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Philippe de Carteret: To the Manor borne
THE civil strife between the houses of Lancaster and York known as the Wars of the Roses did not leave the Channel Islands unscathed.
In the late 15th century there were still links between English and French noble families. Indeed, the Lancastrian King Henry VI of England had a French wife, Marguerite of Anjou, whose cousin, Pierre de Brézé, was Seneschal of Normandy.
Marguerite had the idea that de Brézé should raise an army to aid the Lancastrian cause, capturing Jersey in the process to provide a refuge if it should be needed in the event of Yorkist success.
The reward for de Brézé would be the lordship of the Channel Islands.
At the time the Constable of Gorey Castle – which in the late 1400s became known as Mont Orgueil – was a Cornishman devoted to the Lancastrian cause.
It is suggested that he may have co-operated with de Brézé in hatching a plot to give up the castle without a fight.
In any event, in the summer of 1461 Jean de Carbonnel seized the old fortress without a fight.
For seven years afterwards men loyal to de Brézé and France held the castle and, in theory, the rest of the Island.
In practice, life changed very little, the Bailiff remaining in office and the Royal Court continuing to sit.
That said, there was dissention in the west, where Philippe de Carteret of St Ouen’s Manor deeply resented the presence of the French force.
By 1467 the situation in England had changed dramatically.
York and the White Rose were in the ascendancy, Edward IV was on the throne, his rival, Henry VI, was in the Tower, and his wife, Marguerite, was an exile in France.
Pierre de Brézé, meanwhile, had been killed in battle and Carbonnel had fallen from favour in his native country.
Philippe de Carteret saw that the French position had weakened and began to oppose them actively.
They in turn were keen to capture him and – so legend has it – found an opportunity one day when he went fishing at St Ouen’s Pond.
French soldiers crept up on him, but were seen in time, allowing de Carteret to mount his horse and make for the Manor.
However, before he reached his destination another group of Frenchmen cut him off and he was forced to head for Val de Charrière, where his route was blocked by a sunken road 18 feet deep and 22 feet wide.
Spurring on his mount, he jumped the gulf and galloped on towards the Manor, but his horse died beneath him as he made good his escape.
The Seigneur made sure that the beast which gave its life to save him was buried in the Manor grounds.
The detail of this story cannot be confirmed, but in 1904 the shoulder blade of a horse which dated back several centuries was unearthed in the Manor gardens.
In England, as the Yorkists grew in confidence, Edward IV developed a plan to invade France and recover Normandy.
As part of the plan he sent Sir Richard Harliston and his fleet to Guernsey.
Sir Richard then landed secretly in Jersey and met Philippe de Carteret before the main body of Yorkist troops came ashore at Plémont.
A joint English and Jersey force then marched through the night to Mont Orgueil and began a siege of the castle.
This lasted 19 weeks, but finally the garrison, which could not be supplied from the sea because of the presence of Sir Richard’s ships, surrendered and returned the fortress and the Island to English hands.
Sir Richard went on to become Governor of the Island and to have a tower at Mont Orgueil named after him.
This article originally appeared as part of the Jersey Evening Post Crowns in Conflict series, compiled for the 1204-2004 celebrations.
author - Rob Shipley
This article updated: 2004/07/15 13:34:08
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| ......timelines...... |
| Coins found near the ancient site of worship at the Pinnacle in St Ouen are one of the few signs of Gallo-Roman influence in Jersey. |
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