La Corbière
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La Corbière (
Jèrriais (french: Jersiais, also known as the Jersey Language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an island i ...
: ''La Corbiéthe'') is the extreme south-western point of
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 Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
in St. Brélade. The name means "a place where
crows The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is a series of remote weapon stations used by the US military on its armored vehicles and ships. It allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle. T ...
gather", deriving from the word ''corbîn'' meaning ''crow''. However,
seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
s have long since displaced the crows from their coastal nesting sites. The rocks and extreme tidal variation around this stretch of Jersey's coast have been treacherous for navigation and La Corbière has been the scene of many
shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
s, including that of the mail packet "Express" on 20 September 1859.


Monument

Sited on the headland overlooking the
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...
is a
monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
sculpted by Derek Tristram and erected in April 1997, to commemorate a rescue that took place. The accompanying plaque describes the event: :"During the morning of Monday April 17th 1995 whilst on passage from Jersey to Sark, the French catamaran "Saint-Malo" struck a rock known as La Frouquie, 900 metres north of La Corbière Lighthouse. Visibility was good at the time, but with a spring tide ebbing to the west and a westerly Force 5 wind, the sea conditions near Corbière were moderate to rough." :"Emergency services responded promptly and nearby ships gave assistance. All 307 passengers and crew were saved from the partially submerged vessel." :"This memorial is erected in thanksgiving and as a tribute to the rescue, which with the help of God and of many strong arms, ensured the safe return of all on board." La Corbière was formerly the western terminus of the
Jersey Railway The Jersey Railway was opened in 1870 and was originally a standard gauge railway, long, in Jersey in the Channel Islands. Converted to narrow gauge in 1884 and extended giving a length of , the line closed in 1936. It is not to be confused ...
line from
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 – ...
. The first through train ran from Saint Helier to La Corbière on 5 August 1885. The service was unable to compete against motor buses and the railway closed in 1935. The
States of Jersey The States Assembly (french: Assemblée des États; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system o ...
purchased the railway track on 1 April 1937, and created a
trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...
now known as the Railway Walk, linking La Corbière and Saint Aubin for pedestrians and cyclists. During the German military occupation 1940-45, the Germans re-established light railways for the purpose of supplying coastal fortifications. A one-metre gauge line was laid down following the route of the former Jersey Railway from Saint Helier to La Corbière, with a branch line connecting the stone quarry at Ronez in Saint John. The German railway infrastructure was dismantled after the Liberation in 1945, but other German fortifications remain, besides the communications tower, and can be seen around the headland. The former railway platform can still be seen at the end of the Railway Walk at La Corbière and just opposite on the other side of the trail is La Table des Marthes, a
megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...
. The table-like stone was used historically as a meeting place for the witnessing of contracts and it is conjectured that the name is a corruption of ''la table des martyres'' ("martyr" being intended in its meaning of "witness"). Other theories have been put forward to explain the name and purpose of this stone.


Lighthouse

The lighthouse is situated on a rock that is a
tidal island A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of ...
. A causeway links the lighthouse to shore at low tide. There is an alarm to warn visitors to clear the causeway as the tide rises; still, there have been casualties among the unwary or unlucky. A plaque adjacent to the causeway commemorates Peter Edwin Larbalestier, assistant keeper of the lighthouse, who was drowned on 28 May 1946, while trying to rescue a visitor cut off by the incoming tide. The lighthouse tower is 19 m (62 ft) high and the lamp stands 36 m (119 ft) above high water spring tides. It was lit on 24 April 1874, for the first time, and was the first lighthouse in the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
to be built of
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
. The lighthouse was built to designs by
Sir John Coode Sir John Coode (11 November 1816 – 2 March 1892), English civil engineer, known for harbour works. Life He was born at Bodmin on 11 November 1816. He was educated at Bodmin Grammar School and after leaving school entered his father's office ...
. The beam has a reach of , and was automated in 1976. The lighthouse at La Corbière is one of the most photographed landmarks in Jersey and is a popular tourist site for its panoramic views. In the evenings the surrounding area provides an ideal viewing point for sunsets. ;Numismatics The lighthouse at La Corbière features on the Jersey 5 pound note (see
Jersey pound The pound (french: Livre de Jersey, Jèrriais: Louis de Jersey; abbreviation: JEP; sign: £) is the currency of Jersey. Jersey is in currency union with the United Kingdom, and the Jersey pound is not a separate currency but is an issue of ban ...
) and the Jersey 20 pence piece (see
coins of the Jersey pound The pound (french: Livre de Jersey, Jèrriais: Louis de Jersey; abbreviation: JEP; sign: £) is the currency of Jersey. Jersey is in currency union with the United Kingdom, and the Jersey pound is not a separate currency but is an issue of ban ...
)


Culture

The prominence of La Corbière, especially for travellers by sea for whom rounding the rocky waters around the headland often means the roughest part of the journey from
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 ...
or
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
but also the consolation that the boat is entering the final straight towards the harbour of St. Helier, has led to several
proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...
ial expressions in Jèrriais: * ''j'avons pâssé La Corbiéthe'' (we've passed La Corbière, i.e. the worst is over) * ''il a pâssé hardi dg'ieau l'tou d'La Corbiéthe'' (a lot of water has passed round La Corbière, i.e. that's water under the bridge)


MP2 tower

At the top of the headland is a range-finding tower that the German occupying forces built during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. At that time they camouflaged it with paint to give it an appearance similar to an 18th-century granite
round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and ful ...
. The tower has 7 floors, including the top floor, which was an originally the flat roof. The top floor is now enclosed with a new roof and glazing. It provides a 360° view out over Jersey's south-west tip. In 1976 the States' Harbours and Ports Committee added a glassed-in control room where a duty officer could monitor the radio communications of vessels in the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. This lasted until 2004. Since then,
Jersey Heritage Jersey Heritage is an independent trust in Jersey which is responsible for the island's major historic sites, museums, and public archives. It holds collections of artefacts, works of art, documents, specimens, and information relating to Jer ...
has turned it into a self-catering accommodation with full facilities that one may rent as holiday accommodation. This is the only German tower in the Channel Islands that is now a self-catering apartment.


See also

*
List of lighthouses in the Channel Islands This is a list of lighthouses in the Channel Islands. The archipelago lies to the west of the Cotentin Peninsula in the English Channel. There are lighthouses on all of the four main islands: Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey and Sark. Lighthouses S ...


References

;Notes * ''A Chronology of Jersey'', Mollet, Jersey 1954 * ''Dictionnaire Jersiais-Français'', Le Maistre, Jersey 1966


Gallery

File:LaCorbiere.jpg, ''La Corbière Lighthouse, with a storm approaching. File:La Corbière lighthouse, Jersey, low tide.jpg, The causeway to the lighthouse is uncovered at low tide File:MP2 Observation tower, La Corbiere - geograph.ci - 292.jpg, MP2 Observation tower, La Corbiere. Constructed during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by the German occupying forces File:MP2 AKA Radio Tower, Jersey.JPG, MP2, AKA Radio Tower, at Corbière, Jersey File:Saint Malo Denkmal bei La Corbière (Jersey).JPG , Saint Malo sculpture


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Corbiere Geography of Jersey Buildings and structures in Saint Brélade Lighthouses completed in 1874 Towers in Jersey Lighthouses in Jersey