Gorey Castle – Jersey Pride

Gorey Castle is a titan among castles. It looms against the horizon over Jersey’s most iconic harbor, a monolithic, brooding presence that watches over the golden sands of the East Coast. Mont Orgueil is its French name, meaning “pride,” and the title serves it well. Today, Gorey Castle is a star tourist attraction, an icon of Jersey. But its great weight, its brutal military presence, speaks of a darker past. From the Iron Age fort to the Nazi castle, Gorey Castle has played a pivotal role in the history of the island of Jersey.

The story of Gorey Castle begins as a rocky crag high above the plains that stretch a thousand miles to the south. Neolithic peoples place stone dolmens on the tops of the mountains. Then the sea, crammed with the melting of the Ice Age, devastates the forests and lashes down to the base of the rock. The island of Jersey is born. Iron Age peoples recognize the defensive potential of castle rock, and sixteen have it.

For centuries the fort on the hill stood, even as William, Duke of Normandy, overlord of the islands, seized history by the neck and conquered England. Times changed and the world changed. Suddenly, the English kings were involved in a titanic struggle for continental supremacy. Jersey was thrown to the front line, the literal cabin of the two warring great powers, England and France. The first recorded mention of the castle was in November 1212, when the conflict reached a fever pitch.

Progress was made in the construction of a great stone fortress. A thousand tree trunks were sent from Hampshire’s New Forest to fortify the new castle. The armor and swords came by ship from England. Along with the great fort of Grosnez, the now abandoned fort in the far northwest, Gorey Castle was a stronghold of English rule. In 1337 the French invaded and the castle resisted the siege. Blood flowed, but the castle did not fall. A second siege under the French buccaneer Bertrand du Guesclin followed in July 1373, and the outer walls were breached. But the rock did not fall.

In the Middle Ages life was, to paraphrase Hobbes, unpleasant, brutal and short. The display of the “Wounded Man” at the castle gate shows the exquisite variety of means by which man inflicted pain on man for gold and glory. Mount Pride paid its fair share in blood. However, when the French finally occupied it in the 15th century, it was by treason and not by brute force.

Times changed, firepower increased, and the fatal proximity of the dominating hills made the once proud keep an easy target. Military priorities had changed. The time had come for a grandiose new fort to be built on the ruins of the priory of St. Helier, fit for the age of artillery and organized armies. Elizabeth Castle was born, elegant and modern that guarded the port of the capital.

Gorey Castle faced the wrecking ball, but luck prevailed. It was Sir Walter Raleigh, the accomplished Renaissance Man, explorer, astrologer, and man of letters, who rescued the castle. He was sent by Queen Elizabeth to tear down the old fort, but sentiment won the day. Gorey Castle was formidable; “It would be a shame to shoot him down.” It’s ironic that the man who ushered in the future – pipe tobacco, potatoes, the rich promise of the New World and its trade flows – saved Jersey’s past.

Gorey Castle went from sanctuary to prison. William Prynne, the man who dared to spread unprintable truths against King Charles I and his bishops, was imprisoned here. They cut off his ears and put the mark on his forehead SL – Sedicio Defamer. Prynne’s sad story ended happily after the Restoration with royal favor and the title Guardian of the Tower of London. The man who had once been imprisoned in a great castle received another as a reward. They say that God moves in mysterious ways.

The proud old mountain remained a center of dark intrigue. While the French Revolution cast its fanatical spell on Europe, the castle was used as a royal base by d’Auvergne and his secret network. Then, as Jersey moved into the sunny highlands of the Victorian era, the castle retained its power as a symbol of the island’s proud loyalty and independence. Queen Victoria, ruler of half the known world, decided to visit Mount Orgueil with Prince Albert. He had a predilection for island castles. Then the old queen died and the century changed.

Once again, the shadow of darkness fell over the old castle, as Hitler’s armies reached Jersey and swastikas flew over fields of brown Jersey cows and sweet potatoes. Gorey Castle, as a prominent coastal fortified site, was swallowed up by the machinery of the Third Reich. The Nazi obsession with the Channel Islands meant that 10% of the entire Atlantic Wall was built right here on the islands. Concrete gun locations, bunkers, and flak towers have been added to the old walls.

The Nazis had prepared for a battle that never came. On May 9, 1945, Liberation Day, Jersey was released and Gorey Castle fell back into the realm of history. Today it is a tourist trap, but with a unique sense of presence and power. You can experience some of the depth of the past, of the blood and glory of previous ages. Today, the Union flag and the Jersey cross fly serenely above. The views are breathtaking, over the port of Gorey and towards the French coast. Mount Pride still stands, but its walls are dark, blackened by the weight of its memories.