An Historical Sketch of the Jersey Baptist Church – Part 2: the Twentieth Century

Taking a couple of weeks break from "Jersey As It Is", here's the second of two parts of the history of the Jersey Baptist Church.

An Historical Sketch of the Jersey Baptist Church – Part 2

1903

On 1st January 1903 Mr. Alfred Benest passed away. It was in his house that the Church had been formed in 1864 and he had served it faithfully ever since.

1914

In August 1914 the membership of the Rev. W.D. Reynolds, B.A., B.D., was transferred from Beckenham so that he could serve as a special representative of the Jersey Baptist Church at Matadi in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) where he was the Principal of a training college for African preachers and pastors. The Jubilee of the Church was held in the autumn of the same year but rather quietly due to the tragic outbreak of the First World War.

1920

The Grove Street premises were sold to the Oddfellows Friendly Society in 1920 for £600 and two years later a manse was purchased at a cost of £1,000, the Baptist Building Fund lending £500 free of interest.

1930

The Revd. S.J. Smurthwaite was appointed in 1930 and served the Church faithfully for nineteen years until his retirement in 1949.

Mr. Smurthwaite's ministry included the five years of German occupation (1940-1945) which followed the fall of France in the Second World War. During the occupation, when the Channel Islands were completely cut off from the mainland of Great Britain, the Jersey Baptists, in common with other islanders, suffered many privations but nevertheless continued to meet regularly for worship and fellowship, and continued to save money for the Baptist Missionary Society. Because of the difficulty of 'blacking-out' and heating the main Church building many of the services were held in the school hall.

1945

Following the liberation of the Island in 1945 it was decided to allocate £50 of the Thank offering to the Baptist Union's Fund for the re-building of bombed churches in the United Kingdom. The money reserved for the B.M.S. was also sent to England.

1949

The old Manse in St. Mark's Road-was sold in 1949 and the present Manse at Millais Park was purchased for the sum of £3,600.

1960

The Baptist work and witness suffered some losses during and after the German Occupation and from 1960 the Church was helped by the Baptist Union Home Work Fund but happily became self-supporting again in 1968.

The Rev. Clifford Measday, A.R.I.B.A. commenced his ministry in 1963 and under his guidance the first alterations and internal decorations to the main church building since 1927 were carried out. The building was re-opened for worship in 1964, the Centenary Year of the Church and in the following year the fellowship gratefully accepted the anonymous gift of a new electronic organ.

The active membership gradually more and, looking to the Risen Lord for help and wisdom, took fresh heart.

1967

A valedictory service was held on 2nd September 1967 for Miss-Marion Furzer, a Church member who had been called to serve as a nurse with The Leprosy Mission at Purulia in India.

In 1965 the Church had become aware of the poor nature of their Church Halls and through a gift from a group of interested ladies in the Baptist Churches in New Jersey, in the United States of America, decided to commence a re-building fund.

1970

The Church invited the Minister, a registered architect, to design new halls and these were opened on the 5th September 1970 by his wife, Mrs. Doreen Measday. The rebuilding marked a significant step in the work of the Baptist Church in Jersey.

Through the earnest prayers of the fellowship the giving was remarkable, the sum of £14,000 being raised in the short space of six years. Many friends in Jersey, on the mainland and overseas gave generously and the Church was also grateful to the Southern Baptist Association Assembly for being recommended as the Chapel Case for 1971, the sum of £688 being received.

1973

At a Church meeting in May 1973 it was decided that the Church would 'twin' with a French Baptist Church at Vitry-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris. For several years this small fellowship had met and worshipped in a house in which also its Pastor, the Rev. Georges Bonneau and his wife lived, but they were now engaged in the erection of a large modern church building. The friends and members of the Jersey fellowship not only upheld the new venture in their prayers but gave practical help with the building work and financial support by means of the Thank-offering and other gifts.

1974

Rev. Measday was invited to speak at the official opening of the new building in May 1974, several friends and members of the Jersey Church were also present for the occasion.

On the 3rd June 1973 a valedictory service was held for Church member Miss Anne Agnes, prior to her departure for Africa where she was to serve for eighteen months as a missionary nurse in the Southern Sudan. On the 15th September 1974 another was held for two more members, the Rev. Robin Agnes, brother of Anne, and his wife Eileen who had been called to serve with the Belgian Evangelical Mission.

The Jersey Church undertook to provide full financial support for Anne whilst she was serving in Africa and now contributes to the support of Robin who is the Pastor of a small evangelical fellowship at Grivegnee, near Liege, in Belgium.

At the Southern Baptist Association Assembly in May 1974 Mr. Measday formally invited the Association to hold its 151st Annual Assembly in the Channel Islands in 1975. As a result of this invitation the Jersey and Guernsey Baptist Churches will this year be acting as hosts to 150 Officers, Ministers, Delegates and Personal Members of the S.B.A. It will be the first occasion in the history of the S.B.A. that an assembly has been held in the Islands.

In 1889 when the Rev. C.A. Fellowes wrote a 25-year-old history of the Church, he chose the text from 1 Samuel 7: 12 as being the essence of their convictions at that time, 'Hitherto the Lord hath helped us'. We too can think of no better Scripture to close this brief historical note.

May 1975

Ministers of the Jersey Baptist Church
1865-1867 Revd..F.F. Metcalf
1867 Revd. George Sheppard
1868 Revd. H.B. Bardwell
1868-1869 Revd. B.J. Holland
1870-1874 Revd. George Hider
1874-1875 Revd. Joseph Hawkes
1875-1878 Revd. George Weatherley
1879-1880 Revd. F. Johnson
1880-1885 Revd. Henry Wallace
1886-1895 Revd. C.A. Fellowes
1896-1901 Revd. William Boneer
1901-1905 Revd. Gwynne Thomas
1905-1911 Revd. Dr. J.A. Monk
1911-1921 Revd. Wilson Haffenden
1921-1929 Revd. Grimshaw Binns
1930-1949 Revd. S.J. Smurthwaite
1949-1954 Revd. B.H. Carpenter
1955-1958 Revd. W.G. Davis
1958-1962 Revd. W.G. Leggasick
1963-. Revd. Clifford M. Measday

An Historical Sketch of the Jersey Baptist Church – Part 1: the 19th Century

Taking a couple of weeks break from "Jersey As It Is", here's the first of two parts of the history of the Jersey Baptist Church.

An Historical Sketch of the Jersey Baptist Church – Part 1
1817

Prior to 1789, the year of the beginning of the French Revolution, the town of St. Helier was merely a huddle of thatched cottages around the Royal Square. However within the next quarter century the town grew by leaps and bounds and new churches became necessary. It was at this time, in the year 1817, that the Rev. Joseph Ivimey of London, a prominent Baptist minister, visited the Channel Islands and was instrumental in founding one or more Baptist causes in Jersey. The first body of believers worshipped in a meeting house in Wharf Street and the present Baptists in Jersey are direct spiritual descendants of that fellowship.

When Rev. Ivimey came to Jersey in 1817 he would almost certainly have had a long, uncomfortable, if not hazardous, journey in a small sailing cutter, being the only means of communication with the mainland.

The Jersey which he found on his arrival differed greatly from the Island which we know today. Fort Regent, overshadowing the town of St. Helier, had only been completed three years before, in 1814, there were no Albert or Victoria piers at the harbour and no lighthouse at La Corbière, George III was on the throne of England. Methodism was also in its early stages and the first purpose built chapel had been built at St. Ouen's in 1809.

Although the tempo of life was slower, the manner of living was much harsher. For example, public executions were still being held, which even school children were expected to attend.

1820

It appears that a number of Baptist churches came into being in those early days, In 1820 the first large purpose- built church known as the Albion Chapel was erected by the English-speaking fellowship in New Street and soon afterwards the French-speaking Baptists built a chapel in Ann Street. However because of a peculiarity of the Jersey law of that time both chapels had to be sold to meet the private debts of the trustees. The loss of their property was a fatal calamity to both causes and an attempt to restart the Baptist work in 1845 was short-lived.

1864

The scattered Baptists continued to meet in one another's homes. In 1864 a meeting was held at which it was decided that a Baptist Church should be formed in Jersey. Here is a statement from the first minute book:

"On September 4th,1864 at the residence of Mr. Benest, 19 Queen Street, a private meeting of Baptist friends was held in connection with the Jersey Auxiliary of the Baptist Missionary Society. Mr. J.R. Phillips, the Society's Association Agent, was present, and presided at the meeting. After prayer by brother Benest Junior, the claims of the society were considered and plans for the promotion of its interests were resolved upon for the coming year.”

"The brethren and sisters then gave expression to their desire for the formation of a Baptist Church in Jersey. Some present had been making this object a matter of prayer. Prayer was then offered by brother Bunker for Divine guidance and teaching; after which the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:”

1. It having been ascertained that there are a considerable number of baptised believers in the Lord Jesus Christ resident in Jersey, it is hereby resolved that we, whose names are now read, be formed into a Church of which the Lord Jesus shall be recognised as the Only Head and Lawgiver; His Word shall be the sole Rule of Faith and Practice; and His Ordinance of Baptism shall be administered only to Believers on a profession of their faith - Henry Avis, Mary Ann Alexandre, Amice Benest, Margaret Benest, Ebenezer Bunker, Edmund Francis Carrel, Amelia Carrel, John Cabeldu, George Seager.

2. That whilst this Church shall consist of Baptised Believers only, it will cheerfully welcome to its Communion at the Lord's Supper all who may be true lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ,"

The Church then comprised only nine members who were without Pastor, without settled habitation and without any auxiliary organisations.

