and repaired And likewise shall receive information from the said Church Wardens or if they should fail in doing their Duty from the Minister of all Offences and Abuses which need to be reformed whether in the Minister Officers of the Church or others of the Parish And the said Dean for the said Visitation shall each time receive 40 Sols out of the Treasury of the Church 24. In case of Vacancy of any Benefice either by Death or otherwise the Dean shall give present Order that the Profits of the said Benefice be sequestred and that out of the Revenue thereof the Cure be supplied and also that the Widow or Heirs of the Deceased be satisfied in proportion to the Time of his Service according to the Custom of the Isle with such necessary Deductions as must be made for Dilapidations if there be any and shall give convenient Time to the Widow of the Deceased to provide her self of a Dwelling and shall dispose of the Residue to the next Incumbent to whom the Sequestrator shall be accountable 25 In the same Case of Vacancy of any Benefice if within six Months the Governor does not Present some person to the Right Reverend Father in God the Bishop of Winchester or in the Vacancy of that See to the most Reverend Father in God the Archbishop of Canterbury to be admitted and instituted to the said Benefice then the Dean shall give notice of the Time of the Vacancy to the said Lords Bishop or Archbishop as it shall happen to the end they may give Order for collating to the Benefice And when any shall be Presented to them the Dean shall give Certificate of the behaviour and Sufficiency of the Party to be approved by them before he be actually admitted by the Dean into Possession of the said Benefice 26. The Dean shall have the Entry and Probate of Wills which shall be approved under the Seal of his Office and Registred He shall have also the Registring of the Inventories of Goods Mobiliary belonging to Orphans whereof he shall keep a faithful Register that he may give Copies of them whenever he shall be required Moreover he shall give Letters of Administration of the Goods of Intestates dying without Heirs of their Body to the next of Kindred 27. They that have the Will in their Custody whether they be Heirs Executors or others shall be obliged to exhibit and bring the same to the Dean within one Month in default whereof they shall be convened into Court by Mandate paying double Charges for the Compulsory and the said Dean shall have for the said Wills Inventories and Letters of Administration such Fees as are specified in the Table made for that purpose 28. All Legacies Mobiliary made to the Church Ministers Schools or Poor shall be of the Cognizance of the Dean But upon any Opposition made concerning the Validity of the Will the Civil Court shall determine it betwixt the Parties 29. It appartains to the Dean to have Cognizance of all Substraction of Tythes belonging to the Church of what kind soever they be which have been paid to the Ministers and which they have enjoyed and have been possessed of forty Years and every Person convicted of Substraction Fraud or Detention of the said Tythes shall be adjudged to make Restitution and pay the Cost and Charges of the Party And for the preservation of all and singular the Rights Tythes Rents Lands and Possessions Beneficiary there shall be a Terrice made by the Bailly and Jurats assisted by the Dean and King's Procurator 30. The Dean shall have Power to make choice of a Deputy or Commmissary who shall execute and supply the Place and Office of the Dean so far as his Commission shall extend of which there shall be an Authentick Act in the Rolls of the Court. Of the Church-Wardens 31. Every Week next after Easter the Minister and People of each Parish shall choose two Church-Wardens discreet Men of good Conversation and Capacity able to read and write if possible But if they cannot agree in the Election the Minister shall have Power to name one and the Parishioners another by the Majority of Voices which two shall be after sworn in the next Court and there well admonished of their Duty 32. Their Duty shall be to see that the Churches and Church-yards be not abused by any prophane Exercises or Actions as also not to suffer any Excommunicated Person to come into the Church after the Sentence has been published in their Parish And they shall be careful to Present from time to time those that neglect the publick Exercises of Divine Service and the Use of the Holy Sacraments and generally all Delinquencies that are of Ecclesiastical Cognizance Which Presentations they shall exhibit under their Hands nor shall they be constrained to Present above twice a Year 33. They shall have care moreover to keep the Church in good Repair and the Church-Yards well fenced and to see that all things appartaining to the Church the Administration of the Word and Sacraments be provided and maintained from time to time such are a Bible of the best Translation and largest Character the Book of Common-prayer both for the Minister and Clerk or Sexton of the Parish a Book of Parchment to Register the Christnings Marriages and Burials a decent Table to administer the Holy Supper with a Carpet to cover it during Divine Service Fonts for Baptism Cups and Vessels serving only to that Use Table cloths Napkins with a Coffer wherein to keep the said Utensils a Trunk or Box for Alms a Cloth and Cushion for the Pulpit and shall also provide the Bread and Wine for the Sacrament Moreover They shall see that the Pews and Seats be well fitted for the Conveniency of the Minister and Parishioners and that with the Advice and Council of their Minister All this out of the Rents and Revenues of the Treasury of the Church 34. The said Church-Wardens shall be obliged to keep in a Book a good and faithful Account of their Disbursements and Receipts and of the Use they shall make of the Moneys of the Treasury which shall be published in Order to be let out to Farm from time to time according to Custom and that in the Name of the said Church-Wardens and Procurators of the Parish who shall employ the said Treasury in things necessary and convenient for the Church or the publick Occasions Governing themselves by the Advice of the Minister and Chief of the Parish in all things Extraordinary which concern the said Parish And in case of publick Business the Assembly of the States shall prescribe to them what shall be found expedient for the common Good And before they quit their Charge they shall give notice to the Parishioners that they may Audit their Accounts in Easter-Week which Accounts shall be signed by the Minister and Chief of the Parish And if any of the said Parishioners or others refuse to pay the Rents they owe to the said
the Province of Neustria corruptly so called for Westria Westenrick or West-France because seated on the most Western shore of the great Empire of the Franks which extended from the Sea to the Banks of the Danube as the more Eastern part was called Austria Oostenrick or East-France and with the rest of that great and rich Province was given to Rollo and his Normans Originally Danes and Norwegians who from their own Name called the said Province Normandy Given I say by Charles IV sirnamed the Simple King of France in the Year 912 From which time to this this Island never returned to that Crown as the rest of that Province hath since done tho' it was not added to the Crown of England till the Year 1066 when William sirnamed the Bastard and the sixth Duke of Neustria or Normandy from Rollo invading England and Conquering it transferred that Dukedom and with it this Island to the English Diadem By which account it appears that reckoning from this preset time 1693 it is not less than 781 years since this Island was dismembred from the Crown of France by the Donation of Charles the Simple that it hath been 154 years under the Descendants of Rollo while they continued Dukes of Normandy only and that 't is 627 years since 't is subject to the Kings of England This gives the Inhabitants of this Island the Preference in point of Antiquity to most others of Their Majesties Subjects Ireland not being subdued till the Reign of Henry II nor Wales reduced till that of Edward I nor Scotland united till the beginning of this last Century to say nothing of Foreign Plantations which are yet most of them of a later Date I speak not this to derogate from the Honour of Kingdoms and Principalities which do vastly exceed Us in Expansion of Country and have brought a far greater Addition of Power to the English Empire but to shew Their Majesties ancient and indisputable Right over Us together with that long and faithfull Subjection which our Fathers have paid to that Crown which Their Majesties derive from a Succession of so many Royal Progenitors We find but little in ancient History concerning this Island till the coming of the Normans who struck such Terror in all places where they passed that in the publick Litany after these words From Plague Pestilence and Famine was added and from the fury of the Normans Good Lord deliver us By the advantage of their Shipping they ransackt the Maritime Coasts of France burning and destroying all before them They were Pagans and therefore their Fury fell more remarkably on Churches and Religious Houses Persons and Things consecrated to God No place could be more open and exposed to their Incursions than this Island where they committed the same horrid Outrages they did elsewhere leaving Us among others this Monument of their Cruelty There dwelt at that time in this Island a Devout and Holy man