Jersey

The largest of the British Channel Islands, Jersey has benefited from its status as a dependency of the British Crown and from its location between Great Britain and France. During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, a significant immigration of Calvinists made their way to the island from France, bringing with them a typical Calvinist emphasis on education. This period saw the establishment of schools in each of the island's 12 parishes and support for islanders seeking education at Oxford. Another wave of immigration from France following the revolution and Napoleonic period brought significant numbers of members of teaching religious orders to Jersey.

In 1995 the average cost per student at government schools stood at 2,783 pounds or 702 pounds per resident. Due to the island's income tax rate, which stands significantly below that of England, Jersey has experienced a significant influx of affluent residents without a corresponding rise in school enrollments. This disparity has led to positive funding for the educational system.

The schools in Jersey follow the model of the United Kingdom in most respects, including drawing on the U.K. National Curriculum. Education is divided between primary and secondary schools. The island's Department of Education reported an enrollment of 11,830 pupils in the primary and secondary schools in 1996 with a student-teacher ratio of 19.2:1 in the primary and 12.9:1 in the secondary schools. In recent years roughly 75 percent of Jersey students have completed the secondary course of education.

Highlands College provides vocational education for more than 8,000 students annually. The government also provides grant aid to students pursuing higher education in Britain. During the 1990s the number of students receiving grant aid increased by more than 70 percent, averaging more than 1,200 students each year by the end of the decade.

—Mark Browning

JERSEY

Jersey is a weft-knit fabric that is also called plain knit or single knit. Some sources claim the term "jersey" is used loosely to refer to any knitted fabric without a distinct rib. It is called jersey because it was manufactured on the island of Jersey off the coast of England. This early version of the fabric was used for fishermen's clothing and was a heavier weight fabric than the jersey fabrics of the early 2000s. The related term in current usage used to describe athletic shirts is from a similar origin. The tight-fitting, knit tunic-style sweaters worn by seamen were also known as jerseys.

Jersey can be made by hand or on flat and circular knitting machines. Jersey knits are made from the basic knitting stitch, in which each loop is drawn through the loop below it. The rows of loops form vertical lines, or wales, on the face of the fabric and crosswise rows, or courses, on the back. Jersey knits are lightweight in comparison with other knits and are the fastest weft knit to produce. Jersey stretches more in the crosswise direction than in length, may be prone to runs, and curls at the edges because of the difference in tension on the front and the back.

Historically, jersey was used mainly for hosiery and sweaters. However, as early as 1879 the actress Lillie Langtry, "the Jersey Lily," made jersey fashionable for daywear. Her costume was made up of a tight-fitting, hip-length jersey top that was worn over a pleated skirt. In the 1920s Gabrielle Chanel popularized the fabric for comfortable womenswear, constructing dresses and suits out of it.

Jersey may be finished with napping, printed, or embroidered. Variations of jersey include pile versions of the knit and jacquard jersey. Pile jerseys have extra yarns or sliver (untwisted strand) inserted to make velour or fake-fur fabrics. Jacquard jersey incorporates stitch variations to create complex designs that are knitted into the fabric. Intarsia fabrics are jersey knits that use different colored yarns to produce designs and are more costly to produce than printing the design as a finish.

Jersey is used to make hosiery, T-shirts, underwear, sportswear, and sweaters. It has also been incorporated into the home furnishings market and is used for bedding and slipcovers.

See alsoNapping .

bibliography

American Fabrics Encyclopedia of Textiles. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall, 1972.

Calisbetta, Charlotte M., and Phyllis Tortora, eds. The Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion. 3rd ed. New York: Fairchild Publishing, 2003.

Gioello, Debbie Ann. Profiling Fabrics: Properties, Performance and Construction Techniques. New York: Fairchild Publishing, 1981.

Jerde, Judith. Encyclopedia of Textiles. New York: Facts on File, 1992.

Kadolph, Sara J., and Anna L. Langford. Textiles. 9th ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Wingate, Isabel, and June Mohler. Textile Fabrics and Their Selection. 8th ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1984.

Internet Resource

"Plain Stitch." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Available from <http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=61814> (subscription required).

Marie Botkin

Jersey

Basic Data

Jersey is the largest and southernmost of the Channel Islands, which lie northwest of France in the English Channel. Along with the other Channel Islands, it once belonged to the medieval Dukedom of Normandy and was the only British soil occupied by Nazi troops. Because Jersey is a British crown dependency, the chief of state is the British Monarch. A London-appointed Lieutenant Governor heads the government and presides over a unicameral Assembly of the States. The population of Jersey is nearly 89,000. The official languages are English and French, but a Norman-French dialect is widely spoken in rural districts. Jersey is most widely known for its signature breed of dairy cattle that contribute to the export of milk products, but financial services in fact comprise the greatest contributor to the island's economy. Tourism also plays an important role, as does agriculture, especially flowers.

Citizens of Jersey enjoy the press and speech freedoms of England. The Jersey Evening Post is the only newspaper published in Jersey. Founded in 1890 as the Evening Post, the English-language publication is now part of the Guiton Group, a media company with interests throughout the Channel Islands. The Jersey Evening Post publishes Monday through Saturday; daily circulation is approximately 23,000 and it is available online.

There is one FM radio station and one television station.

Bibliography

"Jersey," CIA World Fact Book (2001). Available from http://www.cia.gov.

"History of the JEP," Jersey Evening Post (2002). Available from http://www.jerseyeveningpost.com.

Jenny B. Davis

jer·sey / ˈjərzē/ • n. (pl. -seys) 1. a knitted garment with long sleeves worn over the upper body. ∎  a distinctive shirt worn by a player or competitor in certain sports. ∎  a soft, fine knitted fabric.2. (Jersey) an animal of a breed of light brown dairy cattle from Jersey.

Jersey Largest of the Channel Islands, lying c.16km (10 mi) off the nw coast of Normandy in France; the capital is St Helier. It is administered as a bailiwick. Fruit and dairy farming (Jersey cattle) form the basis of the economy. Area: 117sq km (45sq mi). Pop. (1996) 85,200.