Guernsey's Historical and Family History Research Centre

The Priaulx Library promotes and celebrates Guernsey life, language, history, culture, and literature, and enables access to our unique rare book collection. Our staff also undertake paid local historical and genealogical research.

Militiaman, 1720, now available as a print from the Priaulx Library Christmas Shop

The Library is currently displaying a varied selection of material from its collection under the title Military Heroes, Military Historians. It concentrates on the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and features some less well-known but highly significant military Guernseymen, including John Gaspard Le Marchant, founder of Sandhurst, and Havilland Le Mesurier, administrator and reformer. The fascinating survey of Guernsey's defences, with its beautiful maps, by Frenchman Jean-Nicolas de Magnac can be viewed, as well as the British garrison Quartermaster's Account Book of 1796, a militia order book of 1818-1827, and other contemporary letters and documents from the period. 1812 was the year of the death of both Le Marchant at the Battle of Salamanca and of Sir Isaac Brock at Queenston Heights, so we couldn't resist including the original record of Brock's baptism in St Peter Port Church. And don't miss a unique letter from Sir James Saumarez about his dislike of Lord Nelson!