famous amongst Us to this day for the Austerity of his Life whose little solitary Cell hewn out of the hard Rock is yet to be seen in a small Islet close by Elizabeth Castle His name Helerius or Helier mistaken by some for St. Hilary Bishop of Poitiers who was never here Him the Normans slew at their coming into this Island adding thereby to other things which this Island Glories in the honour of having given a Martyr to the Church For under that Name we find him Recorded in the Kalendary or Martyrology of Coûtance in these words XVII Kalend. Aug. Constant in Normannia Festum St. Helerii Martyris à Wandalis in GERSEIO Insulâ occisi And the Author of Neustria Pia speaks thus of him and of the place of his Martyrdom GERSEIUM GERSOIUM seu GRISOGIUM vulgò GERSE Insula est ad Mare oceanum Dioecesis Constantiensis in quam S. Praetextatus Archiâ—piscopus Rothomagensis posteà Martyr relegatus est an 582. Illustrior autem haberi coepit ex quo S. Helerius illic à Wandalis Martyrii palmam accepit Nam in honorem hujusce Inclyti Athletae Christi constructa est infignis Abbatia à Domino Guillelmo Hamonis viro nobili antiqui Stemmatis apud Neustrios Heroe in quâ Canonicos Regulares Ordinis S. Augustini posuit ac tandem ipse excessit è vitâ 21 Novembris cujus sic Meminit Obituarium Caesaris-Burgi XI Calend Decemb. Guillelmus Hamonis qui fundavit Abbatiam S. Helerii in GERSOIO These Wandals from whom St. Helier received the Crown of Martyrdom were no other than Normans those Names being used promiscuously But of this famous Abby erected to his Memory there is not a stone left standing It was built in the same place where is now the lower Ward of Elizabeth Castle So much as was left of that ancient Building was pull'd down An. 1691. to enlarge the Parade From this Holy man the chief Town in the Island is called St. Helier His Martyrdom must fall about the Year 857. After that Rollo and his Normans were peaceably settled in Neustria and in these Islands by Agreement with Charles the Simple that wild Nation mixed it self with the Old Inhabitants grew Civilized and embraced Christianity and this Island enjoyed great Tranquility under the Government of those Dukes that succeeded Rollo and who fill up the whole space betwixt him and William the Conqueror in the Order following ROLLO first Duke of Normandy who at his Baptism took the Name of Robert WILLIAM Sirnamed Longue Espée from his long Sword Son of Rollo RICHARD I. the Son of Longue Espée RICHARD II. Son of Richard I. RICHARD III. Son of Richard II. ROBERT Brother of Richard III. This Duke preserved Edward the Confessor from the Fury of Canute the Dane who had invaded England and slain Edmond Ironside Brother of Edeward He set out a powerfull Fleet to restore him to his Kingdom but being long detained by contrary Winds at Guernezey he was forced to return to Normandy re infectâ WILLIAM II. Bastard Son of Robert Sirnamed the CONQUEROR from his Conquest of England While the Conqueror lived he kept England and Normandy as close linked together as their Situation would permit residing sometime in the one and sometime in the other He died in Normandy and lies buried at Caen where I have seen his Tomb. 'T is but a low plain Altar Tomb that has nothing of Magnificence in it It stands in the middle of the Quire of the great Abby Founded by himself and has two Inscriptions on it one on each side The first expressing the Quality of his Person and the Union of England and Normandy under him The other signifying how that Monument had been defaced by the Huguenots during the heat and rage of the Civil Wars and had been repaired by the Monks An. 1642. After the Death of the Conqueror England and Normandy were parted again England falling to the Lot of William Rufus second Son of the Conqueror who in the absence of
they were before and sent others towards St. Aubin's Bay and towards St. Clement and Grouville meaning to tire and distract our Troops by making a shew as tho' they intended to Land in all those different places at once and accordingly several Companies were detached to attend their Motion The main Body of the Fleet lying still in St. Brelard's Bay together with the best part of the Camp to oppose their Landing October 22. the same day on which the King Landed in France tho' the good News came not to Us till some weeks after a little after Midnight and by Moon-shine the Enemies were observed to ship off in several flat bottom'd Boats which they had brought for that Service ten or twelve Battalions of Foot to the number of about 4000 Men as was conjectured in order to make a Descent which they attempted by break of day under the covert of their Ships which drew as near the shore as the nature of the place would give them leave sparing neither Powder nor Shot on this occasion But seeing themselves beaten from two small Forts that had been raised in the Bay and the Islanders drawn up upon the Sands in a posture to receive them they thought fit to retire to their Ships which forthwith weighed Anchor and returned to St. Ouen leaving only 19 men of War in St Brelard's Bay This obliged the Governor to follow them again to St. Oüen after he had posted some Companies of the Militia his own Company of Fuzeliers and all the Dragoons to observe those that remained at St. Brelard The Enemies being come to St. Oüen directed their Course Northwards to L'Etack the furthest Point of that Bay as if they had designed to Land there whither they were accordingly followed by the Islanders but it soon appeared their Design was only to harrass our Troops for they suddenly tackt about and steered to the opposite Point which Motion was likewise attended by our Forces on shore The Enemies playing all the while furiously with their Cannon which was answered in the same manner as the day before The Night coming on it was thought necessary to send the Troops which had been now three Days and two Nights under their Arms and had been extremely fatigued by so many Marches and Counter-marches and were also very much incommoded by a small Rain that had not ceased to fall since they were in Action to refresh in the neighbouring Villages The noble and indefatigable Governor with a few Horse that attended him not departing all the while from the Shore It must not be forgot that the Enemies were that Day reinforced by a Squadron of fresh Ships which joined the Fleet a little before Night That fatal Night which proved extraordinary Dark and under the Favour of it the Enemies landed a Battalion which as soon as discovered was with great Bravery and Resolution charged by the Governor and those few Horse that he had about him The Charge was bloody and desperate many of the Enemies being killed and mortally wounded but they poured on so fast that the Infantry that was dispersed about the Coast had not time to come up and second that small Body of Horse which certainly did Wonders by the Confession of the very Enemies themselves who have often said that such another Charge would have made them retire and perhaps give over their Design at least for that time And 't is probable they must have done so For the next Day such a Storm arose that had they not by a timely Reduction of the Island secured a Retreat into the Ports a great Part of their Fleet must have perished and been dashed against the Rocks nor could even that hinder one of their biggest Frigats from being so lost with all the Men in her The Enemies being landed marched up into the Island where they committed great Disorders turning the Churches into Stables abusing the Pulpits and Communion-Tables in a manner not fit to be named 'T were needless to mention the Sequestrations Compositions for Estates and other Vexations which the Inhabitants of this Island suffered at that time since they were common to all that adhered to the Royal Interest There was great rejoycing in England for the taking of JERSEY The Parliament did once fear that the Islanders in Despair and rather than own their Power would give themselves up to the French Or that the King urged by his Necessities would sell it to that Crown for a Summ of Money 'T is certain that a Letter came about that time to the Men at Westminster informing them that the late Earl of St. Albans and Sir Richard Greenvil were actually at the French Court treating about some such thing And tho' it proved a Mistake it served to quicken the Resolutions of the Parliament who wisely considered that if this Island with ten or twelve small Privateers and with none or little help from France was able meerly by the Advantage and Opportunity of its Situation to obstruct the Trade and Commerce of the Channel how much more would it be able to do so if by falling into the Hands of the French it should become a Retreat to all the Corsairs of that Nation Tho' the Island was reduced the Castles were not Sir George de Carteret shut himself up in that of Elizabeth with several of the Gentry and Clergy and the Garrison amounting in all to about 350 sighting Men. The Castle was besieged and several Batteries were raised on St. Helier's Hill that did little Execution besides beating down the Parapets which were soon repaired Then came the News of his Majesty's safe Arrival in France Whereupon Mr. Poingdestre was dispatched to his Majesty to acquaint him with the State of the Garrison In the mean while the Enemies seeing no great Effect of their Cannon caused a Battery of Mortars to be raised and threw Bombs into the Castle One of which falling upon the Church and breaking through two strong Vaults under which was laid a considerable Quantity of Powder with other Ammunitions and Stores blew up the Church and the adjoyning Buildings burying above Fourscore Persons of the Garrison under the Ruines thereof This Accident caused a great Consternation in the Garrison and hastned the Reduction of the Place But before the Governor would hearken to a Treaty he sent his Chaplain the Reverend Dr. Durel late Dean of Windsor Mr. Poingdestre not being yet returned to the King to know if he may 't expect Succour promising with a very small Force not only to keep the Castle but to drive the Enemies quite out of the Island The King after many fruitless Applications made to the French Court which was then at Poitiers and had begun by the Intrigues of Cardinal Mazarin to enter into a close Conjunction with the Powers in England sent back this Message to the Governor That he was highly satisfied with his Courage and Conduct in the Defence of the Island Being convinced no man could do
