Parishes of Guernsey

The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes the island of Guernsey and other islands such as Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, and Lihou. Each parish was established, probably in the 11th century, as a religious area, each having its parish church. Administratively each parish is now administered by an elected council known as a Douzaine.^[1]

"Chambre de la Douzaine" – sign of the Douzaine Room of the parish of Torteval.

Parishes

The island of Guernsey is divided into ten parishes. The Bailiwick of Guernsey also includes the parish of Saint Anne, Alderney and the parish of Saint Peter, Sark, but these are not generally included in the enumeration of parishes:^[2]^[3]^[4]

Parish	Population (2019)	Area
Parish	Population (2019)	(vergées)	(km²)	(sq mi)
Castel	8,795	6,224	10.200	3.938
Forest	1,546	2,508	4.110	1.587
St Andrew	2,295	2,752	4.510	1.741
St Martin	6,593	4,479	7.340	2.834
St Peter Port	18,958	4,074	6.677	2.578
St Pierre du Bois	2,036	3,818	6.257	2.416
St Sampson	8,966	3,687	6.042	2.333
St Saviour	2,765	3,892	6.378	2.463
Torteval	1,017	1,901	3.115	1.203
Vale	9,514	5,462	8.951	3.456
St Anne, Alderneyⁿ	1,960		7.9	3.1
St Peter, Sarkⁿ	400		5.45	2.1

ⁿ Non-administrative parishes

Herm and Jethou form part of the parish of St Peter Port. Lihou falls within the area of St Pierre du Bois.

History

The population of and names of the parish are recorded in The History of the Island of Guernsey in 1814.^[5]

Estimated population of the island of Guernsey by parish in 1814
Name in 1814	Modern name	Population about
St Sampson's		788
St Michael in the Vale	Vale	1064
St Philip of Torteval	Torteval	390
St Saviour		943
St Margaret of the Forest	Forest	443
St Peter of the Wood	St Pierre du Bois	1200
St Martin		1265
Our Lady of Deliverance of the Castle (formerly Grand Sarazin)	Castel	1500
St Andrew		700
St Peter's Port (or Town Parish)		11,000
Sailors and strangers not permanently settled		2000
Total population		21,293

Administration

Each parish is administered by a council called a Douzaine, made up of Douzeniers who serve four-year terms. Each year in November, one quarter of the Douzeniers are elected by parishioners at a parish meeting. In most parishes there are twelve Douzeniers in total (Douzaine = "twelve") and so three are elected each year; exceptionally, the Vale elects four each year (total 16) and St Peter Port five (total 20). The senior Douzenier is known as the Doyen (Dean). To stand for election the candidate must reside in the parish.^[6]

One or more Douzaine representatives represent their parish at the States of Election when a new Jurat is elected.^[7]

Two elected Constables (French: Connétables) carry out the decisions of the Douzaine, serving for between one and three years. The longer-serving Constable is known as the Senior Constable and his or her colleague as the Junior Constable. Historically the Constables have been in existence since at least 1481 although their duties have been reduced over the centuries.^[6]

Both Douzeniers and Constables can be removed by the Royal Court for failing in their duty.

Parish business

Amongst the many varied duties:

Obligation to ensure roadside hedges are trimmed
Supervise watercourses (douits)
Administer Parish cemeteries
Maintain wayside pumps and troughs
Collecting Parish rates
Issue dog licence and collect dog tax
Manage parish boat moorings

Parishes officials also advise the States of Guernsey on matters pertaining to the Parish, such as licensing drinking, entertainment and betting establishments.^[6]

Nicknames

Inhabitants of each of the parishes of Guernsey also have traditional nicknames, although these have generally dropped out of use among the English-speaking population. The traditional nicknames are:^[8]

Parish	Guernésiais	English translation
St Peter Port	Cllichards	spitters
St Sampson's	Rôines	frogs
Vale	Hann'taons	cockchafers
Castel	Ânes-pur-sàng	pure-blooded-donkeys
St Saviour's	Fouormillaons	ants
St Pierre du Bois	Etcherbaots	beetles
Forest	Bourdons	bumblebees
St Martin's	Cravants	ray fish
St Andrew's	Les croinchaons	the siftings
Torteval	Ânes à pids d'ch'fa	donkeys with horses' hooves

References

^ "Douzaines - Guernsey". Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
^ "Guernsey - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. 2024-09-20. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
^ "States of Guernsey: Census". Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
^ "Guernsey Parishes". Statoids.com. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
^ Berry, William (1815). The History of the Island of Guernsey.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ogier, Darryl (2012). The Government and Law of Guernsey. States of Guernsey. ISBN 978-0-9549775-1-1.
^ "Jurats and the States of Election". Royal Court of Guernsey. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
^ Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernésiais

[gov.gg-1] "Douzaines - Guernsey". Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-11-14.

[2] "Guernsey - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. 2024-09-20. Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-09-20.

[3] "States of Guernsey: Census". Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-09-28.

[4] "Guernsey Parishes". Statoids.com. Retrieved 5 January 2018.

[5] Berry, William (1815). The History of the Island of Guernsey.

[GALOG-6] Ogier, Darryl (2012). The Government and Law of Guernsey. States of Guernsey. ISBN 978-0-9549775-1-1.

[7] "Jurats and the States of Election". Royal Court of Guernsey. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2018.

[8] Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernésiais

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