Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Rocco Tower, in St Ouen's Bay is a Jersey Round Tower
The 19
th
Century saw the development of agriculture, with the introduction of steam ships
allowing the reliable delivery of produce to the markets in the UK and France. Due to the
mild climate of the island it was possible to get crops to the market before those grown in
many parts of the UK, resulting in higher prices.
One of the specialist exports of the 19
th
century was the export of oysters from the oyster
beds in Grouville Bay. By the mid 1830's there were over 250 boats from England, with
thousands of people employed in the industry. In fact there were so many small boats oc-
cupied in the industry that the small harbours at Rozel, Bouley Bay and La Rocque were
built to ease the pressure in Gorey Harbour. For a number of years the industry thrived but
with over fishing it went into decline and by the early 1870's the oyster fishing industry of
the east coast of the Island had ceased.
The introduction of steamships also allowed the development of an embryonic tourist in-
dustry. Tourists continued to arrive in ever increasing numbers throughout the 19
th
and
20
th
centuries. The industry probably reached its heyday in the years following the Second
World War, up until the late 1970's. The 1950's saw hundreds of couples arrive on the is-
land each week for their honeymoon whilst families took advantage of the ferries and the
frequent flights from many of the UK airports.
During the First World War the infrastructure of the Island was largely undamaged but the
War Memorials in each Parish are testimony to the sacrifices that the islanders made. One
of the few tangible pieces of evidence from the First World War are the remains of the Ger-
man Prisoner of War camp which was built on the sand dunes of St Ouen's Bay.