of JERSEY and Garnsey did of ancient time belong to the Dutchy of Normandy but when King Henry I. had overthrown his elder Brother Robert Duke of Normandy he did unite to the Kingdom of England perpetually the Dutchy of Normandy together with these Isles And albeit King John lost the Possession of Normandy and King Henry III. took Money for it yet the Inhabitants of these Isles with great Constancy remained and so to this day do remain true and faithful to the Crown of England AND THE POSSESION OF THESE ISLANDS BEING PARCEL OF THE DVTCHY OF NORMANDY ARE A GOOD SEISIN FOR THE KING OF ENGLAND OF THE WHOLE DVTCHY CHAP. II. Description of the Island THE Island of JERSEY is seated in the Bay of St. Michael betwixt Cap de la Hague and Cap Forhelles the first in Normandy the last in Bretagne both which Promontories may be seen from thence in a clear Day The nearest Shore is that of Normandy to which the Cut is so short that Churches and Houses may be easily discerned from either Coast It lies according to Mr. Samarâ—s his new Survey in 49 Deg. and 25 Min. of Northern Latitude which I take to be right enough But when he gives it but 11 Deg. and 30 Min. of Longitude I cannot conceive where he fixes his first Meridian For to say nothing of the Isles of Azores or those of Cap Verd which are at a much greater Distance if he takes it with Sanson and the French Geographers from the Isle of Feró the most Western of the Canaries it must be a great deal more than he says viz. 18 Deg. at the least Or if he takes it even from Tenarif which according to the best and latest Observations is 18 Deg. from London still the Longitude of JERSEY cannot be less than 15 Deg. 30 Min. It seems to me to have near the same Longitude as Bristol in England In Length it exceeds not 12 Miles The Breadth where it is broadest is betwixt 6 and 7. The Figure resembleth somewhat an Oblong long Parallelogram the longest Sides whereof are the North and South the narrowest are the East and West The North Side is a continued Hill or ridge of Cliffs which are sometimes 50 Fathoms high from the Water and render the Island generally unaccessible on that Side The South side is much lower and in some Places level as it were with the Sea I cannot better compare it than to a Wedge or to a Triangle Right-angle the Basis whereof may be supposed to be the Sea the Cathetus those high and craggy Cliffs which it hath on the North and the Hypothenusa the Surface of the Island which declines and falls gently from North to South according to the following Diagram JERSEY It receives two great Benefits from this Situation The First is that those Rivulets for I cannot call them Rivers with which this Island abounds do by this means run further and receive a greater Increase and Accession of Waters whereby they become strong enough to turn betwixt 30 and 40 Mills that supply the whole Country than they would do should the Island rise in the middle and all the Streams by an equal Course descend on every side to the Sea This Consideration would be of no great Moment to a larger Country but is of unexpressible Use and Advantage to so small an Island The Second Benefit which we receive from this Situation is that by this Declivity of the Land from N to S the Beams of the Sun fall more directly and perpendicularly thereon than if either the Surface was level and Parallel to the Sea or which is worse declined from S to N as it doth in Guernezey For there by an odd opposition to JERSEY the Land is high on the S and low on the N which causes if I may so speak a double Obliquity the one from the Position of the Sun it self especially in time of the Winter Solstice the other from the Situation of the Land and is probably the Reason of the great Difference observed in the Qualities of Soil and Air in both Islands GUERNEZEY This Declivity of JERSEY is not a smooth and even Declivity as some may 't think The Surface is extremely broken and unequal rising and falling almost perpetually For as on the N it is an entire Hill with few and short Vales so on the S SE and SW it is cut into sundry fruitfull Valleys narrow at the Beginning but growing wider as they draw still nearer and nearer to the Sea where they end in several Flats of good Meadows and Pastures Mr. Poingdestre thought that this Unevenness and Inequality of the Surface added much to the Quantity and Proportion of the ground and that the Island was so much the more Capacious and Productive by how much the more the Surface was expanded rising with the Hills and descending with the Valleys But herein I must take the Liberty to depart from so great a Man It being demonstrable that a Country that is exactly level will contain as many Houses and Inhabitants will produce as many Trees Plants c. as another Country whose Surface is as uneven and unequal as can be but whose Basis or Plane is equal to the other Therefore the true Dimension of any Country is not to be taken from those Gibbosities that swell the Surface in one Place or those Profundities that depress it in another but from the true Basis or Plane of that Country The Nature of the Mould and Soil admits great Variety which proceeds from this Difference of higher and lower Grounds The higher Grounds are gritty gravelly and some stony and rocky but others are Excellently good The Lower are deep heavy and rich Those near the Sea are light and sandy yet not equally so in all Places But generally there is little barren Ground in the whole Island almost none that is not capable of receiving some profitable Culture and recompensing one way or other the Pains of the Labouring Husbandman We must except a large Tract of once Excellent Lands in the West of the Island which within these 200 Years have been so over-run with Sands that the Island on that side beareth the Image of a Desart This is said to have happened by Divine Vengeance on the Owners of those Lands for detaining the Goods of Strangers that had been shipwrackt on that Coast though injoyned by the highest Censures of the Church to restore them There must be from time to time such publick Examples of Divine Justice among Men that the Inhabitants of the Earth may learn Righteousness And yet I confess it may 't be also the Effect of a Cause not Preternatural I mean of those high Westerly winds that blow here almost at all Seasons of the Year and which on this side of the Island are daily seen to drive the Sands from the Bottom to the Top of the highest Cliffs The Island produces all Manner of
with several Parcels of Lands and Meadows Wheat-Rents Escheats Forfeitures Fines Services Wardships Customs and other Emoluments not reckoned in Money made up a pretty Revenue for the King in so small an Island But now the Livre Tournois is fallen so low viz. 13. of them for one l. Sterl that the said 1000. Livres Tournois are brought under the value of 100. l. Sterl And many Alienations have been made of the Revenue It consists now chiefly in the Tythes of Ten Parishes of the Island which having been appropriated to several Religious Houses in Normandy in time of Popery were at the Reformation assumed by the Crown As also in several Quarters of Wheat-Rents and other Profits certain and casual estimated all together at about 15000 Livres Tournois per annum Out of which Sum the aforementioned Deductions are made the rest belongs to the Governor who has a peculiar Officer appointed by himself for the Collection of the said Revenue called Le Receveur du Roy i. e. The Kings Receiver Our Kings heretofore did use to dispose of this Revenue more thriftily than they now do laying on it the whole Charge of the Garrison causing the remainder to be accounted for in the Exchequer and out of that allowing a Proportion to the Governor greater or less as he could agree or had an Interest in the Prince's favour Thus Johannes des Roches who was Warden of these Islands in the time of Edward III. had but 40. l. a year allowed him out of the said Revenue The more usual way was for the Governor to receive the whole Revenue paying a certain Sum yearly out of it into the Exchequer Thus Thomas de Ferrariis and Thomas de Hampton who succeeded Johannes des Roches paid 500 Marks yearly The last that had it with these Deductions was Sir Thomas Jermyn Grandfather of the Lord Jermyn the now Governor who paid 300 l. yearly to the King Nor was this without Exceptions For Philip de Aubigny Drogo de Barentin Otto de Grandison c. in the time of K. John Henry III Edward I c. received and enjoyed the whole Revenue as the Governors do now sine Computo So did those Sons and Brothers of our Kings mentioned before who seem to have had these Islands inpurum absolutum Dominium