 | | Sheer rockface at Snow Hill car park. |
The steep ravine of today's Snow Hill car park once housed the terminus for the Jersey Eastern Railway. The line ran from St Helier to Gorey via Samares, Le Hocq, Pontac, La Rocque, Fauvic and Grouville from 1874 to 1929. This area was once part of the east side of Mont de la Ville (Town Hill) upon which Fort Regent was completed in 1814. During the construction of the harbours in the nineteenth century, a great quantity of rock was needed for infilling and much of it was sourced from this site creating both an easy level access to the town and therefore the ideal site for a railway. Towards the end of the car park it is possible to see some of the remaining mouldings from the station platform on the east wall.
 | | Mouldings from the station platform. |
In 1935 the site found an alternative use as a bus station. The buses were turned on a revolving platform, to prevent the need for some tricky 3-point turns! But this use was to come to an end too, as by the 1960s the buses had gone to make way for a public car park. Until the late 1980s a cable car system also ran above the car park to the leisure facilities which were created at Fort Regent, high above on Mont de la Ville. The receiving station can still be seen at the south end of the car park although the other buildings and supports have now been demolished. Also sited in the car park is the entrance to the highly controversial ‘Cavern’ which was created to deal with St. Helier's excess storm water. Running hugely over budget and not always able to cope with local rainfall – it can hold 5.5 million gallons of water to prevent sewage being pushed out to sea. Moving on to Point 6 From the end of Snow Hill car park, head down the slope to your left and on to Hill Street. Cross the road before the lights and then cross again at the junction with Halkett Place where the States Chamber is directly in front of you with the Royal Square to the right. | 
Introduction