Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of about 33,500, roughly 34.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island (although Government House is situated in St Saviour). The urban area of the parish of St Helier makes up most of the largest town in Jersey, although some of the town area is situated in adjacent St Saviour, with suburbs sprawling into St Lawrence and St Clement. The greater part of St Helier is rural.
The parish covers a surface area of 4.1 square miles (10.6 km2), being 9% of the total land area of the Island (this includes reclaimed land area of 494 acres (2.00 km2) or 200 ha). The parish arms are two crossed gold axes on a blue background, the blue symbolising the sea, and the axes symbolising the martyrdom of Helier at the hands of Saxon pirates in 555 AD.
History : The Hermitage of Saint Helier lies in the bay off St Helier and is accessible on foot at low tide ,It is thought that the site of St Helier was settled at the time of the Roman control of Gaul. The medieval hagiographies of Helier, the patron saint martyred in Jersey and after whom the parish and town are named, suggest a picture of a small fishing village on the dunes between the marshy land behind and the high-water mark.
Although the Parish Church of St Helier is now some considerable distance from the sea, at the time of its original construction it was on the edge of the dunes at the closest practical point to the offshore islet called the Hermitage (site of Helier’s witness and martyrdom). Before land reclamation and port construction started, boats could be tied up to the churchyard wall on the seaward side. An Abbey of St Helier was founded in 1155 on L’Islet, a tidal island adjacent to the Hermitage. Closed at the Reformation, the site of the abbey was fortified to create the castle that replaced Mont Orgueil as the Island’s major fortress. The new Elizabeth Castle was named after the Queen by the Governor of Jersey 1600-1603, Sir Walter Raleigh.
20th century : In the 1960s, income from the Jersey States Lottery was used to excavate a two-lane road tunnel under Fort Regent, enabling traffic from the harbour to the east coast towns to avoid a torturous route around the fort. About the same time, the Fort was converted into a major leisure facility and was linked to the town centre by a gondola cableway – closed and demolished in the 1990s. In the 1970s, a programme of pedestrianisation of the central streets was undertaken.In 1995, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jersey’s liberation from Nazi occupation, and thus 50 years of peace, a sculpture was erected in what is now called “Liberation Square”, in front of the Pomme d’Or Hotel, the focal point for the celebrations when the island was liberated.
The sculpture was originally to depict islanders releasing doves of peace, but this came under fierce criticism, with some islanders remarking that had any doves been on the island during the occupation, they would have been eaten by starving German soldiers. Therefore, the sculpture was revised to show islanders raising the British flag, as they had done on the day of liberation 50 years previous.
Attractions : Howard Davis Park- St. Helier , Liberation Square , Dolphin & Whale Watching , Historic Attractions : Parish Church of St Helier, St. Helier , Jersey Archive, St. Helier , The Lighthouse Memorial, St. Helier – Kid Friendly Attractions : St. Helier Beach . AquaSplash – St. Helier
Access : By Bus : All buses in Jersey run to and from St Helier. The major bus routes run approximately every 20mins and the minor ones tend to run about once an hour. The fare is a maximum of £1.60 from anywhere on the island with a bus stop,
By Bike : There is a cycle route that runs from St Aubin to St Helier along the sea front. There are plenty of cafes along the way in case you get hungry as well. You can also walk this route or hire betty bikes in the summer
