Beautiful Homes of Jersey: Loge du Tisserand.
From Jersey Topic, 1966
From Jersey Topic, 1966
[Note - if a copy appears on Jerripedia, it was my transcription stolen from here without credit]
In ancient bygone days Jersey must have been a wonderful place in which to live if you happened to be rich. The social whirl in and around manor houses must have been quite something. And not only were the manors splendid homes but entertaining was carried out on a large scale. Today the manor houses are still magnificent residences and still remain very much as they were, However their immediate surroundings have altered and many of the servants cottages and farmworkers houses have disappeared.
One or two farmworkers cottages of that era still remain and have been converted for topical modern living by their owners. Two such cottages go to make the home of Mr. and Mrs. P. Scragg of Loge du Tisserand, Trinity. The name means “house of the weaver" but it has no historic interest other than the fact that the man who did the first conversion of the two properties in 1957 was a Mr. Weaver.
Mr. and Mrs. Scragg bought the property last year. It suited them ideally. Mr. Scragg is a designer of textile machinery and was technical director of the whole of the Ernest Scragg and Son organisation. His type of creative work requires peace and quiet. “As I became more and more an inventor I wondered why I bothered about living in Britain" he said. “I reasoned that I could just as well be designing and living in nice surroundings with a decent climate” he said.
In ancient bygone days Jersey must have been a wonderful place in which to live if you happened to be rich. The social whirl in and around manor houses must have been quite something. And not only were the manors splendid homes but entertaining was carried out on a large scale. Today the manor houses are still magnificent residences and still remain very much as they were, However their immediate surroundings have altered and many of the servants cottages and farmworkers houses have disappeared.
One or two farmworkers cottages of that era still remain and have been converted for topical modern living by their owners. Two such cottages go to make the home of Mr. and Mrs. P. Scragg of Loge du Tisserand, Trinity. The name means “house of the weaver" but it has no historic interest other than the fact that the man who did the first conversion of the two properties in 1957 was a Mr. Weaver.
Mr. and Mrs. Scragg bought the property last year. It suited them ideally. Mr. Scragg is a designer of textile machinery and was technical director of the whole of the Ernest Scragg and Son organisation. His type of creative work requires peace and quiet. “As I became more and more an inventor I wondered why I bothered about living in Britain" he said. “I reasoned that I could just as well be designing and living in nice surroundings with a decent climate” he said.
As you enter the hall of the house you are struck by the immediate feeling that you are in a home. Everything about it is warm and friendly, from the carpets to the. granite staircase with wrought iron railwork. There is in the hall a magnificent oak and mahogany Welsh dresser which is steeped in the history of Sutton Hall, a baronial house of the Macclesfield area. On the wall of the hall is a superb piece of craftsmanship—a printing block with which the Macclesfield mill workers used to hand-print silk. “I went into a factory one day and saw them piling these blocks up to burn them because they had no use for them. They are really quite wonderful pieces of craftsmanship and to see this no longer made me feel very sad” said Mr. Scragg-
The outstanding room in the whole house is undoubtedly the lounge. This is 45 feet long and was originally the two main rooms of the cottage.
The Scraggs knocked down the dividing wall to give the room a pleasing but dramatic proportion and a section of a granite wall acts as a room divider. At the east end of the room is an original fireplace which dates back to the 1700’s and some of the original cross-beams have been tastefully refurbished. In this room you feel Mrs. Scraggs love of soft colours—lovely tones of green match with autumnal golds and browns and the whole effect is that of a charming cottage but on a grander scale.
At the west end of the room is another fireplace and a bar area with a television as part of the diversion. “We were genuinely a little worried at first by the sheer size of the room but as each area has a function we find we are less aware of the size than we first thought we might be” said Mrs. Scragg. French antique furniture and Regency-style chairs complete the general feeling of well-being which the room generates.
The outstanding room in the whole house is undoubtedly the lounge. This is 45 feet long and was originally the two main rooms of the cottage.
