Victoria Tower is a monument in

Saint Peter Port St. Peter Port (french: Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St. P ...

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, erected in honor of a visit by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

and

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

to the island in 1846. Saint Peter Port from Victoria Tower

History

As the 1846 royal visit was the first time a reigning monarch had ever visited the island, a small granite stone was laid to mark where the queen had first stepped ashore in St Peter Port harbour. The following year, the architect William Colling was asked to draw up plans for a tower to commemorate the monarch's visit. The site chosen for Victoria Tower was an earthen mound opposite the Arsenal, where Guernsey's militia were housed. On 27 May 1848 the first foundation stone was laid by the

Governor of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British crown dependency off the coast of France. Holders of the post of Governor of Guernsey, until the role was abolished in 1835. Since then, only Lieutenant-Governors have been appointed (see Lieutenant Gover ...

, Major General John Bell, during a large ceremony. In the foundations of the tower was a time capsule containing Guernsey and English coins. On 14 August 1859

and

visited the island again and after an island tour came to inspect the tower. In 1999 structural problems led to the tower's being closed to the general public; it was re-opened on 24 May 2006, the birthday of Queen Victoria, during a re-enactment of the ceremony accompanying the laying of the foundation stone in 1848. The

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, Vice Admiral Sir

Fabian Malbon Vice Admiral Sir Fabian Malbon, (born 1 October 1946) is a retired Royal Navy officer who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey from 2005 to 2011. Naval career Educated at Brighton Hove and Sussex Grammar School, Malbon joined the Roya ...

KBE, re-opened the tower in the presence of the

Bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

Geoffrey Rowland.

Surrounding area

The tower is next to the Town Arsenal, originally built to house the artillery for the

Royal Guernsey Militia The Royal Guernsey Militia has a history dating back 800 years. Always loyal to the British Crown, the men were unpaid volunteers whose wish was to defend the Island of Guernsey from foreign invaders. Militias were also created in the Bailiwick ...

, currently used by the

Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service The Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service which deals with a broad range of incidents on Guernsey, including fires, road traffic accidents, assisting property owner after storm damage or flooding and incidents ...

A public garden around the tower was later created, in which were placed two cannons captured from the Russians during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

these now sit on the ramparts of

Castle Cornet Castle Cornet is a large island castle in Guernsey, and former tidal island, also known as Cornet Rock or Castle Rock. Its importance was as a defence not only of the island, but of the roadstead. In 1859 it became part of one of the breakwaters ...

. Years later, other guns were displayed in the garden, including four 13.5 cm K 09 German guns, two of these were scrapped in 1938, with the remaining two buried as the Second World War approached in 1940, so that the invading German forces would think the island was not fortified. The two German guns that were buried were excavated in 1978 and are back on display in the garden.

References

{{coord, 49.4581, -2.5428, type:landmark_region:GG, display=title Monuments and memorials to Queen Victoria Buildings and structures in Saint Peter Port Towers in the Channel Islands