The first Communion took place at 3 Wesley Street on the 6th November 1864 and the first Baptismal Service in the British School, Aquila Road on Tuesday evening 31st January 1865 there being five candidates, four of whom joined the Church. For some time services were held in members' homes but as the Church grew it became necessary to lease the Temperance Hall in Providence Street.

In June 1865 the Church moved to the little chapel in Grove Street which was purchased from the Congregational Church for £200 and this continued to be the home of the Jersey Baptists for twenty-two years.

At this time the Church was dependent upon its own members for the preaching of the Word.

Although the membership numbered only thirty-two, the Church was now determined to seek the services of a minister and, with aid given from the funds of the "Baptist Irish and Home Mission", was able to invite the Rev. F.F. Metcalf. During his pastorate a school hall was erected and opened in 1866.

The Ministerial appointments for the next two decades were mainly of short duration there being no less than nine during this period.

1870

In 1870 the Island's first railway was opened between St. Helier and St. Aubin. This enterprise may well have encouraged a new form of outreach as the Church, under the energetic leadership of the Rev. George Hider, held additional Sunday afternoon services in a borrowed chapel at St. Aubin.

Cottage meetings were also held at St. Clements. Those baptised during his ministry included three French ladies who were refugees from the Franco-Prussian war.

A great deal of major engineering and building work took place in Jersey about this period. The Elizabeth Castle breakwater was completed in 1872 and the first concrete lighthouse to be constructed in the British Isles, was erected at La Corbière point in the West of the Island, the place was notorious for shipwrecks.

1887

During the pastorates of the Rev. Henry Wallace and the Rev. C.A. Fellowes the Church grew in numbers and found its little building to be too small. In 1887 the French Independent Church worshipping in the "Chapelle Evangelique" in Vauxhall Street, generously offered their building, which was valued at £3,000, for the nominal sum of £700.

The Baptist fellowship decided to buy the building and were greatly encouraged by the local Free Church ministers. After some structural alterations by Charles Le Quesne, a builder and deacon of the Church, the building was opened on Sunday 25th September 1887 by the Rev. Charles Spurgeon of Greenwich. It is in this building that the present Baptists worship.

Following the move to Vauxhall the Church continued to flourish so that in 1889 it was reported that it had a membership of 165, a Mission Station at Town Mills, two Sunday Schools numbering unitedly over 200 scholars-with 30 teachers, a vigorous Temperance Society and two Bands of Hope, a Tract Society, a Ladies Working Party, a Foreign Missionary Auxiliary and a Young Disciples Band with over 40 members.

In 1895 the Church reluctantly accepted the resignation of Rev. Fellowes; during the period of his ministry over 100 members had been received.

1898

In 1898 the Congregationalist body asked the Church to form a Union with them, but the unanimous reply read: "At present to faithfully acquit our responsibilities as regards baptism, we cannot agree to join the proposed union".

All Saints Church – Part 1

From the 1947 edition of  "The Pilot", this historical sketch of All Saints Church in St Helier from G.R. Balleine under the headline "Our Younger Churches". Part 2 to follow next week.

I rather enjoy "mining for gold" in these old magazines! And this explains why the Church has its distinctive name.

All Saints Church – Part 1

By G.R. Balleine

In 1793 the Town Churchyard was full, and no one could be buried in the new Green Street cemetery who had not bought a grave. Yet from time to foreign labourers died in the Town or sailors on ships in the harbour or unknown bodies were washed ashore.

So the Parish proposed to make a Strangers' Cemetery on Les Mielles, the sandhills west of the Town. These formed part of the Fief of Meleches.

The commoners agreed to surrender 50 perches for this purpose, and in 1800 this was confirmed by the Seigneur. For nearly forty- years burials took place here ; but of the many tombstones only one survives, that of Madame Elie, a French lady, and her little daughter Fanny, who were drowned in a wreck off Elizabeth Castle in 1825, a stone known to boys of the neighbourhood as "the pirate’s grave” because it has on it a skull and cross-bones, the emblem of mortality.

But the character of the neighbourhood changed. During the Napoleonic wars General Don levelled the sandhills to be a Parade Ground for the militia, hence its name, “The Parade”. When peace came, houses were built round it, and what had been waste land became a residential suburb. In 1832 there was a cholera epidemic, and an outcry was raised against burying the victim, in front of these prosperous villas, and a new cemetery was opened further afield on West Mount.

Meanwhile the population of the Town had outgrown the church accommodation. The Town Church, though crowded with galleries, could not ,seat its congregation, and St. Paul's and St. James' - the only other churches, were private chapels, which could only he attended by courtesy of the proprietors. So on 25th October 1832, Dean Hue called a Public Meeting, which decided "to establish a Chapel of Ease in the Western Part of the Town in consequence of its increased population and the inadequate accommodation for the poor and middling ranks of life."

Money flowed in freely. The States voted £200. Dean Hue gave £130 Lord Beresford, the Governor, £30 the Bishop of Winchester, £25 : the S.P.C.K., £25 the Queen, £27 the Duchess of Kent and the Duke of Gloucester, £10 each. Every church in the island gave a collection, the largest being the Town Church £37 and St. James £27.

Then came the question of a site : and an offer from the Parish of the old Cemetery was gratefully accepted. The foundation stone was laid by General Thornton, the Lieut.-Governor, on 9th April, 1534.

Then trouble began. The Impartial, a leading paper of the period, published a sarcastic article : “A strong detachment of troops marched to the Parade armed to the teeth as though to repel an invasion. A considerable crowd wished to witness the ceremony ; but no one was allowed to pass, unless he was wearing white gloves, a well-brushed coat, a top hat, and freshly-blacked hoots. They alone were deemed worthy to approach the Temple that was to he dedicated to God.”

This, however, was nothing to the storm that broke, when building began. It was impossible to dig foundations without disturbing graves. The Impartial denounced this ' sacrilege ':-- "Is this a civilized land ? Is this a Christian country? Who would believe that creatures exist barbarous and inhuman enough to scatter the dust of our dead '

It printed columns of sob-stuff, including a letter from a heart-broken Frenchman (probably composed by the Editor), who had come to weep over the tomb of his dear ones, and arrived ,just in time to see his daughter’s skull being flung into a common pit. Other correspondents raised a scare that disturbing the graves would start a new cholera epidemic.

Nevertheless the work went on. The architect, a J T. Parkinson, designed the church to contain 600 seats, half to be free, the other half let to provide stipends for a Chaplain and a Clerk. The first Services were held on 25th June 1835, in English in the morning, in French in the afternoon, by Helier Touzel, the newly appointed Minister. On 9^th September the church was consecrated by Bishop Sumner of Winchester, in the name of “All Saints” in memory of the dead who were buried around.

Next day the Bishop confirmed in the church more that 300 candidates. In 1836, Dean Hue endowed the Church with £500 consols [consolidated securities], the interest to accumulate till it could produce and income of £70 per year, “provided always that Divine Service shall be performed in French at least once every Sunday.'

The interest on this Fund grew sufficient to be released in 1870.

Part 2 can be read at:
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2017/04/all-saints-church-part-2.html

St Simon's - More History

Following the article about the history of St Simon's Church - read here:
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2015/05/st-simons-church.html

came this letter from the pages of "The Pilot", in 1981 which corrects some of the history and also reflects the concerns that the church would be closed.

Letter to the Pilot.
Dear Sir,

ST SIMON'S CHURCH

It was with much satisfaction and profound interest to read the historical narrative of St Simon's Church. On at least three points it is inaccurate.

The foundations of the north aisle were never laid as an old house stood in the way, and was demolished a few years ago. The south aisle Chapel of the Incarnation was Installed long before G.R.'s article. The ancient mediaeval piscine did not come from St Helier's Parish Church, and it is not a piscine, but a benitier. St Jude was not included in the Title as there was already a chapel of that name in Union Street and a cause of great bitterness between themselves and Dean Filleul, it was eventually closed.

When St Simon's was created a "Particular District" the church building was also to be known as the Parish Church of St Simon, at all times.

But now, in 1981, although like every other church we have a eclectic congregation, after much discussion with the Bishop, an assistant priest is to be appointed with special responsibility for St Simon's. We, for our part, have given certain assurances to the Bishop. We are indeed fortunate and grateful to the many people who come to the High Masses, the purpose of which is to provide an opportunity for Christians to come together to worship God.

For what other purpose are Churches built, or indeed why has God created Man if it is not for worship? Supposing a block of flats was built where the church stands, would it create a worshipping community? Of course not.

In addition to paying our way, all the money given at collections is given to Missions. Is there any other church in Jersey which does this? Supposing a lot of money is raised and spent on restoring the building, keeping it in good order, what has that got to do with anybody? Our Lord has to reprimand his followers when they tried to prevent a woman from washing his feet with costly ointments. They thought it a great waste. 

Yet other churches can spend fortunes on stained glass windows, new organs, etc. including specially constructed burglar-proof cabinets to hold hoards of gold and silver trinkets which are never used or unusable; and no one bats an eyelid. We cannot be accused of squandering the church's money for the simple reason that we get not a penny from any official source.

Those of us, and there were many from several churches, who attended St Paul's Church for the Induction of their new Incumbent heard the Very Rev the Dean say that "there were two churches in Jersey, one very low, much lower than he himself would wish to be, the other very high, much higher than he himself wished to be, and both are necessary for the life of the Church in this Island, and must be kept".

It stands to reason that if anyone is so desirous of closing down churches, then they better look elsewhere at those churches whose services are conducted more or less uniformly and see whether they cannot be pruned. Currently we are looking at possible courses of action to ensure that Anglicans are not to be deprived of a centre of worship to which they feel drawn. 

