La Corbière is the extreme south-western point of Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

 in St. Brelade

Saint Brélade, Jersey

Saint Brélade is one of the twelve parishes of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Its population is around 9,560, and it occupies the southwestern part of the island. It is the only parish to border only one other parish, St. Peter...

. The name means "a place where crows gather", deriving from the word corbîn meaning crow. The crows, however, have long since been displaced from their coastal nesting sites by seagulls.

The rocks and extreme tidal variation around this stretch of Jersey's coast have been treacherous for navigation and La Corbière has been the scene of many shipwreck

Shipwreck

A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....

s, including the mail packet "Express" on September 20, 1859.

Sited on the headland overlooking the lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 is a monument

Monument

A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...

 sculpted by Derek Tristram and erected in April, 1997, to commemorate a rescue that took place. The accompanying plaque describes the event:

"During the morning of Monday April 17th 1995 whilst on passage from Jersey to Sark, the French catamaran "Saint-Malo" struck a rock known as La Frouquie, 900 metres north of La Corbière Lighthouse. Visibility was good at the time, but with a Spring tide ebbing to the west and a westerly Force 5 wind, the sea conditions near Corbière were moderate to rough."

"Emergency services responded promptly and nearby ships gave assistance. All 307 passengers and crew were saved from the partially submerged vessel."

"This memorial is erected in thanksgiving and as a tribute to the rescue, which with the help of God and of many strong arms, ensured the safe return of all on board."

Also on the headland is a communications tower built by the German occupying forces during the Second World War. The tower was used until 2004 by Jersey Radio, marine radio for shipping and is now available as holiday accommodation.

La Corbière was formerly the western terminus of the Jersey Railway

Jersey Railway

The Jersey Railway was opened in 1870 and was originally a standard gauge railway, long, in Jersey in the Channel Islands. Converted to narrow gauge in 1884 and extended, the line closed in 1936. It is not to be confused with the Jersey Eastern Railway....

 line from Saint Helier

Saint Helier

Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...

. The first through train ran from Saint Helier to La Corbière on August 5, 1885. The service was unable to compete against motor buses and the railway closed in 1935. The States of Jersey

States of Jersey

The States of Jersey is the parliament and government of Jersey.The Assembly of the States of Jersey has exercised legislative powers since 1771, when law-making power was transferred from the Royal Court of Jersey....

 purchased the railway track on April 1, 1937, and created a trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

 now known as the Railway Walk, linking La Corbière and Saint Aubin

Saint Aubin, Jersey

Saint Aubin is a port in the Channel Island of Jersey. It opens out to a bay of the Gulf of Saint-Malo.Originally a fishing village at the opposite end of Saint Aubin's Bay from the town of Saint Helier, Saint Aubin is now the hub of the parish of St. Brelade. Its name refers to Saint Aubin of...

 for pedestrians and cyclists. During the German military occupation 1940-1945

Occupation of the Channel Islands

The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...

, light railways were re-established by the Germans for the purpose of supplying coastal fortifications. A one-metre gauge line was laid down following the route of the former Jersey Railway from Saint Helier to La Corbière, with a branch line connecting the stone quarry at Ronez in Saint John

Saint John, Jersey

Saint John is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands.-Geography:Saint John is in the north of Jersey and borders St Mary on its west, Trinity to the east, and St Lawrence and Saint Helier on its south....

. The German railway infrastructure was dismantled after the Liberation in 1945, but other German fortifications remain, besides the communications tower, and can be seen around the headland.

The former railway platform can still be seen at the end of the Railway Walk at La Corbière and just opposite on the other side of the trail is La Table des Marthes, a megalith

Megalith

A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...

. The table-like stone was used historically as a meeting place for the witnessing of contracts and it is conjectured that the name is a corruption of la table des martyres ("martyr" being intended in its meaning of "witness"). Other theories have been put forward to explain the name and purpose of this stone.

Lighthouse

The lighthouse at La Corbière is one of the most photographed landmarks in Jersey, a popular tourist site for its panoramic views, and at dusk a congregating point for many people who want to see the finest sunsets in Jersey.

It was lit on 24 April, 1874, for the first time, and was the first lighthouse in the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

 to be built of concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

. The lighthouse was built to designs by Sir John Coode.

The lighthouse tower is 19 m (62 ft) high and the lamp stands 36 m (119 ft) above high water spring tides. The beam has a reach of 18 nmi (33.3 km), and was automated in 1976.

The lighthouse is situated on a rock which is a tidal island

Tidal island

A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands many of them have been sites of religious worship, such as Mont Saint Michel with its...

. A causeway links the lighthouse to shore at low tide. There is an alarm to warn visitors to clear the causeway as the tide rises, however there have been casualties among the unwary or unlucky. A plaque adjacent to the causeway commemorates Peter Edwin Larbalestier, assistant keeper of the lighthouse, who was drowned on 28 May, 1946, while trying to rescue a visitor cut off by the incoming tide.

The lighthouse at La Corbière features on the Jersey 5 pound note (see Jersey pound

Jersey pound

The pound is the currency of Jersey. Jersey is in currency union with the United Kingdom, and the Jersey pound is not a separate currency but is an issue of banknotes and coins by the States of Jersey denominated in pound sterling, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern...

) and the Jersey 20 pence piece (see coins of the Jersey pound)

Culture

The prominence of La Corbière, especially for travellers by sea for whom rounding the rocky waters around the headland often means the roughest part of the journey from Guernsey

Guernsey

Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...

 or England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 but also the consolation that the boat is entering the final straight towards the harbour of St. Helier, has led to several proverb

Proverb

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...

ial expressions in Jèrriais:

• j'avons pâssé La Corbiéthe (we've passed La Corbière, i.e. the worst is over)
• il a pâssé hardi dg'ieau l'tou d'La Corbiéthe (a lot of water has passed round La Corbière, i.e. that's water under the bridge)