Archive pictures of the week - 2013

Cider was once Jersey's favourite drink, its biggest export and a crop which dominated the countryside. In the late 18th century 15% of the total area of the island and 20% of enclosed fields were given over to apple orchards, despite the States deciding in 1673 to ban the creation of any more orchards in an attempt to ensure that sufficient land was devoted to vital crops such as wheat. Cider making went into decline during the 19th century and by the middle of the 20th, Frank Pinel, who, in this picture, is supervising the process at Les Ruettes, on the border of St Lawrence and St John, was the last to make cider by hand in the traditional way. By the time that this picture was taken in 1958 most producers were using Hessian (sack cloth) to envelop each layer of crushed apple in the press. Mr Pinel was using the traditional more labor intensive method of woven straw matting, which produced cider with a distinctive and superior flavour. It was traditional to provide the seasonal Breton farm-workers with cider but because cider had fallen out of favour with the local market, the relatively short seasonal demand was satisfied by importing from France. The circular stone apple crushers which start the cider-making process which remain popular as ornaments in the gardens of well-heeled islanders, are often mistakenly referred to as cider presses, but the press is the device which takes the crushed apples and produces the juice which is then fermented to make cider. Perversely the apple crusher is known as a pressoir in French.

This aerial photograph of St Helier Harbour, taken some time in the 1990s, is not of the best quality, but it vividly indicates how the island's main port has grown over the years. The original harbour, bounded by Commercial buildings, La Folie, South Pier and the New North Quay, is in the left centre of the photograph. This section of the port dries out completely at low tide and contains the original English and French Harbours and what is now known as the Old Harbour. Today these harbours are used exclusively for leisure craft. Moving out towards the camera we see the Albert and Victoria Piers, built during the 19th century and for over 100 years the outer limits of the harbour. In the late 20th century there was further expansion to create Elizabeth Harbour, a roll-on roll-off terminal in the left foreground, which is today the main centre of activity for both cargo vessels and passenger and car ferries. To the right is the slightly earlier marina, with an industrial complex behind on reclaimed land. Out of shot on the right is the berth specially for tankers delivering fuel to the island.

Another historical picture of St Helier Harbour this week. This is the English Harbour, nestling between the pier at La Folie and Commercial Buildings. In the earliest days of the harbour as we know it today, there were just two mooring areas either side of La Folie, barely protected from westerly gales by a much shorter version of what is now known as South Pier. Between South Pier and La Folie was what it now known as the French Harbour. These two harbours both dried out rapidly after high tide so were of limited use for cargo vessels, which were more likely to moor in the shelter of St Aubin's Fort and then alongside the new jetty which created St Aubin's Harbour. In the early 20th century the wall of the English Harbour facing Commercial Buildings was a popular mooring place for large private yachts and, as in this photograph, quite sizeable sailing vessels, but today it is used exclusively for small leisure craft. Although the moorings are among the first to dry out on an ebbing tide, they are nevertheless much sought after by boat owners

Queen Victoria was the first reigning monarch to visit Jersey for centuries, possibly the first ever, and her visit was keenly anticipated and large crowds gathered at every vantage point on the day itself. This lovely painting shows the smartly dressed crowd waiting in the Royal Square for the Queen to be driven through in her carriage from Broad Street to Peirson Place

This photograph has very tenuous connections with Jersey, but it has been chosen as our feature picture because it is such a magnificent pictorial record of an early 20th century wedding. The groom was Oswald Charles Hamlet Riley (1878-1966) a second cousin of Athelston Riley, who bought Trinity Manor in the first decade of the century. The bride was Christobel Mary Stuart Horton (1887-1960) and apart from that, little else is known of the couple and the people in the photograph.

This is the earliest known picture of Le Hocq Tower, one of Jersey's round coastal towers which were built to protect the island from invasion by the French in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Le Hocq's tower had not been built in 1781 when the French successfully invaded the island just up the coast at La Rocque, leading to the Battle of Jersey. This painting in by W C Stanfield, and it dates from about 1840. It has been in the gallery of pictures of Jersey's coastal towers for some time, but we have now acquired this much better quality image.

