Bailiwick of Guernsey Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey () is one of three Crown dependencies. Separated from the Dukedom and Duchy of Normandy by and under the terms of the Treaty (or Peace) of Le Goulet in 1204, the Bailiwick comprises a number of islands in the English Channel which fall into three separate sub-jurisdictions: Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. A bailiwick is a territory administered by a Bailiff. The Bailiff of Guernsey is the civil head, and presiding officer of the States of Guernsey, but not of Alderney or Sark. He is the head of the judiciary of the Bailiwick. The
Fortifications of Alderney when the Island was attacked by pirates or used by pirates as it was undefended. The Island Militia may have existed for centuries, as did the Militias of Guernsey and Jersey. King Edward III of England authorised Thomas de Ferres in 1337 to “levy and train” militias in the Guernsey, Jersey, Sark and Alderney, to the use of arms and to aray them in thousands, hundreds and twenties. The first mention of a militia commander, Captain Nicholas Ling, was noted in the records in 1657. Without fortifications apart from a decaying Essex Castle and the Nunnery and few if any