Guernsey is an island is situated in the English Channel, on the coast of Normandy, subject to Britain; but (as well as the adjacent islands) governed by its own laws. It lies twenty leagues southwest from Weymouth, in Dorsetshire, between eight and nine leagues west from the coast of Normandy, thirteen south of Bretagne, seven northwest from Jersey, five southwest from Alderney, and two leagues west from Sarke. It extends from east to west in the form of a harp, and is thirteen miles and a half from the southwest to northeast, and twelve and a half where broadest, from east to west.

The air of this island is very healthy, and the soil naturally more rich and fertile than that of Jersey; but the inhabitants neglect the cultivation of the land for the sake of commerce; they are, however, supplied with corn and cattle, both for their own use and that of their ships.

The island is well fortified by nature with a ridge of rocks, one of which abounds with emery, used by lapidaries in the polishing of stones, and by various other artificers. Here is a better harbour than any in Jersey, which occasions its being resorted to by merchants; and on the south side the shore bends in the form of a crescent, inclosing a bay capable of receiving very large ships. The island is full of gardens and orchards, whence cyder is so plentiful, that it is the usual beverage of the common people, but the more wealthy drink French wines.

There are very few countries in the world where the inhabitants have more reason to be satisfied with the inheritance that nature has assigned them, since scarcely any part of the island is incapable of improvement. Most of the rising grounds afford a short thick grass, equally beautiful to the eye, and succulent an pasture. It produces excellent roots and herbs of all kinds, as well medical as aromatic, with a profusion of flowers that grow wild, and are exquisitely fragrant. All sorts of shrubs and fruit trees flourish here; and there is some, though very little timber, not through any defect of soil or climate, but because they cannot conveniently afford it room. Grain they have of every species cultivated in Britain, but more especially wheat; and though they have not either lime or chalk, or marl, yet the sea-wreck answers all the purposes of manure.

There are large quantities of sheep on the island, but small in size, and had formerly a very singular breed, of which the ewes had four horns, and the rams six; but these are now become very scarce. They have black cattle in such abundance, as not only to supply their own uses, but to furnish also a considerable exportation; and their horses, though but little, are equally strong and hardy. The sea also furnishes them with a prodigious variety, as well as plenty of fish, more especially red and grey mullet, excellent mackerel, and, above all, conger eels. To these advantages we may add, the singular privilege of being free from all venomous creatures. There are in this island ten parishes, each of which is divided into several vintons, for the more easy management of affairs, civil, ecclesiastical, and military, and the choice of their respective officers and magistrates.

Though the country is populous, yet the houses are scattered up and down, according to the humour or convenience of the inhabitants; so that there is, in fact, but one town in the island, which is likewise the only haven of any resort, though there are some creeks on the north and west sides of the island, such as Bazon, l’Aucresse, Feraminer, St. Sampson, and the West Passage.

In the reign of Charles II. when the French formed that insidious design of making themselves masters of this island by treachery, it left such an impression on that king’s mind, that some years after he sent over Lord Dartmouth, accompanied by certain engineers, who discovered, on the northwest side of the isle, a deep bay, which, by the help of a mole, might cover a numerous squadron, even of ships of the line, under the protection of what was intended to be built, a strong castle; but his exchequer being exhausted, this necessary work was never carried into execution. As this port would look full into the Channel, it deserves consideration, how far it might be useful to us in a French war, and of what infinite detriment it might prove, if this island should ever fall into the hands of Our enemies.

The town of St. Peter is situated on the east side of the island, where the land binds in, and makes a safe capacious bay. It has a very handsome appearance from the sea, and consists of about 800 houses, which are strong stone edifices, but in general far enough from being spacious or convenient; and, what is still worse, the place is so straitened by the hills behind it, that it cannot be much enlarged. The people in it have been computed at about four thousand.

