Haute Tombette
Historic Jersey buildings
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Property name
Haute Tombette
Other names
- Haut de Tombette
- Haute Tombette Carnation Farm
Location
Rue de La Grosse Epine, St Mary
Type of property
Farm group with buildings dating from 15th century
Valuations
The property was sold for £650,000 in 2005
Families associated with the property
- Le Brun
- La Gerche: J La Gerche on Godfray map. In 1842 Jean La Gerche purchased the property from Jean Le Brun, and his family occupied it until 1855.
- Le Sueur: By 1878 the property was sold to Charles Le Sueur, who let it out to tenants, one of whom was Jacques François Rolland.
- Rolland: Rolland, who moved in after marrying Eliza Galodé, was the first of several generations of Rollands to Live there. In 1960 the Rolland family officially acquired ownership when the previous owner, Margaret Pallot, bequeathed it to Arthur George Rolland in her will. Under Arthur’s management, the farm expanded into horticulture, growing potatoes, flowers, and eventually carnations in a new glasshouse. In the 1970s Haute Tombette also housed a tea lounge and attracted tourists as a destination for the Jersey Butterfly Centre, drawing thousands of visitors each summer.
Datestones
- 1670 SMR E
- IR SA 1670
Historic Environment Record entry
Listed building
Historic farm group of early origins. The farmhouse and adjoining outbuilding retain their proportions and historic stonework. The group as a whole contributes to the rural, roadside setting.
Haute Tombette displays Jersey’s vernacular tradition in the use of local materials and details, with features including accolade lintels and a round arch doorway. A building on this site is shown on the Richmond Map of 1795. The building is considered to be from the 15th century with further developments taking place in the 17th and 19th centuries.
Two-storey five-bay house with two-storey wing to west, returning south as two-storey outbuilding. Detached to north is two-storey converted outbuilding. The inscribed lintel is thought to be a 16th century cill which has been carved and inverted to be used as a lintel.
Old Jersey Houses
Despite the age of the property it failed to make it into Volume One. A brief entry in the second volume mentions the datestone, and some architectural features:
- "There is a simple square tourelle staircase which does not reach the first floor level, and this is understandable as the roof has clearly been raised. An interior stone wall took a chimney when the roof was thatched. The present front door is not contemporary, but a round arch now in the carnation packing room to the west must have been removed when the plastering was done. At the same time the arch was heightened by the addition of one stone on either side.
Notes and references
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Tombette Cottages - we are not certain that this is part of the Haute Tombette property. It may be part of another property in St Mary known as Tombette
