St Saviours (church)
St Saviours Church (St Sauveur) is the parish church of St Saviours, Guernsey.
St Saviours is the largest of Guernsey's country churches and the one that most resembles the Town Church in the quality of its masonry. It occupies a commanding site above a deep valley and several megalithic stones can be seen in the vicinity, the north-eastern entrance of the churchyard, indeed, being flanked by a Christianised menhir on which a cross has been deeply incised.
Parts of the south wall of the nave and chancel date from the 12th century but most of the present building dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, though the tower was rebuilt in the 17th century after it was destroyed, it is believed, by lightning.
What is now the vestry was built in the early 18th century to house the parish artillery. In the little stone-paved footpath which leads into the churchyard from the south-west, is a stone bench, once the meeting place of the feudal court of Fief Jean Gaillard. The oldest grave, dating from 1602, records the death of Nicholas Torode and is upside down and back to front.
Curious leather mugs used for taking the collections date from 1813 and a 17th century alms-box is also on display.
The Priaulx Library holds microfilm copies of the parish baptisms, marriages and burials registers, which date back to 1528, though the first 30 years are incomplete.
