Bonne Nuit ( Jèrriais: ''Bouonne Niet'') is a small natural harbour in the Vingtaine du Nord, Saint John,

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. Both ''Bonne Nuit'' in French and ''Bouonne Niet'' in Jèrriais mean "good night", referring to the shelter sailors could rely on by overnighting in the harbour. The bay nestles between the headlands of Frémont in the West and La Crête in the East.

History

In 1150 Saint Mary's chapel in St John was given to the Abbey of

Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. It is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula near Valognes. Its population was 2,099 in 2018. History The Château de Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, a ...

and was described as being the chapel ''de Bona Nocte''. This is the first documentary reference to the name. The

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

and chapel continued its existence, owning land at neighbouring Frémont, and being noted for the dinner the prior was obliged to offer to the Bailiff of Jersey, the

Vicomte A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

and the King's Receiver every Midsummer day. In 1413 all alien priories were suppressed; the site of the priory and chapel is now unknown.''The Bailiwick of Jersey'', GR Balleine, London 1951 The bay was used for smuggling in the 17th and 18th centuries. The first fortification was a battery of two cannons constructed in 1736. The threat of French invasion led to the building of a small fort at La Crête, overlooking both Bonne Nuit and the adjacent bay Le Havre Giffard, between 1816-1834. La Crête Fort, the official summer residence of the

Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey (, Jèrriais: ''Gouvèrneux d'Jèrri'') is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The Lieutenant Governor has his own flag in Jerse ...

, is currently used by Jersey Heritage Trust as a holiday-let property. Fishing boats in Jersey

The pier was constructed in 1872 by the States of Jersey for fishing boats, and also to serve the

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

of Mont Mado up above the bay. Le Cheval Guillaume, a rock formation in the bay, was the focus of St John's Day (

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr ...

) celebrations, as people would row round the rock for luck. According to legend, the rock is the petrified remains of a

water sprite A sprite is a supernatural entity in European mythology. They are often depicted as fairy-like creatures or as an ethereal entity. The word ''sprite'' is derived from the Latin ''spiritus'' ("spirit"), via the French '' esprit''. Variations on ...

who took the form of a horse to abduct and drown a man called Guillaume in order to steal away his sweetheart Anne-Marie. Several references and film scenes from the harbour were featured on " Bergerac", a BBC television show.

Geography

There is a small beach with pebbles. La Vallette (a

National Trust for Jersey The National Trust for Jersey is a charitable organisation which aims at preserving and safeguarding sites of historic, aesthetic and natural interest in Jersey. The trust held its first formal meeting, headed by the Dean of Jersey, Samuel Fall ...

property, ''Le Don Hudson'') leads down La Falaise de la Vallette to the shore. ''Le Don Best'', another National Trust for Jersey property also looks down into the bay. The cliffs around the harbour are the highest

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

launch site in the island. Favourable winds owing to the bowl-shaped harbour create exceptional lift.

Transportation

The bay is linked to

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...

by bus route 4. Car parking is limited.

References

{{reflist

External links

*http://www.bbc.co.uk/jersey/therock/ontheedge/beach_guide/bonne_nuit_bay.shtml *http://www.bbc.co.uk/jersey/myisland/folklore/bonne_nuit.shtml (folklore) Ports and harbours of Jersey Saint John, Jersey