St Mary's Church is one of the 12 parish churches of Jersey; it is sited at the corner of Grande Route de Ste Marie and Rue de la Vallée.
Name
The church is known as "St Mary of the Burnt Monastery" which implies that it is on or near the site of a religious house that was burnt, possibly during an early raid on the island.
Architecture
The church is known to have been in existence as early as 1042. It is stone vaulted and has a slate roof. The central tower supports a hexagonal spire. At each corner of the tower is a square pinnacle open on rounded arches. Inside there is a nave, nave aisle, chancel and a Lady Chapel (the oldest part of the building), on the north side of the chancel. In the east wall of this chapel are the remains of two Norman windows. The piscina to the right of the altar is believed to date from the 14th century.
History
- St Mary Parish Church
- St Mary's Church datestone 1
- St Mary's Church datestone 2
- St Mary's Church datestone 3
- St Mary's Church datestone 4
Rectors
12th Century
Robert Florie 1185-1208
13th Century
- Guillaume de Marchia 1298
14th Century
- Nicolas Galicien 1349
15th Century
- Johan Le Jarderey 1496-1501
16th Century
- Nicolas Despetits 1501-1541
- Nicolas du Val 1544-1546
- Clement Le Demptu 1546-1553
- Jean Gruchy 1553-1559
- Jean Gruchy 1559-1574
- Jacques Destravaux 1574-1576
- Guillaune Morise 1576-1584
- Nicolas Baudouin 1584-1599
17th Century
- Samuel de la Place 1600-1620
- David Bandinel 1620-1626
- Jacques Bandinel 1626-1643
- Philippe Le Couteur 1647-1651
- Jean de la Place 1652-1660
- Daniel Gruchy 1660-1677
- Richard de Carteret 1678-1705
18th Century
- Thomas Le Breton 1706-1728
- Francois Payn 1729-1765
- Francois Le Breton 1765-1777
- Francois Valpy 1777-1804
19th Century
- Clement Dumaresq 1804-1837
- Philippe Guille 1838-1856
- Le Couteur Balleine 1856-1879
- Edouard Luce 1880-1895
- Sorel John Gruchy 1896-1918
20th Century
- Elias William Gilley 1918-1922
- Clarence Charles Ouless 1922-1960
- Murray Clinton Millard 1961-1971
- Michael Vibert Harrison 1972-1986
21st Century
- R Naylor
Picture gallery
Click on any image to see larger version
1907
A tombstone in the churchyard
Datestone
Datestone
Pillar
South Chapel
Window
Piscina
1968
