Mont Orgueil
Mont Orgueil | |
---|---|
Gorey Castle | |
Jersey Heritage Trust | |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Intact |
Site history | |
Built | 1204–1450 |
In use | 1204–1945 |
Materials | Granite |
Mont Orgueil (French for 'Mount Pride') is a castle in Jersey that overlooks the harbour of Gorey; a port on the east coast of the Island. It is known as Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and the "Old Castle" (lé Vièr Châté) by Jèrriais-speakers. The castle was first referred to as 'Mont Orgeuil' in an ordnance survey made in 1462, when the castle was under French occupation in the late Middle Ages.[1]: 38 The castle was the seat of royal authority on Jersey throughout the medieval period and served as the main fortress on the Island until the construction of Elizabeth Castle in 1594. It is classified as a Grade I listed building.[2]
Prehistory
The site had been fortified during the Iron Age, as excavations in the 1970s showed, the existence of an earth rampart at the top of the granite rock, that the castle now rests on. Other materials were also found at the site, such as arrowheads and pottery, which actually date from the Neolithic period (4000–2500 BC). This suggests that the site was inhabited before the erection of the earthwork rampart. These promontory forts were found all across the north of Jersey, as they utilised the natural defences of the high cliffs which can be found on that part of the Island, to offer a refuge for the Island's inhabitants from raiders.
Middle Ages
Jersey became part of the
The castle was the primary defence of Jersey for over 400 years and withstood a number of French assaults on the castle, the most notable of which was in 1373 when the Constable of France, Bertrand du Guesclin, attacked the castle with 2,000 men in July of that year.[4] Despite breaching the outer walls of the castle, the French could not breach the inner walls of Mont Orgueil, as these actually rested upon a solid mass of granite rock.
The castle fell to a French force under Jean Carbonnel in May 1641. Carbonnel was a cousin of
1500s
Mont Orgueil went through an intense period of renovation in the mid-1500s, which was largely a result of the increasing use of cannon in European warfare. The castle was particularly susceptible to cannon fire coming from the hill west of the castle, known as Mont Saint Nicolas. Mont Orgueil was updated with platforms for artillery constructed in 1548 and 1549 under the direction of Henry Cornish, Lieutenant of the Earl of Hertford in Jersey. Cornish complained that earlier repairs to the donjon by Robert Raymont had left it so weak it was vulnerable to musket shot; "lyke a nadyl eye scarse abyll to byde a hagboshe." In 1543 he had asked for a "saker" cannon that would cover the sands between "Grovyll" and the castle, where the French had landed in the past.[7]
Other later renovations included the extension of the medieval Keep into a D-shaped bastion, which was suitably strengthened against artillery fire, and a large L-shaped battery known as the Grand Battery, which also faced to the west, which were completed in 1551 and circa-1560 respectively. These extensions were largely in vain, however, and Mont Orgueil was to be superseded by
1600s
The 'old castle' continued to be used as the island's only prison until the construction of a prison in St. Helier at the end of the 17th century. The English Government found it convenient to send troublesome agitators such as
During the
In December 1651, the Island was invaded by the New Model Army, commanded by Colonel James Heane. Colonel Heane landed with 3,000 men (comprising his own regiment), six companies of Sir Hardress Waller's foot and two troops of horse. They defeated the Jersey militia during an engagement on the west of the Island at St. Ouen's Bay. Faced with the prospect of a siege by a competent military force, the fortress of Mont Orgueil surrendered with generous terms allowing those inside to go to Elizabeth Castle.[9][10]
A report for the States of Jersey in 1691 declared that the barracks accommodation was so dilapidated that it was impossible to quarter troops there. Two years later, the castle was stated to be in a ruinous condition and subsequently was abandoned as a prison, because Elizabeth Castle had been built and the castle was neglected and not needed any more.
Later years
Repairs were carried out 1730–1734 and for the rest of the century, parts of the castle were adapted for garrison accommodation. In 1770, the rooms inside the Keep were occupied by officers and soldiers from the Island's garrison. The old Catholic chapel, known as St. Mary's chapel, was converted into a barrack room for 60 men with bedsteads and other fitments installed in the chapel.[4]
The castle was given over to a British naval officer, Philippe d'Auvergne, who was tasked with heading a spy network called 'La Correspondance', which was designed to destabilise the French Revolutionary government in Brittany and Normandy. One such scheme was the importation of forged French Assignat notes into the country, which had the effect of causing hyperinflation, which ravaged the French economy until 1802.[11]: 67 In 1800, the Corbelled Tower was fitted out for use by d'Auvergne as his private headquarters.
Over the course of the 19th century, detachments of troops were housed in the castle.
Until the second half of the 19th century, the castle was open to the public on one day a year,
The castle continued to decay, and due to its generally ruinous state it was handed over to the people of Jersey by the Crown on 28 June 1907. Mont Orgueil has been managed as a museum site since 1929.
During the
Royal visits
In 1846, the castle was visited by Queen
Present day
The heritage site has been managed by the
See also
- Fort Regent
- Urgull – Hill by the ocean in the Basque city of San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain
References
- ISBN 978-0709142522.
- ^ "Listed Building or Place Detail". www.gov.je. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Cathcart King 1983, p. 543
- ^ a b Rybot, Major N.V.L. (1933). Gorey Castle: Jersey. Premier Printers, Bagot, Jersey.
- ^ a b "Brézé, Pierre de, Senechal of Normandy", Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses.
- ^ "Jersey's French Occupation", Official site, St Helier: Jersey Heritage, 2024.
- ^ HMC, Seymour Papers, vol. 4 (1967), pp. 85–86, 91, 106–108.
- ^ a b The Battle of Mont Orgueil Castle, BBC Online, 3 March 2003, retrieved 27 March 2011
- ^ The Journal of Jean Chevalier, 1643–1651, vol 1–4, translated R.V.L. Rybot, (Société Jersiaise)
- ^ G.R. Balleine, Balleine's History of Jersey, ed. M. Syvret & J. Stevens, (Andover, Phillimore for Société Jersiaise, 2011) pp. 111–139
- ISBN 978-0-9552508-8-0.
- ^ Burnal, Paul (2000). Defence Sector East.
- ^ Heritage, Jersey (5 July 2021). "Mont Orgueil Castle". JerseyHeritage.org.
- Cathcart King, David James (1983), Castellarium Anglicanum: An Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II: Norfolk–Yorkshire and the Islands, London: Kraus International Publications, ISBN 0-527-50110-7
- Customs, Ceremonies & Traditions of the Channel Islands, Lemprière, London 1976, ISBN 0-7091-5842-4
- Rybot, N. V. J. (1958), Gorey Castle (le chateau Mont Orgueil)