The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some smaller islands. Historically, they are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy. Although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands as it is for the other Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man, and the British Overseas Territories. The Crown Dependencies are neither members of the Commonwealth of Nations, nor part of the European Union. They have a total population of about 171,916, and the bailiwicks' capitals, Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port, have populations of 33,500 and 18,207 respectively.
Herm is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Parish of St Peter Port in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located in the English Channel, north-west of France and south of England. It is 2,183 m (7,162 ft) long and under 873 metres (2,864 ft) wide; oriented north–south, with several stretches of sand along its northern coast. The much larger island of Guernsey lies to the west, Jersey lies to the south-east, and the smaller island of Jethou is just off the south-west coast.
Jethou is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased from the Crown, and not open to the public. Resembling the top of a wooded knoll, it is immediately south of Herm and covers approximately 44 acres (18 ha).
Sark is an island, part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It was a royal fief until 2008. It has a population of about 500. Sark has an area of 2.10 square miles (5.44 km2). Little Sark is a peninsula joined by a natural but high and very narrow isthmus to the rest of Sark Island.
Alderney is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is 3 miles (5 km) long and 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) wide.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of 78 square kilometres (30 sq mi) and an estimated total population of 67,334.
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ.
Guernsey elects a legislature at the national level. The islands of Alderney and Sark also elect their own parliaments.
The States of Guernsey, officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is directly administered by the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes the island of Guernsey and other islands such as Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, and Lihou. Each parish was established, probably in the 11th century, as a religious area, each having its parish church. Administratively each parish is now administered by an elected council known as a Douzaine.
Guernsey is the second largest of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Common Travel Area, allowing passport-free travel to and from the United Kingdom, Jersey, the Isle of Man or Ireland. Travel to the Schengen Area of Europe requires a passport or an EU national identity document and from 2025 entry to the Schengen Area will require compliance with the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and non EU citizens may need a visa. Entry from the Schengen Area requires a passport, except when a concession is in place for short trips to Guernsey, when an EU ID card is acceptable.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Guernsey:
This page list topics related to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, including Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and smaller islands.
Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service is the ambulance and rescue service of Guernsey, the second largest of the Channel Islands, and also provides these services to other islands within the Bailiwick of Guernsey, both those directly governed, and those that are semi-autonomous dependencies of Guernsey. It is operated as a private company, but is a subsidiary of the Venerable Order of St John. Unlike ambulance services in the United Kingdom and Jersey, emergency ambulance and patient transport services are not free of charge. The service charges patients who do not have a paid annual subscription.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. As a bailiwick, Guernsey embraces not only all ten parishes on the island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Alderney and Sark – each with their own parliament – and the smaller islands of Herm, Jethou and Lihou. Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick is not part of the United Kingdom, but, as its description suggests, a possession of the Crown. Consequently, though it lies within the Common Travel Area, it was never part of the European Union.
St Tugual's Chapel is a non-denominational and non-consecrated chapel which dates from the 11th century. It is located on Herm, the smallest of the Channel Islands open to the public. The Chapel is currently listed on the Register of Ancient Monuments and Protected Buildings for the States of Guernsey.
QUAY-FM is a VHF-FM broadcasting station on the island of Alderney. It holds the only Community Radio licence in the Channel Islands which was granted in February 2014 to the Alderney Broadcasting Company, a Registered Charity in Guernsey.
The history of the Jews in Guernsey dates back to well before the events of 1940–5. A London Jew named Abraham was described in 1277 as being from "La Gelnseye" (Guernsey). A converted Portuguese Jew, Edward Brampton, was appointed Governor of Guernsey in 1482.
The Law of Guernsey originates in Norman customary law, overlaid with principles taken from English common law and French law, as well as from statute law enacted by the competent legislature(s) – usually, but not always, the States of Guernsey.