It could mean rebuilding St Simon's on the same site with flats as well, but until our investigations are complete we remain in use as we are. It could become a centre for ecumenical work which already takes place with other Christians. It could become a centre for a Religious Community, and surely, there could be no better place. We have no intention whatever of preserving it merely as a museum of Victorian architecture.

Churchwarden, St Simon's -John S. Hitchcock

St Simon's Church

From the pages of "The Pilot", in 1981 comes this article about St Simon's Church. The article is unattributed to any author.

St Simon’s Church
The Pilot 1981

The youngest of our parishes is St Simon's. When Jurat Charles Le Quesne, author of the Constitutional History of Jersey, died in 1856, he left a legacy of £700 to build a new church in the Great Union Road District, on condition that all seats should be free, his heirs being ordered to reclaim the money, if a single seat should ever be appropriated.

In 1858 Philippe Filleul, Rector of St Helier's, launched an ambitious scheme for dividing his unwieldy parish into ten separate incumbencies, all to be financed by an unusual Investment Trust. There was at this time a tremendous boom in sheep farming in New Zealand, and two of his sons had large sheep-run there. In “An Earnest Appeal to the Stewards of the Lord's Goods”, he invited Jersey Church-people to buy sheep to be placed on his sons' farm, to be content with 5 per cent interest on their capital, and to allow everything over that amount to go to the New Churches. For a time all went well. The first year's dividend was 18 per cent, the next 22 per cent. Prospects seemed rosy.

In 1860 he set apart one of his curates, S. B. Brasher, to visit the Great Union Road district, and gather a congregation with the aim of ultimately building a church as Le Quesne had suggested. From the start this was known as the St Simon's District though why they chose as Patron so obscure an Apostle I have not discovered.

At first the only building in which Services could be held was the Cannon Street Ragged School, which lay outside the district, and Brasher did not make much progress, and after a few months resigned. His successor was Josiah Mitchell, another of Filleul's curates, whose wife was a Lys, a grand-daughter of the man who saved the Town from destruction, when the powder-magazine caught fire.

Mitchell, who was so we are told, "full of youthful zeal," was the real founder of St Simon's..At his first Service he had no instrument, but a few of the congregation did their best, and though we sometimes made two or three attempts before we got into tune, we eventually succeeded," He was however determined to have a full choral Service, a thing at that time unknown in Jersey, where in every church the responses were said (often by the clerk alone), Psalms and Canticles were read, and only the hymns were sung.

With the help of a young man named Pirie he formed a good choir, and at the end of six months the Ragged School could no longer hold his congregation.

They moved to an upper room in the Town Hall, which then stood in Don Street, for which they paid £62 a year, and fitted this up as a chapel. The singing was a great attraction. The Services were the brightest in the Town, and on Sunday evenings large numbers had to be turned away.

But there can have been nothing yet advanced about the ritual, for part of Mitchell's stipend was provided by the Evangelical Church Pastoral Aid Society.

All went well for three years; but then came a slump in the New Zealand wool trade. The bottom fell out of Filleul's Sheep Fund, and most of Mitchell's stipend disappeared. But he had gathered round him a group of enthusiastic laymen, of whom the leader was his youthful Churchwarden, W. L. De Gruchy, the future Jurat, and they formed the St Simon's District Association, and guaranteed to raise enough to keep things going.

By 1865 they felt that the time had come for using Jurat Le Queen's money, and building a church of their own. In April a well-attended meeting in the Prince of Wales' Rooms carried unanimously the Dean's motion, that "the work in the district of St Simon's can only be continued by the erection of a church"; and 1750 was subscribed on the spot. An Appeal for further funds was issued, which stressed strongly Le Quesne's resolve that the church should be free to all: "In St Simon's there will be no such abomination as the pew system."

Things then moved rapidly. The site was bought, and on July 27th the foundation stone was laid by Dr Jeune, who had been Rector of St Helier's and now was Bishop of Peterborough. This was a great function, beginning with Holy Communion in the Town Hall at 10.30, a procession to the site, where stands had been erected for spectators, the laying of the stone, a public lunch in the Yacht Hotel with 150 guests, followed by much speechmaking, then a public tea in the Vegetable Market at a shilling a head, at which 650 people sat down. Thus the stone was well and truly laid.

The committee was fortunate enough to secure the services of G. F. Bodley, the greatest ecclesiastical architect of the time. He had built scores of beautiful churches in all parts of England, and for St Simon's he drew plans for a very enchanting church. But unfortunately, when the chancel, nave, and south aisle were finished, the money ran short; and the north aisle, for which the foundations had actually been laid, the two side chapels, and the campanile have never been completed. One surprising feature of the church is the fine old medieval piscina in the sanctuary. At the time when St Simon's was being built, the Town Church was being restored, and the architect there had vandalously thrown this piscina out to be carted away with the rubble, when St Simon's rescued it, and restored it to its ancient use.

The opening ceremony was fixed for St Andrew's Day, 1866; but trouble had for some time been brewing. The district was still part of St Helier's parish, and ecclesiastically Mitchell was only Filleul's Assistant Curate.

But the St Simon's Association, when the Sheep Fund collapsed and the financial responsibility fell on to their shoulders, seem to have gone ahead with little reference to the Rector. Filleul not unnaturally resented this. One cannot carve slices out of another man's parish without his consent.

Neither side was conciliatory, and a few weeks before the Opening Mitchell announced in a sermon that "certain painful circumstances" had compelled him to send in his resignation. At a farewell meeting on St Andrew's Eve to present him with a parting gift both Churchwardens were mysteriously absent. They were driving furiously about the island to find the Dean, because they had heard that the Rector meant to forbid the opening of the church on the morrow.

The Service however passed off peaceably, and lasted from eleven till two with the baptism of Mitchell's infant daughter after the second lesson, the Athanasian Creed in honour of St Andrew, sung Litany, and Holy Communion.

The British Press reported: "A general impression prevailed that the opening would be objected to by the Rector, and that it was probably that physical force would be resorted to. But all passed off agreeably. The Rector was seen rambling about the place, evidently disturbed in mind, during the Service, but he did not muster sufficient courage to enter the building."

J. J. Balleine, whom the Rector now put in charge, was naturally received with suspicion; but he soon won his way. As a Naval Chaplain for nearly twenty years he had served in the Crimean and Chinese Wars and in all parts of the world, and was definitely what is called 'a man's man'. In his early days there was nothing alarming about his ritual or doctrine. He announced, "Now that we have a church of our own the Holy Communion will be administered fortnightly instead of monthly."

When a newspaper called St Simon's 'high,' his Churchwarden protested: "We have no graven Images, no gorgeously decked altar, no ecclesiastical millinery changing colour with feast or fast, no candles blazing at noonday." But he more than maintained the church's musical reputation.

He secured as organist the gigantic Edwin Lott, who with his flowing cape and flowing locks liked to be mistaken by strangers for the Abbe Liszt. Later he became organist of St Sepulchre's, Holborn, where he had among his pupils the future Sir Henry Wood, who devotes two amusing pages to him in his autobiography. He gathered at St Simon's a choir of 35 highly trained singers, 15 trebles, 6 altos, 6 tenors, and 8 basses, dressed them in scarlet cassocks, and drew all the music-lovers in the Town to the Services.

On September 4th, 1869, the church was consecrated by Bishop Ryan, who had been Bishop of Mauritius, and on May 6th, 1872, the district legally became a parish, and Balleine, who had been Curate-in-charge, now became Vicar.

One small point I am not sufficiently versed in ecclesiastical law to expound. Whereas all the other new parishes in the Town were described in official documents as 'Ecclesiastical Districts,' St Simon's was created a 'Particular District.'

For twenty-seven years Balleine was not only a faithful Parish Priest. It was said at his death that he was on terms of personal friendship with every man, woman, and child in his parish - but he threw himself vigorously into the public life of the island, the long controversies over the harbour works, the struggle for compulsory education. The Early Closing Movement owed much to his advocacy. And more than once influential deputations tried to persuade him to stand for election as Deputy. He was also an active member of the Order of Foresters, which was then vigorous in the Town.

But love of music and love of ceremonial often go together; and in his later years the ritual of his church grew definitely `higher'. Under his successors this process continued, till it was unkindly said that the favourite hymn at St Simon's was, "We nightly pitch our moving tent a day's march nearer Rome."

To-day at St Simon's most of the Pre-Reformation ritual and customs have been restored; and no one protests. The Church of England has learnt to take pride in the thought that she is the broadest and most tolerant of all Churches. She does not attempt to squeeze all her children into the same mould. She recognizes that some are helped in their devotions by an ornate ritual, while others feel the Presence of God most clearly in a Quaker-like simplicity. And she caters for all. It would be a bad day for our island Church, if all our Services became exactly alike.

But now, in 1981, the future of St Simon's Church is in the balance. It is understood that the somewhat derelict and abandoned Vicarage is on the point of being sold, and whereas there is no possibility, under Diocesan regulations, of its ever having a resident priest, what is to become of it?

Admittedly, on High Days and Holy Days, there appears to be no lack of priests from other churches to celebrate High Mass for an eclectic congregation. But one must ask in fairness what purpose does this serve? Ought this Church to be preserved as a fine piece of architectural church-building, devouring money and valuable space in an over-crowded Town, or would it be better to substitute the whole edifice for a high-rise block of dwelling units, to house the hundreds of young couples in Jersey who are crying out for low-priced accommodation? No doubt, our PILOT readers will express their views in our correspondence pages.

The Founding of St James Church

St James, 1829

St James was built on the east side of town. The Garrison at Fort Regent regularly attended Church Parade here, and the Regimental Band would often play after the service. The church has now become a venue for arts events.

