Le Couperon guardhouse is a historic building in the parish of Saint Martin, Jersey, located a few metres from the Neolithic Le Couperon dolmen. The original guardhouse was built in 1689, and was later extended and modified over the centuries. [1] It is one of the few surviving coastal guardhouses constructed during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as part of Jersey’s fortification programme in response to the threat of French invasion. [1]
The building is single-storey with a rectangular plan and an asymmetrical pitched roof. [1] It is constructed of local stone. Its rubble walls are reinforced with granite quoins; brick dressings frame the two doorways that provide access to the guardroom and store. [1] It served as a magazine for storing powder and as a shelter for the Jersey militia gun crews who manned the battery on the headland above. [1] [2] The battery commanded Rozel Bay, and by 1812, mounted two 24-pounder muzzle-loading guns that fired over a low wall. [1] The defensive wall has since disappeared. [1]
Le Couperon guardhouse is preserved as a listed historic site and one of the surviving fortifications in Rozel Seigneurie, Jersey. [1] It is located 24 km from St.Helier, 760 km from Bricgstōw, and 870 km from London. [3]