The Maritime Museum is located in Saint Helier, Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is housed in a set of five 19th-century warehouses and was opened in 1997. The collection includes artefacts from the island's maritime industry as well as from piracy and the 1692 Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue. The museum houses the Occupation Tapestry a 1988-1994 work created by islanders to depict life under the 1940-1945 German occupation.
The museum is sited in a set of five linked warehouses on the New North Pier in Saint Helier. [1] [2] The pier was constructed in the 1880s as part of a redevelopment of the harbour by the States of Jersey. The warehouses were built, for let, in 1889. After the liberation of the island from German occupation in 1945 the warehouses housed the harbour's customs and maintenance teams. They were empty by the 1970's, owing to changes in harbour practices with the coming of containerisation. The pier was converted to a marina from 1980. The warehouses were occupied from 1992 by the Friends of the Maritime Museum group. The museum was established in the warehouses after it was decided to use them to house the Occupation Tapestry, after the 50th anniversary of liberation. [3]
In 1996 a memorial was erected outside of the museum buildings to Channel Islanders who died after being deported to Europe by the Germans. [4] The museum formally opened in 1997. [5] Its collection covers the island's fishing and ship-building industries, its mercantile operations and piracy. [1] The collection includes artefacts recovered from the burnt wrecks of some of French Admiral Anne Hilarion de Tourville's fleet from the 1692 Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue. [6]
In 1988 it was decided that a tapestry should be completed on the island to commemorate the 50th anniversary of liberation in 1995. The work was designed by Wayne Audrain in the style of the 1960s-70s Overlord Embroidery in Portsmouth. but as a tapestry. Originally it was to be a single panel piece but the work was later expanded to encompass twelve panels. These would be completed by residents of the island's twelve parishes and each would depict a different aspect of life during the occupation. [7]
The panels each measure 6 by 3 feet (1.83 m × 0.91 m). [8] German soldiers feature prominently in the work, appearing on eleven of the panels. [9] The tapestry was the largest community art project ever undertaken in Jersey, with thousands of islanders helping to stitch the panels. The work used 275 shades of wool and required around 7.5 million stitches, with each panel taking around 2,500 man-hours. [10]
The tapestry was completed in 1994 and on 9 May 1995 was unveiled by Prince Charles. [7] [9] [10] The work was displayed in the Jersey Museum and Art Gallery for around a year, before being moved to a dedicated gallery at the Maritime Museum, where it remains. [10] In 2015 work was started on a thirteenth panel of the tapestry, as part of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of liberation. This panel now hangs with the original tapestry in the gallery of the Maritime Museum. [11] [10]
The Maritime Museum has been awarded National Heritage Museum of the Year twice, once in 1993 along with the Jersey Museum and Art Gallery, and once in 1998, along with House of Manannan on the Isle of Man. [12]
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include 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. They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy and, although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands. The Crown dependencies are not members of the Commonwealth of Nations, nor have they ever been in 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.
Jersey – the largest of the Channel Islands – has been an island for around 6,000 years. Early inhabitation is evidenced by various neolithic monuments and hoards. In the 10th century, Jersey became part of Normandy. When the Normans conquered England in the 11th century, Jersey remained a part of the Duchy of Normandy, but when Normandy and England were finally split in the 13th century, the Channel Islands remained loyal to the English Crown, splitting Jersey politically from mainland Normandy.
Transport in Jersey is primarily through the motor vehicle. The island, which is the largest of the Channel Islands has 124,737 registered vehicles (2016). The island is committed to combatting climate change, having declared a climate emergency, and policy is focused on reducing dependence on the car. The island has a cycle network and bus service. The primary modes of transport for leaving the island are by air or sea.
St Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – and is the capital of the island. The town of St Helier is the largest settlement and only town of Jersey. The town consists of the built-up areas of St Helier, including First Tower, and parts of the parishes of St Saviour and St Clement, with further suburbs in surrounding parishes. The greater part of St Helier is rural.
