CENTENARY OF PARISH CRESTS

H eraldry of the Jersey Parish Crests

St Clement Saint Clément Saint Cliément

Saint Clement is the last of the Parish saints' days to be celebrated in the calendar as the feast day falls on 23rd November.

The anchor symbol is distinctive for a Parish with such a coastal character and is also the symbol of Saint Clement of Rome, fourth Bishop of Rome (or second Pope after Peter, depending on which list may be considered authoritative).

In any case, being Bishop of Rome in those early days was much more precarious than was later the case, and Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and drowned. The anchor became the symbol of Saint Clement of Rome in art.

The gold anchor on blue background has been the symbol of the Parish of Saint Clement since the crests were devised in 1921 on the occasion of the Royal visit.

Saint Cliémentais share their nickname of Les Enfuntchis with their neighbours in Grouville.

"Enfuntchi" means smoky, or filled with smoke, in Jèrriais and there is a play on words, in that if your brain is full of smoke, you're a dimwit. Grouvillais and Saint Clémentais Parishioners who came into market in Saint Helier by foot or horse and cart in the old days were identifiable by the smoky smell of their clothes, since they passed the piles of vraic being burned all along the shore and low-lying coast of those Parishes (the ash was used as fertiliser, and could be more conveniently stored).

Since they habitually arrived in Town "enfuntchis" they also jokingly acquired a reputation as dimwits!

Grouville Les Enfuntchis

St Martin Les Nordgiens

The Parish churches of both Saint Martin and Grouville are dedicated to the same saint: St Martin of Tours, whose feast day is 11th November. Grouville is originally Saint Martin de Grouville, while Saint Martin is distinguished as Saint Martin le Vieux (Saint Martin the Old).

The two Parishes were assigned very similar crests on the occasion of the Royal visit of 1921: horizontal stripes of red and silver (or white) - and you can pride yourself on being a bit of a Jersey expert if you can tell them apart at a glance.

According to the description provided at the time of the visit of King George V in 1921, Grouville's crest was of the same kind as on the sarcophagus of the Saint, in Tours, while that of Saint Martin was taken from the arms of the abbey of Marmoutier, which was founded by the Saint.

In the present-day representations of the two Parish crests, Grouville's has an extra red stripe at the bottom. However, there is an element of confusion in the history of the designs as the original 1921 description assigns the eight-banded crest to Saint Martin and the seven-banded one to Grouville. To add to the muddle, the next description in 1923 gives Grouville eight bands, but Saint Martin only six. By 1940 the crests seem to have settled down to the current configuration.

The traditional Jèrriais nickname of Les Nordgiens - "Northerners" - is shared by St Martinnais with their North-Eastern neighbours, while Grouvillais share their nickname of Les Enfuntchis with their neighbours in Saint Clement.

"Enfuntchi" means smoky, or filled with smoke, in Jèrriais and there is a play on words, in that if your brain is full of smoke, you're a dimwit.

Grouvillais and Saint Clémentais Parishioners who came into market in Saint Helier by foot or horse and cart in the old days were identifiable by the smoky smell of their clothes, since they passed the piles of vraic being burned all along the shore and low-lying coast of those Parishes (the ash was used as fertiliser, and could be more conveniently stored).

Since they habitually arrived in Town "enfuntchis" they also jokingly acquired a reputation as dimwits!

Saint Ouen Saint Ouën Gris Ventres

The feast day of Saint Ouen is 24 August, an appropriately sunny time of year as the Parish crest was devised to include the saint's symbol of a shining cross in the sky.

Ouen was bishop of Rouen and according to Major Rybot, who devised the Parish crests for the visit to Jersey of King George V in 1921: "When old and on a visitation in Normandy, a cross suddenly appeared to him in the sky".

At the time of the 1921 Royal visit, the crest of the Parish of Saint Ouen was described as: “A cross or crucifix in gold on azure ground, the tradition claiming that in a vision this Saint saw the Cross of Christ shining in the firmament".

Although the Parish's gold cross on a blue background may seem one of the plainest of our crests, it is closely tied to a legend of the saint's life. And being so simple, the crest has undergone very little variation over the years beyond the shade of blue and the proportions of the cross, depending on how the crest has been used.

The traditional Jèrriais nickname proudly worn by people from Saint Ouen is Gris Ventres, meaning "grey bellies", may also seem less colourful than those of other Parishes, but comes from their tradition of wearing jerseys or tops of undyed wool, as opposed to the dyed wool used elsewhere in the Island.

