Le Marais à la Cocque is historically Crown land, and remains so for the most part, but in 1999 the corner site containing the lavoir (washing place) and pump was transferred to the Parish of Grouville. The Parish also took on the obligation of maintaining and repairing the structures.
This lavoir and pump is one of the more elaborate in Jersey. The lavoir is the older part. The water appears in a well-like structure, and there is a sunken area with a gutter through which surplus water flows into the marais (marsh) and eventually to the sea. Around the sunken area is a stone ledge where clothes would have been scrubbed clean in the past. There is also a pump with a small granite trough.
Alongside is a more modern pump, raised on a granite platform with steps to either side. This allowed water barrels or tanks carried on carts or lorries to be filled. Behind this pump is an inscription recording that it was erected by the tenants of the marais in 1930, and naming the Parish Connétable of the time, Philip Francis Labey, in his role as Président of the group of tenants. The tenants are the individuals charged with maintaining the marais for the Crown, in exchange for rights of usage. The date and the substantial size of the structure show that water supplies of this nature were still relied upon in the relatively recent past in country areas.
In 2000 the Parish, as the new owners of the lavoir and pump, carried out extensive repairs. This included stabilising the platform on which the pump stands, which had begun to tilt backwards as a result of subsidence.
The cache is a nano with log sheet only, so please bring your own pen or pencil.