States of Guernsey

Island Archives Service

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(From an old Guernsey Document of 1591)

The Island Archives were established in 1986 under the aegis of the States Heritage Committee. The Archives hold records on behalf of the States and the Royal Court, and other historical collections acquired from institutions and individuals.

The Island Archivist also holds the post of Archiviste de la Cour Royale, and may be approached for access to historical collections in the Greffe (Royal Court record office).

Dr Ogier is the author of Reformation and Society in Guernsey (Woodbridge, 1996).

Researchers are requested wherever possible to contact the Archives before visiting.

NOTE:
In the first instance all family history enquiries should be addressed to The Priaulx Library or The Family History Section of La Société Guernesiaise. Once you have established your ancestry, the Island Archives Service records may help to add detail, although their collections are often specialised, requiring some knowledge of Guernsey law and the French language in their interpretation. The Archives do not, as a rule, hold records of births, deaths and marriages or printed family trees.

Resources:

Occupation Files (1940-1945)
States of Guernsey Controlling Committee.
Essential Commodities Department.
War Damage (Rehabilitation) Files (Claims for compensation from the British Government for damage done by occupying forces).
German Civil Administration.
Identification Register of Residents (Identity Cards for those over 14 - most with photographs).
Refugees Files (includes school children who were evacuated to British Schools for the duration).

Records of Interest to the Family Historian
St Peter Port Town Hospital Journals (Poorhouse Records 1743-1900 - index of inmates to 1856).
Forest Parish Church records.
Burial Registers of the Foulon Cemetery, St Peter Port (1856-1963).
Burial Registers of the Vale Cemetery (c.1883-1995).
Burial Registers of St Martin Cemetery (1904-).
Duplicate registers of various non-conformist chapels.
Duplicate Sark Church Registers (1570-1795) - see Sark Ancestry for more details.

Householders and Strangers Census of 1827 - St Martin and St Pierre du Bois. The Priaulx Library have the one taken in St Peter Port on microfilm. For more background go to The Constables Records of St Peter Port.

Other Records of Interest to the Local Historian
Forest Parish School records - 1741 onwards.

Civil Parish records for Forest, St Andrews,St Martin & St Saviour

Les Hautes Capelles School records.
Chamber of Commerce records 1808- .
Stevens Guille Collection (chiefly early-modern property documents - presently being listed), 1350-.
Price Collection (mercantile papers etc. of Thomas Price and others 1740-1840).
Registers of Fief le Comte (Castel) 1479-1971.
Registers of Fief de Sausmarez (Castel) 1693-1841. For more go to Livres des Perchages: Guernsey
Duplicate Finch-Hatton MSS (17th Century)
Duplicate Colloquy minutes, Guernsey (1585-1619).
Duplicate Colloquy minutes, Jersey (1577-1614).
Printed Almanacs.

For the historical collections at the Greffe, see J.H. Le Patourel et al (eds), List of Records in the Greffe, Guernsey Vol. 1 (List and Index Society Special Series Vol. 2., London, 1969) and Hugh Lenfestey's Vols. 2 and 3 (List and Index Society Series Vol. 11., London, 1978; Guernsey 1983)

Site revision March 20 1999. Any majoraccessions will be marked as such and listed as frequently as possible - please call back.