Liberties of his Country prevailing above the Discontents which the Change of Religion that was made in that Reign wrought on Men of his Order made him appear that day in the foremost Ranks An Example to be recommended to those of that Perswasion in England who out of an unjust Aversion to the present Establishment would call in the French and subject their native Country to a Foreign Power The poor JERSEY-Priest was much the honester Man and the better Patriot Queen MARY's Reign has been thought inglorious for the Loss of Calais taken by the French after the English had possessed it above 200 Years It was nevertheless in the Time of this Queen that the Isle of Sark was retaken from the French though I cannot say the Recovery of so small an Island countervails the Loss of a Town that was one of the Keys of France The French Colony in that Island was grown very thin The solitariness of the Place and the want of Necessaries but chiefly the ill Prospect of their Affairs and their Despondency of ever becoming Masters of the other Islands causing many of them to desert and return into France so that few able to bear Arms were left for the Defence of the
they were before and sent others towards St. Aubin's Bay and towards St. Clement and Grouville meaning to tire and distract our Troops by making a shew as tho' they intended to Land in all those different places at once and accordingly several Companies were detached to attend their Motion The main Body of the Fleet lying still in St. Brelard's Bay together with the best part of the Camp to oppose their Landing October 22. the same day on which the King Landed in France tho' the good News came not to Us till some weeks after a little after Midnight and by Moon-shine the Enemies were observed to ship off in several flat bottom'd Boats which they had brought for that Service ten or twelve Battalions of Foot to the number of about 4000 Men as was conjectured in order to make a Descent which they attempted by break of day under the covert of their Ships which drew as near the shore as the nature of the place would give them leave sparing neither Powder nor Shot on this occasion But seeing themselves beaten from two small Forts that had been raised in the Bay and the Islanders drawn up upon the Sands in a posture to receive them they thought fit to retire to their Ships which forthwith weighed Anchor and returned to St. Ouen leaving only 19 men of War in St Brelard's Bay This obliged the Governor to follow them again to St. Oüen after he had posted some Companies of the Militia his own Company of Fuzeliers and all the Dragoons to observe those that remained at St. Brelard The Enemies being come to St. Oüen directed their Course Northwards to L'Etack the furthest Point of that Bay as if they had designed to Land there whither they were accordingly followed by the Islanders but it soon appeared their Design was only to harrass our Troops for they suddenly tackt about and steered to the opposite Point which Motion was likewise attended by our Forces on shore The Enemies playing all the while furiously with their Cannon which was answered in the same manner as the day before The Night coming on it was thought necessary to send the Troops which had been now three Days and two Nights under their Arms and had been extremely fatigued by so many Marches and Counter-marches and were also very much incommoded by a small Rain that had not ceased to fall since they were in Action to refresh in the neighbouring Villages The noble and indefatigable Governor with a few Horse that attended him not departing all the while from the Shore It must not be forgot that the Enemies were that Day reinforced by a Squadron of fresh Ships which joined the Fleet a little before Night That fatal Night which proved extraordinary Dark and under the Favour of it the Enemies landed a Battalion which as soon as discovered was with great Bravery and Resolution charged by the Governor and those few Horse that he had about him The Charge was bloody and desperate many of the Enemies being killed and mortally wounded but they poured on so fast that the Infantry that was dispersed about the Coast had not time to come up and second that small Body of Horse which certainly did Wonders by the Confession of the very Enemies themselves who have often said that such another Charge would have made them retire and perhaps give over their Design at least for that time And 't is probable they must have done so For the next Day such a Storm arose that had they not by a timely Reduction of the Island secured a Retreat into the Ports a great Part of their Fleet must have perished and been dashed against the Rocks nor could even that hinder one of their biggest Frigats from being so lost with all the Men in her The Enemies being landed marched up into the Island where they committed great Disorders turning the Churches into Stables abusing the Pulpits and Communion-Tables in a manner not fit to be named 'T were needless to mention the Sequestrations Compositions for Estates and other Vexations which the Inhabitants of this Island suffered at that time since they were common to all that adhered to the Royal Interest There was great rejoycing in England for the taking of JERSEY The Parliament did once fear that the Islanders in Despair and rather than own their Power would give themselves up to the French Or that the King urged by his Necessities would sell it to that Crown for a Summ of Money 'T is certain that a Letter came about that time to the Men at Westminster informing them that the late Earl of St. Albans and Sir Richard Greenvil were actually at the French Court treating about some such thing And tho' it proved a Mistake it served to quicken the Resolutions of the Parliament who wisely considered that if this Island with ten or twelve small Privateers and with none or little help from France was able meerly by the Advantage and Opportunity of its Situation to obstruct