The Island of Jersey is divided into 12 parishes, each of which is subdivided into Vingtaines, with the exception of St. Ouen which is divided into Cuillettes .A Vingtaine meant an area covering 20 households, and a Cuillette meant a “gathering or collection of people”. These are ancient meanings which would have been appropriate when the Island population was relatively small. A map showing the parish boundaries is shown below.
As you can see St.Ouen is one of the largest parished but has the second lowest population after St.Mary. As it is my home parish and I have lives there all my life, you will have to excuse me for being biased in my coverage of it. But with a beautiful sandy beach to the west and picturesque coves and craggy cliffs to the north I feel it is one of the most scenic of the parished. This is how the Parish is divided up into it’s Cuillettes.
I like the parish so much I will treat you to a more detailed look at it and the centre of most of it’s activities for many centuries, the Parish Church of St. Ouen. So don’t waste your time…take a look at a map of the parish or information about St. Ouen’s Church!