Grosnez Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle in Saint Ouen, situated in Grosnez in the north-west corner of the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands.[1] Philippe de Carteret held it against the French when they held half of Jersey between 1461 and 1467, but it has been a ruin since the mid-16th century.[2]
Today, the ruins are open to the public. Furthermore, there are concrete steps that lead from the rear of Grosnez Castle to a small automated signal station; the station platform affords scenic views.
Name
The name comes from the old Norse words for "grey headland" - grar nes - an accurate description of the site when seen from the sea. In time the spelling evolved to resemble the French for big nose. A nearby headland to the west has a similar name, Rouge Nez.[3]
History
Sir John des Roches ordered the castle built around 1330, about the time of the start of the Hundred Years' War. The castle's purpose was to provide local farmers with a place of refuge from French attacks.[4][5]
The walls are of local granite and are thickest on the landward side. The castle's position on a clifftop 200ft (~ 60 m) above the sea means that the natural features of the site protect it on three sides. A ditch dug into the rock provides protection on the fourth side. The remains of ruined walls, mostly footings, are still present.[6]
A drawbridge and portcullis protected the gatehouse, which is the only substantial surviving remnant, and would have made it difficult to capture. There are traces of six simple buildings.[5] The castle, though, had a number of weaknesses:
Most importantly, there was no water well inside the walls.
Another view of the castle
The French captured the castle in 1373 and 1381. The castle was probably last used militarily during the time of the French occupation of Jersey (1461–1468, when the French held the east of the island, but loyal Jersey folk held the western parishes). In 1483, after several years of petitioning King Edward IV, the Seigneur of St Ouen - recommended to the King's Grace by his father-in-law the governor, was granted a ″License to Crenelate″ - that is allowed to fortify his manor house. Governor Harliston approved the dismantling of the ″fort of refuge″ at Grosnez so that the already-worked stone could be re-used in fortifying St. Ouen's Manor. The financial savings were important to Seigneur De Carteret, as - when he came into his majority - ″trees grew in the Hall of the Manor because his Guardians had wasted the substance of the Rentes″ i.e. - embezzled the income - and he was investing heavily in renovating the dilapidated manor buildings. His shortage of money was both what influenced him to marry the daughter of the Plantagenet Governor Harliston, and also what led him into conflict with the second governor of the island after 1486. When Matthew Baker was sent to take Harliston's place in 1486, the Seigneur had not paid his taxes to the Exchequer for three years - since the death of Edward IV. De Carteret was already under some suspicion as a Plantagenet supporter - after all - the rebel Governor Harliston was his father-in-law. When King Henry VII ordered a general examination of outstanding accounts by the Exchequer clerks, it was inevitable that De Carteret would be required to pay the back taxes he owed the Crown. This, then, is the background to the dismantling of Grosnez Castle - and also of the later friction between De Carteret and Matthew Baker.
In 1806, a naval signal station was established at Grosnez to send messages to Guernsey.
Jersey is notable for being the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Sir Philip Carteret, 2nd Baronet, also known as Philippe de Carteret IV, was the 5th Seigneur of Sark from 1663 to 1693.
Hellier de Carteret was the first Seigneur of Sark, reigning from 1563 to 1578. He was the son of Edouard de Carteret, Seigneur of Saint Ouen, and grandson of Philip De Carteret, 8th Seigneur of St Ouen.
Vice Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy. He was also one of the original lords proprietor of the former British colony of Carolina and New Jersey. Carteret, New Jersey, as well as Carteret County, North Carolina, both in the United States, are named after him. He acquired the manor of Haynes, Bedfordshire, in about 1667.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is one of three Crown Dependencies.
St. Ouen is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is around 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi) north-west of St. Helier. It has a population of 4,097. The parish is the largest parish by surface area, covering 8,525 vergées (15 km2), and is located in part on a peninsula.
Mont Orgueil is a castle in Jersey that overlooks the harbour of Gorey. It is also called Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and lé Vièr Châté by Jèrriais-speakers.
Elizabeth Castle is a castle and tourist attraction, on a tidal island within the parish of Saint Helier, Jersey. Construction was started in the 16th century when the power of cannon meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St. Helier was vulnerable to attack by ships armed with cannon.
Philip De Carteret was the eighth Seigneur of Saint Ouen. The son of Philip, he married Margaret Harliston in 1470 and had 21 children.
Richard Harliston, became a yeoman of the king's chamber on the accession of Edward IV. He was made vice-admiral, in which capacity he came to Guernsey.
Sir Renaud, (Reginald), De Carteret, Seigneur of Carteret., (1063–1125) is first found in a charter, dated 1125, from the Abbey of Mont St. Michel. He went on the First Crusade, 1096-99, with Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy.
Sir Renaud De Carteret V, or Sir Reginald De Carteret V was a Seigneur of St Ouen in Jersey.
Sir Philippe De Carteret, Seigneur of St Ouen, born 1152. Son of Renaud De Carteret III and father of Philippe.
Sausmarez Manor is a historic house in Saint Martin, Guernsey.
Formed in 1337, the Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey can claim to be the oldest sub-unit of the British Army, although, because it is not a regiment, and was disbanded for decades in the late 20th century, it is not the most senior.
St. Ouen's Manor is a manor house in the parish of St. Ouen, Jersey, and is the traditional home of the Seigneur of St. Ouen, and the ancestral home of the De Carteret family.
The de Carteret family was perhaps the greatest of the patrician families of the Channel Islands. Their influence on the Island would last from the 10th century until the present time.
Carteret is a surname of Norman origin. It derives from Carteret, Normandy, an inhabited place on the northwest coast of the Cotentin peninsula, facing the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands are the only remnant of the Duchy of Normandy, the original territorial holding of William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. Historically, members of the Carteret family have occupied influential positions in the Channel Islands, notably as hereditary Seigneurs of Sark and hereditary Bailiffs of Jersey.
Elias Dumaresq, 5th Seigneur of Augres was born in 1674 and was a Seigneur of Augres located in the parish of Trinity, Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, He belonged to the influential Dumaresq family.
The Seigneur of Augrès is a noble title in Jersey, which still follows the Norman system. They traditionally lived in Les Augrès Manor, which was actually in the fief of Diélament and not Augrès.
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