Social History

14 February 1814: A Guernseyman's golden Valentine

Dug from Lima's golden mine, We hail it as our Valentine. HMS Menelaus recaptured a very valuable French prize, the Spanish treasure-ship the St Juan Baptista. The master was a Guernseyman, and Guernsey people are often very careful with money. This one certainly was. The account is from The Life of a Sailor by Frederick Chamier (1796-1870), some of whose tales are probably rather tall.

Christmas 1607: what fun!

From the Acts of the Guernsey Colloquy, a document of exceptional local importance in the Library Collection. The Gathering of Ministers and Elders gives its judgment.

December 1826

Extracts from The Star (Guernsey Weekly Advertiser).

23 October 1660: Lightning destroys the Moulin des Monts

From the notebook of Pierre Le Roy, as printed in The Guernsey Magazine of 1874. With notes from the Library MS Peter Mollet's Notebook; and an eyewitness account from the Reverend Thomas Le Marchant. The illustration is from an engraving by Baillie based on a watercolour by Joshua Gosselin of five companies of the 83rd Royal Glasgow Volunteers encamped on the Moulin des Monts. Gosselin also painted another view of the Moulin des Monts, which is in the Guernsey Museum collection.

A bachelor's paradise: Guernsey ladies, October 1825

An extract from an article published in the Star of October 18, 1825. 'The observations that follow have been copied from The Morning Herald. They will tend to show what views some strangers are apt to form of our local peculiarities; if, indeed, they can be taken as the real views of the writer, which, from the incorrectness of his statements, and the exaggerated description he has given of advantages and disadvantages, beauties and defects, we more than doubt.' The young lady in the portrait is Anne Priaulx.1

The Great Water Gymkhana, 4th August 1938

Manning Dive Weekly Press 1938 Priaulx Library Collection

Here's what the Guernsey Water Polo Association got up to in what they termed their 'crazy' Water Gymkhana of August 1938, from the Star.

19 August 1634: a terrible fire

Ruette Marie Gibault, 1936, from the Library Collection

Mr Havilland's house is consumed by fire: two accounts, one from Jean de la Marche's diary, the other from George Fashion's notebook. The photograph is of the Ruette Marie Gibaut (colloquially Fuzzey's Lane), in St Peter Port, in 1936, from the Library Collection.

What's for hunting in 1610?

In 1610 Lord George Carew replaced the late Sir Thomas Leighton as Governor of Guernsey. Upon being called almost immediately back to England he left instructions for Amias De Carteret, his Lieutenant-Governor. This is an extract from a letter he wrote to De Carteret, dated 9th August 1610, at Castle Cornet, taken from Tupper's Chronicles of Castle Cornet, 1849.

August, two hundred years ago

Forgery; Street-cleaning; Miss Le Breton and Captain Arwe; Maingay and Collings; Daniel Guille; Williamson's French brigade; Maingy & Dunière and the Rebecca; Buying horse dung and dollars; Alderney public school.

November 1834: Wrecks and Wickedness

Detail from Cecila Montgomery's ink sketch Pier, Castle Cornet, Priaulx Library colelction

From the newspapers of November 1834. The illustration is a detail from Cecilia Montgomery's ink and gouache sketch, Pier, Castle Cornet, in the Library Collection.

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