Guernsey 2012 070, Torteval town hall sign

The

Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey (french: Bailliage de Guernesey; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is an island country off the coast of France as one of the three Crown Dependencies. Separated from the Duchy of Normandy by and under t ...

includes the island of

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 ...

and other islands such as

Alderney Alderney (; french: Aurigny ; Auregnais: ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making i ...

Sark Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of ...

Herm Herm ( Guernésiais: , ultimately from Old Norse 'arm', due to the shape of the island, or Old French 'hermit') is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Parish of St Peter Port in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located in the English ...

Jethou Jethou ( ) is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased from the Crown, and not open to the public. Resembling the top of a wooded knoll it is immediately south of Herm and covers a ...

Brecqhou Brecqhou (or Brechou; ) is one of the Channel Islands, located off the west coast of Sark where they are now geographically detached from each other. Brecqhou is politically part of both Sark and the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It has been establishe ...

, and

Lihou Lihou () is a small tidal island located just off the west coast of the island of Guernsey, in the English Channel, between Great Britain and France. Administratively, Lihou forms part of the Parish of St. Peter's in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

. Each parish was established, probably in the 11th century, as a religious area, each having its parish church. Administratively each parish is now administered by an elected council known as a Douzaine.

Parishes

The island of

is divided into ten

parishes 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 ...

. The

also includes the parish of Saint Anne, Alderney and the parish of Saint Peter, Sark, but these are not generally included in the enumeration of parishes as the names are not of administrative significance: Guernsey (zoom), administrative divisions - en - colored

Guernsey (zoom), administrative divisions - en - colored

^''n'' Non-administrative parishes

and

form part of the parish of St Peter Port.

falls within the area of St Pierre du Bois.

History

The population of and names of the parish are recorded in ''The History of the Island of Guernsey'' in 1814.

Administration

Each parish is administered by a Douzaine. Douzeniers are elected for a four-year mandate, for most parishes three Douzeniers being elected by parishioners at a parish meeting in November each year (total 12). The Vale elects four each year (total 16) and St Peter Port five (total 20). The senior Douzenier is known as the Doyen (Dean). To stand for election the candidate must reside in the Parish. One or more Douzaine representatives represent their parish at the

States of Election The States of Election has only one purpose, to elect a new Jurat to the Courts in Guernsey. The first record of a Jurat in Guernsey was in 1179, and a roll of honour listing Jurats since 1299 is in the Royal Court. A Royal Commission of 1607 id ...

when a new

Jurat The ''jurats'' () are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law (assisted by the ...

is elected. Two elected

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

s (french: Connétables) carry out the decisions of the Douzaine, serving for between one and three years. The longer-serving Constable is known as the Senior Constable and his or her colleague as the Junior Constable. Historically the Constables have been in existence since at least 1481 although their duties have been reduced over the centuries. Both Douzeniers and Constables can be removed by the Royal Court for failing in their duty.

Parish business

Amongst the many varied duties: * Obligation to ensure roadside hedges are trimmed * Supervise watercourses (douits) * Administer Parish cemeteries * Maintain wayside pumps and troughs * Collecting Parish rates * Issue dog licence and collect dog tax * Manage parish boat moorings Parishes officials also advise the States of Guernsey on matters pertaining to the Parish, such as licensing drinking, entertainment and betting establishments.

Nicknames

Inhabitants of each of the parishes of Guernsey also have traditional nicknames, although these have generally dropped out of use among the English-speaking population. The traditional nicknames are:''Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernésiais''

References