Therefore very properly called Domini Insularum Lords of the Islands The Power of the Governors has likewise been greater or less as their Commission has from time to time been either enlarged or restrained Anciently the Governor here was a Person of a mixt Power I mean that he had the Administration of both the Civil and Military Authority He was Judge as well as Governor had the disposal of all places in Court Church or Garrison Then he was called Bailly which in the Gottish Tongue signifies Custos i. e. a Warden or Guardian For he was both Custos Terrae and Custos Legum Guardian of the Land and Guardian of the Laws In process of time he reserved only the Exercise of the Military and Commanding part to himself transferring the Judicial to another who remained in possession of the Title of Bailly while himself retained the sense and meaning of the Word in the new Name of Custos or Warden which he assumed Thus that Office which at first was but one became two Yet so as that he who had the Judicial part and was now called the Bailly was still dependant and at the Nomination of the other So were the other Ministers of Justice Which was a great obstruction to a free Administration of it since the Court must still be at the beck and devotion of him from whom it derived its Power K. John began and K. Henry VII completed the Establishment of a Jurisdiction in this Island independant from the Governor taking away from him the Nomination of the Bailly Dean King's Officers and Viscount And forbidding him to interpose his Authority in Matters that were purely of the Cognizance of the Civil or Ecclesiastical Tribunals But tho' the Governor has no proper Jurisdiction yet in regard of his Dignity his Presence is often required in Court and is in some sort necessary for the passing of some Acts there viz. Such as concern the King's Service the Maintenance of the publick Peace the Safety and good Government of the Island He has the Court under his Protection being obliged to assist the Bailly and Jurats with his Authority in the Execution of their Judgments He has Power with the Concurrence of two of the Jurats to arrest and imprison any Inhabitant upon vehement Suspicion of Treason No Inhabitant may go out of the Island no Foreigner may come sojourn or settle in it without his Knowledge and Privity No Estates can be held nor any thing therein transacted without his Consent but this with some restrictions of which more hereafter On the other side at his Admission and before he can do any Act of Government he must produce his Patent or Commission in Court and must swear to maintain the Liberties and Priviledges of the Island His more immediate Province is the Custody of Their Majesties Castles the Command of the Garrison and Militia of the Island Which last he models and regulates at Pleasure The Place of his Residence is Elizabeth Castle called also the New Castle in distinction to Mont-Orgueil which is the Old Castle Sometimes again called L'Islet because seated in a small Island in St. Aubin's Bay taking up the whole Ground or Compass of that Island Inviron'd round on all sides by the Sea unless at Low-water at which time there is access to it over the Sands especially over a Beach of Pebbles called the Bridge but neither is this dry above 6 Hours sometimes not 5 Distant from the nearest Land 663 Geometrical Paces Well mounted with Ordnance and stored with all necessary Provisions of War Begun An. 1552 in Consequence of an Order of Council of An. 1551 injoyning the Bells of the Island leaving only one in every Church to be sold and the Mony to be applied to the Building thereof Impregnable by its Situation and on which under God depends the Safety of the whole Island I wish I could give the same account of Mont-Orgueil Castle standing aloft on a steep and craggy Promontory in the East of the Island and as it were proudly overlooking the neighbouring Coast of France But that Noble and Ancient Castle under whose Walls the French have so often digged their Graves falls daily to decay through want of repair 'T is somewhat awed by a Hill that lies too near it on the Land-side f The Fort or Tower of St. Aubin is o good use for the Defence of the Road and for the Security of our shipping which lie safe in the Mole or Peer under the Guns of the Place These are all the Fortresses in this Island where the King keeps Garrison both in Peace and War For tho' the Map mentions
the Count or Governor Loyescon and all the Inhabitants came over to the Faith He died in this Island and was buried in a little Chappel erected to his Memory in the Parish of St. Saviour hard by the Free-School called from him to this day St. Magloire corruptly St. Manlier About 250 years after this Island being much infested by the Danes and Normans his Body which after the manner of those times was visited by Pilgrims from all Parts was by command of Neomenius King of Bretagne transported thither and deposited in the little Priory of Lehon near Dinant built for its Reception where it rested 66 years But the Normans entring into Bretagne also it was removed again and translated to Chartres and at last to Paris where it lies in the Royal Chappel of St. Bartholomew now become an Abby under the Name of St. Barthelemi Saint Magloire This was the Instrument which God was pleased to make use of to bring the Inhabitants of this Isle to the knowledge of himself who were before Gentiles and Idolaters While St. Magloire was living and doing the Work of an Evangelist amongst Us Pretextatus Archbishop of Rouen in Normandy oppressed by the hatred and Calumnies of Fredegund Wife of Chilperic King of France was banished here into JERSEY He associated himself to St. Magloire and with great Zeal and Fervency laboured with him in Preaching the Gospel and carrying on the work of God in this Island Being recalled from Banishment and restored to his See he was sometime after murdered in his Church by Command of that cruel Woman for which he has been deservedly reputed a Martyr according to the following Distych of Orderic Uticensis Occubuit Martyr Pretextatus Fredegundis Reginae Monitu pro Christi nomine Jesu What progress Christianity made in JERSEY appears from the Foundation of Twelve parish-Parish-Churches which have a Beauty and Solidity beyond what is usually seen in ordinary Country Churches A noble and stately Abby that of S. Helier Four Priories viz. Noirmont S. Clement Bonnenuit and de Leck and above twenty Chappels of which the greater part are now in rubbish Of those that are left standing there are two of special Note The one is La Chapelle de Nostre Dame des Pas so called from a pretended Apparition of the blessed Virgin and the impression of her Footsteps in the Rock whereon the Chappel stands The other is la Hougue so called from a high Artificial Hill on the top whereof it is loftily seated For Hougue in French is properly what the Latines call Agger or Tumulus i. e. a Mount of Turf or Earth made with hands and raised more or less above the circumjacent Level And those Aggeres or Tumuli were in former days raised on the Bodies of Heroes and Great men slain in the Wars raised I say in the Field and on the very place where they fell And such I take the Hougue in JERSEY to be The Old Tradition is that a Gentleman of Normandy coming into this Island was there slain and that his Wife caused this noble Monument to be erected over him carrying it up to that height purposely that from her house in Normandy she might have a prospect of the Place where lay the Ashes of him whose Memory was so dear to her even then when he was but cold Earth The Chappel on the top I guess to have been added for Masses to be said therein for the Soul of the Deceased according to the Superstition of those days And this I take to be the best account that can be given of this ancient Chappel and the Moles on which it is erected which differs from that of Mr. Poingdestre who thinks this Eminency was raised at the time that the Danes and other Northern Nations made their inroads into this Island and was designed for a Specula or Watch-Hill to discover them at Sea and to give Notice of their approach and that the Chappel was built long after by one Mabon who was Dean of this Island about the Year 1520 Mabon indeed did cause the East end to be new built and a passage with a Repository under ground and under the Altar to be made in imitation of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem where he had sometimes been I shall pass over those dark Ages of Popery which too soon followed the Planting of Christianity in this Island and shall hasten to give some account of the State of Religion here from the Reformation The same Change of Religion that was made in England in the Reign of K. Edward VI was made here also The English Liturgy was translated into French and sent hither In Q. Mary's time the Mass was set up again as it was in England But through a singular Mercy of God the Persecution did not rage here as it did there While that Queen made Bonfires of Protestants in England Richard Averty a Popish Priest in this Island was hanged for Murder by Sentence of the Royal Court He was a great Enemy and Persecutor of the married Clergy but himself at the same time kept a Whore who being brought to bed he to conceal his Shame murdered the Infant unknown to the Mother for which he was apprehended and notwithstanding the opposition of Pawlet the Popish Dean who would have had him convened before the Bishop of Coûtance as his proper Judge suffered as he deserved This must seem an Action of great Boldness and Resolution in the Court at that time to any that considers the Power and Interest of the Popish Clergy under that Reign It was not so in Guernesey There such an Act of Cruelty was committed as is not to be matched by any thing we meet with in ancient or modern Martyrologies A poor aged Widow and her two Daughters whereof one named Perrotine Massey was the Wife of a Minister who was fled because of the Persecution were condemned to be burnt for Heresie The Ministers Wife was big with Child When she came to suffer her Belly burst through the violence of the Flame and a lovely Boy issued forth who falling gently on the Fagots tumbled off without receiving any injury from the Fire The Child was taken up and carried to the Dean and Magistrates who sent it back and ordered it to be thrown in with the Mother The cruel Command was obeyed and the innocent Babe was baptized in Fire Upon Q. Elizabeth's happy Inauguration her first Care was the Settlement of Religion But in this Island we fell into the other extreme 'T is well known what Persecutions the French Protestants suffered under the Reigns of Francis I Henry II Francis II Charles IX and Henry III. The Neighbourhood of this Island invited great numbers of them and among them some of their Ministers to take Sanctuary here and their Example soon begot in the minds of too many of our People a dislike of the English Reformation wherein also they were too much
