The Weighbridge

From theislandwiki

On the coast

The Weighbridge

An early map of St Helier before the land on which the Weighbridge stood had been reclaimed

The 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

Carriages in 1875

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.

In 1870 the town terminus of the Jersey Western Railway was built; in 1877 a new weighbridge was built in front of the terminus, closer to the harbour and the original building was demolished; in the late 1880s a circular garden was laid out, initially with a tall flagpole in the centre, before it was replaced with a statue of Queen Victoria, which was unveiled in 1890.

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 closer to the old railway terminus, then the tourism centre, in 1970 and its surrounding gardens demolished, to allow the bus station which was then located there to be enlarged. The weighbridge itself also disappeared in 1970. In 1976 the statue was moved to the Triangle Park at West Park.

At first the Old Harbour stretched much further towards the Royal Yacht Hotel but a section was filled in during 1884 to allow the circular garden to be constructed. At this point there was only a narrow stretch of land between the harbour and the garden. In 1928 more of the harbour was filled in to create land for car parking.

Gallery

This picture was taken in 1887 by Ernest Baudoux, after the opening of the new weighbridge closer to the harbour than the original structure, which was outside the Southampton Hotel. A circular garden was created on the reclaimed area in 1888, with a tall flagpole at its centre. Then the States decided that they wanted a statue of Queen Victoria in place of the flagpole. That was unveiled in 1890. So it is not true, as often suggested, that the land was reclaimed with a view to creating space for a statue of the Queen. The States did not decide to have a statue until after the reclamation work had been completed. As pictures elsewhere on this page show, the gardens were created a year or two before the statue was erected, with the flagpole in the centre. Whether gardens were always intended for this reclaimed land, with a flagpole intended as a permanent feature, or whether they were constructed after the 1888 decision, with the flagpole a temporary centrepiece, is unclear. This picture shows clearly that the area where the garden would be built was just rough ground in 1887, with unsurfaced but well-worn tracks on the routes followed by potato vans heading for the weighing machines. This had previously been part of the old harbour, the upper part of which was filled in in starting in 1884. Initially the new weighbridge had a single channel so that only one load of potatoes or other produce could be weighed at a time, but increasing demand led to the addition of further weighing arches either side, to treble its capacity on busy days

Dated photographs

Click on an image below to see larger picture

The weighbridge (left of picture) with town houses and hotels behind in 1860
1865
1860s
1870
Carriages in 1875
Weighbridge hotels in 1876
New weighbridge in 1877 Photographed by Ernest Baudoux. The single central weighing bridge would eventually be joined by two more at either side of the building
1880
Potato carts queue in 1880
An albumen print from the late 1880s
A picture by Ernest Baudoux from the early 1880s
1883 Picture by Ernest Baudoux
Looking down from Fort Regent in about 1880

These three pictures were part of a sequence taken by Ernest Baudoux, presumably at the same time as the larger image further up the page. They show the area of land reclaimed from the harbour, the top wall of which was moved several metres down to create the space where the statue of Queen Victoria would be erected in 1890. One of the images is dated 1884, another 1886, and the third, 1890, but they certainly appear to have been taken within a short time of each other, and the date of 1887 attributed to the larger picture above seems most likely. The dates for all pictures taken of this area in the 1880-90s must be seen as approximate

1886
1885

This photograph must have been taken before the one below, which is dated about 1886. The upper part of the old harbour has yet to be filled in and the original public weighbridge, which gave the area its name, is still in position alongside the Southampton Hotel. This dates it before 1877. What is intriguing is that the building to the right of the Chase's Royal Yacht Hotel, itself to the right of the Southampton, is identified as Berry's Britannia Hotel. Most photographs of this area show it as 'W T Pugsley, Ship's Chandler' which would seem to push the date of the photograph back into the 1860s, within a decade of the building of the Southampton in 1861, and before the warehouse next to it became part of the Pomme d'Or Hotel

c 1886

1884-1890
1890
1890s, from a Victorian slide
1893
1895
1895
The gardens in 1895
A picture by T Singleton, probably taken in 1895-96
1888: The gardens are there, but Queen Victoria's statue has not arrived. In its place is a tall flagpole
The Weighbridge gardens before a flagpole was replaced with Queen Victoria's statue
1880s
1890
Unveiling of Queen Victoria statue, 1890
The weighbridge in use during the 1895 potato season
1890

Tiny bushes in the garden date this superb quality photograph to shortly after the unveiling of the statue in 1890 - picture courtesy of Jersey Temps Passe

1890
A ceremonial arch over the Queen Victoria statue for the unveiling in 1890
Queen Victoria statue, 1890
Looking over the newly erected statue of Queen Victoria towards the Old Harbour in 1890
A photograph in the early 1890s by Godfray
1897
A picture of the Weighbridge Gardens in 1890
A picture by Albert Smith taken before 1900
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
c1886
1894
A picture of a virtually deserted Weighbridge and Albert Harbour in the very early 1900s. Why were there no ships in harbour?
A tinted 19th century slide showing a busy scene
1890

Cars in 1905

c1900
Hotels in 1900
The gardens with mature bushes - an early 20th century photograph
1902
1903
1902
The view from the Star Hotel on the corner of Mulcaster Street in the early 1900s
A horse and van photographed by Edwin Dale in 1904
1905
An amateur photograph from 1905
1906
A 1906 photograph by Albert Smith
An Albert Smith photograph from 1906
1907
The Weighbridge in 1907
A picture of the Weighbridge in 1907 by Philip Morel-Laurens
1907
The 1907 potato season at its height
1908
1908
1908
Photograph by Edwin Dale
1910
LL postcard
LL postcard
LL postcard
LL postcard
LL postcard
The Weighbridge in the 1910s
The Weighbridge in 1913
1921
1922
The Weighbridge shortly before the top end of the Old Harbour was filled in during 1928
1930s
1930s
The Weighbridge viewed from the bottom of Conway Street in the early 1930s, picture courtesy of Facebook group Jersey Temps Passe
The weighbridge in 1937
1937 Evening Post picture

