Lempriere
This is one of the most important families in the history of Jersey's politics and its 'aristocracy'
A drawing by Jersey artist Millais of the Lempriere family in 1847
Direct links to lists of baptisms, marriages and burials for the Lempriere family can be found under Family Records opposite. If you want to search for records for a spelling variant of Lempriere, or for any other family name, just click below on the first letter of the
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From August 2020 we have started adding records from non-Anglican churches, and this process will continue as more records, held by Jersey Archive, are digitised and indexed. Our database now includes buttons enabling a search within registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These records will automatically appear within the results of any search made from this page.
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Important family
The Lempriere family, long associated with Rosel Manor has been arguably the second most important in the history of Jersey after the de Carterets. It has provided a significant number of Bailiffs and, in the years when holders of that office were non-resident and appointed Lieut-Bailiffs to represent them, further important 'first citizens'.
One such, Charles Lempriere, was the founder of the Charlots, a political party which together with the opposing Magots, dominated island politics for a long period.
Origin of Surname
There are two stories concerning the origins of the name, one comes undocumented from France the other from Jersey, in the writings of J Bertrand Payne.
The French associate the name with an annual village archery competition. The winner was known as the "Emperor" and the loser the "Empress": 'l'Empereur' and 'l'Imperatrice' respectively.
Payne, however, writing in 1862 has a far more romantic tale to tell. In 864 AD the Viking Rollo was returning from an expedition low on food, so he decided to replenish his stores by pillaging the settlement that is now Oslo. Their King, enraged at this action, banished Rollo and his followers from the land. They sailed off first to the Hebrides, then to southern England, and finally to northern France.
They made a considerable nuisance of themselves there by suppressing the local population, sacking large towns, and making no less than three attempts to take Paris. In order to diffuse the situation, the Frankish king, Charles III (the Simple), negotiated a peace. In return for a cessation in hostilities, Rollo was granted the area of land now known as Upper Normandy and he would have to pay homage to the king. Rollo would also be baptised and marry the king's daughter.
When Rollo went to meet the king he was asked to kiss the royal foot, a duty he declined, delegating the task to one of his followers. When this Viking approached the royal person, he grasped the foot and instead of stooping low, lifted it to his mouth, toppling the king from his seat! The nickname of Emperor was given to the warrior, in recognition of his diplomatic skills! The name has been corrupted to Lempriere.
The accuracy of this tale may be uncertain but it seems to be based around historical fact. Payne quotes William of Malmesbury and Dudo.
In a modification of this story, a jester at the Court of King Rollo, in trying to amuse the king, asked if he could take the title King if he were to overthrow Rollo.With Rollo in fits of laughter, the jester grabbed the king’s foot and threw him over the throne, saying “ I have overthrown the king, I am the King”! After the king forgave him, he allowed him to take the title “l’Empereur”, the Emperor, which wasn’t a title for the Vikings!
Family Origin
The family traces its origins back to 970 AD in the Morfontaine province of Champagne and Brie in what is now Normandy. There are two ancestral groups: those who settled on Jersey in 1270 AD, emigrating from Normandy; and those who remained in France, but emigrated to Jersey later. It is not known if these are connected. Some still remain in France. There are three main branches of the Jersey family: Rozel, Trinity, and St John La Hougue Boete. There are few remaining in Jersey, but there is a large group in Australia, as well as groups in New Zealand, USA, Canada, and the UK. Many of these groups have not been connected to the main family tree.
Lemperière exists in Normandy to this day. Lemprière only arises in families that have come from Jersey. The name Lemprière appeared in Jersey in the early 1300s when Thomas dropped the use of “de”, and continues to this day.
Payne's Armorial of Jersey
A detailed history of the family is included in this work. See full article.
Variants
- Lempriere, 1299
- Lamprier 1515
- Lemperer 1378
- Lemperiere 1363
- Lemperere, 1309
- Lempere, 1329
- Lemperor c1328
- l'Empereur
- Lempreur
- Lemprere
- de Lempriere
- dit Le Emperere 1274
- dictus Imperator 1274
- Imperator, 1180
Family records
Family trees
- Everard de Lempriere: 10th-15th centuries
- Raoulin Lempriere: 15th-19th centuries
- George Lempriere: 15th-17th centuries
- Helier Lempriere: 16th-20th centuries
- Hugh Lempriere: 16th-20th centuries
- Everard Lempriers: 10th-19th centuries, ancestors and descendants of classical scholar John Lempriere
- Thomas Lempriere: 16th-19th centuries
- Gilbert Lempriere: 12th-17th centuries
- Michel Lempriere: 16th-18th centuries
- Michel Lempriere 2: 16th-18th centuries
- Amice Lempriere: 18th-20th centuries
- Jean Lempriere: 14th-20th centuries, Dielament Manor family
Church records
- Lempriere baptisms in Jersey
- Lempriere marriages in Jersey (groom)
- Lempriere marriages in Jersey (bride)
- Lempriere burials in Jersey
Family histories and biographies
- Lemprieres, Seigneurs of Diélament by the Rev J A Messervy
- Lempriere family, a history of the family
- Lemprieres of St John by the Rev J A Messervy
- Lempriere family in the 16th century, another history Added 2016
- Letter from John Lempriere to his brother Thomas in Lisbon Added 2016
- Raoul Lempriere, Bailiff 1362
- Jean Lempriere Bailiff 1524
- Jean Lempriere, Bailiff 1434
- Thomas Lempriere, Bailiff 1495
- Fire at house of Bailiff Thomas Lempriere
- Renaud Lempriere, Seigneur of Rosel
- Michel Lempriere, Republican Bailiff
- Clement Lempriere, Bailiff 1528-29
