Historic Jersey buildings
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Property name
Maison Maret
Other names
Ivy Farm
Location
Rue es Picots
Type of property
16th century farm
Valuations
No recent transactions
Families associated with the property
- Marett: The Constable of Trinity in 1653, Jean Maret, lived there, and was followed by his descendants until Charles Maret, also Constable, died without leaving any children in 1779
- Dorey
Datestones
- EC 1640 J Maret or EC I Maret [1] 1646, which is possibly Josue Maret's son Jean
- 1702 CMR, the intials stand for Charles Maret
- CMR EG 1731 - For Charles Marett (Constable of Trinity 1725-31) and Elizabeth Guille, parents of Charles Marett represented on the next datestone
- CMR AM 1755 with a crown surmounting the initials, which represent Charles Maret and Anne Messervy. The use of the crown has not been satisfactorily explained
- PDR EGD 1862 - For Philippe Dorey and Elisa Ann Gaudin [2]
Historic Environment Record entry
Listed building
A fine example of a 16th century property with a good survival of some typical and some rare Jersey vernacular features, including an arch with a moulded dripstone; with associated farm buildings.
16th century with mid-17th and 18th century phases. Shown on the Richmond Map of 1795.
Double entrance arch moved here from La Pierre des Trois Milles, and is not in its original condition.
A wing running northwards may have been the dower wing.
The farm buildings are dated 1862.
Main house, five-bay, two-storey with three-bay, two-storey wing to either side. Block of two-storey farm buildings run north south on the west side of the property forming a yard of farm buildings to the west.
Door arch in centre is nine-stone Jersey arch with chamfer and moulding. Ornamental dripstones above the arch are moulded with a fleur-de-lis crest. Uneven fenestration, probably a result of refacing.
There may have been a tourelle staircase based on projection on north side.
Old Jersey Houses
The front door arch is remarkable and is either the inspiration or a copy of the Queen Elizabeth Gate at Elizabeth Castle - a round Jersey arch with elaborate decorated crockets.
A stone with a rough incision appears to read EC 1640 J Maret. It has not been possible to identify the E C with any Maret marriage of the right date so these initials must remain a mystery. The roughness of the carving and its position make it possible that it was the work of a child.
Notes and references
- ↑ The spelling of the family name changed from Maret to Marett in the late 17th century
- ↑ Not Philip and Elizabeth Gaudain, as shown in HER. Philippe's ancestry and how he came to own Maison Maret is something of a mystery. There is only one marriage on record for a Dorey and a Gaudin. This was in St Helier in 1853. Philippe Dorey was a saddler, born in St Helier in 1931, and he married Elisa Ann Gaudin. Philippe's father was another Philippe, a shoemaker, also from St Helier, and his mother was Anne Le Gros, from St Helier. They married in the parish in 1830. How did a saddler, the son of a shoemaker, come to own Maison Maret and erect a datestone there? Or was there another Philip/Philippe? Virtually all online trees show Philippe born in Trinity in 1828, either the son of Philippe and Jeanne Le Masurier or of a Josue Dorey. Are these all wrong? There is no obvious baptism record for Philippe's father, and the creators of online trees have simply picked the one born in Trinity closest to the likely date. Not surprisingly these trees show no earlier generations. We have not been able to place these Philippe Doreys in any of our family trees. Examination of 19th century census records just adds to the confusion. The 1891 census shows Philip and Elizabeth Dorey living at Ivy Farm, the name of Maison Maret at the time, and shows Philip's birth in Trinity in 1828. A 1871 census return shows saddler Philip, born in St Helier in 1831 and living at First Tower with his wife Eliza. This is clearly the couple shown in the marriage record, so it does suggest that they were not the owners of Maison Maret and that there is another couple with similar names whose marriage record is lost
This double archway at Three Mile Farm, Maufant, was demolished and re-erected at Maison Maret
Maison Maret in 2010. It appears that an extra stone was added to widen the main archway
Maison Maret during the Occupation - it was used as a German first aid post: truppenverbandplatz - literally a 'troop bandage place'
An LL postcard of Maison Maret earlier in the 20th century
