Photographs of German defences and other installations

German defences and other installations

A map showing actual and proposed German installations. The network as originally envisaged was far from complete when the Occupation ended

These pictures have been sourced from a number of private collections, from museum collections, and some from other websites, most notably that of Jersey War Tours which contains much additional information about the various installations. Where possible we have grouped together photographs of individual batteries and other installations, but it has not been possible to identify the exact location for many of these images
Pictures of the following most photographed defensive installations have their own separate pages. Separate pages devoted to Coastal towers also include Occupation photographs and information

Corbiere

Batterie Lothringen, at Noirmont

Batterie Moltke, Les Landes

St Aubin's Bay

Plemont

St Ouen's Bay

Observation posts

This page and those listed separately above only include photographs of the major defensive installations, artillery, anti-aircraft guns and the troops who operated them.
Other photographs of troops manning various defences will be found in a separate gallery showing German soldiers on duty
We have used generic terms for many of the installations shown on this page, such as 'bunker', 'gun emplacement', 'command tower' etc.
We are conscious that every installation built by the occupying troops had an individual German name and specific identification,
and we hope in due course to enlist the help of experts on the Occupation to idenfity locations more accurately

St Ouen's Bay video

St Ouen's Bay second video

Rozel

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Sorel

There were two resistance nests at Sorel, a high point on the island's north coast

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Gorey

For installations in Mont Orgueil Castle, see the page devoted to the castle

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  The command bunker at Gorey which was demolished in 1972
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  Before removal ...
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  ... the same view after removal and replacement by a car park
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Grouville Bay north

This second line of defences at the north of Grouville Bay overlooked Gorey Harbour

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  Hohe 190
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  Hohe 190
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  Hohe 190
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  Hohe 190
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  Hohe 190
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  Hohe 190
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  Hohe 212
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  Hohe 212

Jasmin

Resistance nest Jasmin was close to the highest point of the island at Les Platons, above Bouley Bay

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Grande Charriere

On the St Clement coast at what is colloquially known as Millard' Corner

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Batterie Fritzsch

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Elizabeth Castle 1941

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  The original plan of the personnel shelter built at Elizabeth Castle
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Greve de Lecq

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La Moye

Anti-aircraft installation at La Moye

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  Anti-aircraft gun at La Moye
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  La Moye
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  M10 La Moye
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  La Moye
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  La Moye
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  La Moye
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  La Moye radar installation, photographed after the Liberation

La Motte (Green Island)

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  Green Island
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  A tank turret forming part of the defences
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La Rocque

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  La Rocque
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  A tank turret on the coast road near La Rocque
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  Machine Gun at La Rocque
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Batterie Haesler

Situated off Rue de la Coupe, above Fliquet Bay in the north-east corner of the island, behind St Catherine's Breakwater, Batterie Haesler was the last of the batteries to be set up in Jersey. It was able to strike the French coast and often used as a distraction and morale-boosting exercise. The batterie was heavily used on 8-9 of March during the raid on Granville Harbour by the Germans. The guns used at this batterie were transferred from Batterie Scharnhorst in Guernsey on 8 August. They were transferred to Jersey to help strengthen defences in the East of the island. The sea transfer was noticed and the convoy was attacked by the US Navy.

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St Helier Harbour

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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  Albert Pier
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  The harbourmouth during the Occupation
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  A harbour anti-aircraft gun installation
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  Horses used to move concrete reinforcing bars across the Harbour
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  Harbour railway tunnel entrance
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  Harbour railway tunnel entrance
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  St Helier Harbour
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  Victoria Pier
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  Victoria Pier
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  Victoria Pier
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  Victoria Pier
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  Victoria Pier
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  Victoria Pier
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  Victoria Pier
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  Victoria Pier
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  Victoria Pier
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  Richtfeuer emplacement overlooking the Esplanade
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  Richtfeuer emplacement

South Hill

Substantial defences were constructed at South Hill, high above St Helier Harbour and overlooking St Aubin's Bay

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  South Hill harbour defence installation
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  South Hill
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  Harbour defences at South Hill
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  Harbour defences at South Hill

Batterie Hindenburg

This was an installation off Route Orange in St Brelade with three 21 cm Morser howitzers with an 11-mile range. The batterie had 120 personnel, with a planned increase to 149

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Batterie Ludendorff

This installation was in fields close to St Ouen's Church and Scout hall. The observation position was built on St Ouen's Mill and some of the ammunition shelters were been modified as nuclear monitoring stations for the cold war. There were three anti-aircraft weapons and three 21 cm Mörser 18 guns in open emplacements. Some of the emplacements can still been seen today. The Batterie was manned by 130 soldiers.

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  Artillery practice with St Ouen's Mill in the background
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  A large gun emplacement by St Ouen's Church
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Batterie Schieifflen

This battery was on high ground at Fauvic in the south-east corner of the island, overlooking Grouville and St Clement's Bays. It was the last of the batteries to be set up in Jersey. The guns were transferred from Batterie Gneisenau, Guernsey, to Jersey in August 1944.