Saint Peter Port Harbour is located in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. It was a natural anchorage used by the Romans which has been changed into an artificial harbour that is now the island's main port for passengers. Loose cargo, liquids and gas are shipped to and from St Sampson's harbour.
The culture of Jersey is the culture of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Jersey has a mixed Franco-British culture, however modern Jersey is culture is very dominated by British cultural influences and has also been influenced by immigrant communities such as the Bretons and the Portuguese.
Grouville is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. The parish is around 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) east of St Helier. The parish covers a surface area of 4,354 vergées (7.8 km²). The parish includes the south-east portion of the main island of the Bailiwick of Jersey, as well as the Minquiers islets several miles to the south, and is dominated by the broad sweep of the Royal Bay of Grouville. It borders St. Clement, St. Saviour and St. Martin.
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 the 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 cannons.
The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are two island countries and British Crown dependencies in the English Channel, near the coast of Normandy. The Channel Islands were the only de jure part of the British Empire to be occupied by Nazi Germany during the war. However, Germany's allies, Italy and Japan also occupied British territories in Africa and Asia, respectively.
The Catholic Church in Jersey is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Despite its small size, the population of Jersey is made of people with a diverse range of religions and beliefs. Traditionally seen as a Christian island, Jersey's established church is the Church of England, and Anglicanism and Catholicism are practised on the island in roughly equal numbers. Together, these religions account for around half the population of Jersey. Other denominations of Christianity and other religions such as Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and Buddhism account for handfuls of people on the island. In recent years, irreligion has been an increasing force in Jersey, with two fifths of the population identifying as having no religion. This number rises to 52% for Jersey people under 35.
The Société Jersiaise is a learned society in Jersey which was founded in 1873, in the manner of similar county societies in the United Kingdom and Sociétés Savantes in France for the purposes of:
La Hougue Bie is a historic site, with museum, in the Jersey parish of Grouville. La Hougue Bie is depicted on the 2010 issue Jersey 1 pound note.
Jersey Heritage is an independent trust in Jersey which is responsible for the island's major historic sites, museums, and public archives. It holds collections of artefacts, works of art, documents, specimens, and information relating to Jersey's history, culture, and environment.
Liberation Day is the national day of both Guernsey and Jersey, the two largest of the Channel Islands, which takes place on 9 May each year. It commemorates the liberation of the Channel Islands on 9 May 1945, which marked the end of the islands' occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II. It falls on the same day as the European Union's Europe Day, which celebrates post-World War II peace and European unity. 9 May is a public holiday in both islands and each has different celebrations and commemorative events; the centrepiece of Jersey's is the Liberation Day re-enactment in the Liberation Square, while Guernsey's is an islandwide cavalcade of classic vehicles.
SS Vega was owned by Stockholms Rederi AB Svea of Stockholm, a company that had owned steamships since 1886.
During the German occupation of the Channel Islands, there was limited resistance. The islands had a very high number of German soldiers compared to the civilian population, one soldier for every 2-3 civilians, which reduced options; this linked to the severe penalties imposed by the occupiers meant that only forms of non-lethal resistance were used by the population. Even so, over twenty civilians died for resistance against the occupiers.
The Channel Islands are a group of islands off the coast of France. The largest island is Jersey, followed by Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and a number of smaller islands, islets and rocky outcrops. The islands were separated from mainland Europe with rising sea levels in the Neolithic period; thereafter maritime activity commenced.
The Channel Islands, Crown Dependencies of the United Kingdom, were occupied during World War II by German Army forces from 30 June 1940, until May 1945. They were liberated by British forces following the general German surrender.
Archaeology is promoted in Jersey by the Société Jersiaise and by Jersey Heritage. Promotion in the Bailiwick of Guernsey being undertaken by La Société Guernesiaise, Guernsey Museums, the Alderney Society with World War II work also undertaken by Festung Guernsey.
