Grosnez Castle
Grosnez Castle | |
---|---|
States of Jersey | |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Ruin |
Site history | |
Built | 1330 |
Materials | Granite |
Grosnez Castle is a
Today, the ruins are open to the public. Furthermore, there are concrete steps that lead from the rear of Grosnez Castle to a small automated signal station; the station platform affords scenic views.
Name
The name comes from the old
History
Sir John des Roches ordered the castle built around 1330, about the time of the start of the Hundred Years' War. The castle's purpose was to provide local farmers with a place of refuge from French attacks.[4][5]
The walls are of local granite and are thickest on the landward side. The castle's position on a clifftop 200 ft (~ 60 m) above the sea means that the natural features of the site protect it on three sides. A ditch dug into the rock provides protection on the fourth side. The remains of ruined walls, mostly footings, are still present.[6]
A drawbridge and portcullis protected the gatehouse, which is the only substantial surviving remnant, and would have made it difficult to capture. There are traces of six simple buildings.[5] The castle, though, had a number of weaknesses:
- There were no sally ports for counter-attacks;
- Most importantly, there was no water wellinside the walls.
The French captured the castle in 1373 and 1381. The castle was probably last used militarily during the time of the French occupation of Jersey (1461–1468, when the French held the east of the island, but loyal Jersey folk held the western parishes). In 1483, after several years of petitioning King Edward IV, the
In 1806, a naval signal station was established at Grosnez to send messages to Guernsey.
Modern depiction
Grosnez Castle appears on the reverse of the
Citations and references
Citations
- ^ Grosnez Castle Archived 2012-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Jersey Heritage | Discover Our Island Story".
- ^ Rouge Nez
- ^ King (1988), p.12.
- ^ a b Dillon (2011), p.69.
- ^ "Grosnez Castle - Jerripedia".
References
- Dillon, Paddy (2011) Walking on Jersey: 24 routes and the Jersey coastal walk. (Cicerone). ISBN 978-1-85284-288-8
- King, David James Cathcart (1988) The Castle in England and Wales: An Interpretative History. (Routledge). ISBN 978-0-918400-08-6
- Hammond, Reginald J W (ed.), Channel Islands, (London, Ward Lock Red Guides, 1970), p. 63, ISBN 0-7063-5414-1