Saint Lawrence Saint Laurent St Louothains

The feast day of Saint Lawrence falls on the 10 August. The symbol of the Parish, as devised for the Royal visit of King George V 100 years ago in 1921, was described at the time: "A black grill on a silver background, this Saint having been burned alive on a grill."

This is one of the most misinterpreted of our symbols, with some people thinking of it as looking like a gate or a window or other shape.

The symbol of the gridiron is immediately distinctive, and Saint Lawrence was one of the first Parishes to use their crest for official purposes, with the gridiron being used on official notices at least from 1958.

Saint Saviour Saint-Sauveur Saint Saûveur

The visit of King George V to Jersey 100 years ago in July 1921 was the occasion for the design of the Parish crests.

Saint Saviour recalls the crucifixion in its crest, with a crown of thorns and three nails.

The crown and the nails are gold for glory, while the red background symbolises the blood of the Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The saint's day of the Parish of Saint Saviour is the Feast of the Transfiguration (6th August), a Christian celebration of the revelation of the glory of Christ as described in the New Testament.

Saint Helier Saint Hélier Saint Hélyi Les Clyichards

Saint Helier Day is celebrated on 16th July and has for a long time been the occasion for a pilgrimage through Town and out through Elizabeth Castle to the Hermitage. It was on these rocks that Helier was martyred by having his head cut off.

Whether on a pilgrimage, a shopping trip, or a commute, the crossed-axes crest of the Parish of Saint Helier is very familiar. However the sea-blue background to the axes is not as originally designed in 1921 for the visit of King George V

The modern interpretation is of the axes representing the instruments of the saint's death, the gold being the glory of martyrdom, and the cross formed by the axes represent the Christianity that Helier brought to our Island. The blue background represents the sea that surrounded Helier's abode on the rock, and also the Town's harbour and maritime heritage.

But back in 1921, the initial description was of two Saxon axes on a dark blue background: the axes are the emblems of the martyr and the colour represents the dark ages. While in the 1922 revision of the crests: "A dark-blue shield with two gold axes upon it. The Saint was said to have been decapitated by pirates.”

We don't think of the Parish of Saint Helier being in the dark ages, but back in the early 19th century sanitary provisions in terms of fresh water and sewage were notorious.

Regular outbreaks of cholera in the closely packed housing of the time are the probable origin of the traditional Jèrriais nickname given by country dwellers to Townsfolk: Les Clyichards - which means people with diarrhoea!

St Peter Saint Pierre Saint Pièrre Les Ventres à Baînis

The feast day of Saint Peter is the 29th June - a "key" date for the Parish whose patron saint traditionally unlocks the Pearly Gates of Heaven for the deserving.

Unsurprisingly, the keys of the kingdom of Heaven were chosen for the Parish crest in 1921 on the occasion of the Royal visit.

However the design was not definitively locked down in that year, and has changed fairly subtly over the years.

Initially the design of the crest of the Parish of Saint Peter was the two crossed keys on a red background. But the keys were specified as being one of gold and the other of silver.

In the redesigned version described in 1923, both keys were silver, but of dissimilar designs.

Nowadays we are familiar with two silver keys on a red background as the symbol of the Parish - but it is always worth looking closely at all the variations on the shapes of the keys.

The Parish of Saint Peter not only has two keys as its symbol, it also possesses two separate coastlines: the only one of our Parishes to do so. The way the Parish sticks to the coasts like a limpet to a rock may explain the traditional Jèrriais nickname for les Saint Pièrrais: les Ventres à Baînis (the limpet-bellies).

St John Saint John Saint Jean Les Nièrs Tchus

The Parish crest of Saint John as we know it today is the one that is almost completely different from that devised for the Royal visit in 1921.

As described at the time, it was: "St John Baptist of the Oaks: A lamb resting on a book, oak green background." All that remains of that version, is the green background, although we usually see a fresh, bright green, rather than a dark green.

John the Baptist is often shown with a lamb in art, but this crest did not catch on.

In Major Rybot's revision of 1923, the crest dramatically changed: "A gold Maltese cross on a green shield. The colour of the shield is derived from the oaks, as the church was known as 'St. John of the Oaks.' " At some subsequent point, the colour of the cross changed from gold to silver (or white), and we arrive at the colour combination so familiar nowadays.

The feast day of Saint John (the Baptist) is not only the saint's day of the Parish of Saint John, but was also a traditional festival in Jersey of Midsummer customs and celebrations - none of these, though, are reflected in any of the versions of the crest over the last century.

However, another colour entirely is traditionally associated with people from Saint John as their nickname in Jèrriais is "les Nièrs Tchus" which, if we put it politely, means "the Black Bottoms". They are also "Nordgiens" (Northerners) along with people from Trinity and Saint Martin.

