La Corbière (Jèrriais: La Corbiéthe) is the extreme south-western point of Jersey in St. Brelade. The name means "a place where crows gather", deriving from the word corbîn meaning crow. The crows, however, have long since been displaced from their coastal nesting sites by seagulls.
The rocks and extreme tidal variation around this stretch of Jersey's coast have been treacherous for navigation and La Corbière has been the scene of many shipwrecks, including the mail packet "Express" on September 20, 1859.
Sited on the headland overlooking the lighthouse is a monument sculpted by Derek Tristram and erected in April, 1997, to commemorate a rescue that took place. The accompanying plaque describes the event:
Also on the headland is a communications tower built by the German occupying forces during the Second World War. The tower was used until 2004 by Jersey Radio, marine radio for shipping and is now available as holiday accommodation.
La Corbière was formerly the western terminus of the Jersey Railway line from Saint Helier. The first through train ran from Saint Helier to La Corbière on August 5, 1885. The service was unable to compete against motor buses and the railway closed in 1935. The States of Jersey purchased the railway track on April 1, 1937, and created a trail now known as the Railway Walk, linking La Corbière and Saint Aubin for pedestrians and cyclists. During the German military occupation 1940-1945, light railways were re-established by the Germans for the purpose of supplying coastal fortifications. A one-metre gauge line was laid down following the route of the former Jersey Railway from Saint Helier to La Corbière, with a branch line connecting the stone quarry at Ronez in Saint John.[1] The German railway infrastructure was dismantled after the Liberation in 1945, but other German fortifications remain, besides the communications tower, and can be seen around the headland.
The former railway platform can still be seen at the end of the Railway Walk at La Corbière and just opposite on the other side of the trail is La Table des Marthes, a megalith. The table-like stone was used historically as a meeting place for the witnessing of contracts and it is conjectured that the name is a corruption of la table des martyres ("martyr" being intended in its meaning of "witness"). Other theories have been put forward to explain the name and purpose of this stone.
The lighthouse at La Corbière is one of the most photographed landmarks in Jersey, a popular tourist site for its panoramic views, and at dusk a congregating point for many people who want to see the finest sunsets in Jersey.
It was lit on 24 April, 1874, for the first time, and was the first lighthouse in the British Isles to be built of concrete. The lighthouse was built to designs by Sir John Coode.
The lighthouse tower is 19 m (62 ft) high and the lamp stands 36 m (119 ft) above high water spring tides. The beam has a reach of 18 nmi (33 km), and was automated in 1976.
The lighthouse is situated on a rock which is a tidal island. A causeway links the lighthouse to shore at low tide. There is an alarm to warn visitors to clear the causeway as the tide rises, however there have been casualties among the unwary or unlucky. A plaque adjacent to the causeway commemorates Peter Edwin Larbalestier, assistant keeper of the lighthouse, who was drowned on 28 May, 1946, while trying to rescue a visitor cut off by the incoming tide.
The lighthouse at La Corbière features on the Jersey 5 pound note (see Jersey pound) and the Jersey 20 pence piece (see coins of the Jersey pound)
The prominence of La Corbière, especially for travellers by sea for whom rounding the rocky waters around the headland often means the roughest part of the journey from Guernsey or England but also the consolation that the boat is entering the final straight towards the harbour of St. Helier, has led to several proverbial expressions in Jèrriais: