The Société Jersiaise was founded in 1873 by a group of prominent islanders for the purpose of preserving the heritage of the island. To this purpose, various sites were purchased, which included La Cotte de Saint Brélade and La Hougue Bie.
The Société also owns most of the dolmens in the island, which were purchased or gifted. They maintain these sites at their own expense, and leave them open for the public to enjoy.
Recently many of us were horrified by the vandalism of the dolmen at Faldouet, and the digging into the site at Le Couperon. G4S immediately contacted the Société and offered their protection services free.
Michael Bates from G4S said: ‘‘Société Jersiaise carry out very important work in preserving our history and historic sites for future generations. At G4S we were shocked when we heard about the vandalism at the Faldouet site and we wanted to do what we could to assist in preserving these ancient monuments without creating a financial burden on the Société. G4S are proud to be able to help secure these sites to ensure they remain accessible to the public, now and in the future”.
The sites will be patrolled 24/7 at different times of the day. Any irregularities will be reported back to head office, and if necessary escalated to the emergency services.
Nicky Westwood, President of the Société, said: “We can’t thank G4S enough for this very kind and generous offer. We hope this will be the end of a flagrant disregard for the integrity and historical importance of these sites. Any provenance lost now is lost to the generations to come. These sites are our heritage, and are there for everyone to enjoy”.
G4S are erecting signs at some of the sites as a gentle reminder to the public of their continued presence.