In 1983, the vicar at St James, the Reverend Jeffrey Hollis, began adding to his Pilot notes extracts from the records relating to the building of the church.

It is fascinating to see, one the one hand, how the pews were divided up, to rent out, or for personal use, and I rather suspect that those pews freely available to the public were at the back.

The mercenary nature of the rationale for building the church is also interesting. The population of St Helier had grown, and existing Anglican churches could not accommodate all their members, hence there was a fear that they might go elsewhere – to “dissenter” chapels, such as the Methodists. It was the same kind of reasoning which led to the building of the Anglican chapel at La Rocque, to keep the fishermen there in the fold. It is an attitude which modern sensibilities may find sits badly with spiritual aims.

I’ve compiled all the history into one document, but Reverend Hollis originally had it split up over four months.

St James Church - History of its Foundation
by Jeffrey Hollis

My Dear Friends,

Each month I thought it might be a good idea to tell you a little of the history of St James Church.

In the record book of St James Chapel, as it was then called, we read the following: - "1826. June 3. A meeting was this day held, William Le Breton Esq. in chair, for the purpose of taking into consideration the necessity of erecting a Chapel for the performance of divine worship, according to the liturgy of the Church of England; the undersigned unanimously approved of the measure, and consented and agreed, to the following Twelve Resolutions, provided each Subscriber to one Share or Twenty Sittings, shall not be called upon to pay more than One Hundred Pounds, British Sterling, for his proportion of the cost and expense of the building of said Chapel according to the plan proposed. 1st. Resolved -

That the under Subscribers engage to build a Chapel, within the Parish of St Helier, for the exclusive performance of Divine Service, according to the form and order of the United Church of England and Ireland, either in English or French, or in both languages, as soon as permission can be obtained from the Diocesan.

2nd. Resolved - That Baptism, Matrimony, Churching of Women, and the Burial of the Dead, shall not be administered, solemnized or performed, in the said Chapel, which Offices shall be left, as are in fact acknowledged exclusive privileges of the Parish Church.

3rd. Resolved - That the right property and patronage of the said Chapel, shall be invested, and belong to the original Subscribers, or Founders and to their Heirs or assigns for over, whose number shall be limited to Thirty-One.

4th. Resolved - That the Founders shall elect and appoint by secret Ballot, either in person or by proxy the Chaplain, Clerk and Organist and other inferior officers of the said Chapel.

5th. Resolved - That the Chaplain shall hold his situation quamdiu se bene gesserit or during the space of Five years, when the period of his term shall cease - There shall be a new election and the former Chaplain may be re-elected, and continue for five years longer, and so on at every future election.

6th. Resolved - That the Chaplain shall be remunerated for his exertions by a certain allotment of Pews as hereafter stated."

7th. Resolved - That on the same principle of remuneration the Clerk, Organist, etc. shall have in the same manner, a proportionate number of Pews, allotted to each, which they may respectively let, or the Subscribers for them..

8th. Resolved - That One Hundred and Sixty free Sittings shall be appropriated to the sole use of the Public, during Divine Service.

9th. Resolved - That the Rector for the time being, shall always be entitled to the benefit of Fifty Sittings, which he shall have the liberty to let.

10th. Resolved - That the Founders shall draw respectively by Lot for the best Pews, and each to select his own particular Pew, and only one Pew.

11th. -Resolved - That after the selection shall have been made, the remaining sittings to. be allotted thus - Viz. To the Chaplain, 150; Clerk, 25 ; Organist, 30; Beadle, 10; Incumbent of St Helier, 50; 265 Founders, 265 =530 total, said Five Hundred and Thirty Sittings to be allotted in a fair and equitable manner, in proportion to the number of each.

12th. Resolved - That the further remainder of Pews shall be equally divided by the Founders, with the exception of four, marked No. 1,2,3,4. which will be sold for the benefit of the Chapel."

There then follows the list of the founders, which .was to be limited to thirty-one, each with one share. The total number of Sittings was 1,205.

Founders as inserted in the Contract were - Sir Thomas Le Breton; James Hemery; Philip Raoul Lempriere; Thomas Le Breton; William Le Breton; James Robin; Clement Hemery; Francis Janvrin; James Hammond; John De Veulle Jun,; Matthew Amiraux; Charles Pipon; John Callas; Clement Le Breton; Francis Godfray; John Matthews Jun.; Hugh Godfray Jun.; John Benest; Francis Bertram; John Lewis Janvrin; Lewis Poignand Jun_; Philip Godfray; Isaac Hilgrove Gosset; William Le Brocq; Philip Le Gallais; Robert Brown.

Now we see what action they took in preparing for the building of what was to become the Island's Anglican church with the largest seating capacity.

On June 3rd, 1826, the following Subscribers were requested to act as a committee to select "a proper spot for the erection of the said chapel, and to ascertain the cost thereof, and to report the same to the general meeting of subscribers. William Le Breton; John Matthews Jun.; Francis Bertram; Francis Janvrin; Lewis Poignand Jun."

On June 8th, 1826, the committee reported to the Subscribers that they had received an offer of a plot of land at La Motte from Thomas Le Breton Esq. Amongst other conditions, such as not opening any windows on the south side of his house, the said Thomas Le Breton agreed to widen the public highway by ten feet. The total cost of the plot and the road widening was "Four hundred and twenty-five Louis."

On June 28th,1826, the Subscribers "unanimously approved of that which the committee have selected, as also of the terms and conditions in their report. They have in consequence directed that a contract shall be immediately prepared, and passed in the usual forms agreeable thereto as soon as permission can be obtained from the Diocesan, for the establishment of the said Chapel, according to the resolutions entered into on the 3rd inst, copy of which Resolutions, together with the following petition to the Diocesan, they have requested the Very Rev the Dean to transmit together with the plan of the proposed Chapel, and to request the Dean be pleased at the same time to give his support to the said Petition."

The Petition to the Diocesan was sent on July 31st setting out the reasons for the erection of the Chapel. "The population of the Town and Parish consists at present of upwards of 12,000 souls and is in a state of rapid increase. The Parish Church and St Paul's Chapel, the only places where Divine Service is performed according to the forms of our Liturgy, cannot accommodate one quarter past of this population. Therefore with the best disposition to attend the service of the Church, many persons from the present want of sufficient room in the existing places of worship and are obliged to repair to conventicles of dissenting houses, amounting already to seven in number, besides those now erecting."

As we continue the story of the history of St James' Church we find that the Bishop's Licence for the building of the church was "given under our Episcopal Seal this fourteenth day of August in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, and in the seventh year of our Translation."

It was received by the Founders on August 21st. They then "examined and approved of the Contract for the purchase of the ground, and have fixed on next Saturday, the 26th inst., for passing the same in the usual form."

A committee was elected to "examine plans prepared by Mr Way and to obtain the opinion of professional men on the said plan," and on October 21st the order for "foundations five or six feet thick to be laid as soon as possible" was given.

The founders having decided that the ceremony of laying the foundation stone should take place on the First Day of January, 1827, "accordingly met at No 1, The Terrace, together with the Very Reverend Corbet Hue, D.D., Dean, Sir Thomas Le Breton Bailly, Philip Marett, Esq., Lieutenant Bailly, the Jurats of the Royal Court, the Reverend the Rectors, Thomas Le Breton, Esq., King's Procureur, John W. Dupre, Esq., King's Advocate, Philip Le Gallais, Esq., Depute Viscomte, and Francis Godfray, Esq., Greffier of the Royal Court, and proceeded in procession to the spot marked out for the erection, where the principal inhabitants and an immense concourse of People had assembled to assist at the Ceremony.

Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B., the Lieutenant-Governor, who was unable to attend, had ordered a Guard of Honour on the Ground. On the approach of the procession, the Band of the Town Regiment played "God Save the King". The Ceremony commenced by singing the 84th Psalm.

A Brass Plate, on which was inscribed the Names of the Authorities of the Island was placed over a cavity in a stone containing different Gold and Silver coins. The stone was then lowered and adjusted. James Hemery, Esq, who had been requested by the Founders to perform the Ceremony, struck the stone three times with a mallet repeating "May God prosper this our Work." The other founders having individually performed the same ceremony, the Very Rev the Dean offered up a Prayer, after which the 100th Psalm was sung, followed by the Benediction.

The Ceremony was concluded with the National Anthem by the Town Band.

History of St Clement's Church by G.R. Bailleine (Part 2)

Here is part two of the forgotten piece by  G.R. Balleine  on the history of the Church, transcribed below. Balleine had a wonderful grasp of how to make historical narrative interesting, and peppers his history with interesting anecdotes.
 
History of St Clement's Church by G.R. Bailleine  (Part 2)
 
The Twentieth Century
 
After the great Restoration of the 19th century, it would appear that the tendency of the Church Officials was to put up their feet and say "Thank goodness that's over for the next hundred years !"
 
We are not, however, far from the truth in saying the above, for sixty years after the great Restoration, we read that "the dingy, dampstained walls and ceiling are crying aloud for attention."
 
In the first half of the century, that little was done is evident. In 1901, a new organ (by Alfred Oldknow) was installed, the money for this having been raised by a bazaar in the grounds of Samares Manor, the sum realised being £351. In 1919, a clock was given. In 1935, plans for a new vestry were turned down
by the Ecclesiastical Court on the grounds that the Church was not large enough to sacrifice any of its pews.
 
In 1936, Lady Knott, of Samares Manor, offered a carillon of bells, but so many difficulties arose about this that the project was abandoned. In 1953, however, a further offer of a gift by the Lady of Samares, in memory of her second husband, was accepted gratefully.
 
