L'Anciennete
Historic Jersey buildings
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Property name
L'Anciennete
Other names
- Dower House
- Le Lavanche
- La Grange
Location
Grande Route de Sainte Marie
Type of property
18th century farmhouse and outbuildings with 17th century origins
Valuations
- L'Anciennete was sold for £1,096,317 in 2019, a surprisingly low sum if this represented the whole property
- La Grange, part of the property, was sold in 2020 for £830,000
Families associated with the property
- Arthur: Foy Arthur moved here from Plaisance after she was widowed in 1657 and it was speculated by Gerald Dupré in his history of the Dupré family (CIFHS Journal Dec 2015 p 30) that it may have been built at that time.
- Dupré: The house from that period is now the wing of the present house nearest the road, though it was much altered around 1830. There is a carved stone now on the inside of the roadside wall partially hidden by a shed. Dated 1659, it bears the initials of Foy and her son Nicolas Dupré, with two upside-down hearts, the earliest example of this motif.
Gerald Dupré remarked that the house might have been built for mother and son to be left to Nicolas when she died. The family of Nicolas Dupré and Esther Renouf were raised here. It belonged to the Arthur family in the 19th century (J Arthur on Godfray).
Datestones
- FA♥♥NDP 1659 - For Foy Arthur and Nicolas Dupre. Unusually this stone is inscribed for mother and son. Foy's husband Jean died two years before this stone was erected. Nicolas was their second son. It is likely that Plaisance was inherited by their elder son Jean.
Historic Environment Record entry
Listed building
Historic farmstead including good example of an 18th century house with 17th century remains.
The line of buildings creates a cohesive group. Each section retains its proportions and historic character with some historic features remaining.
L’Anciennete displays Jersey’s vernacular tradition in the use of local materials and details, while also emulating the polite architecture of Georgian fashion, but with a continuing local character. The overlay of French and British architectural influences is unique to Jersey and the Channel Islands.
The name suggests an early dwelling in the parish. Shown on the Richmond Map of 1795.
Historic farm group. two-storey, five-bay house with two-storey, three-bay wing (Dower Cottage) in line to north, and two-storey converted outbuildings (Le Lavanche and La Grange) to south. Pigsties to west. Bones protruding from some walls.
Old Jersey Houses
Despite undoubtedly having 17th century origins, this property did not feature until Volume Two of the work. The author failed to identify the names on the 1659 datestone, which was located in the dower wing, the oldest part of the property, with a ground floor beam forking as it enters the back wall, a known but rare feature.
She referred to an outbuilding, now demolished, which contained six large animal bones protruding from the outside wall at regular intervals in parallel to the slope of the gable. She speculated that this was a “witches’ ladder”.
Notes and references
