Saint Mary, Jersey

Saint Mary is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is situated in the north west and covers an area of 3,604 vergées .It borders four other parishes: Saint Ouen, Saint John, Saint Peter and Saint Lawrence. The parish and its eponymous church derive their name from a medieval monastery, probably destroyed during Viking raids some time between the 8th and 10th centuries. In 1042 Duke William gave "Saint Mary of the Burnt Monastery" to the abbey of Cerisy.GeographyAmong the natural attractions of the parish is a feature known as the Devil's Hole, a blowhole in the cliffs of the coast. The descent from the car park to the Devil's Hole is a popular tourist attraction, with the walk taking approximately ten minutes. The upper part of the path is surfaced, and the lower part, once quite dangerous in parts, now has wooden steps and handrails, with much of the access having been improved by a working party from the Royal Engineers Corps of the British Army. In Victorian times it was possible to descend into the hole itself at low tide, but this is no longer possible. However, the access path ends at a large specially constructed viewing platform. Following a shipwreck in 1851, when the ship's figurehead washed up in the Devil's Hole, a statue of a devil adapted from the figurehead was set up above the Hole. This wooden statue was replaced by a succession of modern versions in the 20th century.