The harbour, which is called Port St. Pierre, or Port de la Chausse, is singular, and deserves to be described. Ships pass into it from a very good road, directly under the guns of the castle, and moor close to the town. The piers or causeways are composed of vast stones, piled up very artificially one upon another, to thirty-five feet in height, and laid with so much skill and regularity, that it has stood all the violence of the sea between four and five hundred years. This pier not only affords a security to the shipping, but being paved with fine flag stones on the top, and guarded with parapets, serves as a very pleasant walk, affording a fine prospect of the sea, and of the adjacent islands. This commodions port is covered by Castle Cornet, built upon a rock, at six hundred paces from the shore, so that at full sea it is a complete island, and the space between it is scarce passable at the lowest ebb after spring tides. This is the residence of the governor or deputy-governor, and his garrison. It was blown up by lightning in the year 1672, when Lord Viscount Hatton held that office, who escaped himself almost miraculously, but lost his mother and his wife.

The inhabitants in general are industrious in their respective employments, naturally sober, frugal in their manner of living, honest in their dealings, sincere in their religion, which is that of the Church of England, and loyal to their princes, as well as steady to the British interest. That with these good qualities they have several failings, is not to be denied; they are reserved to a degree that makes them sometimes thought to be morose; they are somewhat suspicious, and are said to have formerly been very litigious. They are good husbandmen in their own way, and manage their sea-wreck (which first serves the poor people with fuel, and then its ashes are employed by those in better circumstances for manure) with great skill, and under very prudent regulations. They have a stronger turn, however, to grazing than agriculture: and, though they bring in annually some corn, yet in the same space they send out a few hundred cattle. They are still more inclined to orchards, which enable them to make many thousand hogsheads Of cyder every year, of which, it being the common drink of the people, they export but little.

The woollen is their principal manufacture, for the carrying on of which they are allowed to import two thousand tods from England, which they work up chiefly in stockings, waistcoats, and breeches. They might certainly make their fishery turn to profit, more especially as of late years they have set up salt-works.

Portuguese merchants have large stocks of wine here, which they import as they have occasion. As they are enabled, by this method, to keep it to a proper age before they are obliged to pay the duty, it .seems. to be a benefit to the mother country, by putting it in their power both to buy and sell cheaper; as, on the other hand, from the rent of warehouses, the subsisting factors and their servants, and the resort of ships employed in this trade, it must be very advantageous to the inhabitants of this island. It is a point of justice to observe, that this manner of depositing wines has nothing to do with smuggling, a practice, equally injurious to the interest of this country, and to the people of Guernsey; as it breeds few seamen, is carried on in very small vessels, and upon the whole is not only infamous, but a very unprofitable kind of traffic.

Formerly the merchants of this island traded to most parts of Europe, and had several stout ships of their own; and, if the practice of smuggling were abolished, as it might be without any violation of the liberties of the people, they would soon find their account in it, by the revival of many lucrative branches of commerce. As they take from England some of the necessaries, and almost all the conveniences of life, such as corn, malt liquor, sugar, spices, coals, household furniture, many species of the iron and leather manufacture, grocery, haberdashery, and hard wares, the balance is greatly in our favour, and must continually increase, in proportion as they augment in number, and grow in circumstances. At present, upon a very moderate computation, there are in Guernsey upwards of 15,000 souls.

The several islets, and vast chains of rocks, that surround this country on every side, and cause such variety of tides and currents, add much to the security of the place, by rendering it equally difficult and dangerous for ships to approach it, unless they have pilots on board well acquainted with the coast. On the south side, the cliffs are prodigiously high, so that the old writers say it looks like a park in the sea, impaled with rocks. On the west side lie the Hanoys, or as the French write them, Hanovaux, which cover that coast so effectually, that a descent there is little to be feared. At the northwest extremity lies a little island called the Howe, which would be a very commodious place for a salt-work, glasshouse, or manufactory of soap.

