Forty years on, 'priority' Castle dig begins

Tuesday 04 June 2019

Archaeologists will visit Jersey next month to begin research as part of a restoration project at Elizabeth Castle which the States agreed nearly 40 years ago – but it is still awaiting funding.

Conversion of the old hospital block at the Castle is one of Jersey Heritage’s capital projects; the States decided back in 1980 to make the project a priority, adopting a proposition making the block’s restoration a pressing issue.

The report says: “It is suggested, however, that early attention is given to the Hospital. While the external surrounds can be tidied up fairly easily, the interior needs to be cleaned out and a long-term programme of repair and rehabilitation considered." 

Jersey Heritage’s current capital project involves restoring the hospital block both for accommodation and to support events which are held on the Castle Green. Additional holiday accommodation will be provided in the Officers’ quarters on the parade ground.

Pictured: The archaeologists will station themselves at the Castle over the summer.

Now, ahead of this work on the hospital which lies at the southern end of the Green, a team of archaeologists from York University will be visiting the island from 6 to 16 July to undertake a series of projects intended to increase knowledge of the Castle’s history – focussing particularly on the Castle Green. 

They will excavate the old barracks on the Green, built in the 1690s but demolished a century later when the barracks were moved to their current location in the parade ground. Today, just the outline of the old building is visible from the uppermost parts of the Castle.

The York team will also be using radar strong enough to map out what’s below the ground to try to pinpoint the site of the historic abbey which originally occupied the site of Elizabeth Castle. 

Jersey Heritage Director, Jon Carter, explained that the Castle was a complex site comprising more than 35 buildings, as well as several which are no longer visible. 

“You can see the outline of the old barracks in the grass but we have a limited number of drawings and plans of differing levels of reliability.  We hope to learn more about the construction of the building,” he told Express. 

He added that finds of floor tiles made in previous investigations may link the barracks with the old abbey. 

The third element in the forthcoming programme by York University focuses on a much more recent phase in the Castle’s history – the Occupation – and will involve condition assessments of some of the war-time buildings with proposals for their conservation and restoration.

Pictured: The team will be working on the castle's complex site which is said to be built on the grounds of an old Abbey.

Matthew Jenkins, Associate Lecturer at York said that his team were looking forward to returning to the island and continuing their investigation of Elizabeth Castle.

“Our excavations of the lost barracks will hopefully help to answer some intriguing questions we still have from last year about the use and afterlife of the lost barracks.  Our work on the WWII heritage follows on from our successful investigation of the hospital last year, using buildings archaeology to increase our understanding and interpretation of this difficult heritage,” he said. 

A planning application, required because the Castle is a listed building, has been submitted by the University seeking permission for minor archaeological trenching on the Green. 

Much of the work that the York team are undertaking over the summer will be open to the public and will also involve the Société Jersiaise, the Channel Islands Occupation Society, and the Young Archaeologists Club, as well as Jersey Heritage staff and volunteers.