The Huguenots of Guernsey

An article on Huguenots in Jersey was published in this journal in 2016. Last year's successful trip by members of the Society to Guernsey makes it appropriate that a similar article on Huguenot refugees who passed through or settled on Guernsey should appear. Some aspects of the Guernsey refug...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Huguenot Society journal Vol. 36; p. 1
Main Author Nash, Robert
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Huguenot Society of Great Britain and 01.01.2023
Subjects
Immigration
Islands
Refugees
Guernsey Island
France
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Summary:An article on Huguenots in Jersey was published in this journal in 2016. Last year's successful trip by members of the Society to Guernsey makes it appropriate that a similar article on Huguenot refugees who passed through or settled on Guernsey should appear. Some aspects of the Guernsey refuge - problems of identification of refugees; various sources of information - are dealt with in more detail in the introduction to the recently published Directory of Huguenot Refugees on the Channel Islands. Other aspects - the arrival of Protestantism; the place of origin of the refugees; the professions of refugees who stayed on the island - are explored here in greater detail as regards Guernsey. Despite their small size, several factors made the Channel Islands significant in the Huguenot story. Their geographical location near the French coast and the fact that they belonged to the British crown and were both Protestant and French-speaking made them a convenient and attractive place of refuge (permanent or temporary) for Huguenots fleeing persecution in France. Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, many French Protestants fled there, either to settle or to pause before continuing their journeys to other destinations. The islands also formed a model for the modified Francophone form of the English Church liturgy and worship practiced at the Savoy and other 'conformist' French churches in England. Obviously, there are many similarities in the story of Huguenots on both the main islands, Jersey and Guernsey, yet there are also differences which need to be taken into account. The greatest difference was in the numbers of refugees who reached each island. The Directory lists 2, 090 names for Jersey and 642 for Guernsey.
ISSN:2053-6267