WV2980 : Rocque du Guet Watch-house and Battery
Rocque du Guet Watch-house and Battery
Somewhere in that rock lies an old structure comprising a watch-house and battery
WV2980 : Watch house at Rocque Du Guet Battery.
This was constructed as part of the chain of observation posts and signalling points erected against the threat of French invasion before and during the Napoleonic wars. Other sites were at the Catioroc and Noirmont, also on the west coast. It is certain that some form of watch was kept here from as early as the sixteenth century as the site is mentioned in a document of 1581.
From 1756 a corporal and four privates of the militia manned the post from 5.00 pm until 7.00 am. The watch-house served as an important post during the First World War. During the Second World War the German occupying forces added extensive new fortifications.
The watch-house and the land surrounding it were purchased by the States of Guernsey in 1938 from its owner Lord de Saumarez.