Le Hocq is an area in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of St. Clement, in the south-east 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 ...

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, ...

. Le Hocq is a

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 ...

name, and means 'the headland' or 'the cape' in English. The fortified

Jersey Round Tower Jersey is a heavily fortified island with coastal fortifications that date to the English Civil War, the Napoleonic Wars, and Nazi Germany's occupation of the Channel Islands. The fortifications include castles, forts, towers, Martello towers, ar ...

at Le Hocq, was built in the 1780s. Alongside the tower is the Millennium Cross of St. Clement, one of twelve granite

wayside cross Wayside may refer to: * Wayobjects, trackside objects *Wayside (band), an early version of As Friends Rust * ''Wayside'' (TV series), a television show based on the children's book ''Sideways Stories from Wayside School'' *A rest area Places ; ...

es erected to mark the

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

in 2000-2001. The headland juts out onto the rockyJersey Geology Trail
Le Hocq Beach (a part of St. Clement's Bay). King's Rock, Queen's Rock and Prince's Rock are sizeable rocky outcrops which form a rough number 7 shape. The peaks of King's and Queen's Rock are vegetated - mostly grass and hardy small plants, and on all of these rocks are evidence of bird (likely

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 ...

) settlement - eggshells and feathers have been found on Prince's Rock. All of these rocks are scalable, though with some difficulty, and should not be attempted unless you know what you are doing. King's Rock, the tallest, would not measure more than fifteen or twenty metres high. The rest of the beach, stretching east, is sandy, but with many rockpools, with opportunities for winkle picking and

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

catching close to the shore, and more serious fishing pursuits out at sea. Closer to land there are stony patches. Just below Le Hocq Tower, west of the groyne of boulders, is a more pleasant sandy beach, which stretches round the headland to a very stony stretch of beach which reaches as far as Rocqueberg (Witches' Rock) and La Motte (Green Island). Behind the beach there is the common, broken in two by the slip which runs from la Grande Route de la Côte (the coast road) to the beach. On the slip are small boats, and a little refreshment kiosk. Further inland is the parish hall (Salle Paroissiale) of St. Clement, and then a meadow featuring an original railway bridge from the days 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 ...

, and a small brook which is unfortunately silted up for much of the year, before reaching Le Rocquier secondary school. Just across the road from the beach is Le Hocq Pub - open for drinks and meals all year round, and then La Rue du Hocq continues all the way up as far as the St. Clement inner road. Le Hocq tower is depicted on the 2010 issue Jersey 1 pound note.

References

{{coord, 49.167, -2.062, dim:1000_region:JE, display=title Hocq Hocq Buildings and structures in Jersey Towers in Jersey Fortifications in Jersey