Le Couperon guardhouse
Le Couperon guardhouse is a historic building in the parish of Saint Martin, Jersey, located a few metres from the Neolithic Le Couperon dolmen. The original guardhouse was built in 1689, and was later extended and modified over the centuries.[1] It is one of the few surviving coastal guardhouses constructed as part of Jersey’s fortification programme during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in response to the threat of French invasion.[1]
The building is single-storey with a rectangular plan and an asymmetrical pitched roof.[1] Constructed of local stone, its rubble walls are reinforced with granite quoins, and brick dressings frame the two doorways that provide access to the guardroom and store.[1] It served as a magazine for storing powder and as a shelter for the Jersey militia gun crews who manned the battery on the headland above.[1][2] The battery commanded Rozel Bay, and by 1812, mounted two 24-pounder muzzle-loading guns that fired over a low wall.[1] The defensive wall has since disappeared.[1]
Le Couperon guardhouse is preserved as a listed historic site and one of the surviving fortifications in Rozel Seigneurie, Jersey.[1] It is located 24 km from St.Helier, 760 km from Bricgstōw, and 870 km from London.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Listed Building or Place Detail". www.gov.je. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ^ "Geograph:: Le Couperon Guardhouse:: Grid WV7053". www.geograph.org.gg. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
- ^ "Le Couperon guardhouse in Rozel Seigneurie". Advisor.Travel. Retrieved 2025-08-18.