Jersey rock and coastal names: a gazetteer of maritime toponomy

Until recently, Jersey sailors knew the names of dozens of rocks, reefs, sandbanks and other maritime features. Such knowledge was essential when fishing, moving about the coast or communicating positions at sea with others. Named features were used as leading marks which could guide ships around hazards or allow them to pass through narrow channels. In the days before GPS and chart-plotters, learning local rock names was a rite of passage for anyone who wanted to go to sea and return home safely.

For this reason, almost every rock, sandbank and shoal (and there are hundreds of them in Jersey waters) had a name, as did other coastal landmarks. From the 17th century onward, some of these names were recorded on charts or in sailing guides but most never made it onto paper. These names survived inside Jersey's tight coastal communities and would be verbally passed from one generation to the next. However, since Victorian times this tradition of oral transmission has been fading causing centuries-old knowledge to be lost.

Jersey Rock and Coastal Names contains the outcome of a wide-ranging survey of Jersey rock and coast names undertaken using first-hand interviews and archive sources. The survey documented over 2,000 named features, almost all of which were locatable on maps.

Volume I (this volume) summarises the survey results in the form of a gazetteer of named features. Volume II contains maps which indicate where each feature is located. It is hoped that both volumes will help to preserve and promote a little known but important part of Jersey's intangible cultural heritage.