Towers

Tour D'Auvergne/Prince's Tower

La Hougue Bie was reoccupied in the eighteenth century when shortly after 1780 the D'Auvergne family transformed the chapel ruins into an aristocratic home of a Neo-Gothic style, with a castellated wall and two impressive towers. Ivy was encouraged to grow on the tower to enhance the atmosphere of Gothic decrepitude. The interiors of the chapels were extensively modified to produce a large hall with windows at both ends. The building was abandoned at the end of the eighteenth century and quickly fell into ruin.

The ruined towers of La Hougue Bie soon became an important landmark and tourist attraction. Visitors came for the panoramic view from the top of the mound, from which the coast of France and most of the island can be seen. This increased popularity led to more facilities being built and as a result the Princes Tower Hotel and bowling alley were constructed during the 1830s. In 1859 La Hougue Bie was described as 'the wonder of the island's wonders'. The hotel closed its doors in the early 1920s when the site was bought by the Société Jersiaise.

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