the Trade and Commerce of the Channel how much more would it be able to do so if by falling into the Hands of the French it should become a Retreat to all the Corsairs of that Nation Tho' the Island was reduced the Castles were not Sir George de Carteret shut himself up in that of Elizabeth with several of the Gentry and Clergy and the Garrison amounting in all to about 350 sighting Men. The Castle was besieged and several Batteries were raised on St. Helier's Hill that did little Execution besides beating down the Parapets which were soon repaired Then came the News of his Majesty's safe Arrival in France Whereupon Mr. Poingdestre was dispatched to his Majesty to acquaint him with the State of the Garrison In the mean while the Enemies seeing no great Effect of their Cannon caused a Battery of Mortars to be raised and threw Bombs into the Castle One of which falling upon the Church and breaking through two strong Vaults under which was laid a considerable Quantity of Powder with other Ammunitions and Stores blew up the Church and the adjoyning Buildings burying above Fourscore Persons of the Garrison under the Ruines thereof This Accident caused a great Consternation in the Garrison and hastned the Reduction of the Place But before the Governor would hearken to a Treaty he sent his Chaplain the Reverend Dr. Durel late Dean of Windsor Mr. Poingdestre not being yet returned to the King to know if he may 't expect Succour promising with a very small Force not only to keep the Castle but to drive the Enemies quite out of the Island The King after many fruitless Applications made to the French Court which was then at Poitiers and had begun by the Intrigues of Cardinal Mazarin to enter into a close Conjunction with the Powers in England sent back this Message to the Governor That he was highly satisfied with his Courage and Conduct in the Defence of the Island Being convinced no man could do
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
used both in ancient and latter Days and upon extraordinary Occasions to send over hither special Commissioners authorized under the Great Seal who have always been Persons of Quality and Learning as Doctors in the Civil Law Masters in Chancery c. whose coming suspends the Ordinary Forms and Procedures of Justice But First they must shew their Commission in Court and have it there Enrolled And then they can in no Case concerning Life Liberty or Estate determine any thing contrary to the Advice and Opinion of the Jurats who are to Sit and Judge and make conjunctive Records of their Proceedings with them My Lord Coke owns that the King's Writ runneth not in these Islands His Commission under the Great Seal doth But the Commissioners must judge according to the Laws and Customs of these Isles The Laws of this Island which are to be the Rule and Measure of the Judgments of the Court differ in many things from those in England The particulars are too many to be instanced in In general our Laws may be reduced under these four Heads 1. The Ancient Custom of Normandy as it stood before the Alienation of that Dutchy in the time of K. John and was contained in an old Book called in the Rolls of the Itinerant Judges La Somme de Mançel or Mançel's Institutes For whatever Changes have since that time been introduced into the said Custom by French Kings or French Parliaments they can be of no force here This is to us what the Statute Law is in England 2. Municipal and Local Usages which are our Unwritten and Traditionary Law like the Common Law in England 3. Constitutions and Ordinances made by our Kings or their Commissioners Royal at their being here with such Regulations and Orders as are from time to time Transmitted hither from the Council-Board 4. Precedents and former Judgments recorded in the Rolls of the Court These last indeed cannot in strict and proper Sense be said to be Laws wanting the Royal Authority without which nothing can be Law Nevertheless great Regard is had to them upon occasion The same may be said of such Political and Provisional Ordinances as are made by the Court or the Assembly of the States like those made by other Bodies Corporate for the good Government of those Societies No Act of Parliament can reach us wherein we are not particularly named It has been often wished that our Laws were collected methodized and digested into a System or Code A work that would be of very great Use in regard that not only all Causes and Suits within the Island whether by the ordinary Judges or extraordinary Commissioners from England but Appeals also before the Council-Board are to be determined secundùm Leges Consuetudines Insulae which Laws and Customs not being so generally known 't is scarce possible but Judgment must sometimes be given contrary to the same Causes are not brought into Court or treated there confusedly For tho' there be but one Tribunal and the Judges always the same Persons yet because matters are of more or less moment or require different Methods of proceeding they have been distinguished into IV Classes or Courts The First is of those that respect the Property of Lands and Inheritance These we decide in a more solemn Assembly call'd La Cour d'Heritage i. e. The Court of Inheritance Which continueth so many days as are necessary to dispatch all Causes of that Nature The first day is kept very Solemnly For then all the Jurats are bound to be present and without seven of them at least the Court cannot be kept that day without absolute necessity which is tied to no Rule The Governor or his Lieutenant useth to assist that day and to answer in the King's Name for such Fiefs as are in His Majesty's hands and owe Suit of Court All Gentlemen holding Fiefs from the Crown by that Service called in Records Secta Curiae are also to answer to their Names or be Fined The Advocates renew their Oaths The Provosts and Sergeants who are inferior Officers belonging to the King's Revenue are to declare all Escheats Forfeitures