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
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
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
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
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
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
sed ibidem omnino terminari IX Insuper constituit quod nullus de libero Tenemento suo quod per Annum diem pacificè Tenuerit sine Brevi Domini Regis de Cancellariâ de Tenente Tenemento faciente mentionem respondere debeat neque Teneatur This was added to protect the Islanders against the Oppressions and Vexations of the then Governors This Article is now grown out of Use X. Item Quod nullus pro Feloniâ Damnatus extrà Insulas praedictas haereditates suas infrà Insulas forisfacere potest quin haeredes sui eas habeant XI Item Si quis forisfecerit abjuraverit Insulam posteà Dominus Rex pacem suam ei concesserit infrà Annum diem abjurationis revertatur ad Insulam de haereditate suâ plenariè debet restitui XII Item Quod nullus debet imprisonari in Castro nisi in casu Criminali vitam vel membrum tangente hoc per Judicium Duodecim Coronatorum Juratorum sed in aliis liberis Prisonis ad hoc Deputatis XIII Item Quod Dominus Rex nullum Praepositum ibidem prohibere debeat nisi per Electionem Patriotarum This Article regards Guernezey only where they have a Provost In JERSEY we have a Viscount but these two Officers are much the same XIV Item Constitutum est quod Insulani non debeant coram Justiciariis ad Assisas capiendas assignatis seu alia Placita tenenda respondere antequà m Transcripta Commissionum eorundem sub Sigillis suis eis liberentur XV. Item Quod Justiciarii per Commissionem Domini Regis ad Assisas capiendas ibidem assignati non debent tenere Placita in quâlibet dictarum Insularum ultrà spatium trium Septimanarum XVI Item Quod ipsi Insulani coram dictis Justiciariis post Tempus praedictum venire non tenentur XVII Item Quod ipsi non tenentur Domino Regi Homagium facere donec ipse Dominus Rex ad partes illas seu infrà Ducatum Normanniae venerit aut aliquem alium per Literas suas assignare voluerit in iisdem partibus ad praedictum Homagium nomine suo ibidem recipiendum XVIII Item Statutum est pro Tuitione Salvatione Insularum Castrorum maximè quia Insulae propè sunt juxtà Potestatem Regis Franciae aliorum inimicorum suorum quod omnes Portus Insularum benè custodirentur Custodes Portuum Dominus Rex constituere praecipit nè Damna sibi suis eveniant There are some other Articles which being also grown out of Use I purposely omit These Constitutions of K. John were afterwards renewed by his Son Henry III in a Letter to Philip de Aubigny Lord or Governor of these Islands Anno Regni 33 â— By these Constitutions We have a Jurisdiction established among our selves and our Properties secured against vexatious Suits and Evocations into England We have next the Charter of Edward III which is only General and Confirmative of former Grants We have Two Charters of Richard II The First General and the same with that of Edward III both contained in an Inspeximus of Henry IV. The Second more Particular exempting Us for ever from all manner of Taxes Imposts and Customs in all Cities Market-Towns and Ports of England Quodque ipsi viz. Insulani Successores sui in perpetuùm sint liberi quieti in omnibus Civitatibus Villis Mercatoriis Portubus infrà Regnum nostrum Angliae de Omnimodis Theloniis Exactionibus Custumis talitèr eodem modo quo fideles Ligei nostri in nostro Regno praedicto extiterunt The Charter of Edward IV extends this Priviledge to all Places within the King's Dominions beyond the Seas Concessimus eidem Genti Communitati quod ipsi Haeredes Successores sui sint liberi quieti in omnibus Civitatibus Burgis Villis Mercatoriis aliis Villis Portubus Locis infrà Regnum nostrum Angliae infrà omnes Terras Insulas nostras citrà vel ultrà Mare sit as vel situatas de omnibus Theloniis Custumis Subsidiis c. There is also a Clause in this Charter that confirms all Our Ancient Rights Liberties and Franchises infrà Insulam i. e. within the Island whereby is meant among other Things an Exemption and Immunity from all Taxes and Subsidies within the same which Exemption is the Ancient Priviledge of this Island and has been peaceably enjoyed by Us to this Day Et etiam quod dicta Gens Communitas