Why vraic was vital to the island

It's an island industry that has survived the years. Nigel Baudains reports on how vraic gathering dates back as far as the 16th century THE gathering of vraic was, for centuries, an integral part of island life. Thousands of loads were taken from the shoreline on an annual basis for use as fuel or fertiliser.

The use of vraic with farmyard manure has played a big part in ensuring the island's fat-rich soil.

When gathering was at its peak, it was estimated that up to 28,000 cartloads of vraic were taken from the island's shores annually.

Writing in Duncan's History of Guernsey, published in 1841, farmer Nicholas Le Beir said that beaches on the south-west coast produced the largest crops.

Rocquaine, with 3,000 loads per year, L'Eree with 4,000, Perelle with 3,000 and Vazon with 4,000, produced as much vraic annually as the rest of the coastline put together.

Many farms possessed areas of foreshore or parts of the dunes, known as secages, on which vraic to be burnt was spread out to dry. It was then burnt on the spot or carted off and used as winter fuel.

The ashes, which were rich in potash and iodine, were spread on the land.

It would also be laid on the soil until it began to decompose at which point it was ploughed into the soil.

Secages were considered part of the farmstead and taken into account when disposing of an estate.

The gathering of vraic was always regarded as a common right and vital to a farm's economy.

The collecting of it was subject to stringent regulation to ensure supplies were maintained.

On 16 January 1535, the Royal Court passed an ordinance that forbade anyone to gather cut vraic until the next low tide at Candlemas (a Christian feast with candles on 2 February).

At Easter 1611 gathering was banned between sunset and sunrise. The ordinance was unusual as, by

custom, the poor were always allowed first claim at suitable tides to the harvest, providing they gathered it at night without vehicles and carried it above the high-water mark on their backs.

The first cutting began at the first spring tide after Candlemas and lasted to the first spring tide in March. As drying the vraic was almost impossible at that time of the year it was spread on fields only. The second cutting from midsummer to mid August was used for fuel.

When too much vraic was collected than could be cleared off the beach in one load, it was customary to place two white stones on your heap as a sign of ownership.

Vraic could not be gathered on the Sabbath or with the use of boats.

When Herm was let on a fee farm rent by the Crown in 1737, a clause was inserted in the lease to ensure that Guernsey and Sark residents maintained their ancient right to gather vraic from the island's coast.

On 7 June 1659, tragedy occurred when a ship laden with vraic returning to St Martin's from Herm capsized and seven of the 10 people aboard, including the ship's captain Nicholas Robert, drowned.

The right to collect vraic from a particular beach depended in which parish a person lived.

St Peter's parishioners could collect from Rocquaine, L'Eree and Lihou. St Andrew's as the only parish without a coastline could also collect from Lihou. St Saviour's area extended from the beach at La Rocque to Richmond while Tortevalites fetched their vraic from Portelet to Les Pezeries.

In 1647, two local farmers, Abraham Blondel and Abraham Dumaresq, built the causeway that connects Guernsey with Lihou principally for the purpose of carting vraic from the islet.

In 1819, the tenant of Lihou, which was then a fee farm, James Priaulx, tried to stop St Peter's parishioners from collecting vraic there. St Peter's Douzaine took Priaulx to court to safeguard the rights of its people.

Since 1927 people have been permitted to cut vraic in the nine months of the year from mid-July to mid-April.

Seaweed as it is commonly known is split into two types - vraic scie and vraic venant.

Vraic venant is that which has become detached from its growth point, often by rough sea, and washed onto the beaches, sometimes in large heaps.

Vraic scie is the type that was

cut from the rocks by men with special sickles that had curved blades barely one third of size of a reaping hook.

A long wooden rake was used to gather vraic that was floating in the sea.

The two types are said to have different fertilising properties depending on the time of the year they were gathered, with summer vraic better than the winter equivalent.

In Peter Girard's Guernsey, published in 1986, vraic is said to be a valuable source of potash in organic form. The average potash content of dry stems is estimated at 10-12%. Though the figure falls lower for fresh fronds the organic matter reaches 65%. The sand and salt in seaweed were said to be beneficial rather than harmful.

According to Duncan's Guernsey, one cartload of vraic scie was said to be worth two loads, possibly three, of vraic venant.

In 1815, a summer load of vraic scie was worth £2, reducing to £1 in winter. A load of vraic venant cost £1 in summer and 5s in winter.

Generations of vraic collecting

THE vraic 'industry' has greatly diminished over the past century due largely to modern farming methods.

But one local farmer still relies on gathering vraic for a significant part of his business.

Tom Le Prevost, 60, is following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him.

'Years ago people were practically fighting for the stuff on the beach,' he said.

'You'd mark your pile, but you weren't supposed to mark more than you could cart in a day and there was a sort of gentlemen's agreement,' he said.

Mr Le Prevost estimates that he works three or four months per year, full-time during the winter, collecting vraic from the beaches. The weed is stored on his land for at least nine months alongside horse and cow manure before the two are mixed and sold.

The resulting compost is popular with organic farmers, but Mr Le Prevost said the bulk of his trade was now for private gardens and he sells compost in all volumes, including individual bags. Trade is boosted by many people's reluctance nowadays to put chemicals on their land.

While collecting vraic recently on Vazon, he was approached by a journalist from Farmers' Weekly and a story of his work appeared in the magazine's January issue.

'When I'm on the beach, there's always someone watching or asking what I'm doing and taking photographs.'

From the age of 14, Mr Le Prevost was collecting vraic from the beach with his father, also called Tom.

'I've been down there in the snow cutting vraic, freezing and soaked to the skin,' he said.

The days of the modern tractor with a loader and high-sided trailers have meant that Mr Le Prevost can now collect loads of up to eight tonnes at a time on his own. On a busy day he may collect as many as 10.

He now looks at the beach from the comfort of an air-conditioned cab and he said vraicing in fine weather was rare.

'You don't get it until the gales bring it up and it's always wet and windy.'

Mr Le Prevost often collects vraic in conjunction with a colleague, agricultural contractor and potato grower Roy Lesbirel.

But the reduction in collectors is mirrored by the reduction in vraic and Mr Le Prevost said there is far less nowadays, particularly at Vazon.

There could be numerous reasons for this, he said, with pollution of the sea a possibility.

People had different reasons for using a vraic-based compost, he said, but its trace-element properties were a key.

Many people would spread vraic on their potato crop as it was widely believed to counter calcium deficiencies in the soil.

The April harvest would be spread on grazing areas to protect cattle from milk fever.

When carrot growing was popular in the lower parishes, vraic was used to enrich the often sandy soil.

Some people nowadays use vraic for mulching and Mr Le Prevost said he supplied some large private properties for that purpose.

* With thanks to the Priaulx Library for its help with this article.