This took the form of an oak screen, separating the North side of the sanctuary from the ancient North Chapel, thus making a commodious clergy vestry. The screen was given in the memory of Commander Edward Owen Obbard, D.S.C., G.M., R.N., Jurat of the Royal Court, who died on March 10th, 1951. The Dedication Service was performed by the Dean of Jersey on March 10th, 1953, in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor, and a large representative congregation.
 
The Wall Paintings
 
St. Clement's Church is justly renowned for its frescoes (or wall-paintings), and inscriptions, which were discovered in the extensive restoration.
 
1879, by workmen
19th century restor-
 
 
South Transept-In the South transept, on the West wall, there survive from the original painting the hind legs of a horse, followed by another of which the fore legs appear. Between the two is the hand of a cavalier, stretching down to a dog, whose head is raised towards his master, who is mounted on the leading horse. The inscription below the fresco reads as follows:
 
"Helas saincte Marie, et quelle
ces trois mors qui sot cy hideulx
mont fait meplre en gnt tristesse
de les vois ainxi piteulx."
 
("Alas, St. Mary? Who are,these three corpses that are so grim? It breaks my heart to see them thus piteous").
 
The legend which this illustrates is known as The Three Living and the Three Dead-an old French poem telling 'how three young princes, while out hunting, see three horrible corpses who gave them a lecture on the perils of worldly success. Several English Churches (notably Charlwood,=Surrey; Battle, Sussex; and Ditchingham, Norfolk), have paintings of this story on their walls, as have also many Normandy Churches.
 
North Transept-In the North transept, a large mural has been cut in two by the arch which leads into the Eastern portion of the Church. This shows that, at the time the mural was executed (about the 2nd half of the 15th century), this was a solid wall and the chapel behind entirely separate from the Church. All that is left to us is part of St. Margaret with the wing of her conquered dragon and St. Barbara standing by her tower.
 
The legend of St. Margaret is that she was assailed in prison by the Devil in the shape of a horrible dragon. She made the sign of the Cross on his breast, which split him in two; and allowed her to escape safely- The Crusaders brought over this legend in the 11th century, and it became very popular, since the Dragon was supposed to personify the Saracens.
 
St. Barbara of Heliopolis in Egypt was beheaded for the Faith in 235 A.D. Legend asserts that she, had been miraculously converted to Christianity.
 
North Wall of Nave-On the North wall of the Nave is a representation of St. Michael slaying the dragon. The Archangel is in complete armour, but appears to have lost his helmet. He holds in his hand a broken hilt, of which the blade is near the Dragon, which he is stamping under his feet.
 
The presence of this fresco is said to have been due to a prioress belonging to Mont St. Michel. It is possible that when the French, under Count Maulevrier, obtained by treachery possession of this portion of the Island, for a short time in the 15th century, he way have had the work executed as a sign of victory.
 
Judging by the lettering these frescoes would date from the second half of the 15th century, though some may be earlier, as the headdresses would seem to belong to the 14th century, and the armour of St. Michael indicates the same period.
 
Further Gifts
 
The Nineteen-sixties have seen further gifts to the Church, two of which must be noted here.
 
A "Treasury" in the form of a glass-fronted cupboard has been built into the wall of the North Transept. This is virtually a handsome showcase for the Church Silver, and contains the ancient chalices and baptismal dishes. The Treasury was erected in memory of the late Mr. V. J.. Bailhache, a lifelong worshipper at St. Clement's Church, and the cost was gratefully borne by his widow, Mrs. Alice Bailhache. her son, Advocate L. V. Bailhache, and her daughter, Mrs. Margaret Evans.
 
The latest addition to. the Church Plate is a Private Communion Set, consisting of chalice, paten, wafer box and spoon, all in solid silver, the gift of Lady Kavanagh. Presented to the Church in 1962, the. Set was given in memory of Colonel Sir Dermot McMorrough Kavanagh, G. C. V. O.

 

History of St Clement's Church by G.R. Bailleine (Part 1)

Here is part one of the forgotten piece by  G.R. Balleine  on the history of the Church, transcribed below. Balleine had a wonderful grasp of how to make historical narrative interesting, and peppers his history with interesting anecdotes.

History of St Clement's Church by G.R. Bailleine  (Part 1)

Origin and Foundation

In ancient documents the Church is referred to as follows: "Ecclesia Sancti Clementis de Petravilla in Gersuis", which is the Latin for "the Church of St. Clement on the estate of Peter in Jersey".

In case anyone should make the objection that we have made a somewhat free translation of the word Petravilla, we would explain it as follows. There are several place-names in Jersey ending in the word ville, for example, Grouville, Longueville. These date back to pre-Norman days when Gallic gentlemen (even after the fall of the Roman Empire) continued to reside in .so-called Roman Villas. The Villa did not necessarily mean simply the residence, or house occupied, but the entire estate, or farm, cultivated by these landed gentry. Such an estate was one known as Pierreville, the estate of Peter.

In time, the owner became a Christian, and built a wooden chapel for himself and his employees, and no doubt one of the men from his estate was ordained Priest to minister in the said chapel. This wooden Chapel would no doubt have been burnt during the Norman raids, but, on the cessation of these raids in the year 911, work would have been begun on the erection of a stone chapel dedicated in the name of St. Clement. He was a "popular saint of the moment," his bones having been allegedly recently brought back from the Black Sea.

No later than the year 1067, there is evidence that William the Conqueror granted to the Abbey of Montvilliers half the tithes of the Church of St. Clement in Jersey. Since only Parish Churches received tithes, the Church of St. Clement was then no longer a private chapel, but a Parish Church. Another charter in 1090 shows that by that time the church had passed into the ownership of the Abbey of St. Sauveur le Vicomte in Normandy, for the Abbot was confirmed in his possession; and it remained the property of this Abbey until the Reformation.

The Early Building

The oldest part of the Church, that which formed the original chapel, is what we now know as the Nave. At first, no doubt, it was a tiny Norman building, with a low thatched roof and narrow windows, two of which remain in the north wall. A further chapel was added a few yards away, on the site which the organ chamber now occupies. This, for perhaps five hundred years, had no connection with St. Clement's but stood as a neighbouring Chapel, as the Fishermen's Chapel stands close to St. Brelade's.

In the 15th century, the Church was considerably enlarged by the addition of a chancel and transepts, giving it the usual cruciform shape of most Christian churches. It has been possible to ascertain the approximate date for these enlargements and alterations on account of the Payn arms, the three trefoils, in the chancel, for the Payns were the Seigneurs of Samares during that century. Also of this period are the gargoyle on the East outside wall, and the murals, or frescoes.

When the church was enlarged, the roof was raised and constructed in stone, the line of which may still be observed on the tower arch, and buttresses were constructed to support the weight.

Reformation Vandalism

The Reformation reached the island of Jersey in severely Calvinistic form, in approximately 1550. As was the case with all the Jersey Churches, and with the majority of the churches in England, all traces of the ancient worship were swept aside.

Altars, images, stained glass, all were smashed to pieces. Endowments for masses and lamps were confiscated to the Crown. Only one bell was left. Soler, the first Protestant Rector, a- fiery Spaniard, who had been a Dominican Friar, did his work so thoroughly that nothing remains but one empty bracket, on which once stood the statue of a Saint, the piscina in the chancel, at which the Priest used to cleanse his hands before Mass, and in the North Chapel, a much more primitive piscina, and an ambry or almery, the cupboard which contained the altar vessels, the consecrated oil for anointing the sick, and the reserved sacrament.

The Reformation and After

During the hundred years following the Reformation the Church became a "Huguenot Temple", that is to say the form of worship was that practised by the Protestants of France, except for five years  under Mary, when the Catholic ritual was restored, and for a short period during which Dean Bandinel secured a reluctant use of the Prayer Book. During this time at St. Clement's, the men entered by the West door, and the women by a -door, now walled up, at the end of the North transept.

The South door did-not then exist. In Commonwealth days a large gallery was erected at the West end of the Church. There was then no altar, but an oak table (now in the new vestry), was set in front of the pulpit, and from the North side of this no doubt the Celebrant would conduct the Communion Service on only the four Major Festivals of the Church's Year.

The 19th Century

The Act Book of the Assemblee Ecclesiastique gives certain information as to what took place in the 19th century. In 1823, the Assembly forbade the Schoolmaster to continue holding his school in the vestry, as the children had been breaking seats and windows in the Church.

The Militia cannon were kept in the Church as late as 1824, for in that year a special meeting was held to take steps to make it easier to get them in and out.

In 1826, the Reverend Phillippe Aubin, B.D. was appointed Rector, a young and vigorous man, who made many improvements. In 1828, the old cracked bell was disposed of to a French bell founder, named Pierre Le Lievre, and was replaced by the present one, cast by Marquet of Villedieu. It was hung on September 1st of that year, and bears the inscription :

`Saint Clement, Ile de Jersey, 1828
Messrs Jean Touzel, et Gedeon Ahier,.
Surveillants..'

An organ, lent by the Seigneur of Samares, was placed in the gallery. An annexe, as high as the Church itself, was added to the West end to house the cannon and to act as a vestry and Sunday School. Since this now blocked the West door, a new entrance was made, which in later years formed a small vestry, and which, later still, was discontinued as a vestry and which, at the time of writing, is used as a store for cleaning equipment. In 1833, the North door was walled up to exclude the draught. In 1837, the stone from which the parish notices had once been given out was ordered to be removed from the churchyard to make room for a grave.

The Restoration of 1880

The important Restoration of 1880 was in fact initiated by the Reverend Charles Marett, M.A., Rector from 1842-1876. In 1874, the Rector caused a Committee to be appointed to draw up plans for a complete restoration, and he himself collected £295.

