Chantry

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Historic Jersey buildings


Chantry, St Lawrence


H20ChantryDoorway.jpg




This property, photographed here in 1936, when it was known as Cap Verde, should not be confused, but unsurprisingly often is, with the much younger neighbouring property which now bears that name But is it the oldest house in Jersey?

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The distinctive facade of a house claimed to be possibly the oldest in Jersey, and photographed below in 1936, has been destroyed by subsequent alterations. Apart from the central arch it bears no resemblance to what was there before, with all the window openings modernised and the exterior staircase to the taller adjoining outbuilding removed

Property name

Chantry

Other names

  • Cap Verd
  • Cap Verde House
  • Chantry Cottage
  • La Vallee

Location

Rue du Cap Verde, St Lawrence

Type of property

Very early Jersey country house

Valuations

The house was sold for a remarkably low £410,800 in 2014

Families associated with the property

Datestones

No datestones are known, which is surprising for a property which is suggested as being early 16th century or earlier in origin

Historic Environment Record entry

Listed building

Although with unfortunate alterations to the facade, this is a notable house with very early origins, with unique features including the unusual occurrence of two benitiers.

Stevens identifies this as a candidate for the oldest domestic property in Jersey. McCormack ascribes a build date of 1380. Previously known as Cap Verd and La Vallee. Possible site of Chapelle de St Christophe. Shown on the Richmond Map of 1795.

Seven-bay, two-storey. Single storey extension on the west side. The window openings have been substantially altered and widened, the original pattern no longer discernible.

Outstanding example of nine-stone Jersey arch doorway at third bay, chamfered with large double vouissoirs, heightened at base (small window to the right obliterated in renovations). A second arch to right of later date. Volieres on the front facade now filled in.

The only known house in Jersey with two benitiers, one upstairs and one downstairs to the left of the arch leading to the tourelle staircase - the upstairs one converted to a window. Uprights at the top of the tourelle staircase indicate that there would have been an arch. A number of niches and projecting corbels. Ground floor benitier is thought to be one of the finest in the island.

Old Jersey Houses

The author wrote mysteriously: "Although there is probably no such thing as 'the oldest house in the Island', if there were one, this would be it". She went on to quote Edmund Toulmin Nicolle as suggesting that it dates from 1500, and says that it belonged to the Gibaut family for a long time and Jean Gibaut, one of its owners, was Constable of St Lawrence from 1551 to 1558. His descendant Philippe Gibaut lived there in 1658. It was sold to the Bichard family in the 17th century and they retained it for over two centuries.

In several references to the property she calls in Cap Verd and suggests that it was called after a boat of that name. [1]

The property, as described by Mrs Stevens, has a magnificent tourelle staircase, a Jersey round arch, benitiers upstairs and downstairs. She described the ground floor benitier as 'perhaps the finest we have in the island'. E T Nicolle described them as 'holy water stoups' but although he suggested 1500 as the date of the house, Mrs Stevens, in the chapter in the book on benitiers, dates the lancet shaped example to 1250-1300, without referring further to this estimate in her article on the house.

The house in 1936

Notes and references

  1. There is a question mark over this assertion - it seems more likely that it was owned by a merchant or ship owner whose vessel traded with the Cap Verde Islands, which would support the modern view that there is an 'e' on the end of the name of the house and the road
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