countenanced and encouraged by the Governor who whether out of Inclination or Affectation of Popularity or which I rather think the hope of adding to his Government the Revenue of the suppressed Deanry favoured that Party They possessed themselves of the Parish Church of St. Helier where the Sieur de la Ripaudiere a French Minister preached and gave the Sacrament after the manner of Geneva and soon after a solemn Deputation was made to the Queen for leave to have all the other Churches in the Island modell'd after that way This the Queen denied allowing them only that Church of which they were possessed and strictly Commanding that Form and Order of Service which was set forth within her Realm to be continued in the Residue of the Parishes of this Isle as appears from the following Letter sent by the Council to the Bailly and Jurats bearing Date Aug. 7. 1565. After our very hearty Commendations unto you Whereas the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty understandeth that the Isles of JARSEY and Guernezey have anciently depended on the Diocese of Constance and that there be certain Churches in the same Diocese well Reformed agreably throughout in Doctrine as it is set forth in this Realm Knowing therewith that you have a Minister who ever since his Arrival in JARSEY hath used the like Order of Preaching and Administration as in the said Reformed Churches or as it is used in the French Church at London Her Majesty for divers Respects and Considerations moving her Highness is well pleased to admit the same Order of Preaching and Administration to be continued at St. Helier's as hath been hitherto accustomed by the said Minister Provided always that the Residue of the Parishes in the said Isle shall diligently put apart all Superstitions used in the said Diocese and so continue there the Order of Service ordained and set forth within this Realm with the Injunctions necessary for that Purpose wherein you may not fail diligently to give your Aids and Assistance as best may serve for the Advancement of God's Glory And so fare you well From Richmond the 7th Day of August Anno 1565. Signed N. Bacon R. Leicester R. Rogers Will. Northampton Gul. Clynton Fr. Knolls Will. Cecil Notwithstanding this Letter all the other Churches in the Island soon followed the Example of that of St. Helier and the English Liturgy came to be generally disused This gave mighty Encouragement to the Puritans in England who hoped to draw great Advantages from it and indeed grew very insolent upon it To improve the Opportunity Cartwright and Snap those Two great Incendiaries of the English Church were sent into these Islands At whose coming a Synod of the Ministers and Elders of JERSEY Guernezey Serk and Alderney was Convened at the Town of St. Peter-Port in Guernezey June 28 1576. And there in Presence of both Governors a Form of Classical Discipline digested into twenty Chapters and each Chapter into several Articles was agreed on to be used from thenceforth in the four Islands Which Discipline was again confirmed in another Synod held at Guernezey the 11 12 13 14 15 and 17th Days of October 1597. It was a bold Step in the Governors not only to tolerate that unlawful Assembly but to countenance as they did all the Acts of it by their Presence and their Signature I call it an unlawful Assembly because it met and enacted Laws Ecclesiastical binding the Subject without the Royal Authority throwing the Liturgy out of those Churches where by Express Command of the Queen it had been injoyned to be continued to make way for their Model which was only indulged to St. Helier in JERSEY and to St. Peter-Port in Guernezey But the Governors got well by it for by that means the Spoils of the poor Deanries fell into their Hands Timely Application was made by that Party to K. James at his coming to the Crown to whom it was falsly suggested that the Discipline had been permitted and allowed by Q. Elizabeth Whereupon a Letter under the Privy-Seal dated Aug. 8. 1603. was easily obtained confirming that pretended Permission and setling the Discipline in both Islands as it was alledged to have been in the Days of that Queen The Letter was as followeth JAMES R. JAMES by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland c. Vnto all those whom these Presents shall concern Greeting Whereas We Our Selves and the Lords of Our Council have been given to understand that it pleased God to put it into the Heart of the Late Queen our most dear Sister to permit and allow unto the Isles of JARSEY and Guernezey parcel of our Dutchy of Normandy the Vse of the Government of the Reformed Churches in the said Dutchy whereof they have stood possessed until our coming to this Crown For this Cause we desiring to follow the Pious Example of our said Sister in this behalf as well for the Advancement of the Glory of Almighty God as for the Edification of his Church do will and ordain that our said Isles shall quietly enjoy their said Liberty in the Vse of the Ecclesiastical Discipline there now Established forbidding any one to give them any trouble or impeachment as long as they contain themselves in our Obedience and attempt not any thing against the Pure and Sacred Word of God Given at our Palace at Hampton-Court the 8th Day of August Anno Dom. 1603 and of our Reign in England the First 'T is plain the Grant in this Letter was void and null from the beginning being founded on an Allegation manifestly untrue viz. that Q. Elizabeth had given way to the Establishment of the Discipline throughout all the Churches in these Islands The contrary whereof appears from the very Words of the Letter written by her Council However matters stood thus till a New Governor coming to JERSEY and clashing with the Colloquy about the Right of collating to vacant Benefices which both Sides layed equally claim to He in the Right of the King as the true Patron They by Virtue of the Discipline which empowered them to confer Orders and fill up vacant Livings with such only as had a Call from themselves the Altercation grew so high that it endangered the publick Peace and many of the Principal Inhabitants became humble Suiters to His Majesty to restore to them the Liturgy and to settle among them a Form of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction suitable to that of the Church of England with regard to their ancient Customs and Priviledges to which they prayed His Majesty at the same time not to derogate The Address was well received at Court The Liturgy was restored and the Office of Dean which had been above 60 Years disused was Revived and conferred on the reverend Mr. David Bandinel one of the Ministers of the Island The New Dean and Ministers were injoyned to draw up a Body of Canons to be approved by the King which after several Corrections and Amendments made therein by
