St Pierre du Bois (church)

St Pierre du Bois is the parish church of St Pierre du Bois, Guernsey.

Set on the side of a valley, this lovely church can be seen to the best advantage as one approaches the green with its parish war memorial.

While giving the impression of being a typical 15th century building, symmetrically planned and built more or less in one operation, this is certainly not so. The south aisle is the earliest part of the existing church, pre-dating the chancel by a few years, and was probably built around 1375. The rest of the church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.

It is now furnished in Victorian style. An old seating dated 1710 shows that the men and women sat separately, being parted before entering in the church through different doors.

In the porch beneath the tower, is a large slab which was probably the original altar stone. Traces of the consecration crosses can be seen and also of the depression cut for the monumental brass when it was put to use as a tombstone at the Reformation.

The Priaulx Library holds copies of the parish baptisms, marriages and burials registers dating from 1628, but they are not regular until 1653, when the burial registers commenced.