and other Contingent Profits and Emoluments accrued to his Majesty There also Political Sanctions relating to Order and Government are continued or if need be abrogated and new ones made The Governor in the King's Name or the Receiver by Command of the Governor causeth a solemn Dinner to be prepared where besides the Court those Gentlemen before mentioned holding Fiefs from the Crown have Right to Sit and are therefore said in the Extent and other Records edere cum Rege ter in anno i. e. to eat with the King three times a Year a Custom doubtless older than the Conquest 'T is said Three times a year because we have so many Terms and this Court is the opening of every Term. After the first day the Court is continued every Tuesday and Thursday following till the end of each Term Three Jurats always assisting the XII taking it by turns Matters treated in this Court are Partitions of Inheritance betwixt Coheirs Differences betwixt Neighbours about Bounds new Disseisines and Intrusion upon other Men's Lands Challenges of Propriety Pre-emptions between Kindred which we call Retraict Lignager Retractus Consanguineorum and Jus Protimeseos the Property of Rents due for Lands let out in Fee-farm which we call Rentes Foncieres Reditus Fundiarius and such like The Second Court is that of Catel i. e. Chattels or moveables For tho' at present few Causes purely Mobiliary be determined in this Court as they were before the Extraordinary Court was set up nevertheless as in the Court of Heritage Rents are demanded without Relation to Arrears so in this Court they are demanded principally with reference to those Arrears But the principal Business of this Court is the Adjudication of Decrees Now a Decree with us is this When a man becomes unable to pay his Debts he comes into Court and there publickly makes Cession of his Estate which we call Renoncer i. e. To renounce Whereupon all that have been concern'd with him are by Three Proclamations and a Fourth Peremptory cited to come in and insert into a List or Book made for that purpose their several Demands Which done they are called in Order That is to say the last Creditor first and so on Retrograding The last Creditor is asked whether he will substitute or put himself in the place of the Cessionary and take the Estate paying the Debts that are of an older Date than his Which if he Assents to the Decree is at an end and he is put into Possession of the Estate Such a one we call a Tenant If he says he will rather lose his Debt than take the Estate on condition to satisfie the other Creditors the Judge proceeds to him that stands next in Order of Time and so on Retrograding still and propounding the same Question to all till so many
ROBERT his elder Brother seized the Crown and kept it while himself lived Normandy with these Islands remaining in the Possession of ROBERT who made a shift to hold them during the Reign of his Brother Rufus There was a Pact of mutual Succession betwixt the two Brothers But Rufus being suddenly killed by the glance of an Arrow as he was hunting in the New Forest while Robert was with Godfrey of Bouillon and other Noble Adventurers fighting against the Sarrazins for the recovery of the Holy Land the Crown was again seized by Henry Beauclerk third Son of the Conqueror and so Robert twice one after the other excluded from the Succession of England by his younger Brothers Still nevertheless he kept possession of Normandy and of these Islands He was a brave but unfortunate Prince He won such Reputation in the Holy War that after the taking of Jerusalem he was by common Consent of all the Princes in the Christian Army chosen King of that newly conquer'd Kingdom But having then the Crown of England in his eye he declined that honourable Offer after which it has been observed that he never prospered For at his return from the Holy Land he found not only that Crown which was his by Right of Primogeniture fast on the head of young Beauclerk but himself reduced to the necessity of defending Normandy against his Brother who plainly now endeavoured to out him of all The War grew hot betwixt them in which the Fortune of Henry prevailing Duke Robert was taken his eyes put out and himself imprisoned in Cardiff Castle where he languished about Twenty six years in great Misery till with the extreme Indignities his Brother continued even then to put upon him his great Heart broke The Body of this injured Prince lies interr'd in the Cathedral Church of Glocester in as mean a Tomb as that of his Father at Caen for I have seen both Were Men allowed to search into the Counsels and Judgments of God one would be very apt to suspect that the misfortune which sometime after befell King Henry in the loss of his Children shipwrack'd in their passage from Normandy to England was an effect of the Divine Vengeance and Indignation for his Cruelty and Injustice to his Brother The young Princes the eldest of whom bore the Title of Duke of Normandy and with it the weight and load of his Father's sin were driven by the storm among these Islands and were cast away upon Casquet a dangerous Rock two Leagues West of Alderney where they miserably perisht After the Reduction of Normandy and of these Islands by HENRY he declared them unalienable from the Crown of England in which State they remained under the succeeding Reigns of STEPHEN of Blois Grandson of the Conqueror by his Daughter Alice HENRY II. Son of Maud the Empress who was Daughter of Henry I. RICHARD I Sirnamed Coeur de Lion Son of Henry II. But under the unfortunate Administration of King JOHN who was Brother of Richard I and succeeded him in the Kingdom the Dukedom of Normandy tho' not these Islands was lost on this occasion Henry II had among other Sons these Three following 1. Richard to whom he left the Kingdom and who died without Legitimate issue 2. Jeffrey who died in his Father's Life-time leaving a Son called Arthur Duke of Bretagne in Right of his Mother And 3. John Count