Grosnez Castle

The story

A ruined 14th-century castle on the island's north-west cliffs, thought to have been built from about 1370 by the Seigneur of St Ouen as a refuge from French raids. The granite curtain wall runs about 250 m and is thickest on the landward side; cliffs some 60 m high protect the other three. The gatehouse still holds the groove for its portcullis and the pit for the drawbridge counterweight, and is flanked by two towers. No well has been found, and the internal building remains were probably temporary structures used while the castle was being built. Construction was almost certainly incomplete when the French captured and destroyed it in 1373. The castle first appears on a 1540 map of Jersey, which already marks it as destroyed.

✓ Notes checked with the Société Jersiaise ↗