The Cenotaph was erected by the States in the 1920s and now stands in remembrance of Islanders who were killed in the first and second world wars

In the latest of the series, staff at the Jersey Archive look at the history of the area of Cannon Street and the Parade.

THE story of the Parade area reflects the military importance of the position of Jersey, and the area is also closely associated with public health and the growth of the population of St Helier.

Its history shows how world events can affect even our small Island. The Parade is now transformed from the disciplined drilling ground of the early 19th century to one of St Helier’s most popular public parks.

For much of Jersey’s history, the town of St Helier consisted mainly of one road running from east to west behind the Town Church and the Royal Square – which was also the market place. This was known as Rue de Derrière, or ‘the road behind’, and is now known as King Street.

As the majority of Jersey’s population lived in the country parishes, there was not much surrounding St Helier but empty sand dunes, very much like the ones that can be seen along the Five Mile Road today. This is what the area where the Parade now stands would have been like for much of Jersey’s history.

The west end of town first began to be developed around the 1660s. By the 18th century the expansion of the town and rise in population prompted the building of the General Hospital, which was originally more of a poorhouse than a hospital for the treatment of illness as it is today. The story of the creation of the Parade could be said to begin with the building of the hospital.

Construction on the hospital began in 1765, following a donation from the late Marie Bartlett, the widow of a wealthy St Aubin merchant. She gave 50,000 livres to build a poor house. A separate gift of land on the sand hills outside St Helier from Philippe Bandinel, Seigneur of the Fief of Mélèches, provided a location for the building.

As soon as the hospital was completed in 1768 it was requisitioned as a barracks by the British Army. At the time of the Battle of Jersey in 1781, troops from the 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders, one of the regiments which defended the Island during the battle, were billeted there. It is possible that these were the first troops to use the Parade as a drilling ground.

We know that at some point in the late 18th or early 19th century, part of the sand dunes next to the hospital building were levelled and turned into a formal parade ground.

The original hospital building was partially destroyed by an explosion of gunpowder in 1783 and then gutted by fire on 18 July 1859. On 16 October 1860 the foundation stone of the new hospital was laid. The storage of gunpowder and munitions in the area is reflected in the naming of Cannon Street. There was a row of sheds for storing cannon along the north-east side of the Parade – the location of present-day Cannon Street.

Once the Parade was established, buildings soon sprung up around it. Looking at the 1834 plan of St Helier by Elias Le Gros, buildings can be seen on the south and north-east sides, with Elizabeth Place to the west. In contrast, the 1795 Richmond map shows no properties in the area.

The declaration of war between Britain and France in 1803 saw the Island under threat and in 1806 General George Don was appointed Lieutenant-Governor. He immediately embarked on a programme of improvements to the Island’s defences and road network. He was also responsible for improving the discipline of the militia, rebuilding the Island’s sea defences and advancements in farming.

The statue of General Don, who was appointed Lieutenant-Governor in 1806 and who improved much of the Island’s road network

General Don left the Island in 1814. In 1872 the States commissioned Alfred Pierre Robinet, a French sculptor who had settled in Jersey, to produce a monument to General Don’s memory in recognition of his contribution to the Island. The monument was eventually unveiled on 29 October 1885 and is still located in the middle of the current Parade Gardens.

The Napoleonic period saw a large influx of British people to Jersey. These included military personnel, builders, engineers and labourers to assist with the fortification works. Many individuals decided to stay on and make their home in the Island.

The needs of the growing population led to the construction of All Saints’ Chapel on one side of the Parade. The Parish of St Helier donated land to the trustees of All Saints on 1 April 1833 to build the church on. This is recorded in an extract from the book of Ecclesiastical Acts in the parish of St Helier. Construction was completed in 1835.

The rising population also needed a supply of fresh water, and one of the town’s public water pumps, the Pompe de Bas, was located in this area.

Unfortunately, the public pumps and their unsanitary conditions were instrumental in spreading disease among the population and in 1849 a cholera epidemic struck St Helier. Looking at the records of Mr Picot, a funeral director of the time, it is revealed that in the month of September 1849, of the 100 or so burials he was involved with, more than half were cases of cholera.

In one month alone four members of the Alicette family of 9 Parade Place succumbed to the illness. On 15 November 1849 Mr Sinnatt, another funeral director, recorded that there was a general day of thanksgiving ‘for the disappearance of the dreadful cholera’.

One prominent resident of the Parade was James Holloway, a builder who came to the Island from Devon. He lived at 6 Parade Place – the current location of Bambola toy shop – with his wife Phoebe and family. He seems to have done quite well for himself, as the Public Registry records contain several contracts in which he bought and sold houses in the Island. By the time of his death, he and Phoebe owned property in Queen’s Road, King Street, Stopford Road and Bellozanne.

We can see from the Public Registry that he and Phoebe bought their property in Parade Place on 13 July 1869. It was bought from Francis, Charles and George Touzel, who had acquired it in 1860 following the décret (bankruptcy) of Nicolas Perchard. The 1871 and 1881 censuses list the family still living at 6 Parade Place.

However, in 1884 a disaster struck, and records show that a fire started at the premises. Thankfully, the family seem to have escaped unscathed, but James died a few years later in November 1888.

The house could not have been that badly damaged, as the 1891 census shows Phoebe still living there along with her son-in-law and two servants. By 1901 she had moved to Wellington Place in the far more fashionable Stopford Road.

General Don’s monument is not the only one located in what is now Parade Gardens. The area is also the home of the bust of Philippe Baudains, who was Constable of St Helier for 21 years and an extremely active member of the States in the 19th century. Philippe lived in the vicinity of the Parade and introduced more than 100 bills to the States, including the introduction of voting by ballot.

The bust of Philippe Baudains

In contrast to General Don, whose monument was not unveiled until 53 years after his death, Philippe Baudains’ monument was erected in 1897, while he was still alive. This was an unusual tribute by the Island, as it was more common to honour individuals after their deaths.

The Cenotaph is the third and perhaps the most significant of the Parade monuments. It was erected by the States in the 1920s and now stands in remembrance of the Jersey people who were killed in the first and second world wars.

The Cenotaph still has an important place in Jersey’s Remembrance Service held in November each year.

• This article only touches on some of the properties and people of the Parade and Cannon Street. If you would like to find out more about the area, the Jersey Archive will be hosting a talk at 10 am on Saturday as part of the Appleby-sponsored What’s Your Street’s Story project. The Archive is open from 9 am to 1 pm tomorrow to encourage you to come and find out more about the history and people of your area. If you would like to book your place on the talk, call the Jersey Archive on 833300.