Prayer and hearing of God's word whereat every one shall be bound to assist at a convenient hour and to observe the Order and Decency in that Case requisite being attentive at the reading and preaching of the Word kneeling on their Knees during the Prayers and standing up at the Confession of Faith and shall also testifie their Consent and Participation in saying Amen And in pursuance thereunto during any part of Divine Service the Church Wardens shall not suffer any interruption or hinderance to be made by the Insolence or Talk of any person either in Church or Church-yard 5. There shall be Publick Exercise in every Parish on Wednesday and Friday Mornings by reading the Common Prayer 6. When any urgent Occasion shall require an Extraordinary Fast to be celebrated the Dean with the advice of the Ministers shall give notice thereof to the Governor and to the Civil Magistrate to the end that by their Consent and Authority it may be generally observed for the appeasing of the wrath and indignation of God by a true and serious Repentance Of Baptism 7. Baptism shall be administred in the Church with fair and common water according to the Institution of Jesus Christ and without Limitation of days nor shall any delay the bringing of his Child to Baptism longer than the next Sunday or publick Assembly if it may conveniently be done and no one shall be admitted to be a Godfather that does not participate to the Holy Communion Women alone viz. without the Presence of a Man to be Godfather shall not be admitted to be Godmothers Of the Lord's Supper 8. The Lord's Supper shall be administred in every Church four times a Year whereof one shall be at Easter and the other at Christmas And every Minister in the Administration of the said Supper shall first receive the Sacrament himself and after distribute the Bread and Wine to each of the Communicants using the Words of the Institution 9. All Fathers and Masters of Families shall be exhorted and injoyned to cause their Children and Domesticks to be instructed in the Knowledge of their Salvation and to this End shall take care to send them to the Ordinary Catechizing Of Marriage 10. None shall Marry contrary to the Degrees prohibited by the Word of God as they are expressed in the Table made by the Church of England on pain of Nullity and Censure 11. The Banes shall be asked three Sundays successively in the Parish Churches of both Parties and the Party of the Parish where the Marriage shall not be celebrated shall be obliged to bring Certificate of the Publication of his Banes in his own Parish Nevertheless in lawful Cases there may be Licence and Dispensation of the said Banes given by the Authority of the Dean who shall take good Security of the Liberty of the Parties 12. There shall be no Separation à Thoro Mensâ but in Case of Adultery Cruelty and Danger of Life duly proved and this at the Instance of the Parties And as for the Maintenance of the Woman during the Separation she shall have recourse to the Secular Power Of Ministers 13. None that is not fit to Teach nor able to Preach the Word of God shall be admitted to any Benefice within the Isle or that has not received Imposition of Hands and been Ordained after the Form used in the Church of England 14. None either Dean or Minister shall hold two Benefices together unless in time of Vacancy And the Originaries or Natives of the Isle shall be preferred before others to the Ministery 15. The Ministers every Sunday after the Publick Morning Prayers shall expound some Place of Holy Scripture and in the Afternoon shall handle some of the Points of the Christian Religion contained in the Catechism of the Book of Common-Prayers 16. In their Prayers they shall observe the Titles due to the King acknowledging him Supreme Governor under Christ in all Causes and over all Persons as well Ecclesiastical as Civil recommending unto God the Prosperity of his Royal Person Estate and Posterity 17. Every one of the Ministers shall be careful to shew that Decency and Gravity of Apparel which becomes his Profession and may preserve the Respect due to his Person And they shall be very circumspect in the whole Course of their Lives to keep themselves from such Company Actions and Haunts as may bring any blame or blemish upon them nor shall they dishonour their Calling by Games Taverns Usuries Trades or Occupations not befitting their Function but shall study to excell others in Purity of Life Gravity and Vertue 18. They shall take care that a Register be kept of Christnings Marriages and Burials And shall be obliged to publish on the Day that shall be appointed them the Ordinances of the Court which shall be sent to them signed and sealed by the Dean they being delivered to them fifteen Days before the Publication 19. The Ministers shall have notice in convenient time to assist at such Burials as shall be in their Parishes whereat they shall observe the Form prescribed in the Book of Common Prayers And none shall be interred within the Church without leave of the Minister who shall have regard to the Quality of the Persons and withall to those that are Benefactors to the Church Of the Dean 20. The Dean shall be a Minister of the Word of God being a Master of Arts or Graduate in the Civil-Law at the least having Abilities to exercise the said Office Of good Life and Conversation zealous and well affected to Religion and the Service of God 21. The Dean in Causes which shall be handled in Court shall demand the Advice and Opinion of the Ministers who shall then be present 22. He shall have the Cognizance of all Matters which concern the Service of God the Preaching of the Word Administration of the Sacraments Matrimonial Causes the Examination and Censure of all Papists Recusants Hereticks Idolaters and Schismaticks Persons perjured in Causes Ecclesiastical Blasphemers such as have recourse to Wizzards Incestuous Persons Adulterers Fornicators common Drunkards and publick Prophaners of the Lord's Day as also of the Prophanation of Churches and Church-yards Contempt and Offences committed in Court or against any Officers thereof in the Execution of the Mandats of the Court Divorces and Separation à Thoro Mensâ with Power to censure and punish them according to the Ecclesiastical Laws without Prejudice to the Power of the Civil Magistrate in regard of bodily Punishment for the said Crimes 23. The Dean accompanied by two or three Ministers shall once in two Years Visit every Parish in person and shall give order that there be a Sermon on the Visitation-day either by himself or some other by him appointed which Visitation shall be made for the ordering that all things appertaining to the Church the Service of God and the Administration of the Sacraments be provided by the Church Wardens and that the Church Church Yard and Parsonage-House be maintained
Treasury the said Procurators and Church-Wardens or any of them shall prosecute them by the ordinary Ways of Justice But in case of any Controversie about the said Accounts or of any Abuse to be reformed The Dean and Minister of the Parish where the said Controversie or Abuse shall be shall together with the Bailly and Jurats determine it as shall be found convenient 35. The said Church-Wardens during Divine Service on the Sunday shall search Places suspected of Gaming idle and riotous Practices and having the Constable to assist them shall also search Taverns and scandalous Houses 36. They shall be careful that there be no with-holding or concealing of things appertaining to the Church They may also seize into their Hands or prosecute the Delivery of all Donations and Legacies Mobiliary made to the Church and Poor according to the Laws of the Country 37. There shall be Two Collectors of the Alms for the Poor in each Parish who shall also discharge the Place of Sidesmen and shall be chosen as the Church-Wardens and shall be sworn in Court to behave themselves well in their Office And shall give an Account of their Administration twice a Year before the Minister and Parishioners Viz. at Easter and at Miohaelmas Of the Clerks or Sextons 38. The Clerks or Sextons of the Parishes shall be chosen by the Minister and Chief of the Parish and shall be of the Age of XX Years at the least of good Life and Conversation able to read fairly distinctly and intelligibly and to write also and sitted somewhat for the singing of the Psalms if it may be 39. Their Charge is by ringing of the Bell to call the People to Divine Service and hearing of the Word of God at a proper and convenient Hour according to Custom To keep the Church shut and clean as also the Pews and Pulpit To preserve the Books and other things belonging to the Church whereof they shall have the Custody To provide Water for Baptism and to make such Proclamations and Denunciations as shall be injoyned them by the Court or by the Minister and shall receive their Wages and Salaries by the Contribution of the Parishioners whether in Corn or Mony according to the Custom of the Country Of School-masters 40. There shall be a School-master in every Parish chosen by the Minister Church-Wardens and principal Persons thereof and after presented to the Dean to be licensed thereunto And it shall not be lawful for any to exercise this Charge not being in this manner called unto it The Ministers shall take care to visit them and exhort them to do their Duty 41. They shall use all laborious Diligence to teach the Children to read and write say their Prayers answer to the Catechism they shall form them to good Manners shall bring them to Sermon and Common Prayers seeing them behave themselves there as becometh Of the Court. 