St. Martin’s Church Number 11 in the series of Parish
Churches in the Island
St. Martin (Le Vieux) -(bus route no. 3, 3a) –
dedicated to the same saint as Grouville parish church; the former
is always mentioned in records as St. Martin the Old, the earliest
mention of it dates back to 1042. It was also considered to be
Jersey’s leading church, not just because of the size of its
endowments but because it provided so many of the Island’s
Deans. Inside the church, three of the stained glass windows were
designed by Jersey resident Henry Thomas Bosdet.
Outside of the church shows an amazing number of buttresses,
some even made of tombstones. This was because the walls were built
only sufficiently strong to support the original thatched roof.
When a stone roof was added, the stability of the walls was
endangered and in both the 16th and 18th centuries it had to be
given extra support.
Also outside of the church, looking at the south wall, it can be
noticed where the earliest part of the church originally was and
where a later addition was made. The chancel at the east end was
the original chapel from which the parish church was built and its
walls built of boulders taken from the beach. The western extension
of the south wall was made from quarried stone and has a higher
roof.
St. Martin’s perquage or sanctuary path went from
the church and followed a stream which finally came out at St.
Catherine’s Bay. The last recorded criminal to use it was
Jersey born Thomas Le Seeleur, who in 1546 preferred exile in
Normandy to a death by hanging in the Island.
The above co-ordinates are for a memorial dedicated to the
Messervy family, answer the following, do the sums, this will then
take you to the cache; which is a short drive away.
1. Connetable Thomas Messervy, was born in which year? =
1ABC
2. His wife Mary Elizabeth Le Vesconte, in which year did she
die? = 18DE
3. Caroline Anne Messervy, was born in which year? = 18FG
4. Marie Elizabeth Messervy, was born in which year? 18HJ
Once you gather the information, the cache can be found at the
following co-ordinates – parking can be found at a
bar/restaurant where the path can also be found above the beer
garden, which if you visit on your way back from finding the cache
you will get away with parking there
N49° 1(F+G).0 (A-J) (H+F)
W002° 0G.(DxJ) 0 (H+J)
The cache is a small container, please re-hide well. If you
think the terrain and difficulty require amending please let me
know via email.
Reference: ‘Jersey’ by Sonia Hillsdon
Congratulations to Tizzie for FTF