ejusdem Insulae de JERESEY Haeredes Successores sui habeant gaudeant omnia Jura Libertates Franchisias sua infrà eandem Insulam c. It were too long to mention the following Charters and Grants of Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Q. Mary Q. Elizabeth and so down to our Time In general by them all the foregoing Priviledges are ratified explained and enlarged with ample Additions and We are made equal in point of Commerce with the rest of Their Majesties English Subjects I shall insist somewhat longer on a very singular Priviledge belonging to Us in common with the other Islands of this Tract which is a Freedom and Liberty of Trade in these Islands and the Seas adjacent for Merchants of all Nations in Time of War as well as in Time of Peace I shall first set down this Priviledge in the Words of our Charters and then shall proceed to shew what has been said of it by Writers and what appears thereof upon Practice Cùmque nonnulla alia Privilegia Jurisdictiones Immunitates Libertates Franchisâ—ae per praedictos Progenitores Precedessores nostros quondam Reges Angliae Duces Normanniae ac alios praefatae Insulae indulta donata concessa confirmata fuerunt ac à tempore cujus contrarii Memoria hominum non existit infrà Insulam Loca Maritima praenominata inviolabiliter Vsitata Observata fuerunt de quibus unum est quod tempore Belli omnium Nationum Mercatores alii tà m alienigeni quam indigeni tà m hostes quam amici liberè licitè impunè queant possint dictam Insulam Loca Maritima cum Navibus Mercibus Bonis suis tà m pro evitandis Tempestatibus quà m pro aliis licitis suis Negotiis inibi peragendis adire accedere commeare frequentare libera Commercia Negotiationes ac rem Mercatoriam ibidem exercere ac tutò securè commorari inde recommeare ac redire toties quoties absque damno molestiâ seu hostilitate quácunque in rebus mercibus bonis aut Corporibus suis idque non solùm infrà Insulam Loca maritima praedicta ac praecinctum eorundem verùm etiam infrà Spatia undique ab eisdem distantia usque ad visum Hominis id est quatenùs visus oculi posset assequi Nos eandem Immunitatem Impunitatem Libertatem ac Privilegium ac caetera omnia praemissa ultimò recitata rata grataque habentes
ea pro Nobis Haeredibus Successoribus nostris quantum in nobis est praefatis Ballivo Juratis ac caeteris Incolis Habitatoribus Mercatoribus aliis tà m Hostibus quà m Amicis eorum cuilibet per Praesentes indulgemus elargimur Authoritate nostrâ Regiâ renovamus reiteramus Confirmamus in tà m amplis modo formâ prout praedicti Incolae Habitatores Insulae praedictae ac praedicti Indigeni Alienigeni Mercatores alii per anteà usi vel gavisi fuerunt vel uti aut gaudere debuerunt Vniversis igitur singulis Magistratibus Ministris subditis nostris per Vniversum Regnum nostrum Angliae ac caetera Dominia Locos Ditioni nostroe subjecta ubilibet constitutis per Praesentes denunciamus ac firmiter injungendo praecipimus ne hanc nostram Donationem Concessionem Confirmationem seu aliquod in eisdem expressum aut contentum temerariè infringere seu quovis modo violare praesumant Et siquis ausu temerario contrà fècerit seu attemptaverit Volumus decernimus quantùm in nobis est quod restituat non solùm ablata aut erepta sed quod etiam pro Dampno Interesse expensis ad plenariam recompensam satisfactionem compellatur per quaecunque Juris nostri Remedia severéque puniatur ut Regiae nostrae Potestatis ac Legum nostrarum contemptor temerarius This is such a Priviledge as can hardly be parallell'd in any Age. Add now to this the concurring Testimony of Writers Strangers as well as English who have treated of the Affairs of these Islands and who all own and assert this Priviledge in its full Extent and Latitude The Book Intituled Les Us Coutumes de la Mer i. e. The Uses and Customs of the Sea Published by Authority and Printed at Roûen An. 1671 speaking of Prizes made against Laws agreed on by the Consent of Nations and consequently to be adjudged Null says that such are those that are made in Priviledged Places en lieu d'Azyle ou de Refuge And such Places he adds are the Isles and Seas of GERSAY and Grenezay on the Coast of Normandy where the French and English whatever War may be betwixt the two Crowns are not to insult or prey upon each other so far as the said Islands can be discovered at Sea The Learned Mr. Cambden owns this Priviledge