Historic Jersey buildings
 Herbert and Amy de Gruchy were living and farming here in 1980
If you own this property, have ancestors who lived here, or can provide any further information and photographs, please contact us through editorial@jerripedia.org |
Property name
Les Heches
Location
Route de Plemont, St Ouen
Type of property
Country house with 15th century origins
Valuations
Sold for £1 million in 2014
Families associated with the property
- De Gruchy: In 1980 Herbert de Gruchy and his wife Amy were living and farming here
Datestones
- AG 1669 - not recorded elsewhere and not interpreted
Historic Environment Record entry
Listed building
This early house has a number of high status original features surviving, and shows clearly its various periods of development. It is thought to retain upper chamber fireplaces as yet not exposed.
It enhances its rural context and adds greatly to Jersey’s built heritage.
15th century origins with later alterations. Shown on the Richmond Map of 1795. Main house: two-storey, five-bay.
Central entrance, single pile. Dry-lining throughout. Ground floor west room has a stone fireplace, its chamfered uprights have acorn stops and left-side has pintels for a crane; the corbels are double convex with repeated ogee mouldings (all appear circa 1450). It has lost its shoulder stones and the lintel lies directly on its corbels, an internal niche has been recently fabricated.
The corbels of this stone fireplace are similar to nearby Le Petit Menage except those are of the single convex type, here they are of the more elaborate double convex type. This suggests that this room, or this part of the room was open to the roof. The lintel resting directly on its corbels, and the absence of shoulder stones, suggest that it lost its hood at some time necessitated by the creation of a chamber or enlargement the chamber above.
The ground floor east room has a stone fireplace, its upright-inners are chamfered with broach stops that match those of a stone entrance into the now lost tourelle rear extension, and resemble those on the ground floor west room chamfered beam.
Old Jersey Houses
Despite its considerable age, the property is not mentioned in either volume
