St Clement, Jersey

St Clement (Jèrriais: ''Saint Cliément'') is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Its parish hall is around south-east of St Helier. The parish has a population of 9,221 and is the second most densely populated.

Located on the south-east coast of the island, stretching from Le Dicq in the west to near La Rocque in the east, it is the smallest parish, with a surface area of just 2,440 vergées (4 km²).

The parish is largely suburbanised, with a large spread of post-war low-density housing development. There is no easily definable centre to the parish. The parish hall, schools and church are located in different areas. The parish is also home to a number of sports facilities, such as FB Fields and St Clement's Golf Club.

Topynomy

In pre-Norman times, the area now known as St Clement was known as ''Petravilla'' or ''Pierreville''. This is named for Peter, a monk who gave his lands in St Clement to the Mont Saint-Michel abbey.

The modern parish derives its name from its parish church, which is dedicated to St Clement, the third Pope in succession to St Peter. The church's full name is .

Samarès, its namesake manor, and now the name of a district of and a suburb located in St Clement, is a surname that is a corruption of the phrase "Salt marsh". It appeared in 1186 as Salmaresch.

History

Much of the parish lies below equinoctial high-tide level and was frequently flooded before Le Dicq was built to try to hold back the sea somewhat. There are remains of a submerged forest underneath the sand at Grève d'Azette that show how the parish has reduced in size as the sea has advanced. Large floods in 1688, 1796 and 1812 led to the coast road at Le Hocq being swept away by the sea and necessitated the coast road being rebuilt further inland.

In 1172 it was recorded that a chapel existed in the parish, and there was a priory on the site of the old Priory Inn (now houses).

In the 16th and 17th centuries the parish was believed to be the centre of a witch movement. According to beliefs, the rock at Rocque Berg (known as the Witches' Rock) was the focus for witchcraft in Jersey and witches would assemble there for their sabbats on Friday nights.

After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, many French Protestants settled in the parish – as recorded on the church register.

In the mid 19th century, the town began to spread east from St Helier into the west of the parish. Today there is relatively little open green space (with the exception of the golf and football fields) west of Samarès Lane into St Helier.

Governance

The parish is a first-level administrative division of the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British Crown dependency. The highest official in the parish is the of St Clement. The incumbent office holder is Len Norman, who has held the office since 2008, previously having been a St Clement Deputy since 1983.

At present, the parish forms one electoral district for States Assembly elections and elects two Deputies, as well as eight Senators in an islandwide constituency. The current Deputies for St Clement are Lindsay Ash and Susie Pinel. Lindsay Ash, who is Assistant Treasury Minister, faced criticism in 2021 over a tweet mocking Oprah Winfrey's appearance following her interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. He apologised if the comment caused any offence, but claimed the tweet was "observational comedy" and that he "would have mocked a man for his looks as well". Under the proposed electoral reform, St Clement will form a single constituency, electing four representatives alongside its .

St Clement also has its own local administration. This, like each of the other eleven parishes, is made up of a ; two , who are also elected and oversee the finances of the parish; a Rector, responsible for the parish church; members of the parish Honorary Police (made up of Centeniers, Vingteniers and Constable's Officers); and other officers such as churchwardens, roads inspectors, rates assessors and a registrar. The parish is divided into vingtaines for administrative purposes as follows:
*La Grande Vingtaine
*La Vingtaine du Rocquier
*La Vingtaine de Samarès

The seat of the parish administration is the , or Parish Hall, which is pictured above and located at Le Hocq. This is the newest parish hall in the island; the previous parish hall in St Clement was located at Caldwell Hall, on La Grande Route de St Clément (St Clement's Inner Road).

Geography

St Clement is located in the south-east of the island of Jersey, the largest island of the Channel Islands archipelago, part of the British Isles. Administratively, the parish is a first-level administrative division of the Bailiwick of Jersey. It borders St Saviour to the west and north and Grouville to the east and north. It is a short distance from the boundary of the island's capital, St Helier, at Le Dicq, where there is only a short stretch of coastline in St Saviour.

The parish is mostly low-lying and coastal, however, stretches into the parish. The whole rocky inter-tidal zone that stretches along St Clement's coast is part of a Ramsar site