Island Life

 

the community website serving the Channel Islands

Children • Domain Names • Female Scene • Games • Guestbook • Island History • Local Links • News • Male Scene • Pets • Site News • Teenagers

Guernsey Cow

Cobo Bay

Herm Island

La Coupee

Mont Orgueil Castle

 

Up

Search the Site



1613 James I attempts to impose Anglicism in the Bailiwick.
1642 The English Civil war began and surprisingly Guernsey backed the Parliamentarians. Castle Cornet under the command of  Lieutenant Governor, Sir Peter Osborne held out for 8 years and lobbed over 10,000 cannon balls onto St Peter Port.
1644 Parliamentarian forces invade Jersey but do not defeat the Royalist forts until 15 December 1651
1651 Royalists under Sir Peter Osborne surrender Castle Cornet on 19 December 1651. He went down in history as the last person to take down the Royal Standard
1663 Anglicism established in Guernsey
1664 Sir George Carteret becomes Lord of Alderney ( a friend of Samuel Pepys
1672 The Keep at Castle Cornet blows up killing the Governor's wife
1689 Guernsey's neutrality is revoked by William III.
1736 Braye Harbour established in Alderney.
1742 Town Hospital established in Guernsey
1751 Castel Hospital building begins
1769 Sir Isaac Brock born
1780 Work begins on Fort George
1783 Thomas de la Rue born
1787 John Wesley visits Guernsey
1789 Aristocrats fleeing from France settled in the islands and became loyal British subjects. However with the threat of attack from Napoleon, Martello towers started to appear all around Guernsey and Jersey, based on a design from Cape Mortella in Corsica.
1792 Glasshouses started to be built in Guernsey in which grapes for table wine were grown and even to this day, a collection of glasshouses is known as a Vinery.
1799 Royal Court House built in Guernsey. 6,000 Russian troops billeted in Alderney following Allied defeat by Napoleon
1810 Granite exports from Guernsey begin. Many quarrymen came to the island from Cornwall and between 1810 and 1841, the population of St Sampson parish more than doubled from 650 to 1,567.
1815 Prison built in Guernsey and large ships launched.
1816 First Guernsey bank notes printed to pay for the Vegetable market building - 40,000 £1 notes.
1822 Guernsey's Meat Market built
1827 First mail to arrive by steam on PS Watersprite
1834 Silver was discovered in Sark and by 1841 the population had grown to 790. The major shareholder, Ernest Le Pelly, Seigneur was the major shareholder but following a flood of the mine, he almost became bankrupt and sold his Fief to Mrs T G Collings. Her descendant is the present Seigneur
1836 Tomatoes started to be grown in Guernsey. 

In Alderney over the ensuing years, the Victorians built 13 forts in Alderney and completed the Murs de Haut. However, none were ever used in war. The massive Alderney breakwater was also built to provide protection to the British fleet but could not withstand the massive storms and the 1471 metres originally built is now down to half that length


 

 

Advertise with us        Site Map
Send an email with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2000-2006 islandlife.org.  Last modified: March 01, 2008. If it appears out of date, press the Shift key and click on Refresh.