Howard Davis Park to Maritime Museum

(S) Facing the statue of George V, bear left and follow the path to the Billiard Room. (A) Follow the path, and turn left through the gates to pass St.Luke’s Church. (B)

(1) Cross the road and continue on passing St Luke’s School. This was where celebrated portrait painter John Helier Lander and Davis went to school. Lander was commissioned by Davis to paint a portrait of George V, that Davis presented to Victoria College, and which was hung in the Howard Hall at the College.

(2) Turn right and walk along Dicq Road, bear left and cross into Havre des Pas. Continue past the Bathing Pool and follow the promenade beside the beach. About halfway along is Allix’s Boatyard (C).

(3) Climb the steps into the park, pass the TA Centre and then descend towards the harbour. Just after the Normandy Memorial, cross over to the white railings and turn right. (D)

Walk between the fishermen’s huts and emerge beside Le Havre aux Francaises. Descend the steps into the harbour and, using care, cross to the far slipway. (E) .(E)

For information on visiting the heritage attraction mentioned in this guide, including admission prices and opening times, please visit the Jersey Heritage website.

Maritime Museum
Discover all about Jersey’s maritime past in this uniquely interactive museum where you can see, touch, hear and even smell the exhibits. Jersey’s landscape and history have been shaped by the sea and this museum tells the story of the Island’s unique maritime environment and rich seafaring past. Set by the historic harbor of St Helier, the Maritime Museum is all about seafaring, navigation and the elements, told through the stories of Jersey people.

Occupation Tapestry Gallery
Visit the award winning Occupation Tapestry, also located at the Maritime Museum, made by the people of Jersey to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Island’s liberation.
The twelve panels of this richly coloured tapestry tell the story of life in Jersey during the Second World War. This community work of art depicts Islanders’ personal memories of the war and their experience of living under German occupation.

(A) The Billiard Room., the only remaining part of Plaisance, the magnificent house bought by Davis in November 1937, and immediately knocked down. Inside we find a portrait of Howard Leopold Davis, Davis’ younger son, who was wounded in July 1916, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme and later died of his injuries.

(B) Davis was a choir boy here. One anecdote recalls Davis and Walter Braithwaite, the rector’s son, raiding the chestnut trees in the grounds of Plaisance. They were caught by the owner Joshua Falle, and, as punishment, Davis was made to clean the boots of the Falle household. On his release, Davis vowed to buy the property and knock it down!

(C) Allix’s Boatyard which stood here until the early part of the 20th century. The Allix family were both boat builders and boat owners, and it was on an Allix boat, The Satelite, that young Davis had a close call. The Satelite had run aground on the Haisborough Sands, 12 miles east of the Norfolk coast, and the Master fearing it was lost, lowered the longboat, with Davis in it, to receive the ship’s papers and other valuables. Within minutes a huge wave snapped the rope securing the longboat, and Davis was cast adrift in the North Sea. He endured 19 hours before being picked up by a Norwegian ship, The Urda. It is typical of Davis that years later, he sought out the crew of the Urda and rewarded them for saving him.

(D) The granite building that is now the base for the Jersey Rowing Club, was built as the boathouse for The Howard D, Jersey’s first motorised lifeboat. This lifeboat, another gift from TB Davis, has been restored and is usually moored opposite the entrance to the Maritime Museum.

(E) In the late 1920s, Davis would over winter his 135 foot racing schooner Westward, in this harbour, the boat filling the entire length of the far pier. Built at Rhode Island by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company for American millionaire Alexander Cochran, Westward had a number of owners before Davis bought her in the mid 1920s. TB Davis died in 1942. After the Second World War, no one was prepared to take on such an expensive yacht, so following his wishes, Westward was scuttled in Hurd’s Deep off Alderney in July 1947.