TESSON CHAPEL: 1861 – 2001 – Part 1
By Richard and Gwyneth Syvret
INTRODUCTION
In Jersey in the Middle Ages an ancient right of sanctuary for outlaws existed which enabled those accused, and possibly guilty, of crimes to take refuge in one of the twelve parish churches or its nearby cemetery. This was a parallel, although not a close one, to the establishment in Old Testament times in Israel of cities of refuge in which a person who had unwittingly killed another could live without fear of reprisal. In Jersey however long-term existence in a church or churchyard was impossible and, while the friends of an accused could bring him food there for nine days, he had after that time to take an oath to leave the Island and never return. The church authorities would then escort the outlaw down specified routes from each parish church to the sea. Whilst on such a route or 'perquage' the accused could not be arrested.
The perquages of St Mary, St John and St Lawrence met together at the point at the foot of a cotil on Les Monts Greberts in St. Peter's Valley where Tesson Chapel now stands. Looking out from the porch of the chapel, were one able to step back in time some four or five centuries, one might have seen fugitives passing occasionally from those parishes and on through Beaumont marsh to the sea of St Aubin's bay.
Such ecclesiastical arrangements did not however outlive the Reformation but what has remained for later generations is the ability to find a different but more enduring sanctuary for time and eternity in the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE BIBLE CHRISTIANS
The story of Tesson Chapel must of course begin prior to its construction and even prior to the purchase by contract dated 2nd November 1861 of the small piece of land (44 feet by 30 feet) on which it now stands by trustees representing the Bible Christian Society. The work of the society, which was later to become a part of the Methodist denomination, was commenced in Jersey on 20th August 1823 when Mary Ann Werrey arrived from England to evangelise the Island.
She was a follower of the founder of the movement - William O'Bryan (whence the nickname 'Bryanites' which was attached to members of the movement for many decades). She preached energetically both in a room used generally for dancing and in the open air. A larger room was obtained and pews and pulpit donated. By October 1823 reports regarding the missionary activities of the Society stated that many in Jersey had been blessed and converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary left Jersey before the end of the year and Mary O'Bryan, daughter of William O'Bryan, took her place. Mary was then only seventeen but a preacher in both French and English.
In 1825 the Society erected a small chapel in Great Union Road St Helier. Numbers there fluctuated over the years - 69 in 1827; 14 in 1834; 100 in 1847 - but the Society continued to send itinerant preachers to labour, alongside the local people, on the Island. During the 1840s there came to settle in Jersey Mr John Cory who was a member of one of the families in England which greatly supported the Bible Christian movement. He was followed to Jersey by several of his brothers and became a leading figure in the building and maintenance of the loyal and prosperous churches established in the 1860s and 1870s in the Island.
Improvements were made in 1849 to their small chapel at Great Union Road and these enabled it to seat 700 when opened in January 1850. That chapel was further enlarged in 1864.
It was from the work at Great Union Road that a Sabbath school for children developed in St Lawrence Valley.
This Sunday school was a satellite work of the main St Helier Sunday school and a lease for two rooms at "St. Lawrence Valley" for £3 per annum was agreed in June 1858, it being decided at the same meeting to take down the partitions dividing the rooms. The positions of superintendent and co-superintendent at St Lawrence Valley were filled from time to time from those engaged in the children's work at Great Union Road. Names like Scard, Job, Bragg and Newbury feature in those positions in the second half of the 1850s. A practice seems to have grown up of combining a tea for the pupils there with an outing for the townsfolk. Combined numbers envisaged were thirty children and fifty adults in 1857 in late summer.
THE WORK COMMENCES
The year 1861 however became a turning point for the Sunday school at St Lawrence Valley because the elders of Great Union Road chapel in October of that year received a report from a special committee appointed relative to the building of a chapel in the valley. On November 2nd 1861 trustees purchased the land from Mr and Mrs Richard Simes for £5. The trustees were bound by the deed of purchase to conform to the orders and directions of the 'conference' of the Bible Christian Society both in respect of the ground and of the chapel that would be built on it.
The chapel building itself was erected on a piecework basis with certain individuals responsible for each aspect of the construction. The work commenced in November 1861 and went on through to the summer of 1862. One record shows a total cost including land of just over £163, another £135, A part of the money needed was borrowed for the purpose from individuals - mainly from a Mrs Burton who advanced £50 -and by June 1866 £60 of debt remained outstanding. The Bible Christian Trustees on the island however, in the year to June 1866, had much larger financial matters on their hands, Great Union Road chapel had recently been enlarged and work had commenced at Gorey with initial borrowings of £300.
