20 Pounds Sterling 2010, Jersey
| in Banknotes Book | Number: JE44 |
| Years of issue: | 05.2010 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Treasurer of the states: Mr. Ian Black (in office 1999 - 19.07.2010) |
| Serie: | 2010 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 22.02.2010 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 150 x 80 |
| Printer: | De la Rue currency,Loughton |
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Description
Watermark:
Jersey cow, denomination 20 and cornerstones.
Jersey cattle are a small breed of dairy cattle. Originally bred in the Channel Island of Jersey, the breed is popular for the high butterfat content of its milk and the lower maintenance costs attending its lower bodyweight, as well as its genial disposition.
Avers:
HM The Queen Elizabeth II.
This portrait of Her Majesty is adapted from a photograph, taken in Sandringham House by Mark Lawrence in 1999. (Peter Symes)
Her Majesty is shown wearing The Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia's Tiara.
The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara.
No tiara is complete without a fascinating backstory, and this one's even got a daring escape. Made by Bolin, it glittered at the Russian royal court on the head of Grand Duchess Vladimir until the revolution, when it was left behind as the family fled. A British agent and friend smuggled it out of Russia to rejoin the exiled Grand Duchess and her collection. After her death, the tiara was bought from her daughter by Queen Mary. It's worn often today by the Queen with pearl or emerald drops, or occasionally with no drops. The pearl drop option has been the most popular with the Queen in recent years, probably owing to her love of white gowns in the evening and accompanying white jewels.
This tiara was inherited by the Grand Duchess's daughter, the Grand Duchess Helen who subsequently married Prince Nicholas of Greece. Queen Mary bought the tiara from Princess Nicholas in 1921. The tiara has fifteen pearl drops but Princess Mary had fifteen emeralds mounted in such a way that they are interchangeable with the pearls. In this illustration, Her Majesty is wearing the tiara with the pearl drops.
Also on Her Majesty is The Diamond Chandelier Drop Demi-Parure.
A matched set of a necklace and a pair of earrings, this demi-parure is made of diamonds in multiple intricate pendants, each tipped with a pear-shaped diamond drop. Its provenance has not been officially confirmed, but it certainly has the look of a gift from one of the Middle Eastern rulers, and the Queen did wear it during a 1987 state visit from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. (I am using a name that refers to its complicated pendant structure, since the gift is not confirmed).
The Queen has used this set fairly often, even for some official portraits. It is a slightly more grand option than pieces such as the King Khalid Diamond Necklace (very similar, and a confirmed Saudi gift), the Diamond Pear-Shaped Pendant Fringe Necklace, or the King Faisal Diamond Necklace (another confirmed Saudi gift). "From her Majesty's Jewel vault".
At the top, centered, are three leopards passant guardant (les trois léopards in French) from the coat of arms of Jersey.
At the top is a hologram insert with map of Jersey, denominations 20 Pounds and La Corbière lighthouse images.
Corbière Lighthouse is located in the southwest of Jersey. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the island. It is a great place to watch sunsets and take photographs. The name of the lighthouse literally translates as "the place where the crows gather." The raven, however, is no longer here - they were driven out by the seagulls. The height of the lighthouse is 19 meters, and its searchlight is located at 36 meters. It opened in 1874 and became the first concrete lighthouse in the British Isles. This area has always been difficult to navigate, and there have been many wrecks here. The most famous - the wreck of the mail ship "Express" on September 20, 1859.
Centered is The States Chamber building in St. Helier.
Until the late XIX century the States Assembly had no Chamber of its own so it met in the Royal Court, which has been housed on the site of the present building in the Royal Square since the XII century.
The present States Chamber was opened on 21 June 1887, the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne. In 1876 a proposition had been lodged ‘au Greffe’, providing for the establishment of a States Room above the strong-rooms being constructed to the east of the Court House. Several years passed, during which various plans for the new States Room were considered, but in 1885 the States adopted a plan prepared by the Architects Messrs Ancell and Orange of 3 Staple Inn, London. Although based in London, Mr Orange was a Jerseyman, the son of Captain Orange of 11 Gloucester Street. (www.theislandwiki.org)
Revers:
Centered is The interior of the States Chamber building in St. Helier.