In the early years of the 20th century annual militia camps were held in a number of locations, including Grouville Common and Les Quennevais. The largest camp, however, was usually staged outside the walls of Fort Regent, on what was known as the East Glacis. Later in the century this area of land was developed for housing. Today the field sloping down from the derelict swimming pool is known as Glacis Field and many islanders do not know that there was a larger, flat, open area to the east of it where militia camps and training exercises were held. Not only did the camps have a serious military purpose, but they were also major social events and officers would entertain their ladies and families on sports day, attracting large numbers of St Helier residents to visit Mont de la Ville.

This magnificent photograph of a heavily laden charabanc and a motor car parked outside the Lion Hotel is something of a mystery because we do not know where the Lion Hotel was, and we do not know exactly when the picture was taken. Photographs of charabanc outings are very common, because they attracted professional photographers keen to sell copies of their work to those on the outings, but photographs of motor cars of the same vintage are much rarer, and the combination of the two is unique in the Jerripedia archive. Update: Mystery solved. The establishment has been identified as the Red Lion Hotel in Belgreve Bay in Guernsey, which explains why the Jerripedia editors could not place it in Jersey. It's such a grand photograph, however, that it deserves its brief moment of glory by being retained as our picture of the week

Why have newspaper and magazine kiosks disappeared in Jersey? And, for that matter, in the British Isles generally. They are still a familiar sight in many European countries. This lovely photograph shows Iris de la Mare outside her kiosk on the slipway at West Park. We don't know the exact date of the photograph but everything seems to point to the late 1930s

The visit to Jersey by Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort, Albert, on Thursday, 3 September 1846, was surprisingly brief. The Queen, believed to be the first reigning monarch ever to visit the island, set foot on Jersy soil at 11 am, having spent the night on the Royal Yacht anchored in St Aubin's Bay, and departed at the end of the afternoon, after a carriage tour of the island. This was at the very dawn of photography and no photographs of the visit are known to exist. Many paintings and etchings were produced, however, and this one, from the Illustrated London News, shows the large crowd which gathered in the Royal Square to see the Royal Party pass along Vine Street, into Peirson Place and then King Street.

Not only is this one of the best photographs of Broad Street, but taken in 1875, only three decades after photography came to the island, it is one of the best early pictures of anywhere in Jersey. The photograph was one of a number of surviving pictures of the Street taken by Ernest Baudoux and shows clearly that the street was surfaced with cobbles at the time. Remarkably, although the use of many of the buildings pictured has changed over the past 138 years, the general view is much as it is today. The main difference is that a cafe, formerly public toilets, now stands in front of the Le Sueur Memorial, also now surrounded by trees.

Two pictures for the price of one this week. Today the picture above is one of the most photographed views of Jersey, but there is something missing here. This is an early picture of La Corbière on the south-west corner of the island, where a lighthouse stands today. It was the first concrete structure of its type to be built in the British Isles and for 140 years it has been the main beacon alerting shipping in the English Channel that the rocky Jersey coastline is close by. As with many easily accessible areas off the south coast, La Corbière is a popular spot for low water fishing, and a 1930s photograph shows a family group exploring the rock pools

Not a lot can be written about this picture of a stylish Victorian lady on the beach at West Park, except to say that it illustrates perfectly how people dressed over a century ago when they ventured on to the beach. West Park, on the western fringes of St Helier, was a popular venue. The outline of Fort Regent can be seen clearly on the skyling behind the subject

Two pictures this week which could not be more contrasting. Above are the children of St Paul's School in 1907. A private school, it clearly catered for the children of families which could afford to send their daughters to school smartly dressed and impeccably turned out. The style is perhaps more Victorian than Edwardian, but Britain's longest reigning monarch had only been dead for six years. Below are the children of Val Plaisant Infants School, pictured 15 years later in 1922, but it almost seems as if the clock has been turned backwards. These youngsters (urchins is the word which springs to mind) were not the children of the well-heeled, but state funded education in Jersey was sufficiently well advanced by this time to ensure that they had the opportunity of a better chance in life than their parents had had. No doubt the instructions to both groups were: 'Sit still, face the front and keep quiet!' but the little girl to the right of centre of the back row in the picture below is be the only one of these 50 Jersey schoolchildren showing any sign of enjoying the experience

