3rd June 1874
Corbière Lighthouse is used for the first time
When the lighthouse at La Corbiere was first used, it had to be lit by hand. On the afternoon it went into action, it was officially taken over by the Harbours Committee, which was handed the key to its door by Sir John Coode, the Engineer-in-Chief, who declared it perfect and complete in all respects.
The Bailiff, who had accompanied representatives of the Harbours Committee, was invited to be the first person to “officially” enter the tower. Naturally, it had been entered many times before during its construction and inspection, but until 3 June 1874 it had been technically incomplete since the work hadn’t been signed off and the tower handed over.
Formal handing over
The Guernsey Star reported that “the Very Rev. the Dean [of Jersey who was among the party], having offered a short prayer asking the blessing of the Almighty upon the work, the lighthouse was the handed over to the authorities. Jurat Falle next gave the key into the hands of the head-lightkeeper, impressing upon him the importance of attending minutely to the formal and detailed instructions framed for his guidance, and that concluded the proceedings”.
Although separated from Jersey by a third-of-a-mile causeway, the lighthouse didn’t stand entirely alone. It had been constructed in concert with two cottages, on Jersey itself to accommodate the lighthouse keepers when they were not billeted in the lighthouse.
The Illustrated London News reported that “the expeditious performance of [its construction] is due in great part to the use of concrete as the material for the tower. It is the first, but assuredly will not be the last, work of this kind executed in this excellent constructive material”.
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Other events that occured in June
Jersey sides with England, rather than France
- The Channel Islands occupied a curious political position straddling England and France for more than 130 years.
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Jersey re-thinks its laws on treason
- Although it has long been possible to be arrested for treason in Jersey, the island didn’t have the right to try anyone for the crime until 2014.
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Princess Elizabeth visits Jersey
- Princess Elizabeth, who would later become Queen Elizabeth II, visited Jersey on 22 June 1949 as part of a wider trip to the Channel Islands.
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French fishermen occupy Minquiers
- The arrival of a troupe of French fishermen on Maitresse Ile, the largest of the Minquiers Islands, was hardly a surprise.
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