Grouville is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. The parish is around east of St Helier. The parish covers a surface area of 4,354 vergées (7.8 km²). The parish includes the south-east portion of the main island of the Bailiwick of Jersey, as well as the Minquiers islets several miles to the south, and is dominated by the broad sweep of the Royal Bay of Grouville. It borders St. Clement, St. Saviour and St. Martin.
History
The parish of Grouville shares, with the neighbouring parish of St. Martin, a dedication to St. Martin of Tours. The ecclesiastical parish and parish church are dedicated to "St. Martin de Grouville" to distinguish them from the parish of St. Martin (historically 'St. Martin le Vieux'). The Church of St Peter la Rocque was built in the 19th century.
The name 'Grouville' may derive from:
the small community established in what is now the parish by St Gerou (also known as Gervold or Geraldius), an ecclesiastical troubleshooter in the employ of Charlemagne in the 9th century AD; Gros Villa (great farm) Geirr, the Viking leader after whom the Island may be named. the name Groult or Gueroult is often found today in Normandy and is believed to derive from the ancient probably Norman name Gueroalt (Geirroalt)
The Royal Bay of Grouville gained its royal epithet when it impressed Queen Victoria during her visit in 1846. The bay is popular with tourists for its broad sandy beach and shallow, warm water. It is also the main oyster producing area of Jersey, and was also formerly noted for the production of vraic (seaweed fertiliser). The cottage industry formerly practised by Grouvillais of burning vraic gave rise to the traditional nickname of les Enfuntchis (the smoky ones, or the dim ones, in Jèrriais) shared by the Grouvillais and their neighbours in St. Clement.
Inland, the parish is also home to Jersey's most noted archaeological site at La Hougue Bie, now a museum run by the Jersey Heritage Trust. A prehistoric artificial mound covers a passage grave aligned for the equinox. A mediaeval chapel, Notre Dame de la Clarté, built on the Neolithic mound was converted in the 18th century to a folly-like Gothic Revival residence, the Prince's Tower (demolished in the 1920s). During the German occupation of the Channel Islands in the Second World War, the German forces and imported labourers constructed bunkers in and alongside the ancient mound, now also transformed for museum interpretation.
La Rocque was the site of the landing of the French forces on 6 January 1781. The skirmish at La Platte Rocque was ancillary to the Battle of Jersey.
Governance
The parish is a first-level administrative division of the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British Crown dependency. The highest official in the parish is the of Grouville. The incumbent office holder is John Le Maistre, who has held the office since 2013. The parish administration is headquartered at the Parish Hall next to the parish church.
At present, the parish forms one electoral district for States Assembly elections and elects one Deputy, as well as eight Senators in an islandwide constituency. The current Deputy for Grouville is Carolyn Labey. Under the proposed electoral reform, it will form part of the North East electoral district consisting of St. Martin and Grouville, which will collectively elect three representatives (the least of any constituency) alongside the parishes' .
Grouville is divided for administrative purposes into vingtaines as follows: La Vingtaine des Marais La Vingtaine de la Rue La Vingtaine de Longueville La Vingtaine de la Rocque
Geography
The main part of the parish is in the south-east of the island of Jersey, part of the Channel Islands archipelago. It borders St. Clement, St. Saviour and St. Martin. The parish hall is located around east of the Royal Square in St Helier. The parish is dominated by the sweeping Royal Bay of Grouville (part of which is often called Gorey Bay), stretching from Mont Orgeuil Castle in St. Martin, which dominates the skyline to the north, out to the sea in the south at La Rocque. It is the third smallest parish, only measuring 8 square kilometres (4560 vergées). The Minquiers are also part of the parish of Grouville.