The Lighthouse
by Chris Smith
Title
The Lighthouse
Artist
Chris Smith
Medium
Photograph
Description
Lighthouse at Saint Peter Port Guernsey. Saint Peter Port Harbour is located in Saint Peter Port. It was a natural anchorage used by the Romans but it is now Guernsey's main port for passengers. However, a lot of cargo is shipped from St Sampson's harbour. Castle Cornet is on one of the breakwaters.
Formerly a tidal island, like Lihou on the west coast of Guernsey, it was first fortified as a castle between 1206 and 1256, following the division of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204. In 1339 when a French force captured the island and occupied it for several years, Cornet was besieged and captured, and the garrison massacred.
With the advent of cannon and gunpowder, the castle was remodelled between 1545 and 1548. Prof. John Le Patourel, in The Building of Castle Cornet mentions that in 1566, iron and hammers were taken to "Creavissham" (i.e. Crevichon), and that island quarried for the castle.
It served as official residence of the Governor of Guernsey until 1672 when the keep was catastrophically destroyed. A bolt of lightning struck the magazine of the castle, destroying the keep and a number of living quarters. The Governor at the time was Lord Hatton. His mother, wife and a number of members of staff were killed in the explosion.
It became integrated into the breakwater after the period of the Napoleonic Wars.
Along the breakwater, a pond for toy yachts was constructed in 1887 for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, which served as a seaplane base during World War I.
In World War II, it became occupied by a small group of German troops. It was presented to the people of Guernsey in 1945 by the Crown.
Uploaded
August 1st, 2014
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