Havre des Pas Pool was opened by the Jersey Swimming Club in 1895. Generations of islanders have learned to swim at the pool, which has been a year-round attraction for both residents and visitors to the island. Diving champions have trained there, hardy individuals have taken the plunge on Christmas Day or participated in the annual swim from Green Island. And how many thousands of local youngsters must have left their bicyles leaning against the railings (no need for security chains when this picture was taken early in the 20th century). We have a new history of Havre des Pas Pool which gives more information about its's opening and development

This delightful picture of St Catherine, probably taken around the turn of the 19th century, would be worth its place on this page for no other reason than that it shows a typical farming scene in Jersey over a century ago. But Jerripedia editor Mike Bisson had another reason for choosing this image, because it shows the same view that his parents enjoyed from their house when they retired to this part of the island in the 1980s. Little has changed today (apart from the construction, on the spot where the photographer probably stood, of the house in which the Bissons lived) and the field is still cultivated, albeit with tractors rather than horse-drawn implements. Also, as with many parts of the island, there are far more trees today than there were a century ago and this uninterrupted view can no longer be enjoyed

We need four pictures this week to tell the story of the development of the area of St Helier's waterfront which has come to be known as The Weighbridge. There have been two public weighbridges at the town end of St Helier Harbour, both built on reclaimed land. The first, the construction of which was ordered by the States in 1825, was situated next to the Southampton Hotel, as shown in the picture above, taken on a busy day when farmers were queuing with their vans to have potatoes weighed before they could be exported. This picture dates to the mid-1870s, because in 1877 the new, larger weighbridge, further south of the Southampton Hotel, started to be used. It is not known who took this photograph, but it is attributed to both Edwin Dale and Ernest Baudoux by the photographic archive of La Société Jersiaise. The middle picture shows the new weighbridge, at the top of the New North Quay, in front of the terminus of the Jersey Western Railway. This picture dates to late 1889 or early 1890, because the circular gardens have been laid out but the Statue of Queen Victoria, which was unveiled in the centre of 3 September 1890 is not yet in place. The picture shows clearly that the Old Harbour extends as far north as the Albert Harbour behind it. In the first half of the 20th century a substantial section of the top of the harbour was filled in to provide more space for harbour activities and for car parking. Although in everyday parlance the term 'The Weighbridge' covers a large area at the top of the harbour, the only properties which actually bear the address Weighbridge Place, are those in the row in the top picture. In the mid-70s the Southampton Hotel, built in 1864, was a fairly modest structure, which by the time the middle picture below was taken after 1899, had grown an extra story and a much more decorative facade, which survives today, although the business is shortly to close and the interior of the building to be gutted and redeveloped. Next to the Southampton the Weighbridge Coffee Tavern has metamorphosed into the Weighbridge Cafe, and the Weighbridge Hotel alongside it into the Finsbury Hotel. The row is completed by Shaw's Navy Hotel

These photographs by Ernest Baudoux were taken in the mid-1870s. The upper picture shows the back of the Marine Hotel on the Esplanade, with its swimming baths. This hotel, formerly the Hotel Empress Eugenie, was demolished and the Grand Hotel built in its place, opening in 1890. The Marine Hotel was also known as Jewell's Hotel, after one of its proprietors. The hotel appears not to have made the corner of the Esplanade and Peirson Road as did the Grand Hotel when it was built, but there was originally another separate property to the side. The open land in the foreground is Triangle Park and in the background the sweep of the Albert Pier can be clearly seen, as well as Fort Regent on the skyline. Below is a rare picture of the hotel from the front showing clearly that the Marine Hotel did not occupy the whole Esplanade frontage between Peirson Road and Kensington Place, as it does today, and also that the hotel was set right on the roadside, whereas the Grand was built further back, with an elevated terrace in front.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was not common for women to go out to work. They stayed at home and looked after large families. Everything changed with the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 and women were forced to take jobs to support their families when their husbands went off to fight in the war. This created a problem with what to do with the children and creches had to be opened to care for them during the day. This delightful picture by Percival Dunham shows children at one of these creches at Beaulieu

