Sous Les Bois
Historic Jersey buildings
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Property name
Sous Les Bois
Location
Rue des Bouillons, Rozel, Trinity.
Type of property
Historian Jean Arthur believed this to have been a medieval hall-house, with livestock on the ground floor and the family living on the first floor. The house has not been significantly enlarged or greatly altered since it was built. There would probably have been a round arch in the south facade, which has been replaced, and the roof has been raised and new chimney stacks built, probably at the same time. The windows have also been raised by about one foot but their matching, chamfered, ornately lintelled stonework, remains unchanged. The ancient Handois Manor, in St Lawrence, is of a similar size and age, as is the Langlois house at Hamptonne Country Life Museum in that parish, both of which were also hall-houses.
Valuations
The property is now owned by the National Trust for Jersey, having been given to them by Philip Larbalestier. Unfortunately there is no information about the property on the trust's website.
Families associated with the property
Situated on the Fief de la Grucheterrie, surrounded by de Gruchy land, Sous Les Bois was probably originally owned by a cadet son of that family, who died without surviving issue. It will therefore have returned to the senior, La Chasse, branch and been inherited in due course, by a junior branch among their descendants.
This surmise agrees well with the family`s genealogy. Guillaume de Gruchy (born about 1465) was a cadet son who, living in Rozel Vingtaine, owed the church measures of wheat in 1523. He and his wife, Collette, nee Machon, had no surviving issue. Two generations later, another junior son, Noel de Gruchy (1535-1593) and his wife Jeanne, nee Langlois of St Lawrence, had an elder son, Matthieu. He was Inspecteur des Chemins, Rozel, in 1592 and Vingtenier from 1593. From Matthieu and his wife, Perronelle, nee du Feu, were descended the de Gruchys of Sous Les Bois until 1815, when the property was sold to Philippe Larbalestier, who was presumably the vendor`s son-in-law.
Marie de Gruchy (1779-1863), who married in 1809 Philippe Larbalestier of Trinity, was the daughter of the 1815 vendor. Their daughter Susanne, born in 1815, married in 1843 at Trinity, John Le Cocq, son of Nicolas, of the same parish. The 1861 census shows them living at Sous Les Bois with the widowed Mary de Gruchy and their children. Ten years later John, a mason, and Susan were still there with children John (27), Susan, Charles and Mary, and 75-year-old Marie Larbalestier, described as John's aunt. She was more likely to have been his wife`s aunt, Marie Rachel Larbalestier (1796-1876), who was of the correct age and known to have been still living.
A second household at Sous les Bois had Thomas Perrée as head with his wife Jane Le Cocq and their five children.
By 1891 John Le Cocq, now widowed, was still at the house, with his son John as head of household, married to Ann. The three of them were still there ten years later, and the 1901 census shows a Larbalestier family living close by at Les Puits. They were Philip and Adelaide and their children Philippe, Ernest, Stanley and Nelson.
By 1911 the son Philippe, who had just married Annie Eleanor Nicolle, had moved into Sous Les Bois, where they farmed and raised their family.
In 1941, when identity cards were issued to all islanders in the second year of the German Occupation, Philippe and Annie had four children, Philip Ernest (1912- ), Annie Eleanor (1915- ), Phyllis (1918- ) and Eileen Maud (1923- ). There is a suggestion that the property was taken over by the Germans later in the Occupation, but we have not been able to substantiate this.
Datestones
There is a gable stone inscribed TDG 1683, for Thomas de Gruchy (1654- ) and a gatepost inscribed IDG 1743, probably for Jean de Gruchy (1712- ) or his father of the same name. The 'I' has been over-painted in the 20th century as a 'T', something that will hopefully be corrected in due course.
Historic Environment Record entry
Listed building
This house of 15th century origins retains its 17th century facade with rare historic, Jersey stonework features. The wellhead adds interest to the dwelling. The whole contributes to the rural setting.
Sous les Bois and 10 vergees of land were gifted to the National Trust for Jersey in Nov 2004 by Philip Larbalastier, whose family had owned the property since 1815; two 18th century datestones relate to ownership by the De Gruchy family but the house is much older than this. The current facade is typically early 17th century with well cut 'accolade' lintels above the windows; stones around the front door and window are Chausey granite and date from an earlier facade. The roof structure is probably late 19th century.
It was previously thatched; original granite chimneys probably replaced with brick ones at the same time. Stumps of original chimneys can be seen. The front door probably mid-19th century was bought for £2 from a property in Cannon Street by Philip Larbalestier. The original door would have been further forward, possibly with a half door in front of it.
Two small windows on the left of the facade may date from a rebuilding of west gable (1683?), but surrounds are largely reused material. An upper window sill may have been part of a benitier (medieval alcove containing a bowl for hand-washing). Five main windows have had their sills lowered, often done in the late 18th or early 19th century when sash windows replaced original casements. The cooking hearth probably dates from 1683. Chausey granite stones around the doorway to the kitchen were probably from the original facade, and indicate that the house is of late medieval origin (15th century)
Some detail about interior woodwork, doors and fireplaces. Granite outbuildings probably 18th century; some remains of medieval wayside cross and window surround on site. Shown on the Richmond Map of 1795.
Two-storey, three-bay house with single storey outbuilding to west. Wellhead to southeast, of granite rubble with roughly domed top. Front elevation: pantile roof with brick chimneys on granite bases, with dripstones, at each gable. Walls random rubble. Central entrance with small secondary window on each floor in west bay. Accolade lintels on main east and west bay windows; chamfered jambs and cills on all windows and chamfered lintels on remaining windows and flat lintel doorway. Windows show signs of heightening.
Corbelled granite fireplace in west ground floor room.
Old Jersey Houses
An entry in Volume One refers mainly to the possible finding of the shaft of La Croix Jehannet in 1860. The author dismisses this suggestion.
The well is said to be picturesque but unreliable.
An entry in a later edition says that this is 'almost certainly the house concerned in a 1711 sale by Jean Renouf to Aaron Larbalestier and his wife Rachel, nee Barette'. This makes it hard to explain the TDG 1743 dated gate post, and conflicts with the belief that the house was in de Gruchy ownership from the 15th century, until it was sold to the Larbalestiers.
Notes and references
- Sous Les Bois, Trinity: More information from an Annual Bulletin of La Société Jersiaise article
- de Gruchy family tree
- Larbalestier family tree
