Saint Clement is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is in the south east of the Island, and contains some of the suburbs of Saint Helier. It is the smallest parish by surface area, but the second most densely populated. St. Clement stretches west to east from Le Dicq to within a quarter mile of La Rocque harbour. Its surface area is around. The parish is subdivided into three vingtaines, and is administered at local level by the Connétable.
History
Much of the parish lies below equinoctial high-tide level and was frequently flooded before Le Dicq was built to try to hold back the sea somewhat. There are remains of a submerged forest underneath the sand at Grève d'Azette that show how the parish has reduced in size as the sea has advanced. Large floods in 1688, 1796 and 1812 led to the coast road at Le Hocq being swept awayby the sea and necessitated the coast road being rebuilt further inland. In pre-Norman times, the area now known as St. Clement was known as Petravilla or Pierreville. In 1172 it was recorded that a chapel existed in the parish, and there was a priory on the site of the old Priory Inn. In the 16th and 17th centuries the parish was believed to be the centre of a witch movement. According to beliefs, the rock at Rocque Berg was the focus for witchcraft in Jersey and witches would assemble there for their sabbats on Friday nights. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, many French Protestants settled in the parish – as recorded on the church register. In the mid 19th century, the town began to spread east from St. Helier into the west of the parish. Today there is relatively little open green space west of Samarès Lane into St. Helier. The famous French writer Victor Hugo lived in Marina Terrace, St. Clement for some time, and it was here that he wrote his collection of poems entitled Les Châtiments. It was the Connétable of St. Clement at the time who escorted Hugo onto a steamer bound for Guernsey when he had insulted the British Royal Family in some of his letters.
Vingtaines
The parish is divided into vingtaines for administrative purposes as follows:
The parish forms one electoral district and elects two Deputies.
Demographics
The population of St. Clement, according to the 2011 census is 9,221.
Politics
Aside from the two deputies who sit in the States of Jersey and represent the parish, St. Clement also has its own local administration. This, like each of the other eleven parishes, is made up of a Connétable, who is elected for a three-year term and has a seat in the States Chamber, and on the Comité des Connétables; two Procureurs du Bien Public, who are also elected and oversee the finances of the parish; a Recteur, responsible for the parish church; members of the parish Honorary Police ; and other officers such as churchwardens, roads inspectors, rates assessors and a registrar. The current Connétable of St. Clement is Mr. Len Norman. The seat of the parish administration is the Salle Paroissiale, or Parish Hall, which is pictured above and located at Le Hocq. This is the newest parish hall in the island; the previous parish hall in St. Clement was located at Caldwell Hall, on La Grande Route de St Clément.
Education
St. Clement has two primary schools and one secondary school within its borders. Le Rocquier School is a secondary school, on La Grande Route de St Clement. The original school buildings were replaced with a new building in 2006. The parish school of St. Clement is located on Rue de la Chapelle, a short distance from Le Rocquier School. The original buildings dates back to 1901, and was replaced in 2006 with a brand new building on the opposite side of the road. Samarès School is the other primary school, which is located further east in School Road.
Churches
The parish church of St. Clement is an ancient place of Anglican worship located on La Grande Route de St Clément. St. Nicholas is a smaller, sister church, located on La Grande Route de la Côte. It was opened in 1927 after being planned, financed and largely built by the Reverend L.B. Lee. The St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is located on La Grande Route de St Clément at Samarès. The Samarès Methodist Church is located on La Grande Route de la Côte, and is the southernmost church in the British Isles. However, as of February 2012, there are no longer any religious services at the church, but the church remains open for use as a community centre.
Significant sites
The dolmen at Mont Ubé is believed to have been left there by a pre-Celtic race called the Iberians, in around 3,000 B.C. Remains of a cemetery on La Motte are believed to be from later settlers. A Neolithic cairn and middens on La Motte have also been investigated. Samarès Manor is a manor house with medieval origins in the Vingtaine de Samarès, and is the traditional home of the Seigneur de Samarès. The name Samarès is an old French word meaning salt-marsh, and much of the low lying surrounding areas are or were coastal marshes. Le Hocq Tower was built in 1778 as a coastal defence against the French when they sided with the American colonies against the British. The whole rocky inter-tidal zone that stretches along St. Clement's coast from St. Saviour to Grouville is part of a Ramsar site of special significance. Seymour Tower sits two miles offshore on one of the largest inter-tidal reefs in the world. Built as part of Jersey’s coastal defences, this square tower dates from the 18th century.