In March 1876 a plan was drawn up by the States architect providing for the establishment of an assembly room above the strong rooms then in the course of construction on the States property east of the Court House. By the end of October 1879 the strong rooms were completed, the top portion still remaining unfinished and no decision yet reached as to its final use, although an Act had been lodged on 20 October 1879 recommending the establishment of the States room. An alternative plan was presented to the States in early 1880, to which, some two years later the States gave their approval. At the same time the States decided to advertise the competition for the submission of plans for the new premises west of the Court House on the site of two houses recently purchased. It was proposed that the site would accommodate the new library and the Greffe offices. By 25 June 1886 the Library and Greffe offices were completed and handed over to the States. The library was opened to the public on 1 December of the same year.
In the meantime the question of the proposed assembly room was still under consideration. Eventually the States gave their approval and on 21 June 1887 - the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne - the present Chamber was opened. It is in early Jacobean style - oak - nine large panels carved and panelled and moulded in plaster of paris, and 12 pilasters with shields (on which it was intended to paint the 12 parish crests) (those coats of arms you can see on left side of banknote, vertically!!!).
During the past 100 years very few alterations have been made to the Chamber, the most recent being the installation of microphones on members' desks. In 1919 a tablet on the wall to the memory of Sir Walter Raleigh (Governor of Jersey 1600-1603), was erected at the expense of La Société Jersiaise. A second tablet was erected in 1995, again a gift from La Société, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Island from enemy occupation.
The Banner of Arms of the Sovereign of England that hangs over the Presidential dais is of the same heraldic significance (three gold leopards on a red ground) as those on the Public Seal granted to Jersey by King Edward I in 1279. It was placed in position on the occasion of the visit of HM King George V and HM Queen Mary to the Island in 1921. (statesassembly.gov.je)
On left side is The La Rocco Tower.
La Rocco Tower was built between 1796-1801 and it derives its name from La Rocque Ho or Rocque Hou, meaning rocky islet. It was one of 30 coastal towers proposed by Sir Henry Seymour Conway when he was appointed Governor of Jersey. A programme of construction of round towers around the coast of Jersey began in 1778, but it was not until the French later threatened invasion from St Malo in 1794 that serious consideration was given to building a coastal tower at La Rocco to guard the southern end of St Ouen’s Bay.
La Rocco was the 23rd and last coastal tower in Jersey to be built following the Conway design – also being the largest and most heavily armed of the whole series. It maintained a military role into the mid-XIX century, as evidenced by a Royal Engineers report in January 1848 which records that La Rocco Tower and Battery (as it had by then become known) was armed with five 32 Pounder guns.
The tower’s military role declined in the second half of the 19th century until in 1896 La Rocco Tower and Battery was included in a list of War Department properties identified as available for disposal through cession or sale. The States of Jersey eventually bought the site from the Crown in 1923 for £100, for the purpose of providing a landmark for shipping (although there is no evidence that it was ever used as such).
During World War Two, St. Ouen's Bay was considered as the most likely beach for an Allied landing. The German occupying forces constructed a large number of defensive structures throughout the area including the modification and re-use of earlier fortifications, whose strategic position and robustness of construction again proved to be of military value. The Germans adapted La Rocco Tower and installed landmines around the tower for use against the Allies, the explosives being wired to La Braye slipway. The accidental detonation of some of these landmines in 1943 inflicted damage to the tower, particularly the loss of parts of the projecting machicolations and the breaching of the southern part of the gun platform (it is most likely that this damage was caused by an accidental explosion rather than being the result of deliberate target practice by German artillery as is a commonly held belief). The expelled granite masonry is still strewn over the surrounding shale reef to this day.
The physical condition of the tower deteriorated steadily in the following decades and in the late 1960s there was a public appeal to protect the tower. The La Rocco Tower Appeal Committee raised funds to carryout repairs and works began on 5th May 1969.
The restoration was a great example of the Island community pulling together to save its built heritage, and through the campaigning efforts of the Association of Jersey Architects with the National Trust for Jersey, and with the help of funds raised by public donation, La Rocco Tower was finally restored by 1972. (www.jerseyheritage.org) (Simon Morgan)
Comments:
Engraver of the HM Queen portrait: Stephen Matthews of De La Rue.
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