St Brelade Hotels. St. Brélade possesses some of the most popular bays in Jersey, St. Brélade's Bay, Ouaisné and Portelet, with part of both St. Ouen's Bay and St. Aubin's Bay falling within the parish boundaries. St Brelade Hotels.

St Brelade coast

St Brelade's name is derived from a sixth century Celtic or Welsh "wandering saint" named Saint Branwallader (also Branwalder, Broladre, Brelodre, Brélade), who is said to have been the son of the Cornish king, Kenen. He is also said to have been a disciple of Samson of Dol, and worked with this churchman in Cornwall and the Channel Islands. St Brelade Hotels.

Ancient privileges given to islanders by successive monarchs over the centuries gave the island the right to tax its own people. Jersey is not a recently-created tax haven; it is a community that has been able to live for centuries on low tax rates, which has subsequently attracted outside business. St Brelade Hotels. That is why the Island, which has few natural resources, has been able to prosper despite being in a fairly remote location in the Bay of Mont St. Michel. Jersey has been an Island for approximately 8,000 years, although the earliest evidence of human activity dates back 250,000 years when bands of hunters used the caves at La Cotte de St. Brelade as a base for hunting mammoth. St Brelade Hotels.

Close by are the bays of Beauport and Portelet.

The Channel Islands were politically linked to Brittany until 933 when William Longsword, Duke of Normandy, seized the Cotentin peninsula, including the islands, and added them to his domain. St Brelade Hotels. In 1066, Duke William of Normandy defeated Harold at Hastings to become King of England, allowing the islanders to joke that England is Jersey's oldest possession! Even today, the Loyal Toast in the Island is often to "The Queen - our Duke" and acknowledges the fact that Jersey's relationship with England is through the Monarch. St Brelade Hotels.

Because of the Island's strategic importance to the English Crown, the Islanders were able to negotiate a number of benefits for themselves from the king. During the War of the Roses, the French occupied Jersey for seven years (1461- 1468) before Sir Richard Harliston arrived to claim it back for the English king. St Brelade Hotels. During the 16th century, the Islanders adopted the Protestant religion and life became austere. The increasing use of gunpowder on the battlefield meant that the fortifications on the island had to be adapted and a new fortress - named after the queen by Sir Walter Raleigh when he was governor - was built to defend St Aubin's Bay. St Brelade Hotels.

La Chapelle ès Pêcheurs, situated alongside St. Brélade's Parish Church