Mount Bingham also known as South Hill is a hill (48 meters; 157 feet) in

St. Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island's total popul ...

, the capital of the

Channel Island The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consist ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. It is named after Sir

Francis Richard Bingham Major-General Honourable Sir Francis Richard Bingham, (5 July 1863 – 5 November 1935) was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. Military career Bingham was a younger son of Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan ( ...

who served as

Lieutenant Governor of Jersey The lieutenant governor of Jersey (Jèrriais:, "Governor of Jersey"), properly styled the lieutenant-governor of Jersey (), is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a dependency of the British Crown. Presentl ...

from 1924 until 1929. A road that circles the coastal side of Mount Bingham is known by the same name.

History

During the

German occupation of the Channel Islands The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are British Crown dependencies in the ...

it was the site of the allied

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

Geography

To the north is Mont de la Ville on which

Fort Regent Fort Regent is a 19th-century fortification and leisure centre on Mont de la Ville (Town Hill), in St. Helier, Jersey. The fort is in close proximity to the fortified South Hill Engineers Barracks at La Collette and overlooks the 16th-century E ...

was built between 1806 and 1814. To the south is the

Army Reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including: *Army Reserve (Ireland) *Army Reserve (United Kingdom) *Australian Army Reserve *Canadian Army Reserve * New Zealand Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve *United States Navy ...

garrison of the Jersey Field Squadron, the

La Collette Power Station La Collette Power Station is the main power station for Jersey, and is now the main control centre for the Channel Islands Electricity Grid. It is operated by Jersey Electricity (JE). Under normal circumstances the power generation facilities s ...

and

reclaimed land Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamatio ...

on which an

oil depot An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these products are transported to end users or other stor ...

energy from waste Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) refers to a series of processes designed to convert waste materials into usable forms of energy, typically electricity or heat. As a form of energy recovery, WtE plays a crucial role in both wa ...

plant and

recycling center A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized waste sorting and recycling system that receives, separates and prepares recyclable m ...

were constructed.

Land use

The area where the prisoner-of-war camp once stood was considered as the location for a

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipe ...

. Adjacent to it is an area now used by learner drivers for reversing practice and

driving test A driving test (also known as a driving exam or driver's test in some places) is a procedure designed to test a person's ability to driving, drive a motor vehicle. It exists in various forms worldwide, and is often a requirement to obtain a dr ...

s. The hill is a location for car

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

rallies. Grass areas and a small public

car park A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...

overlook a small

children's playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

with swings and a

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glee ...

, with views overlooking

Saint Helier Harbour Saint Helier Harbour is the main harbour on the Channel Island of Jersey. It is on the south coast of the island, occupying most of the coast of the main town of St Helier. It is operated by Ports of Jersey, a company wholly owned by the Governm ...

and Saint Aubin's Bay. On the western side of Mount Bingham, offices that were previously used by the

Government of Jersey The Government of Jersey () is the executive body of the States of Jersey and is the central government of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The government is led by the Chief Minister (currently Lyndon Farnham, since 2024), who nominates all the remain ...

Planning Department Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

are being demolished, to be replaced by housing. On the eastern side is South Hill

Gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

which was built in around 1860 for use by soldiers

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

ed at Fort Regent. It is now used by a

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

club. In January 2023 it was the site of a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

to those that died in the 2022 St Helier explosion.

Gallery

File:Saint Helier probably late 18th century.jpg, A sketch of

St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

, probably late 18th century, showing Mont de La Ville and Mount Bingham File:Map of St Helier 1834.jpg, Map of St Helier 1834 showing Mount Bingham (labelled South Hill) at the bottom File:Fort RegentElizabeth Castle Granophyre.jpg,

Granophyre Granophyre ( ; from ''granite'' and ''porphyry'') is a subvolcanic rock that contains quartz and alkali feldspar in characteristic angular intergrowths such as those in the accompanying image. The texture is called granophyric. The texture can b ...

at Mount Bingham

References

{{reflist

External links

Photographs of Mount Bingham
Landforms of Jersey Saint Helier