In 1867 the foundation stone of a new church designed to seat 1200 people was laid in Royal Crescent, Don Road, St Helier on the site of an old theatre and, whereas by 1880 no debt was outstanding for St Lawrence chapel, the total circuit debt was £3,305
What of the spiritual work of St Lawrence chapel during this time however? Weil, the first recorded service there was on 7th September 1862. Quite a number of seat rentals were charged (at one shilling per quarter year) and until 1868 the only Sunday service each week was in the morning, this being altered to 3 p.m. in November of that year. The chapel was part of the circuit that appointed and supported two full time ministers and it participated in the missionary endeavour (for which the Bible Christians were noted) by having missionary speakers on a weeknight. The key work however does seem to have remained with the Sunday school. A number of changes of superintendent occurred and there was talk of a library for the valley school. The circuit Sunday school outing was also held each year at St Lawrence Valley - in 1864 for 350 persons, in 1869 the 'Mill Room' being requested (presumably a room in Tesson Mill) for 200 and in 1871 the chapel when 100 persons were expected.
The register of baptisms solemnised by the Bible Christian Minister in the Jersey circuit for that period show at least three infant baptisms at St Lawrence chapel in those years (1865, 1871, 1875). The children concerned were the offspring of Samuel Gilley who was a miller - probably again at Tesson Mill. In 1864 the chapel had 9 members (compared with 179 for the circuit), in 1870 15 members and in 1874 6 members. In the latter year a decision was taken to discontinue the preaching service although missionary and deputation meetings remained.
By 1880 the membership had fallen to three (circuit - 243) and the scene was beginning to be set for another change.
DECLINE AND CLOSURE
In 1883 a decision was taken to close the chapel and to request the trustees to sell it. The sale cannot have been proceeded with however for on 18th June 1884 the report of the circuit minister - Revd. John Luke - was that "at St Lawrence, where we have re-opened our chapel, we do not find much to encourage".
It would seem that Beaumont had more residents at that time than the area of St Peter's Valley where Tesson Chapel now stands because in March 1886 it was decided by the Bible Christian Trustees to purchase from a Mr Voisin the Friendly Hall at Beaumont with St Lawrence chapel being transferred to him as part consideration. This however also did not materialise.
Instead, on 29th October 1888 Mr. James Cory, one of the trustees, auctioned the property following a decision of the trustees to that effect. Advertisements had been placed in four Jersey newspapers and the reserve price of £80 was also the selling price. Two days later decisions were taken regarding the disposal of the harmonium, seats, inside porch, rostrum and other items. The net proceeds of sale were shared equally between Great Union Road, Royal Crescent, Gorey and St Martin's chapels and the general circuit funds.
By Richard and Gwyneth Syvret
INTRODUCTION
In Jersey in the Middle Ages an ancient right of sanctuary for outlaws existed which enabled those accused, and possibly guilty, of crimes to take refuge in one of the twelve parish churches or its nearby cemetery. This was a parallel, although not a close one, to the establishment in Old Testament times in Israel of cities of refuge in which a person who had unwittingly killed another could live without fear of reprisal. In Jersey however long-term existence in a church or churchyard was impossible and, while the friends of an accused could bring him food there for nine days, he had after that time to take an oath to leave the Island and never return. The church authorities would then escort the outlaw down specified routes from each parish church to the sea. Whilst on such a route or 'perquage' the accused could not be arrested.
The perquages of St Mary, St John and St Lawrence met together at the point at the foot of a cotil on Les Monts Greberts in St. Peter's Valley where Tesson Chapel now stands. Looking out from the porch of the chapel, were one able to step back in time some four or five centuries, one might have seen fugitives passing occasionally from those parishes and on through Beaumont marsh to the sea of St Aubin's bay.
Such ecclesiastical arrangements did not however outlive the Reformation but what has remained for later generations is the ability to find a different but more enduring sanctuary for time and eternity in the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE BIBLE CHRISTIANS
The story of Tesson Chapel must of course begin prior to its construction and even prior to the purchase by contract dated 2nd November 1861 of the small piece of land (44 feet by 30 feet) on which it now stands by trustees representing the Bible Christian Society. The work of the society, which was later to become a part of the Methodist denomination, was commenced in Jersey on 20th August 1823 when Mary Ann Werrey arrived from England to evangelise the Island.
She was a follower of the founder of the movement - William O'Bryan (whence the nickname 'Bryanites' which was attached to members of the movement for many decades). She preached energetically both in a room used generally for dancing and in the open air. A larger room was obtained and pews and pulpit donated. By October 1823 reports regarding the missionary activities of the Society stated that many in Jersey had been blessed and converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary left Jersey before the end of the year and Mary O'Bryan, daughter of William O'Bryan, took her place. Mary was then only seventeen but a preacher in both French and English.
