Garenne d'Anneville

The Garenne d'Anneville

The well-preserved 13th-century Garenne d'Anneville in Guernsey offers an insight into the workings of garennes in continental France and is possibly the oldest and best-preserved garenne still in existence the British Isles, having existed continuously for 761 years. By a charter granted by Prince Edward (later King Edward I) on 9 June 1261, Sir William de Cheney, seigneur of the Fief d'Anneville, was granted the right to hunt for himself and his successors throughout Guernsey and the freedom to maintain a rabbit warren. Therefore, the garenne belonging to the fief was preserved over the centuries and is still a nature reserve today [[1]]. The site is an open, grassy area of about an acre where wild rabbits still burrow in a well drained sandhill covered with gorse and brambles. The area is enclosed by a moat that was once stocked with carp and provided both rabbits and fish for the nearby Manoir des Annevilles (Anneville Manor).