St Helier harbour hasn’t changed massively between the years, although there are some clear changes, the area has stayed homogeneous. Saint Helier Harbour is named after Helier (or Helerius), a 6th-century ascetic hermit from Belgium.

This picture, by a Mrs Slater, one of the earliest female photographers whose work in Jersey survives, was taken in 1860, or soon after, and shows the La Folie area of the original harbour, with the French Harbour in the foreground and the long, thin, North Quay lined with sailing vessels in the background.

This painting by John Shepherd dates to the 1870s or early 80s and shows clearly how close the top of the Old Harbour came to the original weighbridge, which was in front of the Royal Yacht Hotel

This picture was taken in about 1886-7 and shows the work under way on some initial widening of the North Quay behind the weighbridge. A new cargo shed has been constructed.

A rare photograph showing the Old Harbour infill from the other side, with the row of Commercial Buildings properties showing very few similarities to what survives in the 21st century

An aerial view of the harbour at high tide in 1934

1950, and nothing has changed

links:

What was the involvement of Jersey mariners in the Canadian cod-fisheries and the Transatlantic carrying trade?

When the first Europeans reached Canada is unclear, but it is thought to be Italian explorer John Cabot’s descriptions of ‘new found landes’ and a sea swarming with fish in 1497 that drew fishermen to the north of the continent, and around 1600 English fishing captains still reported cod shoals 

By the beginning of the 16th-century Basque fishermen were travelling to the region to fish and, by 1580, around 10,000 European fishermen were making the transatlantic voyage to the area each year to fish for cod.

Channel Island fishermen were among these and by the 1750s they had set up lucrative trade routes between Canada, Europe and America, establishing bases on the Gaspé Coast where they could salt and prepare the cod. 

Which ports did Jersey ships sail to and trade with?

A concerted effort to build harbours did not take off until the late 17th century, when work began on building a pier on the islet on which St Aubin’s fort stands. During the 18th century St Aubin’s harbour proper was constructed and work began on developing St Helier as a port, although the capital had to wait until the 19th century before it really began to develop as a port.

It was during the early 19th century that stone piers were built at La Rocque, Bouley Bay, Rozel and Gorey, to accommodate the oyster boats. The harbour at Gorey also took passenger traffic from Normandy. The primary purpose of these harbours was the movement of cargoes and not people.

What type of goods did Jersey merchants exchange for cod-fish?

Jersey cod-merchants also exported cod-fish to British colonies in the West Indies and later Brazil too in exchange for plantation goods, such as sugar, molasses, rum, cotton, coffee and tobacco which it brought to markets in America, Europe and the UK (inc. Jersey). Within that context Jersey benefitted from the profits made in the British Empire build on a capitalist model of a slave-based economy.

To what extend, has the island of Jersey benefitted from its constitutional relationship with Britain and the legacies of colonialism based on a slave plantation economy during the first Industrial Revolution (1760-1840)?

 By the 1770s there may have been up to 70 Jersey ships and 2,000 Jerseymen engaged in the cod trade. By the 1840s it is estimated that the industry directly employed 4,000 people. Also, many others were engaged in manufacturing goods to be exported to the Canadian settlements. https://www.policy.je/papers/jerseys-history

In the print screen below I have edited it so that the layout of the photographs is even. I moved around the images so that everything is put together and so the writing is placed together and not that it would un-interest the reader if it were outside the images. I like the photographs I have chosen and I believe that the black and white adds to the element of of the “Mellow” title and overall atmosphere of it.

In this print screen I have included the development of the first picture story. I included the rearrangement and movements I made of the photographs as well as the rearrangements I made to the text. I liked the arrangement of the text at the top at first but then realised that the text appears more better in between the two landscape photographs.

In this print screen I have included different variations of my photographs that I took whilst in St Malo. The development of my picture stories can be shown as the title has changed, I played around with the words and made it bolder, the text writing had some adjustments and I decided to include a drop shadow. I have included as well a border around my images so that they differ a bit from the blankness of the background.

I like how it turned out as the picture story looks full of naturey colours and it doesn’t look too in the viewer’s face.

I believe that the picture story looks good with the drop shadow as it adds to it and doesn’t make it as blank and simplistic as it could appear in general. I decided to keep the white background as I feel it would look tol heavy wih am image behind to other imges.

Jersey mariners and Canadian cod fishers made a fortune by trading their goods and employing people in their country. By 1763, Jersey was trading more Newfoundland cod than any other British port. Another reason why the Jersey Merchants were so successful was because they were able to speak French and English. They conducted a language called Jerriais, Jersey French this enabled them to communicate in a sense of code.

Jersey Merchants exchanged various goods for codfish. During the 17th and 18th centuries Jersey traded items such as salt because they needed it for the fish. They also traded textiles, alcohol and other local goods.

Jersey cod-merchants also exported cod-fish to British colonies in the West Indies and later Brazil too in exchange for plantation goods, such as sugar, molasses, rum, cotton, coffee and tobacco which it brought to markets in America, Europe and the UK. Within that context Jersey benefitted from the profits made in the British Empire build on a capitalist model of a slave-based economy. Jersey ships frequently sailed to ports in France particularly Normandy. they also traded with parts of the British Isles, such as England and Ireland.

Jerseys ship building businesses became serious in the 18th century with the aim to build larger ships than the fishing boats. this enabled Jersey merchants to trade to different countries. Between 1760 and 1815 Britain was at war which affected the trading between Jersey and other countries. During World War 1 and World War 2, iron ships, steam ships and oil powered ships were built. Wooden ships which were built on island were becoming more popular and opening ports in places such as South America, Hong Kong and Australia.

A zine is a self-published, often handmade magazine that features a collection of photographs, typically focused on a specific theme or concept. Zines can vary widely in style, format, and distribution, allowing photographers to express their artistic vision outside traditional publishing routes. They often include accompanying text, such as essays or poetry, and are created in small runs, making them accessible and personal. The DIY nature of zines fosters creativity and experimentation, encouraging photographers to engage directly with their audience.