The Priaulx Library, Guernsey

16/06/2026

We love this! And if anyone needs help discovering the history of their house, whether medieval, Georgian, Victorian or modern, come and see us

10/06/2026

We were so pleased to welcome Mrs Marie Martel to the Priaulx Library and to hear all about her great-grandfather, Eugene Digard, who came from St Malo in the 1860s and became an apprentice printer as a boy. Eventually he worked at the French-language newspaper Le Baillage, where Guernesiais poet Denys Corbet was Editor. Corbet wrote him a poem in thanks for typesetting his work

An 89-year-old Guernsey woman was “shocked” to discover a nearly 200-year-old lost poem written in the island’s native language – Guernésiais. Marie Martell discovered the poem by Denys Corbet’s as part of research into her family tree. It was dedicated to her great-grandfather, Eugene Di...

10/06/2026

DR PHIL DE JERSEY will be giving a talk on Tuesday 30 June at Les Cotils. The lecture starts at 7.30 p.m., doors open at 7.15. Tickets are available from the Priaulx Library and are £5 for members of the Friends of the Priaulx Library, and £10 for non-members

05/06/2026

WARRO! The Priaulx Library will be open to visitors and researchers tomorrow, Saturday 6 June. In addition to our facilities for researching family history and local Guernsey culture and heritage, we have a special display about local Guernésiais poet, Denys Corbet, who was born 200 years ago. We've focused on a poem about the Déhus dolmen, near to where he was born in the Vale, and the legendary 'Mermaids of Petit Bot', a story told to Denys by local man Matthew Tostevin in the 1860s. We've created a new Word Search for children all about the Mermaids - it's in Guernsey French, lots of fun and comes with a sticker when you have completed it! There is free parking on site for visitors

04/06/2026

Discover your local library here at the Priaulx Library, Guernsey! This historic working Victorian Library is full of information about Guernsey's local history, culture, heritage and genealogy. We have unique collections of local newspapers, photographs, books on Guernsey French, rare books and documents, all of which you can consult. Much of our information is digitised and is free to use, especially family history records. There are quiet places to study and comfy armchairs to read or just muse in. Entry is free, parking on site is free for visitors and you can borrow books - the friendly staff will be very pleased to help you find the information are looking for. Look out for our free Library tours. Discover us soon!

02/06/2026

Looking to do something different this Saturday? Dive into local history with a free tour of the Priaulx Library! Find out about the Library's fascinating story and get hands on with a selection of our special collections exploring Guernsey's relationship with the sea.

Tours will be running at 10.30am and 2.30pm. Tickets are free, but booking is essential at https://priaulxlibrarytour.eventbrite.co.uk

02/06/2026

New digital archive for Jersey research

31/05/2026

GOOD NEWS! Many thanks to Bailiwick Express and All Island Media for their generosity in making their newspapers available to visitors to the Priaulx Library, to Jack and Alex for facilitating it, and to Laura for launching it along with our Chief Librarian, Sue. Bailiwick Express’ archive will be invaluable for research

Guernsey’s national history library – the Priaulx Library – is a wonderful old building crammed with leather-bound books, microfilm of parish records, and local newspapers going back hundreds of years. It has also now added a less dusty digital publication to its collection – Bailiwick Expre...

31/05/2026

The historic manufacture of the colour green also affects libraries and museums in the form of arsenic. In the 18-19th centuries green book covers, wallpapers and even dress fabrics could contain arsenic. Until recently, Napoleon was thought to have been poisoned by the arsenic in his bedroom wallpaper, fiendishly orchestrated by his British captors, but it turns out that he died from cancer, that arsenic was everywhere during his lifetime and his exposure to it was long-term. It was even in medicines. However, it seems from the Getty’s fascinating article that artists fortunately found other ways to create the green pigment they needed.

Through time, the color green in art has been made from the copper-derived mineral called malachite, the pale gray-green glaze called celadon, or verdigris—made by hanging copper plates over a hot vinegar bath.

Green has also symbolized everything from life, rejuvenation, rebirth, fertility, and more.

Curious? Learn more about the history of the color green:
https://www.getty.edu/news/color-series-history-of-green/

Leer en español:
https://www.getty.edu/news/el-verde-siempre-perdura/