tho' by a mistake he applies it to Guernezey only Veteris etenim Regum Angliae Privilegio says he Perpetuae hîc sunt quasi induciae Gallis aliisque quamvis Bellum exardescat ultrò citróque huc sine periculo venire Commercia securè exercere licet That profound Antiquary Mr. Selden in his Mare Clausum mentions this Priviledge twice and urges it as an Argument to prove his Hypothesis touching the King of England's Dominion over the Narrow Seas Neque enim facilè conjectandum est undenam Originem habuerit Jus illud Induciarum singulare ac perpetuum quo CAESAREAE Sarnâ—ae caeterarumque Insularum Normannico Littori praejacentium Incolae etiam in ipso Mari fruuntur flagrante utcúnque inter Circumvicinas Gentes Bello nisi ab Angliae Regum Dominio hoc Marino derivetur This Learned Man had taken great pains to search and inspect Our Charters among the Records in the Tower and remained satisfied of the Validity of this Priviledge Dr. Heylin speaks thus of it tho' by a Mistake common to him with Mr. Cambden he thought this Priviledge belonged only to Guernezey By an Ancient Priviledge of the Kings of England there is with them in a Manner a continual Truce and lawfull it is both for French-men and for others how hot soever the War be followed in other Parts to repair hither without Danger and here to Trade in all Security A Priviledge founded upon a Bull of Pope Sixtus IV the 10 th Year as I remember of his Popedom Edward IV then Reigning in England and Lewis XI over the French By virtue of which Bull all those stand ipso facto excommunicate which any way molest the Inhabitants of this Isle of Guernzey or any which resort unto their Island either by Piracy or any other Violence whatsoever A Bull first published in the City of Constance unto whose Diocese these Islands once belonged afterwards verified by the Parliament of Paris and confirmed by Our Kings of England till this Day The Copy of this Bull I my self have seen and something also of the Practice of it on Record by which it doth appear that a Man of War of France having taken an English Ship and therein some Passengers and Goods of Guernezey made Prize and Prisoners of the English but restored those of Guernezey to their Liberty and to their Own The Bull of Sixtus IV is not the Ground and Foundation of this Priviledge as the Doctor misunderstandeth it But on the contrary the Priviledge was the Ground and Occasion of the Bull as appears from the Bull it self For K. Edward IV being informed of a great many Infractions made to this Priviledge by Pyrates and others preying upon Merchants as they resorted to these Islands purely on the Account of Trade caused his Ambassadors at Rome to move the Matter to the Pope whose Censures were much regarded in those Days And thus the Bull was procured and is indeed a Terrible One. The King commanded it to be notified and published throughout his Dominions strictly injoyning the Observation of it to all his Subjects And by Order of Lewis XI and Charles VIII Kings of France it was verified by the Parliament of Paris and proclaimed in a very solemn manner in all the Ports of Normandy as it had been before in those of Bretagne à son de Trompe i. e. with Sound of Trumpet by Francis II the last Duke of that Country We have it still extant in an Inspeximus of K. Henry VIII under the Great Seal of England now in my Custody 'T is a Piece of a very extraordinary Nature and that shews better than any thing I have seen the Style of the Court of Rome in those Days But 't is somewhat too long to be inserted here It remains now that we shew something of this Priviledge upon Practice Anno 1523. A Ship of Guernezey being taken by a Privateer of Morlaix during the War betwixt Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France and carried into Morlaix was by Order of the Count de Laval Governor of Bretagne released upon Plea of this Priviledge Anno 1524. A Prize made by one Pointy and brought into JERSEY because made within the Precincts of the Island and therefore contrary to this Priviledge was in an Assembly of the States the Governor and the King's Commissioners present pronounced Tortionary and Illegal and Pointy adjudged to make Restitution Anno ...... Sir Edward Seymour Viscount Beauchamp afterwards Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector being Governor of this Island some English Privateers