EVERYTHING WHAT YOU NEEDTO DREAM...
Canada >
Bay Roberts
KNOWLEDGE OF Bay Roberts
The town of Bay Roberts (47°35′05″N, 53°16′42″W NST) is located on the north shore of Conception Bay on the Bay de Verde Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The growth of local economy can be connected to the town’s proximity to other major Newfoundland markets, by road and by water.
The town is connected by Veterans' Memorial Highway to the Trans Canada Highway leading to all points in the province. St. John's, the capital city is only 90 km away. Argentia, the eastern terminal for Marine Atlantic's Gulf Ferry Service is only 70 km. away. Local businesses have easy access to more than half of the province’s population. As a result, the town is a center for major transportation and distribution, providing services for the Avalon Peninsula and surrounding areas. With roughly 5300 people, it is one of the larger towns in Newfoundland, and with Carbonear is one of largest on the Baccalieu Trail. The town has a provincially recognized museum called the "Road to Yesterday," and walking trails have been developed in Juggler's Cove and French's Cove in Bay Roberts East to celebrate the early history of the town.
Bay Roberts offers year round shipping services through its large port, which is similar in size to the harbour in St. John's and which can accommodate the largest of ships. It is protected from ocean storms by Fergus Island at its entrance. The bay and harbour have clear shorelines, without rocks or headland protrusions. As a result of its size and outstanding features, it has been approved for anchorage by marine insurance companies.
European fishermen were visiting Bay Roberts as early as the 1500s. Fishermen from Brittany and Normandy in what is today France fished the waters off the coast of Bay Roberts in the early 1500s and named the harbour Baie de Robert. They established onshore fishing rooms where they dried and salted codfish. The French fishermen came to the area because of its large harbour, and flat rock beaches which they used for curing fish.
Most likely they started building fishing rooms near the end of Bay Roberts harbour in Bay Roberts East in such areas as Juggler's Cove. Then they moved to French's Cove and later to Mercer's Cove. Evidence of these European people can be found in community place names such as Priaulx Hill and in nearby names such as Spaniard's Bay and Port de Grave.
By the late 16th century, Bay Roberts had become part of the English Shore. Some French, Spanish and Portuguese fishermen still visited the area but they were out numbered by fishermen from the English West Country. Over time, some of these West Country fishermen began to settle in the area. Seary’s book [“Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland"] http://www.mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=507 states that the families with the sirname French arrived as long ago as 1634 and the Earles and the Badcocks arrived in the 1660s. In the 1675 census, Bay Roberts is called "Bay of Roberts."
The Berry census of Newfoundland records only two planters in Bay Roberts. One was Anthony Varder who lived there with his wife and four children. The other one was a widow named Jane Clay. The 1677 census says between them they employed 19 servants, owned six boats and kept 34 cattle, 22 sheep and 13 hogs. Families such as the Parsons, Mercers and Bishops arrived later. Settlers from the Channel Islands arrived in the 1700s.
These early settlers left behind archaeological evidence of their way of life. Clay pipes and other artifacts have been found in places such as Mercer's Cove. At least one ship was lost in Bay Roberts Harbour during the 17th century. A large numbers of ceramic vessels which came from a 17th century shipwreck have been recovered from the harbour. Many of these are complete or almost complete. They include storage jars from the West Country of England and olive jars from Spain and Portugal.
Like many settlements in Conception Bay, Bay Roberts was destroyed by the French during King William's War (1689-1697). When the French arrived in 1697, Abbé Baudoin, a priest who accompanied Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville on his raids, maintained a journal. He called the town Baye Robert. He says that d’Iberville captured 10 servants, 3 planters and 3 boats there and took 1500 codfish. These numbers may not have represented the entire population. By the time Abbé Baudoin and Pierre d'Iberville arrived, many of the people who lived in Bay Roberts had probably escaped into the woods or to Carbonear Island because they had been warned that the French were coming.
Fortunately, the effects of the French attacks did not last long, and Bay Roberts was built again. It became an important base for the Labrador fishery and the seal hunt.
The town is connected by Veterans' Memorial Highway to the Trans Canada Highway leading to all points in the province. St. John's, the capital city is only 90 km away. Argentia, the eastern terminal for Marine Atlantic's Gulf Ferry Service is only 70 km. away. Local businesses have easy access to more than half of the province’s population. As a result, the town is a center for major transportation and distribution, providing services for the Avalon Peninsula and surrounding areas. With roughly 5300 people, it is one of the larger towns in Newfoundland, and with Carbonear is one of largest on the Baccalieu Trail. The town has a provincially recognized museum called the "Road to Yesterday," and walking trails have been developed in Juggler's Cove and French's Cove in Bay Roberts East to celebrate the early history of the town.
Bay Roberts offers year round shipping services through its large port, which is similar in size to the harbour in St. John's and which can accommodate the largest of ships. It is protected from ocean storms by Fergus Island at its entrance. The bay and harbour have clear shorelines, without rocks or headland protrusions. As a result of its size and outstanding features, it has been approved for anchorage by marine insurance companies.
European fishermen were visiting Bay Roberts as early as the 1500s. Fishermen from Brittany and Normandy in what is today France fished the waters off the coast of Bay Roberts in the early 1500s and named the harbour Baie de Robert. They established onshore fishing rooms where they dried and salted codfish. The French fishermen came to the area because of its large harbour, and flat rock beaches which they used for curing fish.
Most likely they started building fishing rooms near the end of Bay Roberts harbour in Bay Roberts East in such areas as Juggler's Cove. Then they moved to French's Cove and later to Mercer's Cove. Evidence of these European people can be found in community place names such as Priaulx Hill and in nearby names such as Spaniard's Bay and Port de Grave.
By the late 16th century, Bay Roberts had become part of the English Shore. Some French, Spanish and Portuguese fishermen still visited the area but they were out numbered by fishermen from the English West Country. Over time, some of these West Country fishermen began to settle in the area. Seary’s book [“Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland"] http://www.mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=507 states that the families with the sirname French arrived as long ago as 1634 and the Earles and the Badcocks arrived in the 1660s. In the 1675 census, Bay Roberts is called "Bay of Roberts."
The Berry census of Newfoundland records only two planters in Bay Roberts. One was Anthony Varder who lived there with his wife and four children. The other one was a widow named Jane Clay. The 1677 census says between them they employed 19 servants, owned six boats and kept 34 cattle, 22 sheep and 13 hogs. Families such as the Parsons, Mercers and Bishops arrived later. Settlers from the Channel Islands arrived in the 1700s.
These early settlers left behind archaeological evidence of their way of life. Clay pipes and other artifacts have been found in places such as Mercer's Cove. At least one ship was lost in Bay Roberts Harbour during the 17th century. A large numbers of ceramic vessels which came from a 17th century shipwreck have been recovered from the harbour. Many of these are complete or almost complete. They include storage jars from the West Country of England and olive jars from Spain and Portugal.
Like many settlements in Conception Bay, Bay Roberts was destroyed by the French during King William's War (1689-1697). When the French arrived in 1697, Abbé Baudoin, a priest who accompanied Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville on his raids, maintained a journal. He called the town Baye Robert. He says that d’Iberville captured 10 servants, 3 planters and 3 boats there and took 1500 codfish. These numbers may not have represented the entire population. By the time Abbé Baudoin and Pierre d'Iberville arrived, many of the people who lived in Bay Roberts had probably escaped into the woods or to Carbonear Island because they had been warned that the French were coming.
Fortunately, the effects of the French attacks did not last long, and Bay Roberts was built again. It became an important base for the Labrador fishery and the seal hunt.
Chapi