42. The Court shall be kept once a Week on the Monday and shall observe the same Terms and Vacations as the Court Civil 43. At every Session in the beginning thereof the Names of the Assessors shall be enrolled the Day and the Month and the Sentences perused 44. After Judgement and Sentence given in the principal Matter the Costs of the Parties and the Fees of the Officers of the Court shall be awarded by the Ecclesiastical Censures 45. There shall be two Advocates or Proctors duly sworn to the Court to the end the People may proceed formally and juridically without Confusion or Surprize And the Greffier or Register being also sworn shall faithfully record the Sentence which shall be pronounced and shall give Copy of the Acts to such as shall require it 46. The King's Procurator and in his Absence the Advocate may be present from time to time in the Court and there prosecute the Censure and Punishment of all Causes of Crime and Scandal 47. For executing or serving the Citations and Summons the Dean shall swear the Clerks of the Parishes and an Apparitor who shall give a faithful Report of their Exploits giving also Copies of the Original Citations and Mandats to such as shall require them or in the Absence of them to their Domesticks And the Causes of the Appearance shall be expressed in the said Citations and Mandats 48. If the Party will not be found as either concealing himself or using some other Collusion the Citation shall be affixed in case he has no setled Habitation on the Door of his Parish-Church and that upon a Lord's Day 49. If it comes to the notice of the Dean by the Report of honest Men that any one liveth notoriously in some Scandal he may advertise the Minister and Church-Wardens of the Parish to the end that informing themselves thereof they may Present such Persons as deserve to be punished or censured 50. Upon good Proof of a Crime committed by any Minister the Dean after repeated Admonitions shall proceed to the Reformation of him by the Advice and Consent of two Ministers even unto Suspension and Sequestration And in case the said Minister continues refractary the Dean by the Consent of the greater Part of the Ministers present in the Island shall proceed even to Deprivation 51. No Commutation shall be made for Penance but with great Circumspection having regard to the Quality of the Persons and Circumstances of the Crimes And the Commutation shall be enrolled in the Acts of the Court in order to be imployed upon the Poor and in Pious Uses whereof account shall be given according to the said Register 52. After the first Default the Non-appearance of such as shall be cited again by Mandate shall be reputed Contumacy And if being afterwards peremptorily cited they do not appear they may be proceeded against by Excommunication If before the next Court-day the Party doesnot endeavour to obtain Absolution the Court shall proceed to the Publication of the Sentence and Minor Excommunication which shall be delivered to the Minister of the Parish to be read upon some solemn Day and in the hearing of the greater part of the Parishioners assembled And the Party persisting in his Obstinacy the Court shall proceed to the Major Excommunication which excludes the Sinner à Sacris Societate Fidelium If this Censure cannot induce him to Obedience and Submission within the Space of forty Days then the Dean by his Authentick Certificate shall give advice to the Bailly and Jurats of the said Contumacy and shall require them in Support of his Jurisdiction to cause him to be seized by the Civil Officers and constituted Prisoner under Bodily Detention till such time as he has submitted and obliged himself to obtemperate to the Ordinance of the Church And before he be absolved he shall be bound to pay the Costs and Charges of the Prosecution of the Suit 53. In cases of Incontinency upon Presentment of the Church Wardens together with Probabilities common Fame Scandal and Presumptions in this Case requisite the Party shall be subject to
Under Signed in the Original G. Cant. Jo. Lincoln C. S. La. Winton These Islands were first in the Diocese of Dol in Bretagne and so continued from the time of St. Sampson till the coming of the Danes or Normans into Neustria who falling out with the Bretons about the limits of their Territories and a War ensuing thereupon betwixt them withdrew these Islands from the Obedience of the British Bishop and gave them a Bishop of their own viz. that of Coûtance in Normandy the lofty Towers of whose beautiful Cathedral once our Mother Church are seen from JERSEY To this Bishop these Islands remained subject even after the Defection of Normandy notwithstanding the frequent Wars betwixt the two Crowns untill the Tenth Year of Queen Elizabeth King John indeed having lost Normandy had once in an angry Mood designed to annex them to the See of Exeter in England but did not It was the Change of Religion in these Islands that took away from the Popish Bishop of Coûtance his Jurisdiction over them For then they were by an Order of Council dated March 11th 1568. transferred and united to the Diocese of Winton Robertus Cenalis Bishop of Avranches in Normandy imposes upon himself and his Readers when he says that these Islands were sometime under his Predecessors Bishops of Avranches This certainly is a mistake and must proceed from some Papers which belike he found in the Archives of that Church mentioning some Parcels of Tythes paid here in time past to the Bishops of his See The Bishops of Dol and Coûtance for the Exercise of their Authority had in each Island of JERSEY and Guernezey a Commissary or Surrogate called Decanus the Dean An Office of great Antiquity since I find it mentioned in very old Records and have reason to believe it as ancient as Episcopacy and consequently as ancient as Christianity it self in these Islands To him those Bishops left the Cognizance of all Matters of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction reserving only to themselves Ordinations Institutions and Appeals The same Power is vested in the present Deans with this limitation that they are to govern themselves by the Advice and Opinions of the rest of the Ministers who are to be their constant Assessors much after the manner of those ancient Presbyteries or Councils of Priests who sate with the Bishops in their Consistories and assisted them in giving Judgment in all Causes brought before them An excellent Government and grounded on the Primitive Pattern When the Office of Dean was revived in JERSEY in the Reign of K. James I a Motion was made to give the said Dean the Power of a Bishop Suffragan within the Island Appeals being still reserved to the Right Reverend Father in God the Lord Bishop of Winchester I could never know why that Motion was rejected But we daily see the necessity of such a Power particularly in the want of Confirmation of Children after Baptism That Apostolical Institution being thereby become altogether unpracticable amongst Us. Nor have we any way to supply that Defect but by taking great care as we generally do to have Children brought to publick Catechism where in the presence of God's Church they renew their Baptismal Vow and taking upon themselves the Obligations of Christianity discharge their Sponsors of the Promise made for them at their Baptism Upon which and not before we admit them to the Holy Communion The Patronage of all the Churches here in time of Popery belonged to several Great Abbots in Normandy as to the Abbots of St. Sauveur le Vicomte Cherbourg St. Michael Blanche Lande c. which Patronage at the Reformation was vested in the King who has since made Cession of it to the Governor It is he that presents now to all vacant Benefices in His Majesty's Right But the Deanry continues of Royal Nomination and is held by Patent under the Great Seal These Great Norman Abbots had not only the Nomination but the Tythes also of all the Parishes in this Island A small Proportion as the 3 d 7 th 8 th 9 th or 10 th Sheaf of the said Impropriated Tythes being reserved for those that ministred at the Altar These Impropriations at the Dissolution of Monasteries in England instead of returning to the Church were annexed to the Crown and are become part of the King's Revenue in the Island Much the same Proportion as before being still allotted to the Incumbents together with the Novals or Desarts which are the Tythes of Lands that remained wast and untill'd at the Suppression of those Houses but have been since converted into Arable The following Scheme drawn out of the Black-Book of Coûtance like that in the Exchequer will shew what that Proportion was and what the King enjoys now in right of the dispossessed Abbots Vniversis praesentes Literas inspecturis Officialis Constantiensis Salutem Notum facimus quod nos ad Requestam Religiosorum Virorum Abbatis Conventûs Sancti Salvatoris Vicecomitis visitavimus legimus inspeximus atque visitari legi inspici fecimus quendam Librum in Domo seu Manerio Episcopali Constantiensi existentem vulgariter Librum Nigrum nuncupatum in quo vidimus legimus nonnullas Clausulas Ecclesias Beneficia Insulae JERSEY de eis cum praefato Libro Nigro collationem fecimus diligenter Quarum quidam Clausularum Tenor sequitur de verbo ad verbum est talis Ecclesia Sancti Breverlardi Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecomitis percipit duas partes Garbarum Rector sextam Abatissa de Cadomo duodecimam Abbatissa Vilmonasterii duodecimam Rector item habet sex Virgas Eleemosynae Et valet dicta Ecclesia Annis communibus XXX Lib. Turonens Ecclesia Sancti Petri. Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecom Et percipit medietatem Garbarum Abbatissa Cadomensis quartam Garbam Abbatissa Vilmonasteriensis aliam quartam exceptâ carucatâ de Nobretez Rector percipit novalia habet VIII Virgas Terrae Eleemosynae valet XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia de Trinitate Patronus Abbas Caesaris-Burgi Abbas S. Salvatoris percipit sextam Garbam Abbas Caesaris-Burgi tertiam liberam Decimam Episcopus Auritanus medietatem Garbarum Rector percipit novalia habet VIII Virgas Eleemosynae valet communibus Annis XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia Beatae Mariae Patronus Abbas Caesariensis Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com percipit sextam Garbam Abbatissa Cadomensis Monasterii Villers quartam partem Decimae Garbarum Rector percipit tertiam partem Garbarum habet XVI Virgas Eleemosynae valet XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Johannis Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecom percipit totam Decimam Ecclesia ibidem Prioratus ejusdem Monasterii Et sunt ibi duae Virgae Eleemosynae valet XXVIII Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Audoeni Patronus Abbas S. Michaelis in periculo Maris percipit ibi duas Garbas IV Lib.