The annexe, built at the instigation of Rector Aubin, was entirely removed, thus allowing for the re-opening of the West door, and the unblocking of the West window. The nearby door was turned into a tiny vestry. A new entrance to the Church was made in the South transept.

The gallery was pulled down, and the walls stripped of their plaster, thus revealing the Frescoes. The high box-pews and the great square manor-pew in front of the pulpit were removed and replaced by the present seating.

The Chancel was restored to its ancient use with altar and altar-rails. A new pulpit and prayer-desk were installed, the pulpit being handsomely constructed out of Caen stone. The reredos was presented by Edward Mourant, Seigneur; the sanctuary chair by Jean Monamy, the Constable; and the lectern by Charles Marett, the former Rector. Three stained-glass windows were also presented.

The work took three years to complete, and the total cost was £1,535. The Church was re-opened for public worship on March 29th, 1882, when the Service was conducted in English.

 

History of St Lawrence Church by G.R. Balleine (Part 2)

Here is part two of the forgotten piece by  G.R. Balleine  on the history of the Church, transcribed below. Balleine had a wonderful grasp of how to make historical narrative interesting, and peppers his history with interesting anecdotes.
 
History of St Lawrence Church by G.R. Balleine (Part 2)
 
Later Restorations
 
St Lawrence was the last. church in the Island to be restored. For three hundred years few changes were made in its internal arrangements. Those who remembered it as it was in 1890 knew what it looked like in the days of Charles II. The chancel was full of high-backed pews facing the three-decker pulpit. Where the high-altar now stands was the Colombier pew high and lifted up. In front of this was Patrimoine pew, also exalted above the common herd. These two families had their private door through the east wall. In front of the pulpit stood three great square pews each with its own stove, one for Avranche, one for La Chesnaie, one for Highlands. The police pew was just inside the north door. The choir sat in a west gallery with the clarinet players and the bassoons (there was no organ till the middle of the 19th century). They alone used the west door. The curiously broad door at the end of the north aisle was made to run in and out of the parish cannons, which were kept in the church from Elizabethan to Victorian times. The Communion table, stood near this door, and was brought out and set in front of the pulpit on the quarterly Communion Sundays.
 
The Acts of the Ecclesiastical Court are much the same for St Lawrence as those in other Parishes: A long series of reconciliations of lapsed Huguenots, e.g. in 1713, "Jacob Hemery and Louise Tancrel, his wife, of the Diocese of Bayeux, have voluntarily presented themselves, and confessed the sin they have committed and the scandal they have caused by abjuring the Protestant religion and taking part in the superstitions of Rome through the violence of persecution. They have humbly asked pardon of God and have renounced all the errors of the Church of Rome. They are ordered to make a like confession and renunciation in their Parish Church of St Lawrence. After which they will be received back into the peace of the Church". (The last of these penances in St Lawrence was            1811). A dismal series of public penances!
 
The two main sources of information about parochial affairs available in other Parishes, fail us at St Lawrence. No one seems to know what happened to the old Minute Books of the Assemblee Ecclesiastique or the Old Account Books of the Tresor. In 1789 however political feeling was running high. Chariots and Magots were fiercely struggling for the mastery. Amice Bisson the Rector, was an enthusiastic Magot. Elections till 1831 were held on Sunday in the church porch at the close of Morning Service!
 
In 1888 the Parish decided to restore the church. An unusual advertisement was inserted in The Builder and The Architect: "Competition. The Committee for the restoration of St Lawrence Church, Jersey, invite architects to submit designs for the restoration of the said church. A premium of £30 is offered for the best plan." But architects of repute do not enter prize competitions, at which the judges are persons with no knowledge of architecture. So this ingenious plan failed, and the committee had to engage an architect in the usual way. Their choice fell on John Evelyn Troloppe of Charing Cross, and everyone agrees that he made a wonderfully good job of it. The restoration cost £3,741.
 
The higgledy-piggledy high pews were all swept away; the church was refloored, and rows of uniform pews substituted. The chancel was restored to its old use with a new altar and altar-rails, choir-stalls, and chancel screen. A new pulpit, lectern, and font were presented. On May 18th, 1892, the work was completed, and the Re-opening Service was taken by Bishop Thorold of Winchester. At this service the four flags of the St Lawrence battalion of the Militia were laid up, the two oldest being those actually carried in the Battle of Jersey in 1781. In the Sanctuary they still hang, proud tokens of the Jerseyman's love of freedom and independence.
 
In 1963, expert examination. of the electrical system was made. Much of the wiring was found to be in a dangerous condition. The old wiring was entirely stripped, and new heating and lighting equipment installed. The fabric of the church is now preserved from deterioration by a system of high and low level heating. Daylight tubular lighting has revealed the natural pinks, blues and greys of the local granite. The removal of two large Victorian lamp-shades in the Lady Chapel, has brought to light two interesting bosses which bear the Hamptonne coats-of-arms; and floodlights now reveal the beauty of the only groined roof in the Island.
 
At the present time, the refurnishing of the Chapel is in progress, whereby it will be restored to its primary glory as a place, not only of beauty, but of prayer and meditation. Complete decoration of the church at a later date, has been approved by both the Ecclesiastical and Parochial Assemblies. When all that is necessary has been accomplished, the Parish Church of St Lawrence will once again take its place as one of the most beautiful of the Island's heritages.
 
St Lawrence has been called `the Cathedral of, Jersey', and certainly, architecturally, it is the finest of our churches. Twenty generations of Jersey men have worshipped in its walls. Its whole atmosphere, as one visitor said, `makes one feel good'. Long may it continue to be for its Parish a meeting place with God.

History of St Lawrence Church by G.R. Balleine (Part 1)

Here is part one of the forgotten piece by  G.R. Balleine  on the history of the Church, transcribed below. Balleine had a wonderful grasp of how to make historical narrative interesting, and peppers his history with interesting anecdotes.
 
History of St Lawrence Church by G.R. Balleine (Part 1)
By G.R. Balleine
 
No one can date our ancient churches. Old parts were pulled down and rebuilt. New chapels and aisles were added, and at St Lawrence this process was so complete, that no part of the original structure remains. Before the parochial system arose there were at least four chapels in what is now St Lawrence parish, St Claire's, St Eutrope's, St Nicolas', and St Lawrence; of these, the last gradually developed into the Parish Church.
 
Early History
 
The oldest document to mention it is a charter of 1198, by which John (then Lord of the Isles and later King of England) gave to the Abbey of Blanchelande in Normandy "the church of St Lawrence in Jersey with all its appurtenances" and that Abbey remained patron of the living till the Reformation. But the church had probably been standing for centuries before John gave it away!
 
It almost certainly started life as a small Chantry chapel on the site of the present chancel. When the family that owned it threw it open to their neighbours, a short nave was built. As the population increased, this nave was lengthened. Then a tower and two transepts were added, giving the church the form of a cross. (The north transept was swallowed later by the building of the north aisle. The south transept is now the south porch). In the 13th century the parish demolished the old nave and built the present one, longer and loftier than its predecessors. (The stonework shows that it was added to the tower and not vice-versa). The nave was now much finer than the chancel: so in the 15th century the latter was pulled down, and the present one built.
 
The two last sections of the church can be dated exactly. Sire Louis Hamptonne was Rector for fifty-six years (1502-1558). He was rich and generous. Chevalier says in his Diary: - "He gave two quarters of wheat rente in perpetuity for the upkeep of the roads and made at his own expense slips for the vraicing-carts to go down to the rocks". But his chief benefaction was the addition to the church of the beautiful Hamptonne chapel, with its gargoyles representing the spirits of evil driven out by the worship within. This is the finest piece of architecture in the Island. The date of the Chapel, 1524, is carved on the N.E. buttress. Hamptonne was still Rector twenty-two years later, when the North aisle was added. In 1546 the Royal Court authorised the sale of some wheat rentes belonging to the Tresor to pay for "the enlargements of the church by constructing a chapel alongside the nave". The building then attained its present shape and size.
 
Celtic Relics
 
Very few relics remain of the church's earliest days. The oldest is a broken pillar in local granite, dating from the 4th century A.D., the only remaining piece of a villa in Roman style. The late 6th century Christian inscription, cut on the flat top of the column, stands as a memorial to a Celtic monk of some importance, one who, probably with other Celtic missionaries, brought the Christian Faith to this Island. On the planed side of the column are Celtic interlacings of the early 9th century. The pillar was found some eight feet below the nave during the restoration of the church in 1890-1892, when the north pillar of the west arch was being strengthened at the foundations. Evidence that a form of Celtic Christianity flourished in Jersey, in a period before the Viking conquest, is thus definite, added to the fact that the column is "important as evidence of the existence of an important late Roman settlement in Jersey."
 
Other crudely carved stones, some of great antiquity, may be seen built into the exterior buttresses of the chancel. Eight of these bear Celtic crosses in three designs, and are of 7th century origin. In the East wall of the old South transept, now, the South porch, but in Norman times a chantry chapel, may be seen a deep arched-recess. It is suggested that this held the tabernacle in which the Blessed Sacrament was re-served, the chantry chapel being used for the normal purpose of reciting masses for the dead. A plain brass cross now marks this sacred spot. In the Hamptonne chapel the             16th Century piscina where the priest washed his hands before Communion, and the sacred vessels afterwards, is still to be seen. In 1963 the old Victorian plaster was removed, revealing Puritan white-wash, and the conduit down which the water ran into consecrated ground. The piscina is again in use. Two stone altar slabs were discovered during the restoration of the church in 1892. No trace of them was found, until in 1964, the present Rector discovered a piece of a stone altar which bears a consecration cross, hidden in the recess of the S.W. buttress near the West door. It can be safely assumed that the two old altars were cut up and used in the reconstruction of walls and buttresses.
 