de Mortain in Normandy afterwards King Upon Richard's Death the right of Succession devolved on Arthur his Second Brother's Son But John stept in betwixt him and the Crown whereupon the young Prince applies himself to Philip Augustus King of France for Protection and Succour against his Uncle that had stript him of his Inheritance The French who have always found their advantage in our Civil Distractions and have accordingly always improved and fomented them were glad of the opportunity offered A Quarrel was pickt with King John on the Prince's account but so managed that it soon appeared that persidious Nation pursued their own ends more than the Interest of the Prince whose Title they had undertaken to defend Which the Prince himself seeing reconciled himself once to his Uncle but that held not long To be short the poor Prince fell into the hands of the exasperated King by whom he was shut up close Prisoner in the Castle of Rouen in Normandy and soon after was found dead in the Castle-ditch whether made away by the Jealousie of his Uncle as some suspect or that himself not brooking so severe a Restraint and endeavouring to escape perished in the Attempt as is given out by others is uncertain Upon this Philip Augustus to embroil more and more the King's Affairs chargeth King John with the Murder of the Prince and on pretence that he was his Vassal for what he held in France cites him before the Parliament of Paris to answer the Accusation Where the King not thinking it consistent with his Dignity or Safety to appear was condemned as a Felon and as such declared to have lost and forfeited his Right to Normandy and to all other Estates which he held as Fiefs of that Crown which were seized accordingly an Army being ready to execute the Summary Sentence and the King's hands so full of other business at home that he was forced to sit still and see those fair Provinces torn from him without being able to apply a sutable Remedy to so great an Evil. The French having thus possessed themselves of Normandy invaded these Islands Twice they entred them and twice they were beaten out of them again The Inhabitants had under their Dukes contracted a great Aversion to the French and stood stoutly on their own Defence The King himself looking on them as the last Plank left of so great a Shipwrack and that they would always serve to shew his Right to that Dukedom to which they had once belonged and might perhaps one time or other be a means to recover it resolved to keep them whatever they cost him and accordingly hastned himself over hither and was twice in Person in JERSEY Which he caused to be fortified and gave special Order for the Custody and Safeguard of the Castles and Ports which before lay too open to the Enemy To this King therefore we owe our Preservation From him we have many Excellent Laws and Priviledges which he granted us at his being here and which have been confirmed to us in after-times by his Successors Kings and Queens of England Him for that reason we must consider as our special Benefactor and whatever ill things may be otherwise said of him must in Gratitude have a Veneration and an Esteem for his Memory K. John died An. 1216. His Son HENRY III. was so plagued by his Rebellious Barons who had set up the Title of Prince Lewis of France Son of Philip Augustus against his Father and Him which pretended Title of Lewis was in right of his Wife
Place And yet even those few were enough to have held it against a whole Army For the Land is so high and unaccessible on all Sides and the Steps leading up so steep and narrow that one Man arm'd only with Stones may 't have kept out a Thousand This Island notwithstanding was taken by a small Company of Flemings Subjects of K. Philip Husband of Q. Mary who coming in the Night to one of those Paths and finding it unguarded went up without Resistance and took the French Prisoners This is the Account which we have of that surprize from a Manuscript History of JERSEY written by an Anonymous Author in the Year 1585 But Sir Walter Raleigh who was sometime Governour of JERSEY and being a sagacious and inquisitive Person informed himself exactly of all the Singularities of these Islands gives a very different Relation of it For he says it was taken by a Stratagem which he preferreth to many of the Ancients The Island of Sark says he joyning to Guernezey and of that Government was in Queen Mary's time he should have said in King Edward the VIth's time surprized by the French and could never have been recovered again by strong hand having Cattle and Corn enough upon the place to feed so many Men as will serve to defend it and being every way so inaccessible that it might be held against the Great Turk Yet by the industry of a Gentleman of the Netherlands it was in this sort regained He anchored in the Road with one Ship and pretending the Death of his Merchant besought the French that they might bury their Merchant in hallowed ground and in the Chappel of that Isle Offering a Present to the French of such Commodities as they had aboard Whereto with condition that they should not come ashore with any weapon no not so much as with a Knife the French yielded Then did the Flemings put a Coffin into their Boat not fill'd with a dead Carcass but with Swords Targets and Harquebuzes The French received them at their Landing and searching every of them so narrowly as they could not hide a Penknife gave them leave to draw their Coffin up the Rocks with great difficulty Some part of the French took the Flemish-boat and rowed aboard their Ship to fetch the Commodities promised and what else they pleased but being entered they were taken and bound The Flemings on the Land when they had carried their Coffin into the Chappel shut the door to them and taking their Weapons out of the Coffin set upon the French They run to the Cliff and cry to their Companions aboard the Fleming to come to their Succour But finding the Boat charged with Flemings