The Jersey Peace Trail

From Jersey Museum, as you face the building, turn left and walk past the Royal Yacht Hotel. Turn right into Mulcaster Street and cross the road using the pedestrian crossing. Walk along Mulcaster Street and turn left into Bond Street  by the church railings.

At the end of the street, cross over using the pedestrian crossing and you will find the Pierre Le Sueur Memorial, Broad Street.

Pierre Le Sueur served many years as Constable of St Helier and dedicated his life to social reform and improving the living conditions of the poor. He oversaw major projects including the construction of an underground sewerage system, the widening of streets and the clearance of slums. His tireless work to transform St Helier earned him wide acclaim and this monument was erected after his premature death in 1853.

Navigate using the metal signpost in front of the memorial. Head in the direction of the Town Hall. At the end of the road you will reach Charing Cross and find the toad sculpture at Charing Cross

A prison was built on this site in 1687 but conditions became very poor and a new prison was built in Newgate Street in the early 1800s. Elizabeth Fry, the Quaker philanthropist and well-known prison reformer, came to the Island in the 1830s and was invited to inspect the new prison. Her recommendations for more humane treatment of prisoners included the introduction of ‘useful employment’ for the inmates as well as a separate facility for female prisoners.

Take the right fork into York Street towards the Town Hall and walk on the left side of the road.

 The twinning of towns after WWII helped unite and heal a war-torn Europe. In 2002 the parish of St Helier was twinned with the German town of Bad Wurzach where English-born Islanders had been interned during the Occupation. This symbolised a long process of peace and reconciliation between the people of Jersey and their occupiers. In 2005 the pavement outside the Town Hall was inscribed with words of peace from former internee Michael Ginns to mark the 60th anniversary of the Liberation.

Cross the road using the pedestrian crossing outside the Town Hall and continue along York Street towards the Cenotaph.

The Armistice marked the end of fighting on the Western Front but negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference continued for months. In July 1919, Peace Day was celebrated both nationally and locally to mark ‘this new era of peace’. Remembrance Day is commemorated each year at the Cenotaph with two minutes of silent reflection and prayer for those who have lost their lives in the service of their country in the two World Wars and subsequent conflicts.

Turn back towards the Town Hall and stay on this side of the road. Notice more words from the Occupation engraved in the pavement as you walk.

Turn left into Dumaresq Street and notice the historic town cottages in this area. Follow the road until the cut-through to St Paul’s Centre.

This building housed a school for the education of the poor children of the parish. It was established by the congregation of St Paul’s Church in 1871 and later became New Street School. When the school moved location, the building housed the Children’s Library before becoming a church centre

When you reach New Street, cross over and follow the lane to the left side of St Paul’s Church.

By the 1810s, the population of St Helier was increasing rapidly and the Town Church became too small for the growing congregation. St Paul’s Church was founded and attracted an English-speaking congregation. As well as establishing St Paul’s School, the congregation donated generously to many overseas causes such as the Irish Famine.

At the end of the lane next to St Paul’s Church, turn left into Don Street and walk to the end of the road. Cross over carefully and continue walking along Don Street. Turn right into Grove Street and at the ed of the road turn left.

Pause outside No. 101 and notice the engraved memorial in the pavement:

101 Halkett Place was the home of Florence Rowe. Florence Rowe developed her business skills working in her father’s St Helier book shop and went on to marry Nottingham entrepreneur Jesse Boot of Boots the Chemist. The Boots never forgot their humble origins and worked to improve the wellbeing of their employees across the country. When they retired to Jersey they continued to make a positive impact on the lives of working people with gifts to the Island such as Coronation Park and sports facilities and workers’ cottages at FB Fields.

Look at the Methodist Church at the end of the road.

The founders of the Jersey Ladies College met at Wesley Grove in 1880 with the aim of providing an education for ‘the daughters of those of modest means’. Committee member William Smith was a passionate advocate for female education and sent his daughters to the school. A mixed-race anti-slavery campaigner from Sierra Leone, Smith had moved to London and then to Jersey with his family in 1871. He was also a Methodist preacher.

Turn around and walk back along Halkett Place, passing Jersey Library and crossing over at the pedestrian crossing.

Head towards the Central Market and take a short cut through the Market and exit on to Market Street. Turn right onto Halkett Street, then left onto Hilgrove Street (French Lane), and then right onto Bath Street.

At the end of the Bath Street, you will join Queen Street and see 32 Queen Street, home of Ronald Podrow.

Ronald Podrow was born in London in 1926 and spent his childhood in Jersey. Like the majority of Jewish residents, the family decided to evacuate just before the arrival of German forces in the summer of 1940.  In later life he moved to America and was inspired by a woman known as ‘Peace Pilgrim’, who abandoned personal possessions and walked over 25,000 miles for peace until her death in 1981. Styling himself ‘Peace Pilgrim II’, Podrow also began walking for peace.

Turn left and walk towards the end of Queen Street. Turn right and cross the road using the pedestrian crossing at Snow Hill. Climb the flight of granite steps to the right of the shops and find the plaque on the wall at 16 Regent Road.

Jersey’s first woman doctor was born in St Helier in 1876. Lilian Grandin trained in London and then volunteered for a missionary expedition to China. She spent ten years helping the poor and needy in a remote region while also spreading the Christian faith. She spent WWI working in a London hospital but went back to China to continue her work as a doctor and missionary until her death from typhus in 1924.

Re-trace your steps to Snow Hill and turn left onto Hill Street. At the junction with Halkett Place, cross over at the traffic lights and walk through the Royal Square.

Edward Voisin was Secretary of the Jersey Anti-Compulsory Militia League and campaigned against the militia draft on religious grounds. In 1886 his two sons were imprisoned for refusing to serve in the Militia. Quaker supporters in England petitioned the Home Secretary and they were finally exempted from military service as they would have been under English law. The family shared many of the pacifist ideals of the Quaker movement and became members of the local meeting house.

Facing the Cock and Bottle pub is the Union Club. Exit the Royal Square by the lane to the right of the Club and turn left to walk behind the building. Notice the plaque on the wall.

John Wesley visited the Island in 1787 to preach to the small community of Methodists. Stormy weather stranded him here and during his enforced stay he preached to growing numbers. The Island’s fervent embracing of Methodism caused disruption to the local militia force as Methodists refused to drill after church on a Sunday. It was eventually agreed that they could train on a weekday.

Cross the road and enter the gates to the Town Church.

This church is dedicated to Saint Helier who came to the Island in the 6^th century looking for an isolated place he could devote his life to prayer. From his rocky shelter in the bay, Helier would warn of the approach of raiders so that the inhabitants could seek shelter until the danger passed. He was murdered by pirates in 555 AD and the site of his rock shelter, on the islet where Elizabeth Castle now stands, became a place of pilgrimage.

Exit by the opposite gates and turn right onto Bond Street and turn left at the end of the road.

Walk towards Liberation Square and cross over using the pedestrian crossing.

This monument to peace was unveiled in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Channel Islands being freed from five years of German Occupation. This was a time of great hardship and suffering when families were separated, food and medicine were in short supply and all kinds of civil liberties were curtailed.

The full story of the Occupation is told in the Occupation Tapestry Gallery.

Return to the starting point at Jersey Museum.