Places · Channel Islands · Jersey
Façade & building consultants in Jersey.
From the granite walls of Mont Orgueil to the glass offices of St Helier's waterfront, Jersey's buildings stand up to Atlantic weather, salt air and tides of up to 12 metres. McKay Turner Consulting provides façade condition surveys, defect and water ingress investigations, external wall fire risk appraisals, design reviews and expert witness work across the island.
JERSEY 49.21° N, 2.13° W
A short history
A Norman island that chose the English Crown
Jersey's position between England and France has shaped its buildings, from medieval castles and Napoleonic forts to Occupation bunkers and a modern finance district.
- c. 3500 BC
La Hougue Bie
A Neolithic passage grave under a 12m earth mound, one of the best-preserved passage graves in Europe.
- 1204
Mont Orgueil
King John loses mainland Normandy but Jersey stays with the English Crown. Mont Orgueil castle is begun above Gorey to defend it.
- c. 1590–1600
Elizabeth Castle
A new fortress rises on a tidal islet off St Helier and is named by Sir Walter Raleigh, then Governor of Jersey.
- 1781
Battle of Jersey
French troops are defeated in the Royal Square, St Helier, on 6 January.
- 1806–1814
Fort Regent
A large granite fortress is built on the Town Hill above St Helier during the Napoleonic Wars.
- 1940–1945
Occupation
German forces occupy the island and add bunkers, coastal batteries and the tunnels now known as the Jersey War Tunnels.
- 1960s onwards
Finance centre
Finance becomes the island's main industry, and St Helier gains office blocks, apartments and a reclaimed waterfront.
- 2026
New hospital and fire rules
Bouygues UK is appointed to build the Overdale acute hospital, and the States Assembly approves new fire safety rules for tall residential buildings.
Architecture
What makes Jersey's buildings distinctive
Jersey granite runs through almost every period of the island's architecture, from castles and farmhouses to Edwardian banks. Newer buildings add render, glass and metal cladding, all exposed to wind-driven rain and salt.
Key styles
Medieval
Granite castles and parish churches such as St Brelade's, where round arches with rope mouldings were still being built in the 1500s.
Jersey farmhouse
Granite farmhouses with round-arched doorways and carved datestones, often marking a marriage. Hamptonne in St Lawrence has 15th-century origins.
Georgian town
Granite and rendered town houses and public buildings around the Royal Square and the old streets of St Helier.
Victorian & Edwardian
Banks and offices in granite and Portland stone, such as the Gothic NatWest bank (1873) and the Broad Street Post Office (1909).
Art Deco
Shops such as Boots on Queen Street (1931), with green glazed pantiles, and Burton's on Halkett Place (1932).
Finance era
Offices and apartments on the Esplanade and the reclaimed waterfront, built with curtain walls, render and rainscreen cladding.
The island's material palette
Did you know?
At low tide on the biggest springs, the sea falls by up to 12m and Jersey's land area grows by a quarter or more.
Many farmhouse datestones record a marriage rather than the year the house was built, and some were reused from older buildings.
A review of Jersey's building standards proposes banning combustible materials in external walls and balconies above 11m. Today the ban applies above 18m.
Typical building types
What Jersey is built of today
About 104,500 people live on an island of around 45 square miles, so much of the building stock is old, listed or packed into St Helier, alongside a busy programme of new homes and public buildings.
Offices
Finance-sector offices, from 1960s blocks to modern curtain-walled buildings.
Where: St Helier, the Esplanade, the waterfront
Apartments & tall residential
More than 125 residential buildings over 11m, many in and around St Helier.
Where: St Helier, St Clement, St Saviour
Social & affordable housing
Andium Homes completed a record 363 homes in 2025 and had 527 under construction or contract going into 2026.
Where: St Helier and across the parishes
Hotels & hospitality
Seafront hotels exposed to salt, wind and driving rain.
Where: St Helier, St Brelade's Bay, Gorey
Granite farmhouses
Listed farmhouses and outbuildings in local granite and lime mortar.
Where: St Ouen, St Lawrence, St Martin, Trinity
Town houses & shops
Georgian and Victorian terraces and shopfronts, many listed.
Where: St Helier, St Aubin, Gorey
Healthcare & public
Hospitals, schools and civic buildings, including the new Overdale hospital.
Where: Overdale, Gloucester Street, St Helier
Heritage & fortifications
Castles, forts and Occupation-era structures in exposed coastal sites.
Where: Mont Orgueil, Elizabeth Castle, Fort Regent
Current construction trends
Where Jersey is building now
A new hospital, new fire rules for tall buildings and a long-term investment plan are shaping the island's construction programme.
Overdale acute hospital
A new acute hospital with an emergency department, six operating theatres and intensive care, built by Bouygues UK and due to open in 2030.
Tall-building fire rules
The Fire Safety (Tall Residential Buildings) (Jersey) Regulations, approved in February 2026, bring new duties for owners of residential buildings over 11m, including fire door checks, plans for the fire service and secure information boxes.
Building standards review
A review of the Building Bye-laws and Technical Guidance proposes banning combustible materials in external walls over 11m and lowering the sprinkler trigger from 18m to 11m.
Affordable homes
Andium Homes had 527 homes under construction or contract going into 2026, after a record 363 completions in 2025.
Investing in Jersey
A 25-year plan ring-fences £80m a year from 2026 for affordable homes, schools, sea defences and other infrastructure.
Safer façades
The fire service is gathering information on external walls and cladding through its own building inspections, so owners need a clear picture of how their walls are built.
How we help in Jersey
Every era of building has its own risks
We match our inspections and advice to the age and construction of your building.
Medieval and traditional graniteto c.1800
Weathered granite, failed or cement-rich pointing that traps moisture, damp and decayed timber.
Georgian to interwar town buildingsc.1780–1940
Cracked render, eroded stone, failed roofs and sashes, and water getting in around old details.
Post-war and finance-era officesc.1960–2000
Spalling concrete, failed curtain-wall seals and gaskets, and early cladding near the end of its life.
Apartments and tall residentialc.2000–today
Combustible insulation or cladding, missing cavity barriers, timber balconies and leaking junctions.
New buildtoday
Design and specification gaps, façade testing, workmanship, and exposure to wind-driven rain and salt.
Watermans Reach, Oxford: a three-day intrusive survey from a boom lift across three waterside blocks, for a PAS 9980 appraisal of the external walls and timber balconies.
Read the Watermans Reach case study →FAQs
Façade services in Jersey
Do you work in Jersey?
Yes. As well as working across the UK and Ireland, we take on instructions in Jersey and the other Channel Islands. A Director-level consultant leads every instruction from the first conversation to the final report.
Can you assess the external walls of tall residential buildings in Jersey?
Yes. Our intrusive investigations confirm how the cladding, insulation and cavity barriers are actually built. We use the PAS 9980 method to assess the fire risk and give owners a clear position to share with the fire service and their insurers.
Do the new fire rules affect my building?
The Fire Safety (Tall Residential Buildings) (Jersey) Regulations apply to residential buildings over 11m with two or more homes, from 1 April 2027. We can help you understand your building's external walls and plan any work.
Which other services do you offer in Jersey?
Façade condition surveys, defect and leak investigations, technical due diligence, façade design reviews and expert witness work in façade disputes.
Work with us
Own or manage a building in Jersey?
We provide façade condition surveys, defect and water ingress investigations, external wall fire risk appraisals, design reviews and expert witness work in Jersey and across the Channel Islands.
Photographs: Travis Leery on Unsplash.