At the northwest extremity we meet with St. Michael-in-the-Vale, a peninsula some miles in extent, connected with Guernsey by a very narrow isthmus, with bays that might be rendered useful on both sides. This peninsula is likewise guarded by rocks and islets, the most considerable of which are, the Bryants, the Hummet, and the Hays. Southeast from the Vale lies the island of Harmit, or Arne, about a league in compass, formerly a desert, but now cultivated. At a league south from thence lies Briehoe, of less extent; and between both the little island of Gythan, or Jethau, which serves the governor for a kind of park, or rather paddock. But we shall now speak of those two larger islands, which, being improved and well inhabited, are dependent upon, and make part of, the government of Guernsey.

Gernsey is distant 20 miles from Jarsey, to whom it is far inferiour in respect of fertility and largness, but more commodious because of her safe harbours: it contains ten Parishes; the chief being St. Peters. The People use the French Tongue, and in their Ecclesiastical Discipline follow the Church of Geneva.

GUERNSEY, the most central of the Channel Islands, is situate near the coasts of Brittany and Normandy, in 49° 33' north latitude, and 20° 40' west longitude from the meridian of London, 30 miles north-west of Jersey, 28 west-south-west of Cape La Hogue. It bears east-south-east from the Land’s End, distant 133 miles, east-south-east from the Lizard, 114 miles, 95 miles south-west of the Needles: it is about 30 miles in circumference, its greatest length being about 9 ½ miles, and its extreme breadth about 7 miles: on the south the surface is elevated but shelves down towards the north: the coast from the south-east to the west rises boldly from the sea, and here the cliffs, interrupted by ravines, form small sandy bays: from the north-east to the west the coast is flow, terminating in a series of flat bays, skirted by projecting rocky headlands; on the south there are but few detached rocks, and these near the shore. The general area may be stated at 25 square miles, or 16,000 English acres, 10,000 of which are in cultivation. The population in 1901 was 40,300, of which 20,809 were females. The Island is divided into 10 civil parishes, viz.:-St. Peter Port, St. Sampson, The Vale, Castel, St. Saviour, St. Peter-in-the-Wood, Torteval, Forest, St. Martin and St. Andrew.

Guernsey gives the title of baron to the Finch family, Eads of Aylesford.

Regarded as once forming part of an ancient Duchy of Normandy, the Channel Islands are the only remnant of the patrimony of William the Norman and of the English possessions in France; it is owing to these circumstances that the rights, immunities and privileges of the inhabitants are of two distinct kinds; first, these granted to their ancestors before the Conquest, by the Dukes of Normandy; and secondly, these which they enjoy by virtue of certain charters conceded by the sovereigns of England, and ratified by their successors, and by which British Imperial taxation is entirely unknown in the Islands. In consideration of these privileges the males above 16, with certain exceptions, are subject to Militia duty for home defence.

On the 6th January, 1831, the Militia of the Channel Islands received the title of “Royal” from William IV., who, while an officer of the Navy, twice visited Guernsey. The Militia comprises one Artillery regiment and two Light Infantry battalions. The service was formerly gratuitous, but important modifications were made in 1898; the clothing and accoutrements are provided by the Imperial Government.

The Civil Government of Guernsey comprises the States of Election and the States of Deliberation or Local Parliament; the States of Election number 242 members, and the States of Deliberation 48 members, the latter being selected from the former governing body, the Bailiff appointed by the Crown being President of the States and of the Royal Court. The Military government is under a Lieutenant-Governor, at present Major-General Barrington Bulkley Douglas Campbell C.V.O., C.B. The present Dean is the Very Rev. Thomas Bell M.A. rector of The Vale parish. This Island, together with the Islands of Alderney, Sark, Herm and Jethou constitute the Deanery, which is within the diocese of Winchester: the Bishop appoints a surrogate, who grants marriage licenses &c. in his name: the church livings of the various parishes are under the patronage of the Crown, which is usually exercised through the Lieut.-Governor for the time being. The native language in the country districts is old Norman-French, though English, is now spoken (especially in the town) by almost every inhabitant: the official language of the Royal Court is French.

