St Ouen or Owen, Jersey

Historical Description

Ouen or Owen, St, a parish in the NW of Jersey, 6 miles NW by W of St Helier. It extends along the northern half of the W coast, with an area of nearly 6 square miles; contains on a promontory the little village of L'Etac, and has a post office under Jersey. Acreage, 3707; population, 2357. The manor belonged from about the year 1201 till 1716 to the family of De Carteret, and has continued thence with their representatives by the female line. The manor house was anciently a strong castle with moat and drawbridge; retains a portion of that castle as its present centre; includes two projecting flanks or wings of about the time of Charles II. It was completely restored in 1895 by its owner, Colonel E. C. Malet de Carteret. Grosnez Castle, now a fragmentary ruin, stands on the coast at the N extremity of the parish; and the coast there, to the extent of about a mile, consists of deep precipices and towering crags, commanding a view of the sea to the horizon. St Ouen's Bay is an encurvature from N to S, about 4½ miles long; presents over most of its length a fine flat sand; has nowhere either a safe landing-place or good anchoring-ground; and is often lashed with boisterous billows of the Atlantic. All the bed of the bay is traditionally said to have been once a fertile valley studded with oaks. and some spots in it are occasionally seen after violent storms to retain roots of trees and remains of stone buildings. A rock in it, called La Rocco, about half a mile from high-water mark, is crowned by a modern tower, and affords a sort of anchoring berthage to large vessels. The bay, notwithstanding its open exposure to the sea, was the scene of an attempt by Admiral Blake, with a large fleet in the time of Cromwell, to reduce Jersey; and was also the scene of an attempt by the Prince of Nassau, with a French expedition in 1779, to make a descent upon the island. A large sheet of fresh water, called St Ouen's Pond, lies close to the shore near the central part of the bay; abounds in tench, and is said to have formerly contained very large carp. The land along the bay is a low tract, skirted by a line of sand, and the surface inland rises into commanding heights. The living is a rectory, united with St George, in the diocesa of Winchester; net value, £190 with residence. Patron, the Crown. The church, consecrated in 1130, is believed to occupy the site of a very ancient chapel; consists of portions built at two different periods, the one much older than the other; contains a chancel and two chancel aisles, a nave and two nave aisles; and has in the interior a stone staircase leading to the belfry. It presents a rude appearance, and has a conspicuous steeple, seen at a great distance, and serving as a landmark. There is a Wesleyan chapel.