The Scraggs knocked down the dividing wall to give the room a pleasing but dramatic proportion and a section of a granite wall acts as a room divider. At the east end of the room is an original fireplace which dates back to the 1700’s and some of the original cross-beams have been tastefully refurbished. In this room you feel Mrs. Scraggs love of soft colours—lovely tones of green match with autumnal golds and browns and the whole effect is that of a charming cottage but on a grander scale.
At the west end of the room is another fireplace and a bar area with a television as part of the diversion. “We were genuinely a little worried at first by the sheer size of the room but as each area has a function we find we are less aware of the size than we first thought we might be” said Mrs. Scragg. French antique furniture and Regency-style chairs complete the general feeling of well-being which the room generates.
The kitchen is a dream. It has been designed so that everything is close at hand and there is no need for a wasted movement.
One end of the kitchen is wood panelled and makes an ideal eating area for the family. Typical of the planning that has gone into the kitchen is the ironing board. This folds away inside of a draw. When Mrs. Scragg has to iron she opens the drawer, the ironing board drops out and a leg goes into place . . . presto and ready for ironing!
A split-level cooker makes for ease of operation and everything else is built around this to be in the best position.
“I enjoy working in my kitchen" said Mrs. Scragg. “I buzz about and only get cross when I find that I haven’t put something back in its right position.”
Next to the lounge and just off from the kitchen is a small but charming dining room. This is furnished with pieces of furniture which the Scraggs have taken over 10 years to collect. There is a Sheraton sideboard from an old house in Cheshire. “We had to bring this to Jersey upside down because the legs were so weak. It is over 200 years old and has certainly seen some history. I think this will have been its last journey.“
The dining room table is of a later period and the Chippendale-style chairs complete the style which is again cottagy but full of flair.
Next to the dining room and still on the same level is the master bedroom. Here yellow and gold are the predominant colours in this bedroom with its Louis XVth-style furniture and the effect is one of a spring morning. Attached to this bedroom is a study and a bathroom en suite. “We decided to put a study there because Mr. Scragg is an inventor and You know what inventors are. In the middle of the night he will suddenly get up, stricken with an idea that he must put to paper.”
One end of the kitchen is wood panelled and makes an ideal eating area for the family. Typical of the planning that has gone into the kitchen is the ironing board. This folds away inside of a draw. When Mrs. Scragg has to iron she opens the drawer, the ironing board drops out and a leg goes into place . . . presto and ready for ironing!
A split-level cooker makes for ease of operation and everything else is built around this to be in the best position.
“I enjoy working in my kitchen" said Mrs. Scragg. “I buzz about and only get cross when I find that I haven’t put something back in its right position.”
Next to the lounge and just off from the kitchen is a small but charming dining room. This is furnished with pieces of furniture which the Scraggs have taken over 10 years to collect. There is a Sheraton sideboard from an old house in Cheshire. “We had to bring this to Jersey upside down because the legs were so weak. It is over 200 years old and has certainly seen some history. I think this will have been its last journey.“
The dining room table is of a later period and the Chippendale-style chairs complete the style which is again cottagy but full of flair.
Next to the dining room and still on the same level is the master bedroom. Here yellow and gold are the predominant colours in this bedroom with its Louis XVth-style furniture and the effect is one of a spring morning. Attached to this bedroom is a study and a bathroom en suite. “We decided to put a study there because Mr. Scragg is an inventor and You know what inventors are. In the middle of the night he will suddenly get up, stricken with an idea that he must put to paper.”
The Scraggs have two children, a boy aged 10 and a girl, aged 11. They each have their own bedroom upstairs, with lovely views over farmyards, fields and countryside. Each bedroom has its own bathroom. Both bedrooms are simply furnished but alive with summer colours, given extra charm by the large dormer windows.
Outside of the house as you enter the drive through a large archway is an outhouse. This has been converted by the Scraggs into two bedrooms, a bathroom and living room, either for staff or for visitors. There is also a swimming pool at the rear of the house.
Loge du Tisserand is a fine example of the conversion of old property into well-planned living accommodation in keeping with the 1960’s. The Scraggs have made it a comfortable and leisurely home as opposed to a show place and this comes through very forcibly when you go around the house. As Mrs. Scragg put it: “A house is meant to be lived in not looked at.”
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