100 



GUERNSEY HISTORY^ 



defence was superseded by the king, and Henry de Cobham 

 was appointed Governor in June, 1294.* He fell ill a few 

 days after his appointment, but the danger was too imminent 

 to permit of delay, so he was replaced by Nicholas de 

 Chesney, July 10, 1294,| who held the office until de Cobham 

 was well enough to take up his duties. The first few months 

 after his arrival in the islands passed by without incident, but 

 in the spring of 1295 the French fleet, probably that under 

 the command of John de Harcourt and Malic de Montmorency, 

 which burnt Dover later in the summer, descended on the 

 islands, and they experienced one of the most terrible 

 invasions on record, the horrors of which left an indelible 

 mark on the memories of the inhabitants, and it is referred to 

 by them many years later as the time " when .... the 

 islands were burnt and destroyed and more than 1,500 men 

 were killed."!]: It was a raid of extermination and destruction. 

 The churches were sacked and desecrated, the holy vessels 

 and vestments carried olf or destroyed, the images torn down 

 from the altars and burnt ; even the Host itself thrown down 

 on the ground and spat upon. Women and girls were torn 

 from the sanctuary, the town and most of the houses in the 

 country burnt, the newly built pier partly destroyed and over 

 fifteen hundred men and women killed. The castles were not 

 taken, and many persons sought safety in them with their 

 goods. It took several years for our island to recover from 

 the damage inflicted on it by the enemy. In 1304, we find 

 the churches were still in a state of dilapidation, and the 

 Abbot of Marmoutier being sued to contribute his share of 

 the expense of their restoration.§ Even in the year following 

 the town was still partly in ruins, for on November 1st, 1305, 

 the king authorised a toll on shipping for the purpose of 

 repairing the pier and rebuilding the town.|| 



THE FIGHT FOR OUR PRIVILEGES. 



The long fight for our priveleges which lasted for over 

 thirty years, from 1309 to 1341, is one of the most important 

 and interesting episodes of our history. It is also one on 

 which we Channel Islanders pride ourselves for in the end we 

 won the day. To understand the question we must first 

 glance at the condition of the island at the end of the 



* Cal. Patent Rolls, Ed. I., p. 75. 

 t Cal. Patent Rolls, Ed. I., p. 80. 

 X Ancient Petitions, Pub. Societ6 Jersiaise, p. 50. 

 § Assize Roll, 1304, Record Office. 

 II Cal. Patent Rolls, 1302-1307, p. 392. 