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  Photograph by Emile Guiton
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Tobruk, Havre des Pas

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Batterie Roon

Above Beauport, this battery of four field guns, with a 13.6 mile range with 144 personnel, was operational on 12 December 1941. On 19 August 1944 the battery fired at the Royal Navy warship HMS Onslaught, which was attacking a German convoy close to Jersey. During the battle, one of the guns experienced an in-breech explosion which killed one German and injured several others. This breached gun is now found at Batterie Moltke.

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Le Fret

This resistance nest was built into the cliff face at Portelet

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Strongpoint Butts

This was one of the sites attacked and bombed by the RAF on 10 June 1944.

Leslie Sinel's diary records

"Another hectic night: Allied planes have been passing to and fro since midnight, with accompanying sounds of bombing. The Germans apparently have decided not to fire on planes unless they are flying low, for there is an absence of AA fire. About 6.30 am three patrol boats out of a group of six which were lying outside the harbour were attacked by Allied planes and one was damaged by machine-gun fire; the boats managed to get back into the harbour. Steam pipes on one of them were damaged, and it was learned there were some 20 casualties. There is not much in the harbour today apart from these vessels and a few barges; every time there is an alarm — which in these days is very frequent — the dockers are sent home. Late in the morning a couple of bombs were dropped at Les Landes and soldiers were machine-gunned. Casualties resulted from two gun emplacements being hit. Later, the BBC announced that a radio location station had been attacked. The heavy bombing was heard from the French coast in the evening. "

Diary of Lesley Sinel

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Le Grouin, St Brelade

This installation was on the headland between Ouaisne and St Brelade's Bays

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Tunnel Ho2

This tunnel, in which two teenage boys lost their lives from carbon monoxide poisoning, after breaking into it in 1962, has long been cleared of all the items dumped there after the Liberation and securely sealed

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WN Verclut

This installation, not to be confused with the Verclut bunker at St Catherine, (see next section) was located inland on high ground in Grouville

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Mole Verclut, St Catherine

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Sudfort

This was a small machine gun and mortar installation at the eastern end of La Collette

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La Perrelle

The La Perrelle resistance nests were between Mole Verclut and Archirondel Tower, part of the second line of defence in the north-east

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A tank turret on the slipway between Havre des Pas and La Collette

Miscellaneous

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  Batterie Mackensen
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  St Peter's bunker
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  St Peter's bunker
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  St Peter's bunker
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  1946 plan by Norman Rybot of underground shelter at Hougue Bie
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  Hougue Bie plan
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  Observation tower at La Hougue Bie
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  A lookout point at Westmount where the gallows once stood
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  Beauport
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  Airport 1944
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  Airport 1944
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  St Brelade's Bay
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  Batterie Endrass at Westmount
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  Batterie Endrass
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  A gun emplacement at Woodlands, Grouville
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  Field gun at Mont Gavey, St Lawrence
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  A German gun emplacement at Belle Hougue
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  Les Brayes
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  A gun stored in St Mark's Lane
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  A half-track arrives on Victoria Pier
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  Artillery at Les Brayes
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  Le Hocq tank turret in 1944
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  St Brelade's Bay machine gun
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  St Brelade's Bay machine gun
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  RAF aerial view of flak battery at Bras de Fer, Trinity, in 1945
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  Aerial view of Lager Molders, a camp in St Ouen for forced labourers
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  La Mare Mill strongpoint restored
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  La Mare rail bridge
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  Rue du Moulin bridge
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  Seven Oaks ridge
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  St Peter's Valley bridge
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  St Brelade's Bay
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  La Hougue Bie command bunker
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  La Hougue Bie
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  An installation at St Martin's Arsenal
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  RAF aerial view of Les Landes in 1942
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  St Brelade's Bay casemate
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  Le Bourg electricity sub-station
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  Archirondel bunker
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  Bunker M19 uncovered in the 1980s

Anti-aircraft gun

Awaiting identification

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  Anti-aircraft gun
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  A searchlight at an unidentified location
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  A mobile field gun on a Jersey clifftop
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  Assembling beach defences
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  A French field gun in the Jersey countryside
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  A sound locator to detect British aircraft
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  This gun emplacement at St Ouen was a dummy
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  An anti-tank gun
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  A German gun emplacement
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  Installing anti-tank poles on the beach
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  Firing a field gun
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  A gun emplacement
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  Anti-aircraft gun
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  Anti-aircraft gun
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  Preparing shells in a bunker
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  German field gun
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  Building coastal defences
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  An unidentified bunker
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  A 1953 Evening Post photograph of a gun turret being demolished
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  German beach obstacles
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  Anti-aircraft gun
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  Work on the construction of a bunker
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  88 gun
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  Some posts had mines mounted on them ...
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  ... others had shells
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  St Ouen flak battery
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  Construction of a gun turret
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  Gun crew
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  Sentry
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  Searchlight
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  German machine gun installation
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• A further set of pictures from the German Bundesarchiv in Berlin
• The story of an installation in a Jersey coastal garden

Gun battery in the grounds of St Ouen's Manor