Potato lorries in 1939

The Pomme d'Or Hotel under construction in 1938 - Evening Post picture
1939 or early 1940
A small queue of potato lorries at the Weighbridge in 1940, probably taken just before the German invasion
November 1940
The bus station in the very early weeks of the Occupation
The Pomme d'Or and Southampton Hotels in 1941
1942
12 May 1945
Liberation Day, 9 May 1945
Potato lorries queuing at the weighbridge in the late 1940s
1948
A 1950 view
1950s
Looking down on the Weighbridge with the Esplanade beyond, in the 1950s
A 1950s Tuck postcard
1950s
The 1950s
1950s
Queen Victoria's statue and surrounding gardens in 1953
1953 and buses are parked on the far side of the Weighbridge Gardens in this Evening Post picture
1955
A BEA airport coach outside the Weighbridge terminal in 1955
A Jersey Airlines airport coach outside the Weighbridge terminal in 1955
A car rally departs from the Weighbridge at Easter 1958
1960s
1960s
The 1960s
This postcard from a 1960s photograph was still on sale in 1985
The Tourism office in the 1960s
The Star Hotel in 1961
The high tide floods over the harbour edge in 1962
The Weighbridge at night in 1963
The Weighbridge in 1964
1965
A 1967 photograph by Robin Webster
1967
1967
1968
Queuing for a bus in the 1960s

Buses dominate the scene in the 1990s

1969
1969
1969
1969
Although published in a 1975 magazine, this photograph is several years older. It was clearly taken before the opening of The Tunnel in 1970
1970
1970s
The 1970s
Buses crowd the Weighbridge during a strike in the 1970s
The statue of Queen Victoria moved from its original position in the centre of the circular gardens to a temporary location in front of the Tourism offices in the former railway terminus, before another move to West Park
Dismantling the statue and plinth in November 1972
The late 1970s saw Queen Victoria's statue and surrounding gardens make way for more bus parking
The statue in 1973, after its first move
Weighbridge 1982
A 1984 Jersey Evening Post aerial view of the Weighbridge, showing the whole area given over to buses, parking and a container park
1989
Liberation Square, created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation
Liberation Square
55th anniversary celebrations in Liberation Square in May 2000
The Weighbridge area in 2012
1970
1970, and the weighbridge itself is demolished
1973

Potato exports

Horses and carts at the Weighbridge

Horse-drawn carts with barrels of potatoes queue for their turn on the public weighbridge
A queue of potato carts
Potato carts
Potato carts
An earlier photograph attributed to Edwin Dale showing farmer's vans laden with potatoes waiting to use the weighbridge. He cannot have been the photographer, because it has to have been taken before 1877 and he was not born until 1882
A lorry using the weighbridge
Potatoes awaiting export

Sundry photographs not yet dated

Click on an image below to see larger picture

A crowd gathers round men with penny farthing bicycles outside the Southampton Hotel
19th century view
The new weighbridge had a single bay when first built
Two bays added to the sides of the new weighbridge
Caledonia Place hotels behind the gardens
A picture by Edwin Dale
Carriages for hire queue around the gardens

A light covering of snow across the Weighbridge

Carriages in Victorian times
Sailing ships line both sides of the New North Quay
Weighbridge Gardens, sometimes known as Queen's Gardens or Victoria Gardens after the statue of Queen Victoria
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
Edwardian modes of transport with the Royal Yacht Hotel in the background
Looking down on the gardens
Weighbridge Gardens

Queen Victoria's statue in Weighbridge Gardens
A steam clock has been built on the infilled area at the end of the Old Harbour
Buses occupied much of the Weighbridge for the second half of the 20th century
Liberation Day crowds
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
Picture by Ernest Baudoux
Picture by Ernest Baudoux
The Royal Yacht Hotel
The Weighbridge Gardens before the statue of Queen Victoria was erected in 1895
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
An advert for the Southampton Hotel offers rooms from 6s 6d to 7s 6d a day
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
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
A View from Fort Regent

Weighbridge hotels

Weighbridge Gardens
Liberation Square

The St Helier terminus of the Jersey Western Railway

The drag hunt meets at the Weighbridge
An aerial view
The Southampton Hotel
Weighbridge receipt
Albert Smith picture
A policeman directing traffic at the Weighbridge
The Weighbridge photographed by Singleton
Weighbridge
Photograph by Ernest Baudoux
Photograph by Ernest Baudoux
Photograph by Ernest Baudoux
Photograph by Ernest Baudoux

Passing through the weighbridge

Photograph by Ernest Baudoux
Photograph by Ernest Baudoux
Hotels
An early postcard
An albumen print

The original weighbridge photographed by Philip Godfray in the 1870s

Hill Street in the foreground
Looking down on the row of hotels, Southampton on the left
The view today
Charabancs at the Weighbridge
The gardens
Photograph by Philip Godfray
A policeman on point duty, picture courtesy of Facebook group Jersey Temps Passe
The old Weighbridge, a painting by Philip Henry Poore
This postcard was sent to a relative by 'Jack' who had a holiday job in the offices behind the weighbridge