In brief: Plans have been submitted to install a commemorative plaque at Piquet House in Royal Square, honouring 19th-century cartographer and surveyor Elias Le Gros. The application, lodged by Peter Hargreaves, would mark the man who drew the first detailed map of St Helier in 1834. The same wall was previously earmarked for a government apology plaque that was withdrawn after significant public opposition.
A Map-Maker Gets His Moment
Elias Le Gros, born in 1781 and died in 1859, was a man of many talents: navigation teacher, surveyor, civil engineer and, most notably, cartographer. His crowning achievement was producing the first detailed map of St Helier, dated 1834, a document that would have been invaluable to anyone trying to make sense of the town’s streets at a time when Jersey was growing rapidly.
Now, applicant Peter Hargreaves has submitted plans to give Le Gros a permanent tribute on the south face of Piquet House, the listed two-storey Georgian military guardhouse that stands in Royal Square, facing the Royal Court and States Chamber. If approved, the plaque would read: “La Vingtaine de la Ville, The Sundial. Above this plaque is from about 1825 and attributed to Elias (Elie) Le Gros 1781 – 1859 Cartographer, teacher of navigation, surveyor and civil engineer. He produced the first detailed map of St Helier dated 1834.”
Piquet House itself has a distinguished history. Built in 1802 as one of two military guardhouses designed to protect islanders from the threat of French invasion, it is described in supporting documents as a “rare survival of a Georgian military picket house.” It is a fitting canvas for a tribute to a man who helped define the very streets it overlooks.
The Wall With a History of Its Own
This is not the first time the south wall of Piquet House has found itself at the centre of a planning application. The Jersey Evening Post reports that in 2025, the Government of Jersey lodged plans for a plaque in the same location, intended as an apology to victims of historic abuse while in care. The proposed wording was: “To the children abused while in the care of the States of Jersey: We failed you. We apologise for all you endured. We are truly sorry. From the Government of Jersey 2025.”
Those plans were accepted last May but were subsequently called off following extensive backlash from islanders. The episode left the wall conspicuously bare and, one might say, available for a rather more straightforward and uncontroversial tribute to a local pioneer.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