yielded themselves and the Place I have seen a Manuscript which confirms the taking of this Island by such a Stratagem but the other Circumstances of Time and Persons agree not with the foregoing Story From Queen Mary's time to this the French never set foot in a hostile manner on JERSEY ground Queen ELIZABETH had scarce any War with France all the time of her long and prosperous Reign She had another Enemy to deal with viz the Spaniard Whose aims at the universal Monarchy were defeated by the Felicities of that Queen But that incomparable Princess knowing that 't is a great part of Wisdom in the profoundest Peace to provide for War had even at that time a carefull eye on the safety of these Islands She begun that noble Castle in JERSEY which from her is to this day called Castle Elizabeth but lived only to finish that part of it which is above the Iron-gate and is called the upper Ward the lower parts having been since added to that Fortification King JAMES was a most pacifick Prince He thought these Islands in no danger while he lived and therefore took the less care for the Military defence of them But it was he that setled Religion in JERSEY and that brought Us to a Conformity to the Church of England A work doubtless more acceptable to God and for which his Name will be perpetuated amongst Us no less than if he had invironed this Island with a wall of Brass A work of all others the most congruous to his peaceable Reign Thus when God resolved to have a Temple among the Jews he chose the peaceable Reign of Salomon and not that of David tho' otherwise a most excellent Prince because he had been a Man of Blood We are come to a Reign full of Troubles that of King CHARLES I numbered among the Good but unfortunate Princes This Island had a deep share in the Sufferings of her King His early Match with a Daughter of France could not hinder a War from breaking out soon after betwixt the two Crowns In the Year 1627. the King sent Forces under the command of the Duke of Buckingham for the relief of Rochel And tho' that Expedition proved unsuccessfull yet the Landing of an English Army in the Isle of Rhee was so resented by the French that they resolved to revenge the Affront by a like Descent the Year following on the Isles of JERSEY and Guernezey Which design had been certainly executed had it not been timely discovered and notice thereof given to the Council in England Whereupon the Earl of Danby as Dr. Heylin who attended him in the Voyage informs us was ordered to go over into these Islands and to provide for the Safety and Security of them Which was done accordingly The Garrisons were re-inforced the Magazines were stored with all manner of warlike Provisions the People were exhorted to remember their ancient Loyalty to the Crown of England and all things were put into a posture of Defence But the French came not And to strengthen more and more the Isle of JERSEY against any Attempts that might be made from France new Fortifications were added to Elizabeth Castle which about that time became the Residence of the Governour Then began to be built that part of it called the lower Ward which takes up the ground whereon stood once the Church and Abby of St. Helier which work was carried on and finished in this Reign The Flame of an unnatural War being soon after kindled in the bowels of the Kingdom betwixt the King and his discontented Subjects the Island of JERSEY was secured for the King by Sir George de Carteret who held it several years against the whole power of the Rebels It pleased God in his infinite Wisdom to permit those wicked men to get the better of their King They beat his Armies out of the Field and seized his Person Yet even amidst all their Prosperities this little Island was still a Thorn and a Goad in their sides Ten or twelve small Frigats and Privateers were fitted out of JERSEY These so infested the Channel that not to mention the many Prizes they daily took from them and brought in here and into St. Malo's not an English ship could pass the Channel without
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
Archbishop Abbot the Lord-Keeper Williams and the Learned Andrews Bishop of Winchester commissioned thereunto by the King received the Royal Assent June 30. in the 21st Year of His Majesty's Reign and were thereupon transmitted to JERSEY to have there the Force of Laws in Matters Ecclesiastical as they have to this Day A Copy of which Canons collated with the old French Original extant in our Records is hereunto added for publick Satisfaction JAMES R. JAMES by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. To our right Trusty and well beloved Counseller the Reverend Father in God Lancelot Bishop of Winton and to our Trusty and well beloved Sir John Peyton Knight Governor of our Isle of JARSEY and to the Governor of the said Isle for the time being To the Bailiff and Jurats of the said Isle for the time being and to the Officers Ministers and Inhabitants of the said Isle for the time being To whom it shall or may appertain Greeting Whereas we held it fitting heretofore upon the Admission of the now Dean of that Island unto his Place in the Interim until we might be more fully informed what Laws Canons or Constitutions were meet and fit to be made and established for the good Government of the said Island in Causes Ecclesiastical appertaining to the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction to command the said Bishop of Winton Ordinary of the said Island to grant his Commission unto David Bandinel now Dean of the said Island to exercise the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction there according to certain Instructions signed with our Royal Hand to continue only until we might establish such Constitutions Rules Canons and Ordinances as we intended to settle for the regular Government of that our Island in all Ecclesiastical Causes conformed to the Ecclesiastical Government established in our Realm of