Trinity La Trinité La Trinneté Nordgiens

As we see it today, the crest of the Parish of Trinity is a silver (or white) symbol of the Trinity on a green background. Being such a traditionally rural Parish, one might think that green would have been the first choice for a background when the crests were devised in 1921.

However it took a number of years for the current design to be adopted.

The 1921 version was described as "Three golden circles on a sky blue background", and in 1923 as "A gold triangle inter-woven with three gold unending circles upon a blue shield", so at some point the crest changed to a different symbol of the Trinity.

The current design represents the Shield of the Trinity, a historic diagram used to illustrate the relationships of the Persons of the Trinity in Christian theology. It is the only Parish crest to incorporate wording, and the text is not in any of our official languages, but in Latin.

The Latin text has D for Deus (God) at the centre of the shield, surrounded by P for Pater (Father), F for Filius (Son), and S for Spiritus (Spirit), with either Est (Is) or Non Est (Is Not) connecting the three Persons, so as to explain, for example, that the Father is God, the Son is not the Father, and so on.

The Saint's day for the Parish of Trinity is the only one in Jersey that changes date from year to year, as Trinity Sunday is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. In 2021, this falls on 30th May. There is no individual nickname in Jèrriais for Parishioners of Trinity, they are Nordgiens (Northerners) along with their neighbours in Saint John and Saint Martin.

Saint Mary Sainte Marie Sainte Mathie Les Rouôlots and Les Bourdélots

The Parish crest is a silver (or white) fleurde-lis on a blue background, described on its adoption in 1921 as "A silvery lily, emblem of purity, on an azure background".

The white lily and the colour blue are traditional symbols of the Virgin Mary so it is not surprising that the Parish crest was designed this way.

The stylised lily flower with three petals, called a fleur-de-lis, became a common symbol in heraldry.

The white lily became associated with the Virgin Mary in art from the mediaeval period, and the colour blue was traditionally used for Mary's robes in paintings as that was the most expensive colour available to painters at that time.

Lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone, would be ground up to make a rich unfading blue which would be a demonstration of the patron's devotion to the Virgin Mary in a painting.

The Parish of Saint Mary celebrates its Saint's day on March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation (also known as Lady Day)

Traditional nicknames of inhabitants of St Mary are Les Rouôlots and Les Bourdélots In Jèrriais, the traditional nicknames for people from Saint Mary refer to food: rouôlots are dumplings (or roly-polies) and bourdélots are traditional apple dumplings (apples baked in pastry). Presumably at some point in the past, Parishioners of Saint Mary had a reputation for cooking and eating well.

Saint Brelade Saint Brélade les Carpéleuses

The Parish of St Brelade celebrates its patron Saint on 19 January, the first Jersey patron Saint's day of the calendar year.

The parish crest is a silver fish on a blue background. This is essentially as it was devised for the Royal visit of 1921: “A silvery fish on a sea blue background, the tradition claiming that this Saint spent Easter on what he believed to be a rock and which was none other than a cetacean or huge fish.”

And as later described in 1923: “A blue shield with a silver fish upon it.”

The symbolism of the fish has nevertheless suited the Parish of St Brelade, with its famous coast, beaches and harbour. More recently, the fish has been re-interpreted as a symbol of the cod fisheries off the coast of North America, and in particular St Aubin's links with the Gaspé coast cod trade.

In 2010, the Parish’s authorities decided to redraw, with reference to Major Rybot's sketches, the official crest to more clearly show it as a cod.

In Jèrriais, the nickname for people of St Brelade is "les Carpéleuses" (the caterpillars).

According to the Dictionnaire Jersiais-Français, this is because the original crest looked so un-fishy that people said it looked like "eune carpéleuse", hence the nickname.

But it's quite clear that the nickname long pre-dates the parish crests of 1921 and certainly existed before widespread public usage of the crests.

This is one more confusion in a tangled heraldic tale.

However it is probably a mistake, since there was confusion at the time about the identity of Brelade, the saint, and the fish represented part of the legend of Saint Brendan the Voyager. The name Brélade is, in fact, a variation of the name Branwalader, a British/Breton missionary linked with Saint Samson of Dol. The much-better known Irish saint, Saint Brendan, has a picturesque story attached to his legendary maritime adventures; while sailing the Atlantic in his boat, he discovered a small island and after leaving the island, it sank beneath the waves as it was revealed to be a great fish or whale.

The Parish Crests A short history

Parish crests are such a familiar part of everyday life – they appear on Jersey banknotes, signs, documents, flags – and seem as ancient and historically rooted as the three leopards or the red saltire flag.