Turon Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers duodecimam Garbam Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Garbam Rector habet IV Virgas Eleemosynae valet XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Laurentii Patronus Abbas de Blancâ Landâ percipit tertiam partem Decimae Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Episcopus Aurensis medietatem Rector habet XVI Virgas Eleemosynae valet XXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Salvatoris Patronus Archidiaconus Vallis Viris in Ecclesiâ Constantiensi Et est ibi Vicarius qui reddit Archidiacono annuatim XX Lib. Turon Dominus Episcopus Constantiensis percipit medietatem Decimae Archidiaconus tertiam Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Et habet Vicarius XXIV Virg. Eleemosynae Ecclesia Sancti Clementis Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecom Rector percipit quartam quintam Garbam Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers residuum Et ibi XXIV Virg. Eleemosynae valet XL Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Martini Veteris Patronus Abbas Caesariensis percipit ibi C. solid de Pensione Rector percipit tertiam partem Decimae habet XXVI Virgas Eleemosynae Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Garbam Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers quartam partem valet LXX Lib. Turon Ecclesia de Grovillâ Patronus Abbas de Exaquio percipit quartam Garbam Abbas S. Salvatoris Vice-com sextam Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers medietatem Rector percipit nonam Partem habet XII Virgas Eleemosynae Et valet communibus Annis L. Lib. Turon Ecclesia Sancti Helerii Patronus Abbas S. Salvatoris Vicecom percipit medietatem Decimae ex quâ medietate percipit Rector quintam Garbam Abbatissa Cadom Monasterii Villers quartam partem Rector habet .... Virgas Eleemosynae valet XL. Lib. Turon Quod autem vidimus legimus hoc Testamur In cujus rei Testimonium sigillum magnum Curiae Episcopalis Constantiensis praesentibus duximus apponendum Datum Constantiae A. D. 1461. 6 tâ Die Mensis Februarii At present the best Revenue of the Clergy arises from the Improvement of Fruit-Trees and Cidar But all Years are not equally productive nor does Cidar bear always the same Price which renders the said Revenue very uncertain By a long and immemorial Prescription the Clergy of this Island have injoyed an Exemption from payment of First-fruits and Annates or Tenths to the King The impropriated Tythes of the Parish of St. Saviour by special Grant from the Crown have been annexed to the Deanry To each Church belongs a Fund or Annual Revenue of about 15 or 20 Quarters of Wheat-Rent given in ancient Times by Pious and Charitable Persons for the Support of those Fabricks and other Sacred and Religious Uses But it is now more generally applied to the Publick Necessities of the Island To supply the Church with able Men from among the Natives there are two Publick-Free-Latin and Greek Schools set up almost in the two Extremities of the Island viz. St. Magloire corruptly St. Manelier and St. Anastase or Athanase each of them being designed for the Instruction of the Youth of six Parishes We have also three Fellowships and five Exhibitions or Scholarships in Oxford belonging to JERSEY and Guernezey by Alternate Turns The first Founded by K. Charles I. of Blessed Memory induced thereunto by Archbishop Laud who intended by those Encouragements to draw off our young Students from Foreign Universities whither they generally went before and from whence they too often returned with Minds very much prejudiced against the Church of England The last the bountiful Gift of the Reverend Dr. Morley our late honoured Diocesan CHAP. VI. Convention of the Estates THat common Observation that in the Forms and Models of Government a little City differeth not from a great one is verified by the Constitution and Practice of this Island where in a very small State one may see the Figure and Image of a great Empire For here we have our Conventus trium Ordinum i. e. Our Convention or Meeting of the three Orders or Estates of the Island in imitation of those August Assemblies known by that or some other Name in great Kingdoms and Monarchies In a word this Convention is the shadow and resemblance of an English Parliament being composed of the Jurats or Court of Justice as the First and noblest Body the Dean and Clergy as the Second and the XII High-Constables as the Representatives of the Commons The King's Procurator the Viscount and the King's Advocate tho' they represent no Estate being also admitted propter Dignitatem This Convention cannot be held but by Consent and Permission of the Governor or of his Deputy who has a Negative Voice therein as the Parliament cannot meet but at the Pleasure of the King nor pass any thing into Law without his Royal Assent The Bailly or his Lieutenant is the perpetual Prolocutor in these Meetings as the Speaker is in Parliament and every Member Present has Voice Deliberative No Estates can be held without Seven of each Body at the least nor can Foreigners preferred to Benefices be Members of this Convention unless naturalized it not being thought safe to intrust Strangers with the Secrets of the Island till they have given good Proof of their Affection to the Government they live under There has been some Dispute formerly about the Power claimed by the Governor in calling these Assemblies and influencing their Debates by his Negative Voice The result whereof was a Regulation of that Power by two Consecutive Orders of Council in the Reign of K. James I to this Effect First Order Anno 1618. There shall be no Assembly of the States without the Consent of the Governor or of his Lieutenant in his Absence In which it is to be understood that the Governor or his Lieutenant in his Absence have a Negative Voice To the end it may be provided that no Ordinance may be agreed upon prejudicial to his Majesty's Service or the Interests of the People Second Order Anno 1619. Modifying the former For the better Explanation of the Article concerning the Assembly of the States which was ordered not to be done without the Consent of the Governor or of his Lieutenant in his Absence it is now finally Ordered for Causes made known unto Vs and for the avoiding of all future Question that the foresaid Article shall continue in Force with this Qualification That if the Bailly or Justices shall require an Assembly of the States the Governor shall not defer it above fifteen days Except he have such cause to the contrary either in respect of the Safety of the Island or Our special Service otherwise as he will answer to Vs or the Lords of Our Council whereof he shall give as present Advice as possibly wind and weather may serve And concerning the Governor's Negative Voice in the making of Ordinances it is now also