The parish and its church derive their name from a mediaeval monastery, probably destroyed during Viking raids some time between the 8th and 10th centuries. In 1042 William the Conqueror gave "Saint Mary of the Burnt Monastery" to the abbey of Cerisy.
Attractions
Among the natural attractions of the parish is a feature known as the Devil's Hole (Lé Creux du Vis), a blowhole in the coastal cliff. The descent into the Devil's Hole used to be accessible to visitors and was a lucrative tourist attraction, but it has been closed off for decades. Following a shipwreck in 1851, when the ship's figurehead washed up in the Devil's Hole, a statue of a devil adapted from the figurehead was set up above the Hole. This wooden statue was replaced by a succession of modern versions in the 20th century.
Mourier Valley runs down the boundary between St Mary and St John. The stream formerly powered a number of mills despite the scant population of the area.
Crabbé is the location for pistol shooting.
Grève de Lecq lies on the border between St Mary and St Ouen. On the east side of the bay, in St Mary, lies Le Catel de Lecq, an ancient earthwork. In the bay, Le Moulin de Lecq, an old watermill was converted into a residence in 1929 and following the Second World War became a pub, while retaining the wheel and remnants of the gears.
The parish stands upon course-grained granite, 'of Saint Mary's type'. This granite was formerly quarried for building.
St Mary is twinned with Longues-sur-Mer, a commune of the département of Calvados, Normandy.
Vingtaines
The parish is divided into vingtaines for administrative purposes as follows:
- Vingtaine du Sud
- Vingtaine du Nord
The parish forms one electoral district and elects one Deputy.
Demographics
Saint Mary has the smallest population of all the parishes in Jersey, having only 1,591 residents in 2001.
Parish church
References
- Historic Jersey, W S Ashworth, Jersey 1993 (no ISBN)
External links
Gallery
The municipality about 1890
St Mary's Valley
St Mary's Arsenal
Walking along the north coast
St Mary lane
St Mary’s Church area 1964
St Mary’s Church area 1964
St Mary’s Church area 1964
The municipality in 1920
A St Mary lane
Crabbe
Crabbe 1891
Parish banknote
A parish fete
The arsenal
The arsenal
A St Mary cottage photographed for a George Allix postcard
The members of the municipality in 1910
1920
Honorary Police members in 1960
