Guernsey Day 2 - Guided Tour

Sunday is often a strange day. Many places are closed, but today we have a guided tour of St. Peter Port. We meet outside the hotel and are split into two groups - 31 is too many for a guide to deal with. The guides take different routes, and we cross halfway round.

The dome is made of copper.  It was specified on the plans as being green, but when it was constructed it was copper coloured.  The owner of the building refused to pay until it was green, which would take about two years.  The builder found out that horse urine turned copper green really quickly, so horse urine was collected and tipped over the dome until it was green - a matter of days.

 

Our guide is very knowledgeable, and indicates the friendly rivalry with the bigger island (Jersey) early on - it is not to be mentioned.

Here are some of the things I remember from her talk.

• Guernsey is independent, not in UK, never in EU. It looks to the UK for defence and foreign affairs – and jailing serious criminals.  There is a jail on the island, but it is rarely used.
• Guernsey's position dates from 1204, and the break-up of the Norman kingdom, when a charter by King John grants independence, the only promise they have to make is that they will defend the King.
• Witches seats were built into the top of buildings to stop witches sitting on chimneys and falling down them when they dozed off.
• The last accused witch on the island was in the 1940s(?) The lady concerned had been selling potions that didn't work.  She was accused of witchcraft, but the police were uncomfortable with using the ancient charge, so she was charged with deception, and jailed.
• There is a World Record held by the island for the shortest distance between a pub and a church. It is measured from the gargoyle, to the pub wall.
• Guernsey granite – much harder than Scottish granite – was used on the steps of St. Paul’s, and somewhere in Ukraine. At it peak, there were over 250 quarries.
• Ship building was once a major industry.  My guide could not answer the question, "Where did they get the wood?"
• Tomato growing was once a major industry
• The flag was developed in 1985 to differentiate Guernsey from England at major sporting events, before that the English flag was used, which confused other competitors.
• There are stones around the town talking of a town wall. There is no evidence that it was ever built.  The stones say so, but there doesn’t seem to be any archaeological evidence. 

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A witches seat

The stone marks the position of the gates of the town, but no wall has been found

From the end of the gargoyle to the pub is the shortest distance between a church and a pub in the British Isles.

After the guided walk, we had lunch in Nello's Deli - a crab sandwich for me.  Then we wandered around the town a little, visited the TI, where we got some ideas of things to do, and returned to the hotel to watch the British GP and Wimbledon.  We had some take-away salads from M&S for dinner.