24th November 1884

Dispute breaks out over ownership of a road

La Pouquelaye is an important road to the north of St Helier, linking Rouge Bouillon to the A9 by way of Almorah Cemetery and Channel Television. In the mid-1880s, a certain Mademoiselle de Carteret claimed ownership of a street running off it at the Royal Court, along with her private right to use it on the basis that it had belonged to her family since before records began.

On 24 November 1884, she lost her case, with a judge ruling that the lane was public property. But she wasn’t prepared to go down without a fight and, two years later, she was back. The court sat through another three days of arguments, at the end of which it overturned the original ruling and awarded her costs.

Unfortunately, it is clear from neither newspaper reports of the time nor modern day maps exactly which lane was being argued over.