La Collette

From Jerripedia

La Collette

For a long time St Helier did not have a proper harbour. Although there was a jetty on the west side of Mont de la Ville, in the area where today's South Pier stands, it was little used, being in such a state of disrepair that it offered more danger than protection from the elements. The other side of the hill at La Collette offered much greater protection from the prevailing westerly winds, and a small jetty there seems to have served as the town's principal harbour, at least until a better pier was built at St Aubin, adjoining the fort. There are records in the 16th century and 17th centuries of various comings and goings at Havre des Pas, although the reefs which stretched from close inshore well out to sea would have prevented vessels of any size using the facility, and it is perhaps likely that small boats would have been sent inshore to collect and disembark passengers and load and unload limited amounts of cargo. Neither the date this picture was drawn, nor the era it depicts are known, but it is supposed to show a jetty at La Collette. This presents something of a problem, however, because maps of the time show an l-shaped jetty, with south and east arms, facing inwards from the point of La Collette, which would mean that there was no view of Elizabeth Castle. Perhaps a degree of artistic licence has been used, perhaps this is not La Collette at all; either way, it is a superb image of sea travel 400 or more years ago.

An Edwardian family pauses for a photograph on La Collette promenade

The structure behind the rocks is the men's diving board. In the Victorian era men's and women's bathing sites were separated. The men swam at La Collette and the women had changing rooms and a bathing area at Havre des Pas. Even when the sea water pool was built at Havre des Pas in the 1890s it was at first only for use by women

La Collette is the southernmost point of the town of St Helier, stretching from the Harbour around to Havre des Pas. It was once an unspoilt coastal walk, with the road passing above it along Mount Bingham, but in post-war years a new power station was built, followed by a tanker berth and fuel farm on reclaimed land, and then the coastline was extended still further with a large land reclamation scheme, which now contains the island's refuse incinerator.

In the mid-19th century the States embarked on an ambitious project to build a large deep-water harbour with an arm stretching out from La Collette towards Elizabeth Castle, which would meet another arm from the castle. The latter was built and survives to this day, but as work progressed on the three-quarter mile long pier from La Collette it was breached in severe storms in the winters of 1874, 1875 and 1876 and the project was abandoned.

A contemporary report of a failed harbour development

The La Collette land reclamation scheme of the 1970s in pictures

La Collette, a pictorial timeline

La Collette Gardens

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Green Street slipway between Havre des Pas and La Collette

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1809
19th century
A 19th century drawing showing the two diving stages
The tower in 1875
The storm of December 1876
The storm of December 1876
Another storm in 1911
A picture by Edwin Dale
1900
1905
La Collette in the 1930s
A view from the sea
A flat walk for a lady with a pram
An Albert Smith photograph
1950s

The diving stages at La Collette in 1910 - separate facilities for ladies and gentlemen

Looking out over Green Street, La Collette and Havre des Pas from the eastern side of Fort Regent
The ladies' diving stage at La Collette in 1910
The men's diving stage in 1889

1945, and the German railway line remains on the seaside walk

1950, and the tracks have disappeared
A 19th century painting of La Collette by John Young
A photograph of La Collette by Albert Smith
Families on a day out at La Collette
The walk
Vraic collecting in 1893 - a picture in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection
La Collette House
La Collette round tower
The slipway at the bottom of Green Street is the dividing line between the La Collette and Havre des Pas districts
Slipway at the bottom of Green Street
La Collette round tower
La Collette barracks
1880
The men's bathing area in 1890
The men's bathing area photographed by Albert Smith
1940s
1978
Cars parked on reclaimed land in the 1970s
The house on the hill leading to South Hill is The Nest
Looking down on the seaside walk in 1935
Early 20th century photograph
Newly planted trees at the bottom of the road up to South Hill
Gentlemen's bathing area at high tide
1971
1907
Aerial photograph, 1968

20th and 21st century land reclamation

1977, and the power station has been built, but major land reclamation has yet to start

La Collette reclamation phase 1
La Collette reclamation phase 1
La Collette reclamation phase 2
La Collette reclamation phase 2
La Collette reclamation phase 2
The island's power station at La Collette, little used today because most of Jersey's electricity needs are supplied via an undersea cable from France
An aerial photograph taken before the reclaimed area was extended to take in the rocky area in the foreground
The Jersey Electricity power station in 1997
The land reclamation boundary in 1996
The area of reclaimed land has spread by 2011
La Collette reclamation
La Collette reclamation
Fuel farm
Fuel farm
Fuel farm
Power station
Power station
Reclamation site phase 2
2011
Army barracks