Saint Helier History

Saint Helier is considered the capital of Jersey, the largest island of all the Channel Island from the English Chanel. Saint Helier’s population reaches around 28,000 people, which is 30% of Jersey’s population.

There have been some serious discussions whether Saint Helier should really be the capital of Jersey Island since the Government House is placed in Saint Saviour and Saint Helier is formed mostly of rural environments. Saint Helier remained the capital of the island and has a surface of 10.6 square kilometres (4.1 square miles), a total 10% of the entire Jersey Island.

Helier is the Saint that martyred in Jersey Island and gave the name to the capital and its parish. Apparently, the first images show a very small village that deals with fishing and is located on the dunes with marshy land on one side and water on the other side. The Parish and Church of Saint Helier is no longer situated near the water, but its initial settlement was at the end of the dunes immediately next to the shore, it was so closed to the sea that the boats could be tied up to the Parish’s walls.

Saint Helier was at the beginning formed form houses for its inhabitants, some warehouses and different kind of shops, all these lined along the St Helier’s Church, next to the Royal Square. The Courthouse was on the other side of the square. Later on, George II gave permission for a harbour to be built. In 1951, a new statue appeared in the square, that of the king and that was the year when the square was named Royal Square.

Here was also the Battle of Jersey scene from the 6th of January 1781, when France made the last attempt to seize Jersey Island. Other colonial type of houses started to be built in Saint Helier by the English Immigrants.  

Jersey’s inhabitants started to deal with agriculture and the harbour became the main way to export the crops from the island. The town started to develop very fast and many new buildings appeared, most of them having the characterisation of the Victorian style. You can nowadays find extremely little buildings that have been built before the 19th century.  

An obelisk fountain was installed in the memory of Pierre Le Sueur in the centre of Saint Helier and new pedestrian organization and rules started to appear after 1970’s.  

In front of Pmme d’Or Hotel, a new sculpture appeared in the Liberation Square. It was built in 1995, at the 50th anniversary of the German liberation. The original statue was picturing islanders releasing white doves as a sign of peace but after lots of criticism the statue now presents islanders raising the British flags exactly as they did in the liberation day. Liberation Square is a major icon Saint Helier’s History and Jersey’s too.