244 SOCIAL LIFE IN GUERNSEY. 



out of the Island, but only occasionally as far as the Town, so 

 that we can easily believe that three hundred years earlier many 

 people at St. Peter's, Torteval and St. Saviour's had never 

 even seen St. Peter-Port. 



Let us try and reconstruct 'the St. Peter-Port of the 

 Sixteenth Century, and, in so doing, I must acknowledge my 

 indebtedness to Mr. Cox's excellent article on this subject. (1) 



The rock on which Castle Cornet stands was then an 

 island, and north-west of it was a sandy bay extending between 

 two reefs of rock, on which were built, first the South Pier, 

 to which, in the days of Queen Elizabeth, a bend towards the 

 N.E. was added, forming what was then known as the " Havre 

 de la Chaussee," but which is now called the " Old Harbour ;" (2) 

 and then, in the days of Queen Anne, the old North Pier was 

 added. 



A strong and plentiful stream of water, taking its rise 

 in St. Martin's parish, flowed down the valley of the Ruettes 

 Brayes, passing under the bridge still known as the " Pont 

 Renier." Below this it met another stream flowing down 

 Vauvert, and they passed through various water mills in Mill 

 Street, rushed down Fountain Street, and, passing under an- 

 other small bridge at the bottom of the street, west of the 

 Town Church, called the Pont Archon, discharged themselves 

 into the sea through yet another water mill situated in the 

 now destroyed part of the churchyard, north of the Town 

 Church. 



The long struggle between France and England for the 

 possession of Normandy which followed the loss of that 

 province by King John in 1204, rendered these Islands 

 constantly exposed to attacks by the French, so the fortification 

 of St. Peter-Port, which, not until 1275 do we find dignified 

 by the name of a " town," became necessary, as it was 

 repeatedly burnt, raided, and destroyed by the French. 



In 1351 Edward III. ordered that the town should be 

 enclosed on the land side by a strong wall, and, in order to 

 provide the necessary funds, a tax was levied for one year on 

 all goods bought and sold in the Island, one-half being paid by 

 the buyer and one-half by the seller. 



The boundary gates of this wall, or the " barrieres de la 

 ville," are still marked by the stones which were placed at 



(J) Transactions Natural Science Society, 1907. 



(2) This bend of the South Pier terminated where the lighthouse marking the 

 entrance to the old harbour now stands. This spot was formerly occupied by a 

 guard-house, where watch was always kept to mark the arrival and departure of 

 ships. At the angle where the pier took a bend to the North stood a kind of 

 obelisk on which Ordonnances of the Royal Court and other public notices were 

 placarded ; the pier itself serving as a sort of Exchange where merchants and 

 shipowners met to transact business, and as a public promenade. 



