View source for Grosnez Castle

{{Infobox Military Structure
|name=Grosnez Castle
|partof=
|location=[[Saint Ouen, Jersey|Saint Ouen]], [[Jersey]]
|coordinates={{coord|49|11|58|N|2|01|10|W|source:frwiki}}
|image=Grosnez Castle Jersey.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=Grosnez Castle
|type=
|code=
|built=1330
|builder=
|materials=[[Granite]]
|used=
|condition=Ruin
|ownership=[[States of Jersey]]
|open_to_public=Yes
|controlledby=
|garrison=
|commanders=
|occupants=
|battles=
|events=
}}

'''Grosnez Castle''' is a [[Ruins|ruined]] 14th-century [[castle]] in [[Saint Ouen, Jersey|Saint Ouen]], situated in Grosnez in the north-west corner of the island of [[Jersey]] in the [[Channel Islands]].<ref>[http://www.jersey.com/english/discoverjersey/beachesandviews/pages/grosnez-castle.aspx Grosnez Castle] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717072341/http://www.jersey.com/english/discoverjersey/beachesandviews/pages/grosnez-castle.aspx |date=2012-07-17 }}</ref> Philippe de Carteret held it against the French when they held half of Jersey between 1461 and 1467, but it has  been a ruin since the mid-16th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jerseyheritage.org/heritage-landscape/grosnez-castle|title = Jersey Heritage &#124; Discover Our Island Story}}</ref>

Grosnez Castle is open to the public. There is small automated signal station at the rear of the castle that affords scenic views.

==Name==
The name comes from the old [[Old Norse language|Norse]] words for "grey headland" - {{lang|non|grar nes}} - an accurate description of the site when seen from the sea. In time the spelling evolved to resemble the French for ''big nose''. A nearby headland to the west has a similar name, ''Rouge Nez''.<ref>[http://www.photos.jerseybirds.co.uk/details.php?image_id=2569&sessionid=e6c527f58f61edb4679b0dda139fa5ec Rouge Nez]</ref>

==History==
Sir John des Roches ordered the castle built around 1330, about the time of the start of the [[Hundred Years' War]]. The castle's purpose was to provide local farmers with a place of refuge from French attacks.<ref>King (1988), p.12.</ref><ref name=Dillon>Dillon (2011), p.69.</ref>

The walls are of local [[granite]] and are thickest on the landward side. The castle's position on a clifftop 200&nbsp;ft (~ 60 m) above the sea means that the natural features of the site protect it on three sides. A rock-cut ditch defended the landward side. The remains of walls, mostly footings, are still present.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Grosnez_Castle|title = Grosnez Castle - Jerripedia}}</ref>

A [[drawbridge]] and [[portcullis]] protected the gatehouse, which is the only substantial surviving remnant, and would have made it difficult to capture. There are traces of six simple buildings.<ref name=Dillon/> The castle, though, had a number of weaknesses:
*There were no [[sally port]]s for counter-attacks; 
*Most importantly, there was no [[water well]] inside the walls.
[[File:Grosnez_Castle_alternative.jpg|thumb|left|Another view of the castle]]
The French captured the castle in 1373 and 1381. The castle was probably last used militarily during the time of the French occupation of Jersey (1461–1468, when the French held the east of the island, but loyal Jersey folk held the western parishes). In 1483, after several years of petitioning King Edward IV, the [[Seigneur of St Ouen]] - recommended to the King's Grace by his father-in-law the governor, was granted a ″License to Crenelate″ - that is allowed to fortify his manor house. Governor Harliston approved the dismantling of the ″fort of refuge″ at Grosnez so that the already-worked stone could be re-used in fortifying St. Ouen's Manor. The financial savings were important to Seigneur De Carteret, as - when he came into his majority - ″trees grew in the Hall of the Manor because his Guardians had wasted the substance of the Rentes″ i.e. - embezzled the income - and he was investing heavily in renovating the dilapidated manor buildings. His shortage of money was both what influenced him to marry the daughter of the Plantagenet Governor Harliston, and also what led him into conflict with the second governor of the island after 1486. When Matthew Baker was sent to take Harliston's place in 1486, the Seigneur had not paid his taxes to the Exchequer for three years - since the death of Edward IV. De Carteret was already under some suspicion as a Plantagenet supporter - after all - the rebel Governor Harliston was his father-in-law. When King Henry VII ordered a general examination of outstanding accounts by the Exchequer clerks, it was inevitable that De Carteret would be required to pay the back taxes he owed the Crown.  This, then, is the background to the dismantling of Grosnez Castle - and also of the later friction between De Carteret and Matthew Baker.

In 1806, a naval signal station was established at Grosnez to send messages to [[Guernsey]].

==Modern depiction==
<!-- [[WP:NFCC]] violation: [[File:Jersey Pound - 50 pence coin.png|150px|right]] -->
Grosnez Castle appears on the reverse of the [[Jersey coins|Jersey 50 pence coin]].

==Citations and references==
'''Citations'''
{{reflist|30em}}
'''References'''
* Dillon, Paddy (2011) ''Walking on Jersey: 24 routes and the Jersey coastal walk''. (Cicerone). {{ISBN|978-1-85284-288-8}}
* King, David James Cathcart (1988) ''The Castle in England and Wales: An Interpretative History''. (Routledge). {{ISBN|978-0-918400-08-6}}
* Hammond, Reginald J W (ed.), ''Channel Islands'', (London, Ward Lock Red Guides, 1970), p.&nbsp;63, {{ISBN|0-7063-5414-1}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Grosnez castle Jersey gatehouse.jpg
Image:Grosnez castle Jersey ruins.jpg
Image:Châté d'Grosnez Juilet 2009 k.jpg
Image:Châté d'Grosnez Juilet 2009 g.jpg
</gallery>

{{Jersey topics}} {{Forts Channel Islands}}
{{coord|49.2575|N|2.24644|W|source:GPS|display=title}}{{Castles in Jersey}}
[[Category:Castles in Jersey]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Jersey]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Saint Ouen, Jersey]]