Rector Hamptonne
 
Rector Hamptonne lived long enough to see great changes in his church. For years Protestant propaganda had been undermining the old faith, and many of the clergy themselves were attracted by the new views. In 1548 the States imported two French Huguenot Pastors "to expound the Word of God to the people purely and sincerely," and, since the Rectors contributed voluntarily to their support, we may assume that they were not opposed to reform. But Hamptonne cannot have been so pleased, when Royal Commissioners began to confiscate church property. First, all endowments for Obits and Masses were seized. In this way St. Lawrence lost twenty-four endowments, as well as the bequests left to the two Fraternities of St Nicholas and St Katherine. In 1549 the Act of Uniformity forbade Latin Services; and this was obeyed, for in the following year the Privy Council thanked the Island "for embracing His Majesty's laws concerning Divine Service".
 
But Jersey could not use Cranmer's Prayer Book, for this had not yet been translated into French. The only French Prayer Book available was that of the Huguenots; so Hamptonne and his brethren had to make use of that. Then came the order to remove all images, closely followed by another to surrender all but one of the church bells. (The size of the belfry, before the present floor was put in, suggests that it once held a full peal of eight).
 
Rector Hamptonne is unlikely to have made any more drastic changes in his church than the letter of the law required; but some of his successors were root-and-branch extremists. Edouard de Carteret was one of those who signed the Discipline Ecclesiastique, which imposed the Calvinistic System on the Island; and Claude Parent, who followed him, was a Frenchman, who had been Huguenot Pastor at Bayeux. Their respective reigns as Rectors were-de Carteret 1572-1576, Parent    1577-1 580. Under them St Lawrence Church was transformed into a Huguenot Temple. The stone altars were broken down, and four times a year the long, narrow wooden Communion table, which now stands in the porch was set in front of the pulpit, and the people stood all round it to receive their Communion. In 1964 it was restored, and is now used as a nave altar at Family Communion. It is over 340 years old!
 
The chancel was filled with pews facing the pulpit. The stained glass windows were smashed. The old wall-paintings were blotted out with whitewash. The `work' was done so thoroughly that, whereas in most of our churches stone corbels show where images once stood, in St Lawrence even the corbels have disappeared.
 
The Calvinist regime lasted till 1623. During this period the stone sundial, now in the Museum of the Société Jersiaise, (which sundial the Rector is most anxious to see restored to its rightful place in the churchyard)-and the bell, which is still in use, were added to the belfry. The latter bears the inscription: "Cette cloche est pour la paroisse de St Lorans a Jarze. 1592. I.W.". It is the oldest bell in the Island.
 
Then Dean Bandinel enforced for a time the. reluctant use of the Prayer Book, but under Cromwell the old Huguenot Service was resumed. The French Prayer Book was finally restored in 1660, when the king regained his throne.
 
Laurens Hamptonne during the civil War had been a leading Royalist. As Vicomte he had proclaimed Charles II as King, as soon as the news of his father's execution reached Jersey. His tombstone and that of his son outside the chancel wall on the south side, attract the notice of everyone who approaches the church. Jersey gentry in those days prided themselves on their skill as Latinists. The two grammar schools of St Mannelier and St Anastase had not been founded in vain. Translated, the inscription runs: "Hail, passer by! I would have a word with you for a moment. Within this Temple lies buried that illustrious man, Laurens Hamptonne, who deserved the best from his country, once Vicomte of this Island, and Lieutenant Bailiff, and Captain of this Parish, now, alas, snatched from us. Born 1600. Unborn II Feb.
and buried V. F. 1664. and Edouard Hamptonne Junior. If anyone in this island in his life-time was polished, it was he. He too was Vicomte, and now, alas, had been torn from us by an untimely death. Ripe in Heaven, he was taken away 27 Jan. and buried on 29th, 1660. Farewell passer by. Live in the light. Remember death and Heaven." (The above dates are confirmed in the Parish Church Register of 1650).

History of St Saviour’s Church by G.R. Balleine (Part 2)

Here is part two of the forgotten piece by  G.R. Balleine  on the history of the Church, transcribed below. Balleine had a wonderful grasp of how to make historical narrative interesting, and peppers his history with interesting anecdotes.

Unfortunately, the last time I went along on a Saturday, the Church was locked up, so I was not able to look around. This closure is singular among Jersey's ancient Parish Churches, and that is a great shame. It is however open on Sundays after morning services for quite a while, and Monday to Friday from about 8.15 to around 3.30.

History of St Saviour's Church  by G.R. Balleine (Part 2)

The 16th Century

Then came the Reformation; and St. Saviour's became one of its chief centres. The States in 1548 invited two Huguenot theologians to the island "to expound the Word of God to the people purely"; and one of these, Martin Langcoys, was made Rector of St. Saviour's.

All images, pictures, candles, ornaments, vestments were swept away; the windows were filled with plain glass; and the Church was transformed into a Huguenot Temple. (Calvinists objected to a building being called a "church", reserving that word for the company of Christian people). Calvinism made its appeal solely and austerely to the mind. It trusted the preacher with the task of lifting men's hearts heavenward. So it filled the Chancel with benches facing the pulpit.

Let us watch a Service at this time. Men and women enter the Temple by separate doors and sit on opposite sides, the men retaining their hats, which they only remove to salute the text of the sermon. The black-gowned Minister also wears a close-fitting cap, the claque-oreilles, in the pulpit. The Service is that of the Huguenot Prayer Book, drawn up by Calvin for Geneva. No departure from this is permitted. Extempore prayer is forbidden. The most popular feature of the Service is the singing of Marot's Metrical
Psalms to familiar ballad tunes. In the morning there is a sermon, but the afternoon is devoted to catechizing.

The Calvinist Catechism was a portentous manual with over four hundred answers, in which everyone was drilled, until he was word-perfect. Mercifully it was divided into fifty-five sections, only one of which was taken each Sunday. On most Sundays the children gave the answers, "repeating them again and again, that their elders may grow familiar with them." But four times a year came the Great Catechizing when the children had the joy of hearing the adults catechized, "beginning with the elders," and watching to see if Granfather or the Constable would stumble over one of the difficult answers.

On Communion Sunday, which came four times a year, every parishioner over eleven was bound to communicate.

"This do in remembrance of Me" was now to law of the land. Everyone wore deepest mourning in memory of the death of Christ. A table was set in front of the pulpit with benches round it, and the people sat round in relays", as this posture agrees best with the original institution.

The 17th Century

When Charles II recovered the throne in 1660, the Anglican Prayer Book was enforced, but on two points for several generations the congregation refused to conform. They refused to join in the Responses, which became a Duet between the Rector and the Clerk; and many refused to kneel to receive the Communion, but communicated standing.

The Church was well cared for. Poingdestre, writing in 1682, says that it was "ye fairest and cleanest of all ye island and ye best in repaire"; but before long through the growth of population it had to be disfigured by a number of unsightly galleries. At this time the Communion Table was in the Chapel of St. John.

19th Century Restoration

In 1841            came the first general restoration. The Rector was living in retirement, and Thomas Orange, who later became Rector of St. Lawrence, was in charge of the parish. He was evidently a man full of tact, and energy.

Pews were then private property, and pew-holders were quick to resent any interference with them; but he managed to persuade them to consent to an entire rearrangement, by which he gained a hundred additional seats on the ground floor, and was able to demolish the largest of the galleries. All pews were painted a uniform stone colour. The Church was replastered throughout.

Only on one point was he beaten. He wished to remove the Communion Table from the Chapel of St. John to its present position in the Chapel of the Thorn; but, after twice gaining the consent of the Assemblee, at a third meeting this scheme was outvoted.

Sixty years later under Canon Luce the Church assumed its present arrangement. The Chapel of the Thorn became the Chancel, and the Chapel of the Virgin the Nave. Ancient windows and doors were unblocked under the guidance of an enthusiastic architect, Adolphus Curry, and every effort made to restore the building to its original form. In addition many beautiful gifts were given by parishioners, stained glass windows, pulpit, screen, etc. One improvement was the purchase of a public-house, which stood at the corner of the churchyard, and the erection of a lych-gate in its place in memory of Dean Balleine.

20th Century Additions

In 1946, a handsome Processional Cross was generously presented to the Church byMrs. H. M. Robin, in memory of her twograndsons, who died in the      1939/45 war: Francis Victor Beaufort, Lieutenant, 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, and Michael Guy Robin, Flight Lieutenant, Royal Air Force.

In 1951 a sterling Silver Chalice and Paten, and a solid Brass Table with deep cut black lettering and vine borders, was given by parishioners and numerous friends in memory of the late Reverend Canon G. P. Balleine, M.A., Rector of St. Saviour, 1917-1940.

1952: "Children's Corner." A handsome and Beautiful gift by Miss Lucy Isabel Vance, in memory of her parents, William John and Isabel Vance. The furnishings of the Corner are most harmonious and the whole adds to the dignified atmosphere of the Church.

1956: A magnificent solid silver Cross and Candlesticks on the main Altar were presentedby Lieutenant-Colonel H. S. Le Rossignol, O.H.E. in memory of his wife who died in1955.

History of St Saviour’s Church by G.R. Balleine (Part 1)

Here is part one of the forgotten piece by  G.R. Balleine  on the history of the Church, transcribed below. Balleine had a wonderful grasp of how to make historical narrative interesting, and peppers his history with interesting anecdotes.
 
Unfortunately, the last time I went along on a Saturday, the Church was locked up, so I was not able to look around. If it is locked during the day, it is singular among Jersey's ancient Parish Churches, and that is a great shame.
 
