Saint Peter Port

Saint Peter Port Saint Pierre Port
—  Parish  —
View of St Peter Port from the South
Location of Saint Peter Port in Guernsey
Coordinates: 49°27′N 2°32′W
Crown Dependency	Guernsey, Channel Islands
Government
- Electoral district	Divided into St. Peter Port North and St. Peter Port South
Area
- Total	6.5 km2 (2.5 sq mi)
Population
- Total	16,488
- Density	2,536.6/km2 (6,569.8/sq mi)
Time zone	GMT
- Summer (DST)	UTC+01 (UTC)

Saint Peter Port is the capital of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2001 was 16,488. In Guernésiais and in French, historically the official language of Guernsey, the name of the town and its surrounding parish is St Pierre Port. The "port" distinguishes this parish from Saint Pierre Du Bois.

As well as being a parish, St. Peter Port is a small town consisting mostly of steep narrow streets and steps on the overlooking slopes. It is known that a trading post/town has existed here since before Roman times, the pre-Christian name of which has not survived into the modern era.

The post code for addresses in this parish starts with GY1.

People from St. Peter Port, were nicknamed "les Villais" (the townspeople) or "cllichards" in Guernésiais.

Geography

St. Peter Port is located on the East coast of Guernsey. It borders St Sampson's in the North, The Vale in the North-West, St Andrew's in the West and St Martin's in the South.

Relief

The land in the North and by the harbour is low lying but in the South, the land gets much higher (but not as high as St Martin's or the Forest). This means that there are quite a few cliffs on the coast between Havelet and Fermain.

Subdivisions

Saint Peter Port is subdivided into four cantons:

1. Canton 1 or North Canton
2. Canton 2 or Canton of the North-West
3. Canton 3 or Canton of the South-West
4. Canton 4 or Canton of the South

In addition, the islands of Herm and Jethou belong to the parish, but are not part of any canton. They belong to Electoral district Saint Peter Port South.

Features

The Town Church

The features of the town include:

• The Royal Court House, seat of the States of Guernsey
• Hauteville House, Victor Hugo's house of exile (now a museum run by the city of Paris)
• The Town Church, the parish church of St Peter Port at the heart of the town
• St Peter Port Harbour
• Castle Cornet, the historic fortress that guarded the strategic entrance to the port. The castle was formerly a tidal island that has been joined by a breakwater to the enlarged harbour since 1859.
• Elizabeth College founded in 1563 by Elizabeth I of England. The main building (built 1826) is a prominent feature of the skyline.
• The market, the Arcade, the High Street and the Pollet, which are all part of the shopping district
• The Guernsey Aquarium, situated in fortified tunnels built by the Nazis during the German Occupation.
• Footes Lane

Main roads

The following main roads (listed from North-South) provide important links between St Peter Port and the other parishes:

• Les Banques (leads up the coast to St Sampson's and the North of the Island)
• Rue des Varendes (leads to the parish of Castel)
• Mount Row (leads to St Andrew's and the West of the Island)
• Ruette Brayes (leads to St Martin's and the South of the Island)
• Fort Road (leads to St Martin's)

The following coastal roads (listed from North-South) are also very important as they provide access to the shops, carparks and the harbour:

• St George's Esplanade
• North Esplanade
• South Esplanade
• Mount Durand

Economy

Blue Islands, a regional airline, has its head office in Saint Peter Port.

External links

• The St. Peter Port Parish Constables Website