The major land reclamation schemes around St Helier Harbour which started in the last quarter of the 20th century and are still in progress had their origins in the need to find places to dump much of the rubble and other solid waste which the island produces on a daily basis, but they were by no means the first efforts at land reclamation. In the early part of the 19th century, perhaps even earlier, land was reclaimed at what is now the innermost part of St Helier Harbour, the area now known as the Weighbridge, which was previously sand dunes washed by high tides. And in the 1870s, after the shipbuilding yards which lined the coast at Gorey had ceased to operate, a large section of beach was reclaimed to create a coastal road, and, in due course, an extension of the railway line from Gorey Village to the pier. The picture below shows what this area was like before reclamation started. Four-storey buildings, probably some of the tallest houses in the island at the time, backed directly on to the beach and were supported by wooden struts. Washing lines stretched across the sand and the high tide lapped at the exterior walls of the houses. The route from the pier to the village was on higher ground behind these buildings. The picture above shows work in process to reclaim this section of foreshore, the position of the new sea wall indicating just how much land which today is covered in gardens, the coast road and another line of buildings, was reclaimed from the sea

These two pictures were only taken about 20 years apart, yet they show as striking a difference between style and fashions as could probably be found over any period of two decades in Jersey's history. The top picture, taken in the 1950s, shows air hostesses of Transair, an airline founded in 1947 which used to carry newspapers to Jersey and many other destinations throughout the British Isles. It operated holiday charter flights to the island and also a seasonal scheduled service to London Heathrow. Below are the renowned 'Caledonian Girls', on the steps of a BAC 111 at Jersey Airport some time in the 70s, after the Caledonian Airways had merged with BUA to create British Caledonian. The airline and its aircrews were enormously popular and it grew to become the ninth largest airline in Europe and the largest independent, before a hostile takeover bid by British Airways.

Jersey was a much more self-sufficient community a century ago than it is today, when activities such as sweet manufacturing have all but died out. At the end of the 19th and in the early 20th century there were a number of sweet manufacturers, among them A Atkins, who was based at 5 The Parade. A report on his business was published in a 1911 edition of Jerseyman, a weekly newspaper which launched that year.

The Jersey Battle of Flowers first took place in 1902 as part of the celebrations for the coronatin of Edward VII. There are many pictures in existence of the Battle that year, and in subsequent years, and Jerripedia has a substantial collection in its gallery, including at least one from all the early years. Few, however, are of the quality of this picture from 1909, when decorated horse-drawn carriages paraded one after the other in front of the spectators' grandstands. Unfortunately we do not know who took the photograph, but it is likely to have been one of the island's professional photographers of the time, possibly Albert Smith, Francis Foot or Percival Dunham

Our feature picture this week serves as an introduction to the remarkable story of the Jersey vessel GDT, which, in the second half of the 19th century, plied the routes between the island, the Canadian coast and southern European ports. This sturdy little vessel was badly damaged on a stormy Atlantic crossing, during which its captain was seriously injured and crew members were lost overboard. The GDT survived and then went to the assistance of the crew of a foundering Belgian vessel. With food and water running desperately low the GDT, with the survivors of the other ship, reached safety in Portugal, and eventually returned to Jersey, only to be swept ashore in St Aubin's Bay in yet another storm. Read the full story of the wreck of the GDT

This is the 100th picture to appear in Picture of the week, and it is the first time we have featured an individual property. This imposing house is (or rather was) Plaisance, which was demolished after being acquired by the great benefactor Thomas Benjamin Davis fulfilling a promise he made to a previous owner after being caught 'scrumping' for chestnuts in his garden. The picture was taken in 1938, shortly before the house was demolished to make way for Howard Davis Park, which T B Davis named in memory of his son, who was killed in the Great War. Distant views of the house are quite common, but this shot, taken by an Evening Post photographer, is the first close-up we have seen. Our thanks to the newspaper's photographic archive for sending us the picture.

