Welsh university to investigate Jersey’s feudal past

A major new academic study will examine the origins and legacy of Jersey’s feudal system after Swansea University secured more than £215,000 in research funding.

The two-year project, worth £215,843, will investigate how medieval structures of land ownership and authority shaped the Channel Island’s distinct legal and cultural identity — and how elements of that system continue to survive today.

Led by Professor Daniel Power from Swansea University’s Department of History, Heritage and Classics, the study will explore the development of Jersey’s fiefs and seigneurs from the 11th century, when the island formed part of the Duchy of Normandy, through to the mid-17th century and the upheavals of the English Civil War.

Under Jersey’s historic model, land was organised through a hierarchy of the Crown, landowners and tenants. Seigneurs, who held estates known as fiefs, once exercised a mixture of economic, judicial and symbolic powers over their land.

While their financial rights were abolished in 1966, remnants of the system remain visible: manor houses still dot the island, and seigneurs retain ceremonial roles, including attendance at the annual Royal Court gathering, the Assise d’Heritage.

Professor Power said the research would shed new light on institutions that have shaped Jersey for nearly a millennium.

“The islands were culturally Norman yet politically cut off from mainland Normandy from 1204 onwards, allowing their institutions and legal culture to evolve in a distinctive way,” he said. “The archival material is rich, and the potential for discovery is immense.”

The project, titled The Fiefs and Seigneurs of Jersey: History and Significance, forms part of a wider £250,000 programme supported by private donations and several island institutions, including Jersey Heritage, the Société Jersiaise and the Government of Jersey. It contributes to Millennium 2027, the European Year of the Normans — a commemoration marking 1,000 years since the birth of William the Conqueror.

Gap

John de Veulle, former chair of Jersey Heritage, said the research would fill a longstanding gap in the island’s recorded history.

“The Island’s feudal system dates back hundreds of years and still has an impact on Jersey today,” he said. “It has not yet been thoroughly studied, and it will be fascinating to see what the new research uncovers.”

A postdoctoral researcher will be appointed to support the work between April 2026 and March 2028, with applications open until 25 November 2025.

The findings will be presented in a public seminar in Jersey in 2027, followed by a full academic publication.