But, the parish crests are only 100 years old and will be celebrating (in most cases) their centenary this year.

The day of 12 July 1921 was a great one for the people of Jersey; the King, our Duke, George V, accompanied by Queen Mary, visited the Island and was welcomed with great celebrations.

Among the legacies of this Royal Visit are the crests of the 12 parishes, which were first devised as part of the official ceremonies and community involvement.

In fact, although a set of crests was devised for the 1921 Royal visit, there's quite a tangled story as to the origins of the designs - and what is so familiar to us today is not necessarily quite as George V would have seen.

The 12th July 1921 was a great day for the people of Jersey: the King, our Duke, George V, accompanied by Queen Mary, visited the Island and was welcomed with symbols and celebrations.

Among the legacies of this Royal Visit are the crests of the 12 Parishes, which were first devised as part of the official ceremonies and community involvement.

In fact, although a set of crests was devised for the 1921 Royal visit, there's quite a tangled story as to the origins of the designs - and what is so familiar to us today is not necessarily quite as George V would have seen.

The illustrations for the parish crests were created by Alfred G. Wright, (artist and teacher 1875-1951), of the St Helier School of Art in Roseville Street.

It seems that, although the execution of the artwork was due to Alfred, the concepts of the designs for the crests had been provided by Major NVL Rybot, of La Société Jersiaise.

We know he was responsible for the heraldry of the banner above the Bailiff’s seat in the States Chamber, which was placed in position for the Royal visit in 1921. This banner was designed by Major Rybot and made by the Royal School of Needlework, using the three gold leopardised lions on a red background which appear on the Public Seal granted to the Island by King Edward I in 1279.

A detailed explanation of the parish crests used in the Royal ceremony was provided in the report of the newspaper Les Chroniques de Jersey on 16 July 1921. However, some of the crests differ from those we know today, especially St John and Trinity.

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St Hélier: two Saxon axes on a dark blue background. The axes are the emblems of the martyr and the colour represents the dark ages St Sauveur de l'Épine: a crown of thorns on a crimson background Trinity: three golden circles on a sky blue background St Marie: a silvery lily, emblem of purity, on an azure background St Jean Baptist of the Oaks: a lamb resting on a book, with an oak green background St Pierre: two crossed keys, one in gold and the other in silver, on a red background St Clément: a gold anchor on a navy blue background, in memory of the fact that this Saint was tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea St Martin de Tours: eight red and white transversal bands, representing the arms of the Abbey of Marmoutier, founded by this Saint St Martin de Grouville: seven transversal bands of the same kind as on the sarcophagus of this Saint in Tours.

St Ouen from Rouen: a cross or crucifix in gold on azure ground, the tradition claiming that in a vision this Saint saw the Cross of Christ shining in the firmament St Laurent: a black grill on a silver background, this Saint having been burned alive on a grill St Brélade: a silvery fish on a sea blue background, the tradition claiming that this Saint spent Easter on what he believed to be a rock and which was none other than a cetacean or huge fish.

Following the Royal visit of 1921, the crests were not enthusiastically taken up. In fact, it was not until the 1960s that they started coming into regular official use.

The next occasion when the set of parish crests was used seems to be the publication of a book about Jersey in 1923, ‘Jersey: an Isle of Romance’ by Blanche B. Elliott. Black and white illustrations of the parish crests (apparently provided by Major Rybot) with accompanying captions were included in the publication.

But there were several differences in the designs.

• • • • • • • • • •

• •

St Helier: a dark blue shield with two gold axes upon it as the Saint was said to have been decapitated by pirates St Saviour: a red shield with a golden crown of thorns upon it. Within the crown are three gold nails Trinity: a gold triangle inter-woven with three gold unending circles upon a blue shield St Mary: a blue shield with a silver lily upon it St John: a gold Maltese cross on a green shield. The colour of the shield is derived from the oaks, as the church was known as “St John of the Oaks” St Peter: two crossed silver keys on a red shield.

St Clement. A gold anchor on a blue shield as St Clement was said to have been tied to an anchor and cast into the sea St Martin (le Vieux): alternate bars of silver and red St Martin of Grouville: alternate bars of silver and red St Ouen: a blue shield bearing a gold cross. This Saint was Bishop of Rouen. When old and on a visitation in Normandy, a cross suddenly appeared to him in the sky. It was therefore assigned to him as a symbol St Lawrence: a silver shield bearing a black gridiron – the emblem of the martyrdom of St. Lawrence St Brelade: a blue shield with a silver fish upon it.