St Mary
St. Mary, Jersey's smallest parish (6.5km²), preserves medieval monastic origins and agricultural heritage at La Mare Wine Estate with just 1,818 residents.
St. Mary exists because a medieval monastery existed—the Sainte Mathie that Viking raids destroyed sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries, the 'burnt monastery' that Duke William gave to Cerisy Abbey in 1042. Jersey's smallest parish by surface area (6.5 km²) preserves this ecclesiastical origin in its rural character, population of just 1,818 making it among the least densely settled at 277 per km².
La Mare Wine Estate's 20 acres represent the agricultural heritage that larger parishes have abandoned—wines, black butter, and local produce maintaining food traditions that Jersey's finance economy does not require but tourism helps sustain. The historic windmill built in 1820 recalls when parishes processed their own grain, infrastructure now preserved as heritage rather than employed for production.
The parish's single sparse village lacks the commercial development that population concentration creates, St. Mary functioning as rural buffer between more developed parishes. Population growth of 4% between 2011-2021 suggests modest residential appeal without transformation pressure. Whether St. Mary's small-scale character persists—or whether commuter housing eventually transforms even this rural parish—tests whether Jersey can maintain agricultural heritage alongside its finance-driven prosperity.