- Charles Lempriere, Lieut-Bailiff
- Charles Lempriere and descendants
- Charles Lempriere and Trinity Added 2022
- William Charles Lempriere, Lieut-Bailiff
- Philippe Lempriere, Attorney-General
- Reginald Raoul Lempriere, Jurat
- Nicolas Lempriere, physician
- John Lempriere, classical scholar
- Thomas Lempriere Militia Colonel
- Charles Lempriere writer and politician
- Clement Lempriere, cartographer and artist
- James Lempriere, Captain RN
- The Rev John Lempriere, classical scholar
- Arthur Reid Lempriere, artist's model and general
- Lemprieres in Australia and Tasmania, a renowned artist and his wool merchant descendants
- Anne Lempriere, who emigrated to New Zealand
Newspaper records
Société Jersiaise Library records
- Lempriere records in La Société Jersiaise Library Added 2018
- Bertram records in La Société Jersiaise Library, including references to members of the Lempriere family Added 2018
Great War service
Family wills
Burial records
Family homes
- Rosel Manor
- La Motte Manor
- Maison de St Jean
- Dielament, one of Jersey's most important fiefs and manor houses
- St John's Manor
- Augres Farm, Trinity
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In 1787 Marie Magdeleine Lempriere announced in the Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey the sale of two properties, one bordering Grande Rue and Rue de Derriere (Broad Street and King Street), suitable for division into two shops, and other bordering her late father's shops -
Jean Poingdestre, guardian of the children of the late Philippe Lempriere, advertised the sale of their 25-vergeeMont Cochon farm in 1815 -
Thomas Lempriere advertised two pieces of land at Colomberie for sale in 1804 -
Thomas Lempriere’s Pre de Rozel was for sale in February 1804 -
Charles Lempriere advertised the house he had acquired from Laurens Ahier, in Rue du Port, for sale in Gazette de l'Ile de Jersey in 1799
Family businesses
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1948 -
With the authority of the English Admiralty Court, Charles Chevalier and Samuel Lempriere offered for sale a large quantity of Dutch cheese and butter from the prize vessel Prince Regent in 1809 -
Wine and spirit dealer Samuel Lempriere advertised brown stout from London in ‘’Gazette de l’Ile de Jersey’’ in 1803
Family album
Rosel seigneur Raoul Lempriere-Robin (left) and Stephen Arthur at a race meeting in 1978
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Mrs Lempriere -
R R Lempriere -
Ann Aubin, nee Lempriere -
Ann Aubin, nee Lempriere -
Ann Aubin, nee Lempriere -
W C Lempriere -
Phyllis Ada Lempriere, daughter of John Philip (1869- ) and Lydia Ann, nee Le Marquand (1868- )was born in St Peter in 1905 and married Frank Rabet (1896- ) -
Frank Rabet and Phyllis Lempriere -
Stella Lempriere, sister of Phyllis Ada -
Stella Lempriere, born in St Peter in 1897 -
Marianne Lempriere (1801-1870), born in St Helier and married to Algernon Herbert (1792-1855) -
Gladys Ada Lempriere (1893- ), sister of Phyllis and Stella, with her husband Philip Gough Carre (1895- ) -
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Raoul Lempriere -
R R Lempriere -
A postcard sent to Miss Lempriere in Minden Place in 1905 -
Another postcard sent to Miss Lempriere the same year -
Lempriere Street in 1997 - the St Helier road originally created by the family
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Occupation curfew cards
Curfew pass issued to Sidney Lempriere during the Occupation as a member of the St Saviour Honorary Police
Lempriere coats of arms
Family gravestones
Click on any image to see a larger version. See the Jerripedia gravestone image collection page for more information about our gravestone photographs
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Almorah cemetery -
Almorah cemetery -
Almorah cemetery -
Trinity Church cemetery -
Old Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
Mont a l’Abbe cemetery -
St Ouen parish cemetery -
St Ouen parish cemetery -
St Ouen parish cemetery -
St Ouen parish cemetery -
St Ouen parish cemetery -
Surville Cemetery -
Surville Cemetery -
St Brelade Church cemetery -
Trinity
Tips
The church record links above will open in a new tab in your browser and generate the most up-to-date list of each set of records from our database. These lists replace earlier Family page baptism lists, which were not regularly updated. They have the added advantage that they produce a chronological listing for the family name in all parishes, so you do not have to search through A-Z indexes, parish by parish.
We have included some important spelling variants on some family pages, but it may be worth searching for records for a different spelling variant. Think of searching for variants with or without a prefix, such as Le or De. To search for further variants, or for any other family name, just click on the appropriate link below for the first letter of the family name, and a new tab will open, giving you the option to choose baptism, marriage or burial records. You will then see a list of available names for that type of record and you can select any name from that list. That will display all records of the chosen type for that family name, and you can narrow the search by adding a given name, selecting a parish or setting start and end dates in the form you will see above. You can also change the family name, or search for a partial name if you are not certain of the spelling
The records are displayed 30 to a page, but by selecting the yellow Wiki Table option at the top left of the page you can open a full, scrollable list. This list will either be displayed in a new tab or a pop-up window. You may have to edit the settings of your browser to allow pop-up windows for www.jerripediabmd.net. For the small number of family names for which a search generates more than 1,500 records you will have to refine your search (perhaps using start or end dates) to reduce the number of records found.
New records
Since August 2020 we have added several thousand new records from the registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These will appear in date order within a general search of the records and are also individually searchable within the database search form
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