Barbarie Falla and Barbarie Rillie
We asked the question—who or what were they?
Using the Library II: church registers
How to get the best from Guernsey's unique church registers. Now available on FindMyPast (free access in the Priaulx Library).
Vraicing
From Redstone's Royal Guide to Guernsey, written by Louisa Lane Clarke, who produced a new edition in 1856 following Queen Victoria's visit to Guernsey. A rather rosy description of vraicing—the gathering of wrack seaweed—which was in fact a highly competitive scramble for a valuable and free commodity, much prized by the islanders.
A French view of the Channel Islands, 1849: more allies than subjects
An excerpt from the Magasin Pittoresque, 17, of 1849: 'Les Iles Anglaises de la Manche.'
La Discipline ecclesiastique, 1576 et 1597
In 1885 was published the original French text of the Ecclesiastical Discipline for Guernsey, edited by the Reverend G.-E. Lee of the Town Church and published by Thomas Bichard of the Bordage. The Police et discipline ecclesiastique was a set of regulations for the management of the Church and its congregation in the island, established by consensus in 1576 and which, despite the severity of its rules, remained in force until the Restoration in 1660, when Charles II imposed a form of Anglicanism on the island.
On a bed of Guernsey lilies
Written in September, 1763, by the Christian visionary, Christopher Smart. The photograph of a Guernsey lily, which flowers in autumn, is from the Carel Toms collection.
La vielle rue d'la Fontaine, et les Nouviaux Marchis: par Un Catelain
A poem in Guernsey French, author unknown, about the demolition of Fountain Street and the building of the Markets, quoted by Louisa Lane Clarke in The Folk Lore of Guernsey and Sark, 1880. The linguistic notes are hers.
The Army Lists and Navy Lists: Tracing an ancestor who was in the Forces
The Regular Army and British Navy For up-to-date general information consult Family history in the wars: how your ancestors served their country, by William Spencer.¹ Army Lists A catalogue of Army and Navy Lists held at the Library can be downloaded at Historical Lists of Armed Forces Personnel at the Priaulx Library: Resource List 2 . These are useful to trace officers of the British Army and Navy and the East India Company, but not all years are available in the collection. The Official Army Lists in the Priaulx Library run from 1756 to 1844. We also have other lists from various years in…
Rimes Guernesiaises: a counting rhyme
Gros-det, aridet, longuedon ou maitre-det, Jean des sceâs ou Jean des sceaux, petit coutelas ou courtelas: telle est la nomenclature des cinq doigts, selon les nourrices.
La Magie naturelle: Grimoires
Grimoires are books of household magic. Two in particular, Le Grand Albert and Le Petit Albert, were enormously popular in France throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. A curious mixture of esoteric science and totally impractical superstition, they were for some time tolerated by the Church, with whose teachings they sat uneasily, but were prized by the ordinary people who tried valiantly to reconcile their belief in Christianity with their fear, or hope, that 'natural' magic might just have the power to overcome nature itself.
Letters and fashion plates from the time of Jane Austen
Some fascinating letters from a young Caroline Guille Le Marchant to her friends in Bath and London, from Edith Carey's Scrapbook, and some contemporary winter ladies costumes for Christmas, from two bound volumes of fashion-plates, entitled in French Figures. The plates are hand-coloured; some are from The Fashions of London and Paris, a monthly magazine that began publication in 1798, published by Richard Phillips.
The History of New Holland, 1787
Eden, William, 1st Baron Auckland (1744-1814), The History of New Holland, from its first Discovery in 1616, to the present time. With a particular account of its Produce and Inhabitants; and a Description of Botany Bay: also, a List of the Naval, Marine, Military and Civil Establishments, to which is prefixed, An Introductory Discourse on Banishment, London, 1787, Printed for John Stockdale, opposite Burlington-House, Piccadilly, 1787. The map, a plate from the book, shows the route to Botany Bay. This volume came to the Priaulx Library as part of Elizabeth College's Le Marchant Library Collection.