The majority of our weekly feature pictures could be described as 'evocative of a bygone age', but none more so than this image of the Plaza Ballroom taken in 1939. Europe was on the brink of war, Jersey would soon have five years of German rule which would all but bring an end to simple pleasures such as ballroom dancing. But in 1939 Jersey's economy was booming, life continued virtually unaltered despite the gloomy news daily received of the political situation in Europe. And the Plaza was one of the island's premiere entertainment venues, somewhat more sophisticated than the discotheques and other nightspots of today. We have recently introduced a new section of the site looking at life in the years leading up to the German Occupation. Visit The thirties - the island's economy booms‎ to learn more about an important and happy period of island life

At first sight our feature picture this week would appear to have nothing to do with Jersey. This image is of a traditional ox-drawn sled in Funchal, Madeira. The connection with Jersey is that Funchal is one of the twin towns of Jersey's capital Saint Helier, along with Avranches in Normandy and Bad Wurzach in Germany. Funchal, the capital of Madeira, was chosen because of the many Madeirans who have settled in Jersey over the past 50 years, having moved from one holiday island in the Atlantic Ocean to another in the English Channel in search of work and prosperity. At first the Madeirans, who are Portuguese, were only seasonal visitors to Jersey, but since Portugal joined the European Union they have had the right to remain permanently, and several thousand have done, making up the island's largest immigrant community. They have integrated into Jersey life and married and brought up families, and now there are many second and third-generation Portuguese, born in Jersey and considering themselves to be Jerseymen and women. Links between Jersey and Madeira are strong, both between the two capitals, and the islands as a whole, and high-level delegations regularly travel from one to the other for official visits.

The LL series of postcards of Jersey forms a central part of many collections. Taken in the early years of the 20th century, over 300 images comprise one of the most important sets of images showing what life was like in Jersey 100 years ago. The postcards cover an enormous variety of subjects, with pictures of St Helier Harbour, country lanes, ladies in Jersey bonnets, the castles, beautiful bays, town streets, the railways, important public buildings, prehistoric tombs, statues and monuments among others. Jerripedia now has virtually a complete set of these images, which are often said to have been the work of French photographer Louis Levy. Go to our LL postcards page to see the full set and discover why nobody called Louis Levy had any involvement in producing them

Something very different this week. Our collection of LL postcards of Jersey is proving so popular that we though we would put together a rotating display of some of the best of them in panoramic format.

The parochial and island cattle shows were once among the most important events in Jersey's calendar, attracting large numbers of exhibitors and big crowds. Today the number of herds in the island has dwindled to a tiny number and there is no longer the interest in the handful of shows which remain. This picture shows Jersey cattle awaiting their turn in the show ring at a St Ouen cattle show in the early years of the 20th century

This is one of the earliest surviving drawings of the town of St Helier. It has not been possible to date the picture accurately, but because Fort Regent was built on the town hill in 1806, and does not appear in this picture, and the town is clearly starting to spread out from the earlier collection of buildings around the Royal Square, it probably dates from the late 18th century. The tower of the town church can be made out just to the left of centre in the background. The tall building further left in the middle ground are probably the hospital. The artist's viewpoint was probably Westmount, and stretching from there to the town boundary were sand dunes, with mounds of seaweed collected to dry on the shore. The solitary building in the foreground is probably the picket house where the West Park slipway would later be built

St Ouen's Bay, which runs the full length of the west coast of Jersey, is a protected area now and virtually no new buildings or extensions to existing ones are permitted. But before the Second World War things were very different, and weekend bungalows stood all along the shore. This Tuck postcard shows holiday chalets surrounding the Chateau Plaisir. Many of these buildings were demolished by the Germans during the Occupation and permission was refused for them to be reconstructed after the war

Troops cross the causeway from West Park to Elizabeth Castle during the English Civil War. This conflict had a major impact on Jersey, with political control passing backwards and forwards between the intensely Royalist de Carteret family and their Parliamentary opponents. We have recently added a major new section on the Civil War in the Channel Islands to Jerripedia, including a 1937 article from the Annual Bulletin of La Société Jersiaise, divided into nine parts

Maria Spelterini (1853-1912) was an Italian tightrope walker, the first woman to cross the Niagara Falls in 1876. She also crossed again blindfolded, manacled, and with peach baskets strapped to her feet. She was known as the female “Blondin”. Details of her earlier appearance in Jersey are very limited. Her appearances at St Aubin in 1872 were to help the small harbour maintain its status as a busy and thriving part of the island and support the railway link with St Helier. She put on several performances, some of which included illumination and fireworks. This was at the start of her career. There is little detail of her exploits before her performance in Jersey, but it is known that she also performed in St Petersburg, Moscow, and Catalonia.