England as near as conveniently might be And whereas also to that purpose our Pleasure was that the said Dean with what convenient Speed he might after such Authority given unto him as aforesaid and after his Arrival into that Island and the publick Notice given of his Admission unto the said Office should together with the Ministers of that our Isle consider of such Canons and Constitutions as might be fitly accommodated to the Circumstances of Time and Place and the Persons whom they concern and that the same should be put into Order and intimated to the Governor Bailiff and Jurats of that our Isle that they might offer to us and to Our Council such Acceptions and give such Informations touching the same as they should think good And whereas the said Dean and Ministers did conceive certain Canons and presented the same unto Vs on the one part and on the other part the said Bailiff and Jurats excepting against the same did send and depute Sir Philip de Carteret Knight Joshua de Carteret and Philip de Carteret Esquires three of the Jurats and Justices of Our said Isle All which Parties appeared before Our right Trusty and well beloved Councellors the Most Reverend Father in God the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury the Right Reverend Father in God the Lord Bishop of Lincoln Lord-Keeper of Our great Seal of England and the Right Reverend Father in God the said Lord Bishop of Winton to whom We gave Commission to examine the same who have accordingly heard the said Parties at large read examined corrected and amended the said Canons and have now made Report unto Vs under their Hands that by a mutual Consent of the said Deputies and Dean of our Island they have reduced the said Canons and Constitutions Ecclesiastical into such Order as in their Judgments may well fit the State of that Island KNOW ye therefore that We out of Our Princely Care of the quiet and peaceable Government of all Our Dominions especially affecting the Peace of the Church and the Establishment of true Religion and Ecclesiastical Discipline in one uniform Order and Course throughout all Our Realms and Dominions so happily united under Vs as their supreme Governor on Earth in all Causes as well Ecclesiastical as Civil having taken consideration of the said Canons and Constitutions thus drawn perused and allowed as aforesaid do by these Presents ratify confirm and approve thereof AND further We out of Our Princely Power and Regal Authority do by these Presents signed with Our Royal Hand and sealed with Our Royal Signet for Vs Our Heirs and Successors will and command that the said Canons and Constitutions hereafter following shall from henceforth in all Points be duely observed in Our said Isle for the perpetual Government of the said Isle in Causes Ecclesiastical unless the same or some Part or Parts thereof upon further Experience and Trial thereof by the mutual Consent of the Lord Bishop of Winton for the Time being the Governor Bailiffs and Jurats of the said Isle and of the Dean and Ministers and other Our Officers of Our said Isle for the time being representing the Body of Our said Isle and by the Royal Authority of Vs Our Heirs or Successors shall receive any Additions or Alterations as Time and Occasion shall justly require And therefore We do further will and command the said Right Reverend Father in God Lancelot now Lord Bishop of Winton that he do forthwith by his Commission under his Episcopal Seal as Ordinary of that Place give Authority unto the said now Dean to exercise Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Our said Isle according to these Canons and Constitutions thus made and established De la Souveraineté du Roy. PRemierement selon le Devoir que nous devons a la Tres-Excellente Majesté du Roy il est Ordonné que le Doyen Ministres ayans cure des Ames seront tenus un chascun de tout leur Pouvoir Scavoir Cognoissance d'enseigner mettre en Evidence desclarer purement sincérement sans aucune feintise ou dissimulation le plus souvent que faire se pourra que les occasions s'en presenteront que toute Puissance Forreine estrangere Vsurpée pour autant qu' elle nâ aucun fondement en la Parole de Dieu est totalement pour bonnes justes Causes ostée abolie par conséquent que nulle sorte d'Obeissance ou Subjection dedans les Royaumes Dominions de sa Majesté n'est deüe à aucune telle Puissance Ains que la Puissance du Roy dedans les Royaumes d'Angleterre d'Ecosse d'Irlande autres ses Dominions Contrées est la plus haute Puissance sous Dieu à laquelle Toutes Personnes habitans natifs dans icelles doivent par la Loy de Dieu toute Fidélité Obeissance avant par dessus toute autre Puissance 2. Quiconque affermera maintiendra que la Majesté du Roy n'a la méme Authoritè en causes Ecclesiastiques comme entre les Juiss ont eû les Rois Religieux les Empereurs Chrestiens en
trouve point soit en se cachant ou autre Collusion la Citation sera affichée à l'huis du Temple Paroissial d'icelle en cas qu'il n'ayt aucun Domicile ce en jour de Dimanche 49. S'il parvient aux oreilles du Doyen par Relation de gens de bien que quelqu ' un vit notoirement en quelque Scandale il en pourra avertir le Ministre les Surveillâ—ns de la Paroisse afin que s'en estant informés ils Presentent telles personnes qui meritent d'estre punies ou Censurées 50. Là où il constera de la faute commise par quelque Ministre le Doyen aprés Monition réitérée procédera à la Reformation par l'avis Consentement de deux Ministres jusqu'a Suspension Sequestration en cas que ledit Ministre demeure Refractaire le Doyen procédera par le Consentement de la plus part des Ministres presents en l'Isle jusqu'a Déprivation 51. On ne fera point de Commutation pour Pénitence sinon avec grande Circonspection ayant égard à la qualité des Personnes Circonstances des fautes Et sera la Commutation enregistrée ès Actes de la Court pour estre employée aux Pauvres usages pi eux dont Accomptes seront rendus selon ledit Registre 