The Weighbridge
he Weighbridge is one of the most important locations in St Helier. The name has been taken by the whole area to the north of the Old Harbour and New North Quay, where the original public weighbridge formerly stood.
This is all reclaimed land, the shoreline of St Helier having previously been over 200 metres to the north on the south wall of the town churchyard. Gradually, from the 18th century onwards, the sea was pushed back, as first warehouses, and then hotels and other properties, were built to the south of the church.
Then construction of St Helier Harbour began in the 19th century, and gradually more and more land was reclaimed - a process which is continuing to this day.
The weighbridge itself was ordered to be constructed in 1825, and, as the island's potato industry developed, for several weeks of every year it was the centre of island life, as farmers brought their crop to St Helier for weighing, packing and then shipping out of the island.
Later in the 19th century the town terminus of the Jersey Western Railway was built opposite the weighbridge and in 1890 a circular garden was laid out with a statue of Queen Victoria in the centre.
The Weighbridge's darkest days were in June 1940, when thousands of islanders queued there awaiting evacuation, and it was later the scene of an aerial attack by German forces, which would shortly occupy the island, after ordering white crosses of surrender to be painted on the Weighbridge and Royal Square.
Five years later, when the island was liberated, the Weighbridge was the scene of great jubilation, as crowds flooded the area to see the Union Flag unfurled on the balcony of the Pomme d'Or Hotel which stands on the edge of the Weighbridge open area.
Today a memorial square with freedom statue has been constructed on this side of the Weigbridge, but the opposite side, in front of the Jersey Museum, where the statue used to stand, and leading towards Commercial Buildings is an open area awaiting redevelopment as a public arena. The statue was moved and its surrounding gardens demolished in 1976 to allow the bus station which was then located there to be enlarged. The weighbridge itself disappeared in 1970.
At first the Old Harbour stretched almost to the edge of the circular gardens, but then the northernmost section was filled in to allow for car parking.
Other articles
- The 'island site', the history of the abattoirs and other buildings on the site adjoining the Weighbridge
- Four pictures illustrating the history of the Weighbridge area
Gallery
Click on an image below to see larger picture
Carriages for hire queue around the gardens
1908
1908
Before the gardens were built
Horses and carts at the Weighbridge
1908
Queen Victoria statue
A light covering of snow across the Weighbridge
The 1950s
Carriages in Victorian times
Sailing ships line both sides of the New North Quay
A photograph in 1895 by Godfray
Weighbridge hotels in 1876
The 1960s
Weighbridge Gardens, sometimes known as Queen's Gardens or Victoria Gardens after the statue of Queen Victoria
Potato carts queue in 1880
The weighbridge (left of picture) with town houses and hotels behind in 1860
The weighbridge with the top of the New North Quay and the Albert Harbour beyond and the Albert Pier in the background
Looking down on the Weighbridge from Fort Regent. The land in the left foreground was created by infilling the top of the Old Harbour
Weighbridge Gardens with the statue of Queen Victoria, and warehouses on the New North Quay (now the Maritime Museum and Occupation Tapestry Gallery) in the background
The early 20th century
The Weighbridge in 1907
The Weighbridge in 1913
The Weighbridge in 1931 (note that the Old Harbour top end has still not been filled in)
The 1907 potato season at its height
Edwardian modes of transport with the Royal Yacht Hotel in the background
Looking down on the gardens
Weighbridge Gardens
1870
1893
1895
1950s
Louis Levy postcard
Queen Victoria's statue in Weighbridge Gardens
In 1900, when this picture was taken by Albert Smith, the Old Harbour can be seen reaching to within feet of the new Weighbridge Gardens
The weighbridge in use during the 1895 potato season
A steam clock has been built on the infilled area at the end of the Old Harbour
A picture of the Weighbridge in 1907 by Philip Morel-Laurens
An Albert Smith photograph from 1906
Buses occupied much of the Weighbridge for the second half of the 20th century
Liberation Day, 9 May 1945
Liberation Day crowds
The Pomme d'Or Hotel under construction in 1938 Evening Post picture
1953, and buses are parked around the circumference of the Weighbridge Gardens
The weighbridge in 1937
1937 Evening Post picture
The late 1970s saw Queen Victoria's statue and surrounding gardens make way for more bus parking
The Weighbridge Gardens and Queen Victoria statue, overlooked by Fort Regent
An Ernest Baudoux photograph including the Southampton and Royal Yacht Hotels and shipbroker W T Pugsley
Picture of the weighbridge by Albert Smith
Picture of the weighbridge by Albert Smith
Picture by T Singleton
Picture by Ernest Baudoux
Picture by Ernest Baudoux
The drag hunt used to meet at the Weighbridge, as shown in this Albert Smith photograph
An Ernest Baudoux photograph showing Shaw's Navy, Adderson's Star and Royal Yacht Hotels and the new sailors' home
A crowd gathers round men with penny farthing bicycles outside the Southampton Hotel
The Pomme d'Or and Southampton Hotels in 1941
A horse and van photographed by Edwin Dale in 1904
An earlier photograph by Edwin Dale showing farmer's vans laden with potatoes waiting to use the weighbridge
A picture of the Weighbridge Gardens before 1900
Potato lorries queuing at the weighbridge in the late 1940s
A picture by Albert Smith taken before 1900
Picture by Ernest Baudoux
Picture by Ernest Baudoux
1883 Picture by Ernest Baudoux
The Royal Yacht Hotel
The high tide floods over the harbour edge in 1962
The Weighbridge Gardens before the statue of Queen Victoria was erected in 1895
A 1984 Jersey Evening Post aerial view of the Weighbridge, showing the whole area given over to buses, parking and a container park
Cars parked on an area created by infilling the top of the Old Harbour in the 1930s
Post-war car and bus parking. Note that there are no road markings
A lorry using the weighbridge
An advert for the Southampton Hotel offers rooms from 6s 6d to 7s 6d a day
The Star Hotel in 1961
Sailing vessels pack both sides of the New North Quay for this Ernest Baudoux photograph
A picture by Edwin Dale of a family group in the Weighbridge Gardens
Thousands of barrels of potatoes awaiting export photographed by Edwin Dale
A picture of a virtually deserted Weighbridge and Albert Harbour in the very early 1900s. Why were there no ships in harbour?
A ceremonial arch over the Queen Victoria statue. Was this the unveiling in 1895 or Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897?
Dismantling the statue and plinth in November 1972
Picture of the gardens by Albert Smith
Picture by Albert Smith
A postcard by H G Allix of the gardens
A view of the front of the Pomme d'Or and Southampton Hotels on an H G Allix postcard
The Weighbridge in the 1910s
A View from Fort Regent
The 1970s
A 1967 photograph by Robin Webster
The Weighbridge gardens before a flagpole was replaced with Queen Victoria's statue
Carriages in 1875
Cars in 1905
The Weighbridge in 1964
Queen Victoria's statue and surrounding gardens in 1953
Weighbridge Gardens
Liberation Square, created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation
The Tourism office in the 1960s
Liberation Square
The gardens in 1893
The drag hunt meets at the Weighbridge
A 1950 view
An aerial view
1865
The gardens are there, but Queen Victoria's statue has not arrived. In its place is a tall flagpole
Buses dominate the scene in the 1990s
55th anniversary celebrations in Liberation Square in May 2000
THe Weighbridge area in 2012
The Southampton Hotel
Hotels in 1900
Weighbridge receipt
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