Saint Sampson, Guernsey
| Saint Sampson | |
|---|---|
| Parish | |
.gif) Location of Saint Sampson in Guernsey |
|
| Crown Dependency | Guernsey, Channel Islands |
| Government | |
| • Electoral district | St Sampson |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.0 km2 (2.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 8,592 |
| • Density | 1,400/km2 (3,700/sq mi) |
| Time zone | GMT |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+01 (UTC) |
Saint Sampson (Guernésiais: Saint Samsaon; French: Saint Sampson), is one of the parishes of Guernsey, Channel Islands.
In 933 the islands, formerly under the control of William I, then Duchy of Brittany were annexed by the Duchy of Normandy. The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Duchy of Normandy.
The Guernésiais nickname for people from St Sampson is roînes (frogs).
The parish is divided into two non-contiguous sections, the bulk of the parish lying on the east coast, with a smaller section lying on the west coast. The parish of Vale borders the parish to the north and also extends between the two parts of St. Sampson.
What is currently the northern boundary of the parish originally ran along the south coast of Le Braye du Valle, a tidal channel that made the northern extremity of Guernsey, Le Clos du Valle, a tidal island.
La Braye du Valle was drained and reclaimed in 1806 by the British Government as a defence measure. The eastern end of the former channel became the town and harbour (from 1820) of St. Sampson's, now the second biggest port in Guernsey. The western end of La Braye is now Le Grand Havre. The roadway called The Bridge across the end of the harbour at St. Sampson's recalls the bridge that formerly linked the two parts of Guernsey at high tide.
The postal code for street addresses in this parish begins with GY2.
The parish church of St. Sampson claims to be the oldest of Guernsey's parish churches, standing on the coast where Samson of Dol arrived from Brittany in the sixth century, intending to convert Islanders to Christianity. The church was consecrated on 22 May 1111 by the Bishop of Coutances.
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