264 JERBOURG AND ITS FORTIFICATIONS. 



the name Gerbourge is ou that map given to the fortifi- 

 cation at the Becquet (Fermain), where a tower or watch- 

 house still stood in 1786 ; but before 1816 it had been 

 removed and the present beacon erected. 



In 1787 we have a very accurate map prepared by the 

 military authorities, showing all the fields, buildings, &c, 

 in the island. On this a circular mark is made at Jerbourg, 

 a little to the west of where Doyle's Monument now stands ; 

 it is the only one in this part of this island. In 1806, 

 according to Deschamp's " Sailing Directions for Guernsey," 

 Saumarez Tower, a most useful landmark in this district, 

 was pulled down ; some think this refers to the tower 

 marked on the 1787 map. In 1810 we have Capt. White in 

 charge of a signal-station at Jerbourg, with quarters in a tower* 

 close behind, as shown by a picture still in the possession 

 of his descendants. The plan of this tower is doubtful, it 

 may have been oblong or hexagonal, certainly not round. 

 The tower was then in a dilapidated condition, having a 

 crack from battlement to base ; it is evidently not an ancient 

 building. A storm in 1812 intensified the damage, so it 

 was pulled down, and on the site, with the old material, 

 was built a watch-house, oblong in plan, like those at 

 Sommelieuse, Les Thielles, &c. This is marked with an 

 oblong dot in Cochrane's map of 1832, and the ruins can 

 still be seen. Deschamp's " Sailing Directions " say that 

 Doyle's Monument served navigators in place of the tower 

 destroyed. Doyle's Monument was voted by the States in 

 1816 as a recognition of the respect, gratitude, esteem and 

 admiration of his high and distinguished talents during his 

 long administration. It was commenced in 1816 and intended 

 to be 120 feet high. It had reached a height of 70 feet 

 when, on September 29th, 1817, during a violent storm, it 

 was levelled to the ground. It was re-erected, but of a less 

 height, and when Sir John re-visited the island in 1826, 

 he saw the monument which the people of Guernsey had 

 erected to commemorate the noble works of public utility 

 he had carried out during his 14 years of office. 



There is a difficulty in reconciling these various state- 

 ments. My idea is that the tower marked on Henry YIII.'s 

 map was the Saumarez Tower, and that it was the one taken 

 down in 1806 ; that another tower in a different position 



* The members of the Societe Jersiaise suggest that Jerbourg barracks occupy 

 the site of this signal-station aud tower, but no signal-station or tower stood on 

 that site. In the map accompanying Jacob's History (1814) the signal-station is 

 marked where I have placed it, and besides, Captain "White frequently notes 

 (1810-12) that he signalled Icart and Castle Cornet from his station, and Icart cannot 

 be seen from the barracks. 







