Culture
[edit]
Main article: Culture of Jersey
Jèrriais road sign ("The black road") in Saint OuenBritish cultural influence on the island is evident in its use of English as the main language and the pound sterling as its primary currency. Additional British cultural similarities include: driving on the left, access to British television, newspapers and other media, a school curriculum following that of England, and the popularity of British sports, including football and cricket. The island also has a strong Norman-French culture, such as its historic dialect of the Norman language, Jèrriais, being one of only two places in Normandy with government status for the language (the other being Guernsey), as well as the use of standard French in legal matters and officially in use as a government language, strong cultural ties to mainland Normandy as a part of the Normandy region, and place names with French or Norman origins. The island has very close cultural links with its neighbouring islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, and they share a good-natured rivalry.
Cultural events[edit]
The Battle of Flowers is a carnival that has been held annually in August since 1902. Other festivals include La Fête dé Noué (Christmas festival), La Faîs'sie d'Cidre (cidermaking festival), the Battle of Britain air display, Weekender Music Festival, food festivals, and parish events.
The Jersey Eisteddfod is an annual festival celebrating local culture. It is split into performing arts (e.g. dance, music, modern languages) and creative arts (e.g. needlework, photography, craft).
Art[edit]
Archaeologists have discovered stone planquettes with abstract designs made by the Magdalenians and dating to the Upper Palaeolithic; these are the oldest pieces of art discovered in the British Isles as of 2023.
The island has produced a number of notable artists. John St Helier Lander (1868–1944) was a portrait painter born in St Helier in 1868; he was a portraitist for the Royal Family. Edmund Blampied also lived around the same period; he was known for his etchings and drypoint. Other famous historic artists include John Le Capelain, John Everett Millais and Philip Ouless. There are also several contemporary Jersey artists, such as Ian Rolls, known for painting quirky landscape paintings.
Jersey also has historic connections to French art. French artist René Lalique created the stained glass windows at St Matthew's Church. No similar Lalique commission survives elsewhere in the world. Artist partners Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore were born in France but moved to and died in the island.
Television and media[edit]
Main article: Media of Jersey
See also: Telecommunications in Jersey
The popular 1980s BBC detective drama Bergerac, starring John Nettles, was set in Jersey. The series was recently revived with a new cast by UKTV.A Channel Television crew interview the Bailiff of JerseyBBC Radio Jersey provides a radio service, and BBC Channel Islands News provides a joint television news service with Guernsey. ITV Channel Television is a regional ITV franchise shared with the Bailiwick of Guernsey but with its headquarters in Jersey. Radio services are also provided by Channel 103, among other companies.
Bailiwick Express is one of Jersey's digital online news sources. Jersey has only one newspaper, the Jersey Evening Post, which is printed six days a week, and has been in publication since 1890.
Music[edit]
The Band of the Island of Jersey play at many events.
Little is known of the history of music in the islands, though fieldwork has recorded folk songs from the Channel Islands, mostly in French. The folk song Chanson de Peirson is unique to the island.
In contemporary music, Guru Josh, who was born in Jersey, produced house and techno music. He was most notable for his internationally successful debut hit Infinity and its re-releases, reaching number one in numerous European countries. Rock and pop artist Nerina Pallot was raised on the island and has enjoyed international success, and has written songs for famous artists like Kylie Minogue.
The island has a summer music festival scene stretching from mid-June to late September including Good Vibrations, Out-There, the Weekender (the largest festival in the Channel Islands) and Electric Park.
Theatre[edit]
Actress Lillie Langtry, nicknamed the Jersey Lily
There are two theatres on the island: the Jersey Opera House and the Jersey Arts Centre. Lillie Langtry is probably the most famous actress from the island. She was born in Jersey and became an actress on the West End in the late 19th century. She was the first socialite to appear on stage and the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product. She was also famous for her relationships with notable figures, including the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII. She is buried in St Saviour's Church graveyard.
Cinema[edit]
In 1909, T. J. West established the first cinema in the Royal Hall in St. Helier, which became known as West's Cinema in 1923 and was demolished in 1977. The first talking picture, The Perfect Alibi, was shown on 30 December 1929 at the Picture House in St. Helier. The Jersey Film Society was founded on 11 December 1947 at the Café Bleu, West's Cinema. The large Art Deco Forum Cinema was opened in 1935; during the German occupation this was used for German propaganda films.
The Odeon Cinema was opened 2 June 1952 and was later rebranded in the early 21st century as the Forum cinema. Its owners, however, struggled to meet tough competition from the Cineworld Cinemas group, which opened a 10-screen multiplex on the waterfront centre in St. Helier on reclaimed land in December 2002, and the Odeon closed its doors in late 2008. The Odeon is now a listed building.
First held in 2008, the Branchage Jersey International Film Festival attracts filmmakers from all over the world.
The 2001 movie The Others was set on the island in 1945 shortly after liberation.
Food and drink[edit]
Jersey wonders, or mèrvelles, are a favourite snack consisting of fried dough, found especially at country fêtes. According to tradition, the success of cooking depends on the state of the tide.
