Albert Statue and Pier

Albert Pier is the southern arm of the old harbour, which now contains the Victoria and Albert Yacht Marinas.  There was a mole (a breakwater) here, mentioned by Edward I as early as 1275.  A dry stone pier had been built by 1580.  This survived in good condition until 1815.  There was a roundhouse tower at the end of the pier until 1806.  A lighthouse was built on its remains in 1831 but demolished in 1860.  The pier was improved between 1861 and 1863, and named after Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, who had died in 1861.

A statue of Prince Albert (1819-61) was erected in 1863, a bronze on a granite pedestal, a copy of the statue in London behind the Royal Albert Hall (not the Albert Memorial), by Joseph Durham (1814-1877).   Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had visited Guernsey in September 1846.  The statue itself is fine, both in outline and detail, the Prince depicted in the robes of the Order of the Garter. 

Durham’s statue is both a landmark and a reminder of the Victorian ‘energy and vision’ which helped shape this part of Guernsey.