St. Peter Port (French:Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of theten parishes on the island ofGuernsey in theChannel Islands. It is thecapital of theBailiwick of Guernsey as well as the mainport. The population in 2019 was 18,958.
St. Peter Port Saint-Pierre-Port | |
|---|---|
         Saint Peter Port, Town Church, Elizabeth College entrance, Castle Pier Lighthouse, Castle Cornet, Victoria Tower, Elizabeth College building, Hauteville House, QE2 Marina | |
 Flag | |
.GIF) Location of Saint Peter Port onGuernsey, in theChannel Islands | |
| Coordinates:49°27′20″N2°32′12″W / 49.4555°N 2.5368°W /49.4555; -2.5368 | |
| Crown Dependency | Bailiwick of Guernsey |
| Government | |
| • Electoral district | Divided intoSt Peter Port North andSt Peter Port South |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.5 km2 (2.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2019) | |
• Total | 18,958 |
| • Density | 2,900/km2 (7,600/sq mi) |
| Time zone | GMT |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+01 |
| Postal code | GY1 |
| Website | www |
St. Peter Port is a small town (commonly referred to by locals as just "town")[1] consisting mostly of steep, narrow streets and steps on the overlooking slopes. It is known that a trading post/town existed here before Roman times with a pre-Christian name which has not survived.
The parish covers an area of 6.5 km2. Thepostal code for addresses in the parish starts with GY1.
People from St. Peter Port were nicknamed "les Villais" (the townspeople) or "cllichards" inGuernésiais.
Geography
editSt. Peter Port is on the east coast ofGuernsey overlookingHerm and the tinyJethou; a further channel separatesSark and surrounding islets such asBrecqhou;Normandy's longCotentin Peninsula and, to the south-east,Jersey are visible in very clear conditions from some of the town's highest vantage points. The parish bordersSt. Sampson in the north, TheVale in the north-west,St. Andrew in the west andSt. Martin in the south.
The name of the nearest channel is theLittle Russel, in which sits theBréhon Tower; that separating Sark is theBig Russel. Both in width are less than half of Guernsey's greatest length and dotted with coastal rocks andstacks quite near those islands, some of which are narrowly submerged.
- Relief
The land in the north and by the harbour is low-lying but not marshy. In the south, the land gets higher (but not as high asSt Martin's or theForest). Grassy, gently terraced cliffs behind sea walls (including projections) topped by trees characterise the southern part of the coast here (by an underground military museum and historic battery at semi-woodedHavelet). In the north is the more built-up Admiral Park development. To the south of the town lies Havelet Bay and the coastal path which leads to the very pretty Fermain Bay after a walk of about 20–25 minutes.
Climate
editSt. Peter Port has anoceanic climate (Cfb) with mild summers and cool winters.
| Climate data for St. Peter Port (2010-2020 normals, extremes 1947–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.3 (55.9) | 15.0 (59.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 24.3 (75.7) | 25.9 (78.6) | 30.8 (87.4) | 32.6 (90.7) | 34.3 (93.7) | 30.6 (87.1) | 23.6 (74.5) | 18.0 (64.4) | 15.6 (60.1) | 34.3 (93.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.7 (47.7) | 8.4 (47.1) | 10.0 (50.0) | 12.6 (54.7) | 14.8 (58.6) | 17.6 (63.7) | 20.0 (68.0) | 19.5 (67.1) | 18.3 (64.9) | 15.4 (59.7) | 11.9 (53.4) | 10.1 (50.2) | 13.9 (57.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) | 6.7 (44.1) | 7.9 (46.2) | 9.9 (49.8) | 12.1 (53.8) | 14.7 (58.5) | 17.0 (62.6) | 16.9 (62.4) | 15.8 (60.4) | 13.5 (56.3) | 10.4 (50.7) | 8.7 (47.7) | 11.8 (53.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.9 (42.6) | 5.2 (41.4) | 5.8 (42.4) | 7.2 (45.0) | 9.4 (48.9) | 11.9 (53.4) | 14.0 (57.2) | 14.3 (57.7) | 13.3 (55.9) | 11.6 (52.9) | 8.9 (48.0) | 7.4 (45.3) | 9.6 (49.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −7.8 (18.0) | −7.2 (19.0) | −2.2 (28.0) | −1.4 (29.5) | 0.1 (32.2) | 5.4 (41.7) | 8.3 (46.9) | 9.2 (48.6) | 5.8 (42.4) | 3.5 (38.3) | −0.8 (30.6) | −3.8 (25.2) | −7.8 (18.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 90.7 (3.57) | 73.1 (2.88) | 50.5 (1.99) | 38.9 (1.53) | 43.6 (1.72) | 37.8 (1.49) | 33.3 (1.31) | 53.6 (2.11) | 52.3 (2.06) | 82.5 (3.25) | 97.8 (3.85) | 99.5 (3.92) | 753.6 (29.67) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 20.8 | 18.1 | 14.2 | 10.2 | 10.8 | 11.4 | 10.4 | 13.9 | 12.8 | 17.2 | 20.7 | 20.3 | 180.9 |
| Average snowy days | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.6 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 61.0 | 85.6 | 127.6 | 194.7 | 234.5 | 246.6 | 250.7 | 230.1 | 180.1 | 117.1 | 77.8 | 58.2 | 1,864 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 22.7 | 29.1 | 34.7 | 47.7 | 49.6 | 51.2 | 51.7 | 52.0 | 47.8 | 35.3 | 28.7 | 22.8 | 41.8 |
| Source 1: Guernsey Met Office 2018 Weather Report[2] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather-online.co.uk[3] | |||||||||||||
Subdivisions
edit
Saint Peter Port is subdivided into four cantons:[4]
- Canton 1 or North Canton
- Canton 2 or Canton of the North-West
- Canton 3 or Canton of the South-West
- Canton 4 or Canton of the South
In addition, the islands ofHerm andJethou belong to the parish,[5] but are not part of any canton. They belong to Electoral district Saint Peter Port South.[6]
Sport and leisure
editSt. Peter Port has an EnglishIsthmian League club,Guernsey F.C. who play atFootes Lane. TheGuernsey Rugby Football Club also play at Footes Lane and compete inNational League 3 London & SE.
