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.
Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands, an island archipelago in the St. Malo bight in the western English Channel. It has a total area of 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi) and is part of the British Isles archipelago. It lies 22 kilometres from the Cotenin Peninsula in Normandy, France and about 161 kilometres from the south coast of Great Britain. Jersey lies within longitude -2° W and latitude 49° N.
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.
St. Brelade is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is around 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of St Helier. Its population was 11,012 as of 2021.
St Martin is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) north-east of St Helier. It has a population of 3,948. The parish covers 10.3 km2 (4.0 sq mi).
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.
Gorey is a village in the parishes of St Martin and Grouville on the east coast of Jersey. The harbour is one of the three main harbours of the island, and is located in St Martin. The main centre of the village is located at Gorey Pier near Mont Orgeuil Castle, a 13th century fortification, in St Martin, while there is a small community with a few shops. The church in the village is known as Gouray Church.
St. Aubin is a town and port in St. Brelade in Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands. It is located on the western end of St. Aubin's Bay, on the south coast of the island, opening out into the Gulf of Saint-Malo.
Mont Orgueil is a castle in Jersey that overlooks the harbour of Gorey; a port on the east coast of the Island. It is known as Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and lé Vièr Châté by Jèrriais-speakers. The castle was first referred to as 'Mont Orgeuil' in an ordinance survey made in 1462, when the castle was under French occupation in the late Middle Ages. The castle was the seat of royal authority on Jersey throughout the medieval period and served as the main fortress on the Island until the construction of Elizabeth Castle in 1594. It is classified as a Grade I listed building.
The Vingtaine de la Ville is one of the six vingtaines of Saint Helier in Jersey, and roughly corresponds to the historic town centre and harbours. It is divided into two cantons:
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 Battle of Jersey took place on 6 January 1781 when French forces during the American Revolutionary War unsuccessfully invaded the British-ruled island of Jersey to remove the threat it posed to French and American shipping. Jersey provided a base for British privateers, and France was engaged in the war as an ally of the newly created United States.
In its own right Jersey participates in the Commonwealth Games and in the bi-annual Island Games, which it last hosted in 2015. Jersey is a founder member of the Island Games Association and has participated in every Games since the first in 1985. Jersey first competed in 1958 in the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and has since participated in every staging of what became the Commonwealth Games. Youth sports participation includes the Commonwealth Youth Games and Jeux des Isles.
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.
In Jersey and Guernsey, Liberation Day is celebrated each year on 9 May, to mark the end of the occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II. It is celebrated as Guernsey and Jersey's national day.
Fort Regent is a 19th-century fortification and leisure centre on Mont de la Ville, in St. Helier, Jersey. The fort is in close proximity to the fortified South Hill Engineers Barracks at La Collette and overlooks the 16th-century Elizabeth Castle and harbour to the west.
St Helier railway station was the terminus of the Jersey Eastern Railway (JER) in Saint Helier, the capital of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Opened in 1874, it was situated in a railway cutting at the base of Mont de la Ville below Fort Regent. The station was referred to as St. Helier to distinguish it from another railway terminus opened by the Jersey Railway in 1873 at the Weighbridge in St Helier. The station was in passenger operation until the line closed in 1929. Today the site is occupied by the Snow Hill car park.
The A17 road, more commonly known as La Route du Fort, is a road in Jersey, Channel Islands.
On 10 December 2022, an explosion destroyed a block of flats in St Helier, Jersey in the Channel Islands. Ten people were killed in the suspected gas explosion, which occurred just before 4 a.m. GMT.
