CASTLE CORNET

The fortifications of this castle are almost eight centuries old. When King John Lackland lost Normandy to France in 1204, Guernsey chose to remain loyal to the English king. The island was immediately threatened by the French and the islanders decided to build Castle Cornet to protect themselves. Construction began in 1206 and lasted nearly twenty years. During the Hundred Years' War, the French and the English fought bitterly over it and it passed from hand to hand several times, after fierce battles.

As military techniques progressed, the castle was constantly reinforced and modified. During the civil war that tore England apart, the governor of Guernsey, Peter Osborne, withdrew there and challenged the rest of the island who had sided with Cromwell. The castle had to endure a siege of nearly nine years, during which it received the invaluable support of Jersey, which remained loyal to its sovereign. More than 100,000 cannonballs were fired against the castle.

At the time of the restoration of royalty, it was the prison of Sir John Lambert, Cromwell's former general, who was feared to be taking over the succession. But Lambert had become peaceful again, and he spent his captivity lovingly landscaping the castle gardens, which can be visited today. In 1672, a dramatic accident occurred. During a violent storm, lightning fell on the ammunition depot, which exploded. The blast caused the keep to collapse, taking with it the dwelling where Lady Hatton, the governor's wife, was staying.

During the Napoleonic era, for fear of another French attack, Castle Cornet was modernized and armed with formidable cannons, which were never used. When hostilities between the English and French ended, the castle was used as an arsenal, prison and barracks. Its military function was abandoned until 1940, when the Germans invaded the island. The Germans concreted some parts of the castle in order to integrate it into their defense system, the Atlantic Wall.

The gardens are maintained with a very English care. The many rooms of the fortress present a wide variety of exhibits, 4 small museums are housed there: the Royal Guernsey Militia Museum, 201 Squadron RAF, the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry Museum (former armory of the castle presenting a collection of weapons from the Middle Ages to the present) and a painting gallery, The Story of Castle Cornet Museum.