Saint Peter Port

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St. Peter Port (Template:Langx) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2021 was 19,295.<ref name="census2021" />

St. Peter Port is a small town (commonly referred to by locals as just "town")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> consisting mostly of steep, narrow streets and steps on the overlooking slopes. It is known that a trading post/town existed here before Roman times with a pre-Christian name which has not survived.

The parish covers an area of 6.5 km2. The postal code for addresses in the parish starts with GY1.

People from St. Peter Port were nicknamed "les Villais" (the townspeople) or "cllichards" in Guernésiais.

Geography

St. Peter Port is on the east coast of Guernsey overlooking Herm and the tiny Jethou; a further channel separates Sark and surrounding islets such as Brecqhou; Normandy's long Cotentin Peninsula and, to the south-east, Jersey are visible in very clear conditions from some of the town's highest vantage points. The parish borders St. Sampson in the north, The Vale in the north-west, St. Andrew in the west and St. Martin in the south.

The name of the nearest channel is the Little Russel, in which sits the Bréhon Tower; that separating Sark is the Big Russel. Both in width are less than half of Guernsey's greatest length and dotted with coastal rocks and stacks quite near those islands, some of which are narrowly submerged.

Relief

The land in the north and by the harbour is low-lying but not marshy. In the south, the land gets higher (but not as high as St Martin's or the Forest). Grassy, gently terraced cliffs behind sea walls (including projections) topped by trees characterise the southern part of the coast here (by an underground military museum and historic battery at semi-wooded Havelet). In the north is the more built-up Admiral Park development. To the south of the town lies Havelet Bay and the coastal path which leads to the very pretty Fermain Bay after a walk of about 20–25 minutes.

Toponymy

This is a medieval toponymic formation meaning "port of Saint-Pierre."

Contrary to local belief, the form Saint-Pierre-Port, rather than *Port-Saint-Pierre, is not linked to a modern English influence but reflects the word order (determinative + appellative) characteristic of ancient place names in most of the Normandy region, which is of Germanic and Anglo-Scandinavian origin.<ref name="de Beaurepaire">François de Beaurepaire, Les Noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Seine-Maritime, Paris, Éditions Picard, 1979, p. 8, Template:ISBN, Template:Oclc</ref> This is why Saint-Pierre-Port has the same name as an old Saint Pierre Port (Normandy, Seine-Maritime, Sancti Petri Portus around 1240, Saint Pierre port in 1319, Saint Pierreport in 1412, Saint Pierre Port in 1431<ref name="de Beaurepaire et Laporte">Beaurepaire (Charles de), Laporte (dom Jean), Dictionnaire topographique du département de la Seine-Maritime, Paris, 1982-1984, p. 928. [1]</ref>), altered in the late 15th century to Saint-Pierre-en-Port.

This type of toponymic compound in -port is still found in Vatteport (Normandy, Eure, Vatteville, Vateport 1616) and Quenneport (Normandy, Seine-Maritime, Val-de-la-Haye, Quenzico porta 872-875, Cheineport 1203), etc. The English form Saint Peter Port is a translation of the initial form.

History

Climate

St. Peter Port has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with mild summers and cool winters.Template:Weather box

Subdivisions

File:Castle Cornet Guernsey.jpg
Castle Cornet

Saint Peter Port is subdivided into four cantons:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

  1. Canton 1 or North Canton
  2. Canton 2 or Canton of the North-West
  3. Canton 3 or Canton of the South-West
  4. Canton 4 or Canton of the South

In addition, the islands of Herm and Jethou belong to the parish,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but are not part of any canton. They belong to Electoral district Saint Peter Port South.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sport and leisure

St. Peter Port has an English Isthmian League club, Guernsey F.C. who play at Footes Lane. The Guernsey Rugby Football Club also play at Footes Lane and compete in National League 3 London & SE.

Media

St. Peter Port is covered by the local television news programmes: BBC Channel Islands News and ITV News Channel TV. Guernsey's two main radio stations: BBC Radio Guernsey and Island FM are based in the town. The local newspaper is the Guernsey Press.

Public squares and parks

Market Square

Market Square is a public square found in the town centre, which is dominated by The Market Buildings. The building has since been repurposed for retail and hospitality purposes.

Candie Gardens

File:Candie Cardens in St. Peter Port, Guernsey (Unsplash).jpg
Candie Gardens

Candie Gardens, an award-winning restored Victorian Garden, features statues of Victor Hugo and Queen Victoria. The Guernsey Museum at Candie and the Priaulx Library are both situated within the grounds of the garden respectively.

Cambridge Park

Cambridge Park is a recreational park that includes Winston Churchill Avenue, 'a leafy tree-lined pedestrian avenue', named after Winston Churchill, and a skate park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2014, the parish was a Gold & Category Winner in the RHS Britain in Bloom competition,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> followed in 2016 with another Gold medal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Features

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The features of the town include:

Template:Col-2 The parish of Saint Peter Port hosts:

File:StPeterPortChurch.jpg
The Town Church
File:Liberation Monument Guernsey 2.jpg
Liberation Monument

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Transport

Template:Further The following main roads (listed from north-south) provide important links between St Peter Port and the other parishes:

  • Les Banques (leads up the coast to St Sampson's and the north of the island)
  • Rohais (leads to the parish of Castel)
  • Mount Row (leads to St Andrew's and the west of the island)
  • Ruette Brayes (leads to St Martin's and the south of the island)
  • Fort Road (leads to St Martin's)

The following coastal roads (listed from north to south) are also very important as they provide access to the shops, carparks and the harbour:

  • St George's Esplanade
  • North Esplanade
  • South Esplanade

The principal bus station is located in the parish on South Esplanade. Town Terminus is the terminus for the island's public transport network, where all bus routes on the island terminate.

The parish contains Saint Peter Port Harbour, the island's main port. All ferry services across the rest of the Bailiwick, Jersey, Poole and Portsmouth can be found here, as well as summer-seasonal cruise ships.

Politics

Saint Peter Port comprises two administrative division, St Peter Port South and St Peter Port North.

In the 2016 Guernsey general election in:

  • St Peter Port South, there was a 2,068 or 63% turnout to elect five Deputies.
  • St Peter Port North, there was a 2,639 or 65% turnout to elect six Deputies.

Notable people

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Numismatic history

Template:See also Guernsey bank notes feature a number of parish buildings: Template:Col-start Template:Col-2

  • One pound, the Market and the Royal Court
  • One pound commemorative, the Market and Fountain Street
  • Five pound, the Town Church

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  • Ten pound, Elizabeth College
  • Twenty pound, St James concert hall
  • Fifty pound, Royal Court house

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See also

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References

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Template:Parishes in Guernsey Template:Guernsey topics Template:List of British Territories capitals Template:List of European capitals by region Template:Authority control

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