History of St Saviour's Church by G.R. Balleine (Part 1)
 
Origin
 
Of all our Churches none made a queerer start than St. Saviour's. It began life as four babies, who have grown into one. It stands at a point where five fiefs meet. Whether these mediaeval fiefs preserve the boundaries of prehistoric tribes no one can say; but for some reason the present churchyard became the burial ground for the neighbourhood.
 
Here in early Christian times someone built a little thatched Chantry Chapel 30 feet long, in which Masses could be said for the souls of his family, and he dedicated it to St. Saviour; and, since in those days no altar could be consecrated unless it contained a relic, he apparently secured from some pilgrim to Palestine what purported to be one of the thorns from Our Lord's crown of thorns.
 
There was an immense trade in this particular relic in the early Middle Ages; and credulous pilgrims brought back innumerable thorns from Jerusalem. There are still, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, more than seven hundred of these revered in European churches today, even after the enormous destruction of relics at the time of Reformation. The tiny Chapel now became known as St. Sauveur de l'Epine, St. Saviour of the Thorn.
 
Five Separate Chapels
 
Then someone else built another tiny Chapel alongside of this one on the north and dedicated it to St. John. Later two more small Chapels were built, a little to the west of the first two, but with a gap between; the northern one was dedicated to St. Martin, and the southern one to the Virgin Mary. These four private Chapels were quite unconnected with one another. A fifth Chapel stood in the north-west corner of the churchyard, known as the Chapelle de l'Hote Dieu or de l'autel Dieu, the Chapel of the House of God or the Altar of God. It is not clear which was the original dedication.
 
The next stage came, when connecting walls were built between the Chapel of the Thorn and the Chapel of the Virgin, and they were thrown into one to form a parish Church. The walls were raised, and a stone roof substituted for the thatch. This must have been done before 1145, when a Papal Bull spoke of the Bishop of Coutances as being in possession of "the Church of St. Saviour in Jersey with its lands, tithes, and other properties".
 
In the thirteenth century this little Church was lengthened at both ends east and west. At this time the Parish Priest, who was known as the Vicar, not the Rector, was appointed by the Archdeacon of Val de Vire in Normandy.
 
In the fourteenth century the great central tower was added; and later the Chapels of St. John and St. Martin were thrown into the Church, and it became its present size.
 
Business-like Rector
 
We hear little of Church or parish till1461, when Jehan Hue was appointed "Rector and Cure, or rather Perpetual Vicar". He was a Jerseyman,who had been trained in the Diocesan Clergy School at Coutances, and had been ordained in the previous year in St. Lawrence Church by the Bishop of Porphyris. He was evidently a man of business-like habits; for in his first year he compiled a Register, which remains the most detailed picture we possess of Church life in the island before the Reformation. It gives full particulars of the Vicar's income, which fields paid tithe, and which paid two cabots of wheat, and lists of all benefactions left to the poor or the Church.
 
Five houses were responsible for providing wax for the'Church candles, eight for supplying corn to make the pain beni, eleven for supplying wine for the Mass. From another source we learn that one farm was bound to lay "two hundred reeds on Christmas Eve from the Presbytery to the Church for the Priest to walk on as he went to celebrate the Midnight Mass".
 
Hue gives the Rules of the Fraternities, which played in these days so prominent a part in the life of every parish. In St. Saviour's there were four, the Clerks of St. Saviour, the Clerks of St. Katherine, the Clerks of St. Nicholas' Feast in Winter, and those of his Feast in Summer. Every member absent from the Fraternity Mass was fined two pots of wine. Every sister had to provide a capon for the community supper.
 
Later Hue listed the benefactions made in his own day, Richard Le Viellard presented the Church with an image of St. Sebastian. Madame Phillipe De Cateret left two cabots of wheat. rente to maintain a candle before the Crucifix. The mother of Alinor Poingdestre left a cabot of rente for a candle before Our Lady for Pity.
 
By his will Hue left the Church a pair of black damask vestments and a silver chalice worth forty golden crowns. But his chief benefaction was the foundation of the St. Mannelier Grammar School. An effort was now being made to give the Chantry Priests something to do beside saying Masses for the dead. An Alms-house had been attached to the Chapel_ of the Hotel de Dieu. And a mile and a half from the Church stood another old Chapel dedicated to St. Magloire, the Breton Apostle of Sark, who was locally known as St. Mannelier. Beside this Hue built a School, and endowed it with a field, that he had inherited from his mother; and this remained for four hundred years the chief educational institution in the island.
 
An alcove in the south-west buttress reminds us of another devotion very popular at this time. It bears the initials of George Lempriere, who was Constable in 1464, and the cockleshell shows that he had gone on pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James of Campostella in Spain. Every year a ship sailed from Jersey crowded with pilgrims on their way to this sanctuary; and the Constable on his return evidently placed a statue of St. James in that niche.

 

History of St Martin’s Church (Part 2)

Here is part two of the forgotten piece by G.R. Balleine on the history of St Martin's Church, transcribed below. Balleine had a wonderful grasp of how to make historical narrative interesting, and peppers his history with interesting anecdotes
 
History of St Martin's Church (Part 2)
By G.R. Balleine
 
XVII & XVIII Centuries
 
During Cromwellian days the Church was thoroughly restored. In 1658 it was re-seated and whitewashed, the north side of the roof was slated, the broken windows repaired, and a new churchyard wall built.
 
Churchwardens in this century seem to have been strangely remiss about opening the Poor Box. At Christmas, 1639, we read: ."The Poor Box was opened by the Parish Officers, and there was found in it 8 crowns, 4 sols, 1 double. It was three years since it had been opened", and again in 1671: "On a dark night the box outside the Church was broken open and its contents stolen. It had not been opened for more than two years."
 
Throughout. the 18th century, as the population increased, the Church Assembly found great difficulty in providing pews for everyone. An act of 1708 runs: "Seeing that the family of Thomas Lempriere has by the Lord's blessing become so numerous that his pew in the South Chapel has become too small to hold them, it has been found reasonable to allot to Sieur Lempriere a second pew, which formerly belonged to Mons. Le Hardy". Soon, however, the erection of two large galleries became necessary, one at the west end and one along the north wall of the nave.
 
In 1732 the sundial was given by Georges Bandinel, the Vicomte. In 1745 the north wall began to bulge again and fresh buttresses were added, which are easily distinguished from the older ones, because they are built of blue granite.
 
In 1749 we find an amusing instance of Jersey thrift. In those days the collection was taken by almoners at the Church doors. The Church-wardens petitioned the Ecclesiastical Court for permission to substitute windows for two of their doors, stating that they had four doors and only two almoners, and that, at whichever doors they stationed these officials, many of the congregation would leave by one of the others. Permission was granted.
 
Public Penance was still frequent. A typical case is that of Elizabeth Le Brun, for adultery. "For this" says an Act of the Ecclesiastical Court, "she has humbly asked pardon of God, and as a salutary penance has promised to kneel for two Sundays outside the principal door of St Martin's Church, and ask the faithful, as they enter, to pray that God may pardon her sin. She shall remain there till the Nicene Creed, when the Rector will send the Churchwardens to bring her into the church. She will then kneel in front of the pulpit, while one of the Penitential Psalms is sung, and remain kneeling during the sermon. She shall then read her confession aloud in the form that shall be given her. After which the Rector may receive her back into the Peace of the Church". The last Public Penance of this kind took place in 1830.
 
In 1837 the spire was again destroyed by lightning, but this time, when it was rebuilt, a lightning conductor was added. The Admiralty now listed the spire as a sea-mark, and insisted that it should be kept whitewashed.
 
The old chancel was still boarded off as the schoolroom of the Parish School. In 1842 Dean Jeune suggested that "out of respect for the Temple and the place where their ancestors were buried" the parishioners should move the School elsewhere; but the Parish Assembly would not hear of this. Three years later, however, it sanctioned a general restoration of the Church, "provided that it cost nothing to the Parish".
 
The School was removed, the partition pulled down, and the chancel restored to its former use with a Communion Table under the east window. A new pulpit and several stained glass windows were given, and the present Vestry made in the remnant of the Mabon Chapel.
 
The financial value of pews can be seen by a sale at this time. Dr Bandinel, who was then Librarian of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, sold his family pew in St Martins' by auction, and it was knocked down for £67 sterling.
 
The next restoration took place in 1877, when Thomas Le Neveu was Rector. A strong party opposed it, and it was eventually carried in the Assembly only by two votes. But the work was done thoroughly, and the cost covered by printing banknotes, a form of finance much in favour in the island at this time.
 
William Lempriere, a retired clergyman, who was now Seigneur of Rozel, generously undertook the entire refurnishing of the Chancel, Choir-stalls, altar-rails, and east window were his gift, and in addition he presented a new font and lectern.
 
The chief glory of St Martin's is its stained glass. No church in the island has finer. Most of these windows were added from this time on-ward.
 
Recent Years
 
Concerning recent improvements, the most notable is that of the restoration of the South Aisle and Side Chapel. Although mooted long before, the work started seriously in April, 1963, inspired by a generous gift of £400, for the purpose of erecting a stone altar in Jersey granite. This gift encouraged the Rector to appeal to all parishioners and friends to play their part generously. Within fifteen weeks, the appeal had reached its target of £I000, and to encourage this restoration the municipality voted a further £1000.
 
Many additions and furnishings have been given in recent years, notably the Lempriere Screen, the Priests' Stalls, and the Altar ornaments. The Bishop's Chair at the East end was a thank offering by parishioners and friends for the Liberation in 1945. It is interesting to note that carved on the altar riddel posts and imprinted on the silver ornaments, is the Wedgewood Pottery Coat of Arms.