In 1825 the Society erected a small chapel in Great Union Road St Helier. Numbers there fluctuated over the years - 69 in 1827; 14 in 1834; 100 in 1847 - but the Society continued to send itinerant preachers to labour, alongside the local people, on the Island. During the 1840s there came to settle in Jersey Mr John Cory who was a member of one of the families in England which greatly supported the Bible Christian movement. He was followed to Jersey by several of his brothers and became a leading figure in the building and maintenance of the loyal and prosperous churches established in the 1860s and 1870s in the Island.
Improvements were made in 1849 to their small chapel at Great Union Road and these enabled it to seat 700 when opened in January 1850. That chapel was further enlarged in 1864.
It was from the work at Great Union Road that a Sabbath school for children developed in St Lawrence Valley.
This Sunday school was a satellite work of the main St Helier Sunday school and a lease for two rooms at "St. Lawrence Valley" for £3 per annum was agreed in June 1858, it being decided at the same meeting to take down the partitions dividing the rooms. The positions of superintendent and co-superintendent at St Lawrence Valley were filled from time to time from those engaged in the children's work at Great Union Road. Names like Scard, Job, Bragg and Newbury feature in those positions in the second half of the 1850s. A practice seems to have grown up of combining a tea for the pupils there with an outing for the townsfolk. Combined numbers envisaged were thirty children and fifty adults in 1857 in late summer.
THE WORK COMMENCES
The year 1861 however became a turning point for the Sunday school at St Lawrence Valley because the elders of Great Union Road chapel in October of that year received a report from a special committee appointed relative to the building of a chapel in the valley. On November 2nd 1861 trustees purchased the land from Mr and Mrs Richard Simes for £5. The trustees were bound by the deed of purchase to conform to the orders and directions of the 'conference' of the Bible Christian Society both in respect of the ground and of the chapel that would be built on it.
The chapel building itself was erected on a piecework basis with certain individuals responsible for each aspect of the construction. The work commenced in November 1861 and went on through to the summer of 1862. One record shows a total cost including land of just over £163, another £135, A part of the money needed was borrowed for the purpose from individuals - mainly from a Mrs Burton who advanced £50 -and by June 1866 £60 of debt remained outstanding. The Bible Christian Trustees on the island however, in the year to June 1866, had much larger financial matters on their hands, Great Union Road chapel had recently been enlarged and work had commenced at Gorey with initial borrowings of £300.
In 1867 the foundation stone of a new church designed to seat 1200 people was laid in Royal Crescent, Don Road, St Helier on the site of an old theatre and, whereas by 1880 no debt was outstanding for St Lawrence chapel, the total circuit debt was £3,305
What of the spiritual work of St Lawrence chapel during this time however? Weil, the first recorded service there was on 7th September 1862. Quite a number of seat rentals were charged (at one shilling per quarter year) and until 1868 the only Sunday service each week was in the morning, this being altered to 3 p.m. in November of that year. The chapel was part of the circuit that appointed and supported two full time ministers and it participated in the missionary endeavour (for which the Bible Christians were noted) by having missionary speakers on a weeknight. The key work however does seem to have remained with the Sunday school. A number of changes of superintendent occurred and there was talk of a library for the valley school. The circuit Sunday school outing was also held each year at St Lawrence Valley - in 1864 for 350 persons, in 1869 the 'Mill Room' being requested (presumably a room in Tesson Mill) for 200 and in 1871 the chapel when 100 persons were expected.
The register of baptisms solemnised by the Bible Christian Minister in the Jersey circuit for that period show at least three infant baptisms at St Lawrence chapel in those years (1865, 1871, 1875). The children concerned were the offspring of Samuel Gilley who was a miller - probably again at Tesson Mill. In 1864 the chapel had 9 members (compared with 179 for the circuit), in 1870 15 members and in 1874 6 members. In the latter year a decision was taken to discontinue the preaching service although missionary and deputation meetings remained.
By 1880 the membership had fallen to three (circuit - 243) and the scene was beginning to be set for another change.
DECLINE AND CLOSURE
In 1883 a decision was taken to close the chapel and to request the trustees to sell it. The sale cannot have been proceeded with however for on 18th June 1884 the report of the circuit minister - Revd. John Luke - was that "at St Lawrence, where we have re-opened our chapel, we do not find much to encourage".
It would seem that Beaumont had more residents at that time than the area of St Peter's Valley where Tesson Chapel now stands because in March 1886 it was decided by the Bible Christian Trustees to purchase from a Mr Voisin the Friendly Hall at Beaumont with St Lawrence chapel being transferred to him as part consideration. This however also did not materialise.
Instead, on 29th October 1888 Mr. James Cory, one of the trustees, auctioned the property following a decision of the trustees to that effect. Advertisements had been placed in four Jersey newspapers and the reserve price of £80 was also the selling price. Two days later decisions were taken regarding the disposal of the harmonium, seats, inside porch, rostrum and other items. The net proceeds of sale were shared equally between Great Union Road, Royal Crescent, Gorey and St Martin's chapels and the general circuit funds.