Seafood has traditionally been important to the cuisine of Jersey: mussels (called moules in the island), oysters, lobster and crabs – especially spider crabs – ormers and conger.
Jersey milk being very rich, cream and butter have played a large part in insular cooking. Jersey Royal potatoes are the local variety of new potato, and the island is famous for its early crop of Chats (small potatoes) from the south-facing côtils (steeply sloping fields). They were originally grown using vraic as a natural fertiliser, giving them their own individual taste; only a small portion of those grown in the island still use this method. They are eaten in a variety of ways, often simply boiled and served with butter or when not as fresh fried in butter.
Apples historically were an important crop. Bourdélots are apple dumplings, but the most typical speciality is black butter (lé nièr beurre), a dark spicy spread prepared from apples, cider and spices. Cider used to be an important export. After decline and near-disappearance in the late 20th century, apple production is being increased and promoted. Besides cider, apple brandy is produced. Other production of alcohol drinks includes wine, and in 2013 the first commercial vodkas made from Jersey Royal potatoes were marketed.
Among other traditional dishes are cabbage loaf, Jersey wonders (les mèrvelles), fliottes, bean crock (les pais au fou), nettle (ortchie) soup, and vraic buns.
Sport[edit]
Main article: Sport in Jersey
A statue of Jersey golfer, Harry Vardon, stands at the entrance to the Royal Jersey Golf Club.
In its own right, Jersey participates in the Commonwealth Games and in the biennial Island Games, which it first hosted in 1997 and more recently in 2015.
The Jersey Football Association supervises football in Jersey. As of 2022, the Jersey Football Combination has nine teams in its top division. Jersey national football team plays in the annual Muratti competition against the other Channel Islands. Rugby union in Jersey comes under the auspices of the Jersey Rugby Association (JRA), which is a member of the Rugby Football Union of England. Amateur side, Jersey RFC, won the English Regional Two South Central Division in the 2023/24 season and will play in fifth tier Regional One South Central next campaign.
Jersey Cricket Board is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Jersey. Jersey Cricket Board is Jersey's representative at the International Cricket Council (ICC). It has been an ICC member since 2005 and an associate member since 2007. The Jersey cricket team plays in the Inter-insular match, as well as in ICC tournaments around the world in One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals.
For horse racing, Les Landes Racecourse can be found at Les Landes in St. Ouen next to the ruins of Grosnez Castle.
Jersey has two public indoor swimming pools: AquaSplash, St Helier and Les Quennevais, St Brelade. Swimming in the sea, windsurfing and other marine sports are practised. Jersey Swimming Club has organised an annual swim from Elizabeth Castle to Saint Helier Harbour for over 50 years. A round-island swim is a major challenge: the record for the swim is Ross Wisby, who circumnavigated the island in 9 hours 26 minutes in 2015. The Royal Channel Island Yacht Club is based in St Brelade.
Two professional golfers from Jersey have won the Open Championship seven times between them; Harry Vardon won six times and Ted Ray won once, both around the turn of the 20th century. Vardon and Ray also won the U.S. Open once each. Harry Vardon's brother, Tom Vardon, had wins on various European tours.
Jersey Sport, an independent body that promotes sports in Jersey and support clubs, was launched in 2017.
Languages[edit]
Until the 19th century, indigenous Jèrriais – a variety of Norman – was the language of the island though French was used for official business. During the 20th century, British cultural influence saw an intense language shift take place and Jersey today is predominantly English-speaking. Jèrriais nonetheless survives; around 2,600 islanders (3%) are thought to be habitual speakers, and some 10,000 (12%) in all claim some knowledge of the language, particularly among the elderly in rural parishes. There have been efforts to revive Jèrriais in schools.
The dialects of Jèrriais differ in phonology and, to a lesser extent, lexis between parishes, with the most marked differences to be heard between those of the west and east. Many place names are in Jèrriais, and French and English place names are also to be found. Anglicisation of the place names increased apace with the migration of English people to the island.
Literature[edit]
Victor Hugo in exile, 1850s
Wace was a 12th-century poet born in Jersey. He is the earliest known Jersey writer, authoring Roman de Brut and Roman de Rou, among others. Some believe him to be the earliest Jèrriais writer and he is known as the founder of Jersey literature, but the language in which he wrote is very different from modern Jèrriais.
As Jèrriais was not an official language in Jersey, it had no standard written form, which meant that Jersey literature is very varied, written in multiple forms of Jèrriais alongside Standard English and French.
Matthew Le Geyt was the first poet to publish in Jèrriais after the introduction of printing to the island in the 18th century. Philippe Le Sueur Mourant wrote in Jèrriais in the 19th century. Jerseyman George d'la Forge is named the 'Guardian of the Jersey Norman Heritage'. Though he lived in America for most of his life, he felt a strong attachment to Jersey and his native language. His works were turned into books in the 1980s.
After the failure of the 1848 revolution, thirty-nine French revolutionaries were exiled in Jersey, including the famous French author Victor Hugo, as Jersey's culture had a relation to their native French. Gerald Durrell, the famous zoologist who set up Jersey Zoo, was also an author, writing novels, non-fiction and children's books. He wrote in order to fund and further his conservation work.
