Let’s call the Weighbridge square La Place de la Reine

Saturday 16th May 2009, 2:59PM BST.

From Francis Corbet.
IN reply to your opportune request for suggestions to name the new weighbridge square, I suggest ‘La Place de la Reine’ (Queen’s Square).

The statue of Queen Victoria, removed to the Triangle Park to make room for the buses, should be returned to its former place, or somewhere near it, to provide a focal point for the square.

It was misnamed the Weighbridge, as many older Jersey people will remember the queues of produce lorries waiting to go on the bridge which stood at the top of the New North Quay. The original weighbridge, erected in 1825, was nearer to the site of the steam clock but neither occupied Caledonia Place.

In due time our present Queen’s long reign, her devotion to duty and her affection for our island might be marked by a statue which could appropriately be sited near Queen Victoria and add further point to ‘La Place de la Reine’ as a name.
La Rosière,
Clos de la Marquanderie,
St Brelade.

1
Realist

May 16, 2009 at 10:19 pm

I am against ersatz creeping into an island that has already a wealth of genuine place and road names appertaining to its historic connections with Normandy. Let us keep that heritage intact without resorting to ersatz quasi modern french naming into the 21st century.

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2
R B Bougourd

May 16, 2009 at 10:22 pm

My uncle has always called the area between the old weighbrige and the northern extremity of the Old Harbour “The Dump”.

Asked why, he would say that it was what is now known as a landfill site.

The Old Harbour once extended almost to the bottom of Mulcaster Street.

I remember the Weighbridge and would agree that it was more or less where the Steam Clock is.

By the way, if people like crticising the steam clock perhaps they should broaden their minds with some travel. Go and seek out the steam clock in Vancouver. It is nothing like as impressive as ours. Not much bigger than the old lighthouse from Gorey Pier.

I was in my twenties or thirties and out of the island when the Jersey steam clock was built and I rather like it.

It would be interesting to see if children who have always known it feel more attached to it than some older people who prefer to criticise it as well as the Boathouse Cafe – which I don’t have a problem with either.

Then again I have not spent all my life in Jersey watching my mind shrinking.

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3
Outsider

May 18, 2009 at 7:54 pm

So let me get this straight…Mr Corbet wants to name the area after the English monarch in the language of the country from which the island was taken? Am I being really stupid (yes, and extremely pedantic) or is that something akin to naming it Napoleon Street?

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4
Carl

May 19, 2009 at 10:49 am

We’ve already got an avenue de la Reine and I don’t hear anyone complaining about that!

I think Weighbridge Place would be fine and disagree with the letter. Besides, if the constable gets his way the entire area will be one big Liberation Square.

BTW We weren’t taken from France – we were part of Normandy and opted to stay that way even when the Duchy ceased to exist and the English monarch simply continued to hold the title.

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5
Geraint Jennings

May 19, 2009 at 2:11 pm

The Island, of course, hasn’t been taken from anyone (but we did do our bit to take over England in 1066!)

Whether one prefers placenames in English or not, it is still the case that French is one of our official languages and anyone is perfectly entitled to propose a name in French. And whether one likes “La Place de la Reine” or not, one must admit that it has more historical accuracy by way of justification than “The Weighbridge”.

Anyway, we have until 2012 to come up with something suitable in the way of royal naming for the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee.

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