The circulating medium is the modern French coin, of which 24 francs are made to represent £1 Guernsey currency, a 5 franc piece 4s. 2d. and 1 franc 10d. 5 but since the French Revolution of February, 1848, English silver and gold bears a premium of 5 per cent; one pound notes are issued in the island by the States, and also by the Old Bank and the Commercial Bank.

The approach co Guernsey from the north-west in clear weather is very attractive, owing to the slope of the land northward, by which a wide extent of country, interspersed with churches, windmills and farmhouses is included in the view. On this part of the coast stands Vale Castle, an ancient structure, erected in the 10th century, and south of it, but separated by the harbour of St. Sampson, is Mont Crevelt battery and tower; still more south is the Saumarez memorial, a fine obelisk on Delancey Hill; the coast from Vale Castle to St. Peter Port is studded with houses, in lines nearly parallel with the shore: outside the town of St. Peter Port, on a rock adjoining the harbour, is Castle Cornet; Fort George, the principal fortress in the island, stands on the elevated land beyond, and, at the extreme south-east, Doyle’s Monument rises from the heights of Jerbourg.

The climate of Guernsey is particularly mild and salubrious, the sea air agreeably modifying the heat in summer and the cold in winter. The temperature, therefore, is less variable than oven in more southern situations on the Continent; shrubs that require shelter in England are here exposed: the celebrated Chaumontel pear attains an enormous size, and great quantities are annually exported to England; and the shores abound with features of interest to the marine zoologist. The Island has of recent years become a fashionable resort in the summer season, and the permanent residence of English families, attracted thither by the mildness and salubrity of the climate, by the beauty of the scenery, and by the advantages they present to persons of moderate incomes.

Guernsey affords every facility for sea-bathing, and even during winter, such is the mildness of the climate) bathers can pursue this healthful recreation. No rates or taxes are charged to strangers, until they have resided three years in the Island, unless they acquire real property or exercise some trade or profession; there is only one railway, which belongs to the Guernsey Railway Company Limited, and extends from St. Peter Port to the harbour of St. Sampson, and is worked by electricity; the roads in the Island are in good condition, and free from tolls.

Guernsey is justly celebrated for its breed of dairy cattle, for though in London and many other parts of England the public speak only of Alderney cows, the fact is that the most famous dairy animals are the Guernseys, and next to them the pretty and gazelle-like Jerseys, very few cows now coming from Alderney; and so convinced are the islanders of the superiority of the Guernsey breed, that every foreign kind is rigorously excluded, none being imported except for the slaughter-house. Cattle fairs are held usually on Easter Tuesdays, and the day after Midsummer Day; there is also one in September, and one in December.

Among the eminent men to whom Guernsey has given birth may be mentioned Vice-Admiral Lord de Saumares G.C.B. (1757-1836), Admiral Gosselin, and Capt. Sir Thomas Mansell K.C.H. (1777), in the naval service, and in the military, Gen. Sir Isaac Brock, Maj.-Gen. Sir Octavius Carey K.C.H., C.B. (1785), Maj.-Gen. Tupped Maj.-Gen. John Gaspard Le Marchant, killed at Salemanca, 22 July, 1812, Sir George Smith, Col. Le Mesurier and others; in the Arts and Sciences, John MacCulloch M.D., F.R.S. &c. the Rev. Peter Paul Dobree M.A. Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Cambridge (1782-1825), and the Rev. James Amiraux Jeremie D.D. Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, and dean of Lincoln (1802-72). In the civil service may be enumerated Peter Perchard esq. Lord Mayor of London in 1804-5, Sir John Jeremie kt. Governor of Sierra Leone, Gen. Sir John Gaspard Le Marchant K.C.B., G.C.M.G. (1803-74), Lieut.-Governor of Newfoundland, Halifax and Malta, and Sir Denis Le Marchant bart. (1795-1874), some time clerk of the House of Commons.