Saint Peter Port

Saint Peter Port Saint-Pierre-Port
Parish
View of St Peter Port from the South View of St Peter Port from the South
Location of Saint Peter Port in Guernsey Location of Saint Peter Port in Guernsey
Coordinates:
Crown Dependency	Guernsey, Channel Islands
Government
• Electoral district	Divided into St Peter Port North and St Peter Port South
Area
• Total	6.5 km2 (2.5 sq mi)
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2014)
• Total	18,207
• Density	2,800/km2 (7,300/sq mi)
Time zone	GMT
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01 (UTC)
Postal code	GY1-GY9
Website	www.stppcons.com

Saint Peter Port is the capital of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2001 was 16,488. In Guernésiais and in French, historically the official language of Guernsey, the name of the town and its surrounding parish is St Pierre Port. The "port" distinguishes this parish from Saint Pierre Du Bois.

As well as being a parish, St. Peter Port is a small town consisting mostly of steep narrow streets and steps on the overlooking slopes. It is known that a trading post/town has existed here since before Roman times, the pre-Christian name of which has not survived into the modern era.

The postal code for addresses in this parish starts with GY1.

People from St. Peter Port, were nicknamed "les Villais" (the townspeople) or "cllichards" in Guernésiais.

Geography

St. Peter Port is located on the east coast of Guernsey. It borders St. Sampson in the north, The Vale in the north-west, St. Andrew in the west and St. Martin in the south.

On the seaward side it faces Herm to the east, across the Little Russel, and Sark and Brecqhou even further east across the Big Russel between them and Herm. The Bréhon Tower sits in the Little Russel between St. Peter Port and Herm.

Relief The land in the north and by the harbour is low lying but in the south, the land gets much higher (but not as high as St Martin's or the Forest). This means that there are quite a few cliffs on the coast between Havelet and Fermain.

Sport & leisure

St. Peter Port has an English Isthmian League club, Guernsey F.C. who play at Footes Lane.

Subdivisions

File:Castle Cornet Guernsey.jpg

Castle Cornet

Saint Peter Port is subdivided into four cantons:

1. Canton 1 or North Canton
2. Canton 2 or Canton of the North-West
3. Canton 3 or Canton of the South-West
4. Canton 4 or Canton of the South

In addition, the islands of Herm and Jethou belong to the parish, but are not part of any canton. They belong to Electoral district Saint Peter Port South.

Features

The features of the town include:

• St Peter Port Harbour
• The Town Church, the parish church of St Peter Port at the heart of the town
• Buildings
  • The Royal Court House (La Cohue Royale), seat of the States of Guernsey
  • Hauteville House, Victor Hugo's house of exile, which is now a museum under the aegis of the city of Paris).
  • National Trust of Guernsey Victorian shop
  • Elizabeth College founded in 1563 by Elizabeth I of England. The main building (built 1826) is a prominent feature of the skyline.
  • Victoria Tower
  • Priaulx Library
  • Guille-Allès Library
• The Market, the Arcade, the High Street, the Pollet and Mill Street, which are all pedestrian priority and part of the shopping district
• Cobbled streets and narrow passageways of the old town
• Candie Museum
• Candie Gardens
• Military:
  • Castle Cornet, the historic fortress that guarded the strategic entrance to the port. The castle was formerly a tidal island, but since 1859 a breakwater has connected it to the enlarged harbour.
  • Island war memorial at the top of Smith Street
  • Parish war memorial at the bottom of Smith Street
  • St Stephens war memorial in St Stephens church
  • Liberation monument
  • Boer War memorial in the Avenue
  • Fort George
  • Cemetery at Fort George
  • Commonwealth War Graves at Le Foulon cemetery
  • Clarence Battery dating from the Napoleonic Wars
  • La Vallette military museum
  • German fortifications, built during the occupation 1940-45
• The Guernsey Aquarium, situated in fortified tunnels at La Vallette, built during the German occupation.
• Bathing places at La Vallette
• A number of protected buildings
  • Castle Carey was built in 1840 for John Carey. It is a Gothic revival property, attributed to the architect John Wilson, who designed Elizabeth College and St James Concert Hall. It was briefly the residence of the Lieutenant Governor of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and hosted Queen Victoria and Prince Albert during their visit to Guernsey in 1859, and the Duke of Cambridge in 1862. Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Travailleurs de la Mer”, published in 1866 and dedicated to Guernsey, where he spent 15 years in exile, mentions Castle Carey. The castle stayed in the Carey family until William Wilfred Carey sold it in 1912. During the Second World War, the Germans occupying Guernsey used Castle Carey as an officers’ club.

The parish of Saint Saviour hosts:

• Government House (office of the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
• St Peter Port Douzaine
• Guernsey Information Centre
• Fire Station
• States of Guernsey Police Service
• Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service
• R.N.L.I. Guernsey
• Guernsey Border Agency
• Guernsey Post
• Footes Lane
• Ladies' College
• Vauvert Primary School
• Many shops
• A number of banks
• Large number of offices
• Blue Islands, a regional airline, has its head office in Saint Peter Port.
• Countryside walks
• Val des Terres Hill Climb
• St Peter Port Harbour Carnival
• Town Carnival

File:StPeterPortChurch.jpg

The Town Church

Liberation Monument

Main roads

The following main roads (listed from north-south) provide important links between St Peter Port and the other parishes:

• Les Banques (leads up the coast to St Sampson's and the north of the island)
• Rue des Varendes (leads to the parish of Castel)
• Mount Row (leads to St Andrew's and the west of the island)
• Ruette Brayes (leads to St Martin's and the south of the island)
• Fort Road (leads to St Martin's)

The following coastal roads (listed from north to south) are also very important as they provide access to the shops, carparks and the harbour:

• St George's Esplanade
• North Esplanade
• South Esplanade
• Mount Durand

Politics

Saint Peter Port comprises two administrative division, St Peter Port South and St Peter Port North.

In the Guernsey general election, 2012 in:

• St Peter Port South there was a 1,967 or 66% turnout to elect six Deputies
• St Peter Port North there was a 2,522 or 69% turnout to elect seven Deputies.

Famous people

See also: List of people from Guernsey

• Margaret Ann Neve - The oldest woman in the world until her death in 1903
• Sir Isaac Brock – Major General, "Hero of Upper Canada", War of 1812
• Matthew Le Tissier, footballer
• Alison Merrien MBE, World indoors bowls champion
• George Métivier, poet
• Heather Watson, tennis player
• Victor Hugo, French writer, In exile in St-Peter Port from 1855 to 1870.

See also

• Guernsey
• Parishes of Guernsey
• Maritime history of the Channel Islands

External links

• The St. Peter Port Parish Constables Website
• The Town Church Website