Unlike the majority of images which appear as Picture of the Week, this one has been in Jerripedia's collection for some time, but this is a much better quality copy and deserves its place here as a perfect illustration of what life was like nearly 300 years ago, when the Royal Square we know today was still called market square, and was surrounded by an informal collection of one and two-storey buildings with thatched roofs. The painting clearly depicts an event of some sort, with finely dressed officials in conversation in the centre while townsfolk go about their business all around. A banner hangs from the cohue, or court building in the centre, to the left of which is the market cross. On the far right can be seen the Town Church and the corn market building. The banner appears to read 'General Chevalier Lieut Governor 1733, which might suggest that the red-coated man in the centre is the island's new Lieut-Governor being welcomed by the Bailiff and other dignitaries, but this does not appear to tie in with any appointments known for that year. It is also not known whether this is a contemporary depiction of the event or one produced some time later.

It is well documented that during the Second World War Jersey was occupied by the Germans, but not so well known that in the earlier conflict of 1914-1918 German prisoners of war were transported to Jersey. The main camp built to house them was on the sand dunes in St Ouen's Bay, but an early holiday camp at Grouville was also pressed into service and in an eerie foretaste of events to come in central Europe, it was described as a concentration camp

An important part of this wide-ranging website is its bibliography of books, newspapers and magazines about the island and published in the island. One section attempts to keep track of the growing number of these books which can be read online. We have just discovered an excellent book entitled Jersey Cattle in America written in 1885 John S Linsley and published in New York, and we have chosen this picture from its frontispiece as our feature picture this week. Further pictures from the book will be added to the site in due course

Unfortunately we do not have very much information about the above picture, which has been in Jerripedia for several months, and was drawn to our attention by the arrival of another copy some days ago. So although it has been sitting in our Farming picture gallery and our Special picture gallery for some time, we thought that it is such an evocative picture of farm life a century ago that it fully deserved an outing as picture of the week. All we know is that this is a Dutot family, photographed in their farmyard in 1910, surrounded by their chickens and with a magnificent assembly of seed potatoes in boxes behind them. Another picture below of a Jersey farming family. Only this time we know even less. We have been unable to put a name to the family. Can anybody help?

Two pictures for the price of one this week, both taken about the same time – probably late 1960s or early 1970s – and either side of West Park Café, showing just how popular a spot this was with sunseekers at the time. West Park has the first stretch of dry sandy beach to the west of the town of St Helier and it has been a popular venue for islanders and tourists alike, ever since it became popular to sit and soak up the sunshine

Our feature picture this week is an unusual image, taken some time towards the end of the 19th century, showing a group of clergymen visiting the dolmen at Faldouet in the north-east of Jersey. And unfortunately that's all we can tell you about this old photograph.

Our feature pictures this week are two very early photographs of St Aubin's Harbour taken from different viewpoints. These have recently come up for auction, although listed in error as being pictures of St Helier Harbour.

Francis Foot was a prolific commercial photographer in the early 20th century. After his death in 1966 his glass plates and negatives lay gathering dust in the deserted family shop in Pitt Street, until 30 years later, following the death of his son, they were donated to La Société Jersiaise by Foot's grandson. Many of the glass plates had been badly damaged, including this, one of many surviving pictures of the photographer's family. He frequently stopped while on an outing in his car and got the family to pose for his camera. Here we see in the car, in 1924, Francis Foot's 80-year-old mother Louisa, his wife Margaret, and eldest son George, and on the running board, children Dora, Reg and Stanley. Our biography page for Foot includes a gallery of more family photographs, pictures of island locations and events, including the early years of the Jersey Battle of Flowers

Our Picture of the week regularly features an aspect of the island which has changed dramatically or disappeared altogether since the photograph was taken. This week's feature picture is one of those which conjures up images of a time when life was lived at a different pace, and in a different style. This photograph was taken on the deck of the steamship Laura between Jersey and St Malo in 1905. Unfortunately we have no information about the people in what is a lovely photograph. But how much better could it have been if the portly gentleman had been facing the camera rather than looking the other way? One can only surmise that he did not want his picture taken and was deliberately looking the other way, because otherwise surely the photographer would have waited until he turned round.