Guernsey (island)

The island of Guernsey (/ˈɡɜːrnzi/ GURN-zee) is the largest inhabited island within both the Jurisdiction of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey and lies to the extreme south of the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy.

The island of Guernsey is divided into ten parishes.

Etymology

The name "Guernsey", as well as that of neighbouring "Jersey", is of Old Norse origin. The second element of each word, "-ey", is the Old Norse for "island", while the original root, Guern(s), is of uncertain origin and meaning.

History

Around 6000 B.C., rising seas created the English Channel and separated the Norman promontory that then became the Channel Islands separated from continental Europe.Neolithic farmers then settled on its coast and built the dolmens and menhirs found in the island today.

During their migration to Brittany, Britons occupied the Lenur islands (the former name of the Channel Islands) including Sarnia or Lisia (Guernsey. Travelling from the Kingdom of Gwent, Saint Sampson, later the abbot of Dol in Brittany, is credited with the introduction of Christianity to Guernsey.

Guernsey

The Jurisdiction of Guernsey is a possession of the Crown in right of Guernsey in the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy. The jurisdiction embraces not only all ten parishes on the island of Guernsey, but also the much smaller inhabited islands of Herm, Jethou and Lihou together with many small islets and rocks. The jurisdiction is not part of the United Kingdom, however defence and most foreign relations are handled by the British Government.

The whole jurisdiction lies within the Common Travel Area of the British Isles and is not a member of the European Union, but has a special relationship with it, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods. Taken together with the separate jurisdictions of Alderney and Sark it forms the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The two Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey together form the geographical grouping known as the Channel Islands.

History

Etymology

The name "Guernsey", as well as that of neighbouring "Jersey", is of Old Norse origin. The second element of each word, "-ey", is the Old Norse for "island", while the original root, Guern(s), is of uncertain origin and meaning.

Fishing in Guernsey

Fishing within the Bailiwick of Guernsey is common place. The Bailiwick is made up of several islands in the Channel Islands, namely (Herm, Sark, Alderney and Guernsey).

Fishing in Guernsey offers a large range of species available to catch which will involve many different styles of fishing to adopt and learn to become successful.

Most common fish caught off the Bailiwick shores are:

Many more fish are in abundance around the shores.

Guernsey records

Locations

Caught Record Fish Locations

Guernsey

St Peter Port Breakwater - (Location of 8 Bailiwick Records (Angler Fish, Couchs Sea Bream, Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Flounder, Smooth Hound, Tadpole Fish, Whiting and Ballan Wrasse)). As the records show, the St Peter Port breakwater is good fishing for many species. Located just passed Castle Cornet in the town of St Peter Port. The breakwater is a light house on the end of a pier. It offers easy access and safe fishing although it can be a very busy site due to this facts.

Guernsey (clothing)

A guernsey, or gansey, is a seaman's knitted woollen sweater, similar to a jersey, which originated in the Channel Island of the same name.

Origins

The guernsey is the mainstay of Guernsey's knitting industry which can be dated back to the late 15th century when a royal grant was obtained to import wool from England and re-export knitted goods to Normandy and Spain. Peter Heylin described the manufacture and export of "waste-cotes" during the reign of Charles I. The first use of the name "guernsey" outside of the island is in the 1851 Oxford Dictionary, but the garment was in use in the bailiwick before that.

The guernsey came into being as a garment for fishermen who required a warm, hard wearing, yet comfortable item of clothing that would resist the sea spray. The hard twist given to the tightly packed wool fibres in the spinning process and the tightly knitted stitches, produced a finish that would "turn water" and is capable of repelling rain and spray.

The guernsey was traditionally knitted by the fishermen's wives and the pattern passed down from mother to daughter through the generations. This is a practice which still exists today with the final finishing of the machine-knit parts completed by hand.