THREE Normandy-themed exhibitions are now open at the Guernsey Museum, Candie. Models, photographs and historic materials link contemporary Normandy with the past and the celebration of 800 years of the special relationship between Guernsey and the English Crown.

‘These exhibitions combine to help us to understand the island’s history afresh,’ said museum director Peter Sarl.

‘By combining the charters with the models and contemporary images, people will be able to consider the consequences of 1204 and our continuing relationship with Normandy.’

He said that the museum was keen to continue the cultural link.

Eight models of Norman castles have been loaned from Le Musee de Normandie in Caen and show development through the ages, from the time of William the Conqueror to Richard the Lionheart.

Artefacts excavated from the castles in the 11th and 12th centuries are displayed next to the models and information boards give more detail.

‘Many people argue that the pinnacle of Norman castle design was the Tower of London and this exhibition helps to explain how and why the Norman castle builders achieved all that they did and how their influence spread,’ said Mr Sarl.

The deputy mayor of Caen, Eric Eydoux, was invited to the island to open the exhibitions. A member of the lower Normandy regional council, Marie-Rose Koro, was also invited to the opening.

Alongside the models is a selection of Royal Charters granted from 1349 by English monarchs and setting out some of the island’s rights and liberties.

They are thought by many to be the foundation of the island’s independence from English law and from the courts, customs and taxation of the UK and are on loan from the Greffe and on display for the first time.

‘Apart from the importance of their content, many are beautifully illuminated with intricate borders of Tudor roses and filigree and one has a delicate image of Queen Elizabeth I,’ said Mr Sarl.

‘It is interesting that the writing style didn’t change that much, but they grew in size.’

More-modern images of Normandy are displayed in a series of black and white prints by French photographer Olivier Meriel. He used a special large-format camera and films that are very rich in silver to create the evocative images of the area’s architecture and landscape.

‘The light is very important and I wait a long time for it to be right,’ he said.

‘Black and white offers a perpetual adventure, with no limits. For me it is the real soul of photography and takes you away from the real to the dream-like.’

The images also include five shots from the west coast of Guernsey and two from inside Victor Hugo’s house, taken when Mr Meriel was in the island six years ago. He takes about 30 shots a year and from those, he is really satisfied with only three or four.

‘I am very moved and happy to show my work in the island,’ he said.

Two further photographic and drawing exhibitions will follow from the end of July. The castle models and charters will on display until 3 October.