Bergerac Original · 9 places
Mont Orgueil Castle
When King John lost Normandy in 1204, Jersey became England's front line and this granite headland became its fortress; construction of the present castle began that year, on ground fortified since prehistoric times.
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The story
When King John lost Normandy in 1204, Jersey became England's front line and this granite headland became its fortress; construction of the present castle began that year, on ground fortified since prehistoric times. It was not called Mont Orgueil until 1462. For nearly four centuries it held off French attack, but by 1600 gunpowder had made it obsolete and it was to be demolished. Sir Walter Raleigh, then Governor of Jersey, prevented it. The castle was used instead as the island's prison, and in the 1790s as the headquarters of Philippe d'Auvergne's spy network and a refuge for aristocrats fleeing the French Revolution. It was given to the people of Jersey in 1907 and has been a museum from 1929.
Notes checked with the Société Jersiaise - History Section ↗