Media
editSt. Peter Port is covered by the local television news programmes:BBC Channel Islands News andITV News Channel TV. Guernsey's two main radio stations:BBC Radio Guernsey andIsland FM are based in the town. The local newspaper is theGuernsey Press.
Parks and gardens
edit.jpg)
Candie Gardens, an award-winning restored Victorian Garden, features statues ofVictor Hugo andQueen Victoria. The Guernsey Museum at Candie and thePriaulx Library are both situated within the grounds of the garden respectively.
Cambridge Park is a recreational park that includes Winston Churchill Avenue, ‘a leafy tree-lined pedestrian avenue’, named afterWinston Churchill, and a skate park.[7] In 2014, the parish was a Gold & Category Winner in the RHSBritain in Bloom competition,[8] followed in 2016 with another Gold medal.[9]
Features
editThe features of the town include:
| The parish of Saint Peter Port hosts:
  |
Main roads
editThe following main roads (listed from north-south) provide important links between St Peter Port and the other parishes:
- Les Banques (leads up the coast toSt Sampson's and the north of the island)
- Rohais (leads to the parish ofCastel)
- Mount Row (leads toSt Andrew's and the west of the island)
- Ruette Brayes (leads toSt Martin's and the south of the island)
- Fort Road (leads toSt Martin's)
The following coastal roads (listed from north to south) are also very important as they provide access to the shops, carparks and theharbour:
- St George's Esplanade
- North Esplanade
- South Esplanade
Politics
editSaint Peter Port comprises twoadministrative division, St Peter Port South and St Peter Port North.
In the2016 Guernsey general election in:
- St Peter Port South there was a 2,068 or 63% turnout to elect five Deputies
- St Peter Port North there was a 2,639 or 65% turnout to elect six Deputies.
Notable people
edit- Margaret Ann Neve –Supercentenarian and the oldest woman in the world until her death in 1903
- Sir Isaac Brock – Major General, "Hero of Upper Canada", War of 1812
- Matt Le Tissier, footballer
- Linda Martel, (1956-1961) healer
- Alison Merrien MBE, World indoors bowls champion
- George Métivier, poet
- Heather Watson, tennis player,Team GB athlete andWimbledon Champion
- Victor Hugo, French writer, In exile in St-Peter Port from 1855 to 1870.
- Cameron Chalmers, athlete
Numismatic History
editGuernsey bank notes feature a number of parish buildings:
|
|
See also
edit
References
edit- ^"St Peter Port Guernsey | Guernsey's Capital".www.visitguernsey.com. Retrieved2021-08-30.
- ^"2014 Weather Report"(PDF). Guernsey Met Office.Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved20 November 2019.
- ^"Normals 2010-2020". Weather-online. Retrieved3 February 2020.
- ^"St. Peter Port Parish, Canton Boundaries". Stppcons.com. 2007-11-14. Archived fromthe original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved2012-10-04.
- ^"Bailiwick of Guernsey". Crwflags.com. Retrieved2012-10-04.
- ^"Guernsey Election of States Deputies, 2008". Islandlife.org. 2008-04-23. Retrieved2012-10-04.
- ^"Cambridge Park | Visit Guernsey".
- ^"RHS Britain in Bloom 2014 UK Finals Judges' Reports". Britain in Bloom.
- ^"RHS Britain in Bloom 2016 UK Finals Full Results". RHS Britain in Bloom. Archived fromthe original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved2016-10-17.
- ^"Places to visit". National Trust of Guernsey.
- ^"Victoria Tower". Guernsey Museums. 15 October 2012.
- ^abc"Townie No 1"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved2015-11-12.
- ^"Guilles Alles Library". Archived fromthe original on 2015-12-07.
- ^"Candie Museum". Guernsey Museums. 12 July 2012.
- ^"Candie Gardens". Guernsey Museums. 19 July 2012.
- ^"German Naval Signals HQ".
- ^"German Naval Signals HQ - Guernsey Museums". Archived fromthe original on 2018-08-22.
- ^"Bailiwick of Guernsey War Memorial". Great War CI.
- ^"St Peter Port Parish War Shrine, Guernsey". Great War CI.
- ^"St. Stephen's Parish Memorial, Guernsey". Great War CI.
- ^"South African War Memorial". Guernsey Museums. 8 August 2012.
- ^abcdDillon, Paddy (1999).Channel Island Walks. Cicerone Press Limited, 1999.ISBN 9781852842888.
- ^"The Aquarium in Guernsey set to close".BBC News. 25 September 2019.
- ^"PROTECTED BUILDINGS". Environment - Guernsey government.
- ^Careyrootshttp://www.careyroots.com/castle.htmlArchived 2015-08-10 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Harbour Carvival". Guernsey Round Table.
- ^"Town Carnival". Town Centre Partnership. Archived from the original on March 26, 2013.
External links
edit