52. Aprés la premiere Defaute la Non-comparence de ceux qui seront derechef cités par Mandat sera reputée Contumace si estans cités par aprés en Péremptoire ils ne comparoissent on pourra procéder à l'encontre d'eux à l' Excommunication Que si dans le prochain jour de Court la Partie ne fait devoir d'obtenir Absolution on procédera à la Publication de la Sentence Mineure Excommunication laquelle sera delivrée au Ministre de la Paroisse pour en faire lecture à jour Solennel à l'oâ—ye de la plus part des Paroissiens assemblés lapartie persistant en son Endurcissement on procédera à la Majeure Excommunication qui forclost le Pécheur à Sacris Societate Fidelium Que si cette Censure ne sert pour l'induire à Obéissance se ranger dans le Terme de 40 jours alors le Doyen parson Certificat authentique donnera Avertissement au Bailly Jurétz de ladite Contumace les requerra en Assistance de sa Jurisdiction de le faire saisir par les Officiers Civils pour le rendre Prisonnier en Détention Corporelle jusqu'a ce quil se soit submis obligé d'obtemperer à l'Ordonnance de l'Eglise devant qu'estre Absous sera tenu de payer les frais Coustages de la poursuite de la Cause 53. En Causes de Paillardise sur la Presentation des Surveillans avec les Probabilités commun Bruit Scandale Presumptions à ce requises la partie sera sujette de subir le Serment de sa Purgation ou autrement sera tenu pour Convaincu 54. En cas d'Adultére à l'Instance de Partie on y procédera meurement par bonnes preuves Informations pour avoir Evidence du faict objecte le sujet Preuve du fait le requerant on pourra conclurre jusqu'a Séparation à Thoro Mensâ 55. Là où il y aura Calomnie ou Diffamation prouvée on fera Recognoissance des Injures selon l'Exigence du cas pourveu que l'Action ne soit prescrite par lapse de temps d'un an entier pourveu que le sujet de l'Action soit de Crimes Ecclesiastiques cy devant Specifiés Des Appellations 56. Les Appeaux en Causes Ecclesiastiques seront oûis définis par le Révérend Pére en Dieu l'Evesque de Winchestre en personne en cas de Vacance de ce Siége par le Trés Révérend Pére en Dieu l'Archvesque de Canterbury en personne 57. Tout Appels interjettera dans Quinze jours aprés Cognoissance de la Sentence sera la partie obligée de prendre exhiber tout le Procés Actes du Registre ou Rolles de la Court lesquels Actes aussy luy seront delivrés en forme temps convenable authentiqués sous le sceau de l'Office sera l'Appellant sujet de le poursuivre dans an jour aut Sententiae latae stare compellitur 58. Il ne sera licite d'Appeller qu'aprés Sentence Définitive de la Cause sinon pour ces deux égards ou quand l'Interlocutoire est telle qu'elle met fin à la Cause ou quand ladite Interlocutoire estant obéie elle apporte tel Damage irreparable à la partie qu'il ne peut estre amendé par Appel de la Définitive Of the King's Supremacy FIrst according to the Duty we owe to the King 's most Excellent Majesty it is ordained that the Dean and Ministers having Cure of Souls shall be obliged to the utmost of their Power Knowledge and Learning purely and sincerely without any Backwardness or Dissimulation to teach publish and declare as often as they may and as occasion shall offer it self that all forreign strange and usurped Power for as much as it has no ground in the Word of God is wholly for good and just Causes taken away and abolished and that therefore no manner of Obedience or Subjection within His Majesty's Kingdoms and Dominions is due unto any such Power But that the King's Power within his Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland and other his Dominions and Countries is the highest Power under God to which all Persons Natives and Inhabitants within the same do by God's Law owe Loyalty and Obedience before and above all other Power 2. Whosoever shall affirm and maintain that the King's Majesty hath not the same Authority in Causes Ecclesiastical which Godly Kings had among the Jews and Christian Emperors in the Primitive Church or shall in any manner of way impeach or obstruct the King's Supremacy in the said Causes Moreover whosoever shall affirm that the Church of England as it is established under the King's Majesty is not a true and Apostolical Church purely teaching the Doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles or shall impugne the Government of the said Church by Archbishops Bishops and Deans affirming it to be Anti-christian shall be ipso facto Excommunicated and not restored but by the Dean sitting in Court after his Repentance and publick Recantation of his Error Of Divine Service 3. It is injoyned unto all sorts of Persons to submit to the Divine Service contained in the Book of Common Prayers of the Church of England And for as much as concerns the Ministers they shall be obliged to observe with Uniformity the said Liturgy without Addition or Alteration And no Conventicle or Congregation shall be suffered to make Sect apart or withdraw themselves from the Ecclesiastical Government established in the Island 4. The Lord's Day shall be sanctified by the Exercises of publick
