A variety of vicars
A list of the incumbents of Alderney covered in Ernest Bigg's chapter of the same name in An Alderney Scrapbook, pp. 118 ff., published by the Alderney Society in 1972, and snippets about other ministers of the island.
Rene Le Porc de la Porte de Vezins, 1590
A well-known tale of intrigue in Renaissance Brittany, in one of its earliest and near-contemporary versions, from The Monthly Illustrated Journal (Guernsey Magazine), February, 1873. The Editor describes this as 'a free translation of an interesting account of a disputed identification case, which occurred in the latter part of the 16th century, and in which Guernsey figures; it is taken from a work entitled La Vie de François, Seigneur de la Nouë, kindly lent to us by Mr Thomas Lenfestey, des Fontaines, for the purpose.' The illustration below is a detail from Sydney's Arcadia, published by Ponsonby in 1589, in the Library collection; the portrait above is of François de la Nouë, dit Bras-de-fer, from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
John Ingrouille, hangman, 1818
And executioners in general. An incomplete list of the Guernsey hangmen employed by the States, (convicts, for whom the office meant freedom and a small stipend), can be found in the Library: Lists of Bailiffs, Jurats &c, Staff. From L'Independance of 24 January 1818.
Ship movements, 1762
A selection from the London Chronicle, 1762.
Autobiography of Thomas Fiott De Havilland, engineer and architect
Builder of the now lost 'De Havilland's Bulwark', St George's Cathedral, St Andrew's Kirk and many other buildings at Madras, now Chennai, and here in Guernsey, Havilland Hall. From his book, The De Havillands of Guernsey, published in 1854. He died in 1866. The woodcut is by Dr Thomas Bellamy from his Pictorial Directory of 1843, in the Library collection.
The trial of George Barrington, 1787
George Barrington was indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 19th of January, 1787, at the parish of St. Martin in the Fields, a silk purse value 2d. and twenty-three guineas, value £24 3s. and one half-guinea, value 10s. 6d. the property of Havilland Le Mesurier, Esq. privily from his person. From the Lawyer's and Magistrate's Magazine, Vol. I., 1792.
Lost things: Les Maindonnaux, 1901
View from the North-east.
'A kindness I never, never can forget'
A memoir of the late Colonel Havilland Le Mesurier. From the Gentleman's Magazine of 1814.
Prizes
Privateering action in the 18th century.
The Fancy Ball, 7 January 1836
'Oh happy night, enchanting sight, 'Neath garlands gay and floods of light, Brilliant eyes, balmy sighs, Shaming flow'r and lustre bright.' A report from the Star of 11 January, 1836. The photograph is a late 19th-century carte de visite, one of several in the Library Collection of subjects in fancy dress.
Views of James Saumarez in 1801
'A good deal of the grimace of a Frenchman'. A short biography from The European Magazine, and London Review, for October 1801; and a less kind opinion of the Admiral, written by Admiral Thomas Byam Martin, a veteran of his campaigns who had fallen out with him, parts of whose account are often regarded as at the least fanciful. Saumarez was prone to depression, however.
The Journal of Jane Maria Barlow, 1833-38
Primary concern: Prettiness of self and other girls. Where are all the beaux? Were all the men really either tall or handsome in the 1830s? Obviously not: 'De Beauvoir De Lisle renewed his attentions which I am sorry for, I shall be obliged to draw a line.' A very annoyed Savery Brock bursts a blood vessel. Guernsey has very bad pavements. The photograph from the Library Collection shows a very benevolent-looking Jane in her old age, many years after this diary was written.