Under Signed in the Original G. Cant. Jo. Lincoln C. S. La. Winton These Islands were first in the Diocese of Dol in Bretagne and so continued from the time of St. Sampson till the coming of the Danes or Normans into Neustria who falling out with the Bretons about the limits of their Territories and a War ensuing thereupon betwixt them withdrew these Islands from the Obedience of the British Bishop and gave them a Bishop of their own viz. that of Coûtance in Normandy the lofty Towers of whose beautiful Cathedral once our Mother Church are seen from JERSEY To this Bishop these Islands remained subject even after the Defection of Normandy notwithstanding the frequent Wars betwixt the two Crowns untill the Tenth Year of Queen Elizabeth King John indeed having lost Normandy had once in an angry Mood designed to annex them to the See of Exeter in England but did not It was the Change of Religion in these Islands that took away from the Popish Bishop of Coûtance his Jurisdiction over them For then they were by an Order of Council dated March 11th 1568. transferred and united to the Diocese of Winton Robertus Cenalis Bishop of Avranches in Normandy imposes upon himself and his Readers when he says that these Islands were sometime under his Predecessors Bishops of Avranches This certainly is a mistake and must proceed from some Papers which belike he found in the Archives of that Church mentioning some Parcels of Tythes paid here in time past to the Bishops of his See The Bishops of Dol and Coûtance for the Exercise of their Authority had in each Island of JERSEY and Guernezey a Commissary or Surrogate called Decanus the Dean An Office of great Antiquity since I find it mentioned in very old Records and have reason to believe it as ancient as Episcopacy and consequently as ancient as Christianity it self in these Islands To him those Bishops left the Cognizance of all Matters of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction reserving only to themselves Ordinations Institutions and Appeals The same Power is vested in the present Deans with this limitation that they are to govern themselves by the Advice and Opinions of the rest of the Ministers who are to be their constant Assessors much after the manner of those ancient Presbyteries or Councils of Priests who sate with the Bishops in their Consistories and assisted them in giving Judgment in all Causes brought before them An excellent Government and grounded on the Primitive Pattern When the Office of Dean was revived in JERSEY in the Reign of K. James I a Motion was made to give the said Dean the Power of a Bishop Suffragan within the Island Appeals being still reserved to the Right Reverend Father in God the Lord Bishop of Winchester I could never know why that Motion was rejected But we daily see the necessity of such a Power particularly in the want of Confirmation of Children after Baptism That Apostolical Institution being thereby become altogether unpracticable amongst Us. Nor have we any way to supply that Defect but by taking great care as we generally do to have Children brought to publick Catechism where in the presence of God's Church they renew their Baptismal Vow and taking upon themselves the Obligations of Christianity discharge their Sponsors of the Promise made for them at their Baptism Upon which and not before we admit them to the Holy Communion The Patronage of all the Churches here in time of Popery belonged to several Great Abbots in Normandy as to the Abbots of St. Sauveur le Vicomte Cherbourg St. Michael Blanche Lande c. which Patronage at the Reformation was vested in the King who has since made Cession of it to the Governor It is he that presents now to all vacant Benefices in His Majesty's Right But the Deanry continues of Royal Nomination and is held by Patent under the Great Seal These Great Norman Abbots had not only the Nomination but the Tythes also of all the Parishes in this Island A small Proportion as the 3 d 7 th 8 th 9 th or 10 th Sheaf of the said Impropriated Tythes being reserved for those that ministred at the Altar These Impropriations at the Dissolution of Monasteries in England instead of returning to the Church were annexed to the Crown and are become part of the King's Revenue in the Island Much the same Proportion as before being still allotted to the Incumbents together with the Novals or Desarts which are the Tythes of Lands that remained wast and untill'd at the Suppression of those Houses but have been since converted into Arable The following Scheme drawn out of the Black-Book of Coûtance like that in the Exchequer will shew what that Proportion was and what the King enjoys now in right of the dispossessed Abbots Vniversis praesentes Literas inspecturis Officialis Constantiensis Salutem Notum facimus quod nos ad Requestam Religiosorum Virorum Abbatis Conventûs Sancti Salvatoris Vicecomitis visitavimus legimus inspeximus atque visitari legi inspici fecimus quendam Librum in Domo seu Manerio Episcopali Constantiensi existentem vulgariter Librum Nigrum nuncupatum in quo vidimus legimus nonnullas Clausulas Ecclesias Beneficia Insulae JERSEY de eis cum praefato Libro Nigro collationem fecimus diligenter Quarum quidam Clausularum Tenor sequitur de verbo ad verbum est talis Ecclesia Sancti Breverlardi Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecomitis percipit duas partes Garbarum Rector sextam Abatissa de Cadomo duodecimam Abbatissa Vilmonasterii duodecimam Rector item habet sex Virgas Eleemosynae Et valet dicta Ecclesia Annis communibus XXX Lib. Turonens Ecclesia Sancti Petri. Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecom Et percipit medietatem Garbarum Abbatissa Cadomensis quartam Garbam Abbatissa Vilmonasteriensis aliam quartam exceptâ carucatâ de Nobretez Rector percipit novalia habet VIII Virgas Terrae Eleemosynae valet XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia de Trinitate Patronus Abbas Caesaris-Burgi Abbas S. Salvatoris percipit sextam Garbam Abbas Caesaris-Burgi tertiam liberam Decimam Episcopus Auritanus medietatem Garbarum Rector percipit novalia habet VIII Virgas Eleemosynae valet communibus Annis XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia Beatae Mariae Patronus Abbas Caesariensis Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com percipit sextam Garbam Abbatissa Cadomensis Monasterii Villers quartam partem Decimae Garbarum Rector percipit tertiam partem Garbarum habet XVI Virgas Eleemosynae valet XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Johannis Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecom percipit totam Decimam Ecclesia ibidem Prioratus ejusdem Monasterii Et sunt ibi duae Virgae Eleemosynae valet XXVIII Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Audoeni Patronus Abbas S. Michaelis in periculo Maris percipit ibi duas Garbas IV Lib.