Historic Jersey buildings
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Property name
La Fontaine
Location
Rue de La Fontaine, Trinity
Type of property
Early 19th century farmstead
Families associated with the property
- Romeril This house was owned by the Romeril family in the 16th and 17th centuries ...
- Le Couteur ... and then passed by marriage to the Le Couteurs ...
- Dorey ... by 1772 the property was in the ownership of the Dorey family
- Nicolle
Jurats The first Romeril known to have owned La Fontaine was Leonard, who was succeeded by his son Jean, who was a Jurat from 1577 to 1616. After Jean's death the property probably passed to his brother Philippe, Jurat from 1597 to 1605. His grandson Edouard, also a Jurat from 1663 to 1675, had a son Philippe, who died at the age of 10, and a daughter Marie, who married Trinity Constable Josue Le Couteur, son of Jacques. The house was inherited by their second son Josue, who married his first cousin Marguerite.
The house is believed to have been rebuilt in 1838. The occupants at the first census three years later were Thomas Stansfield and his family, and in 1851 wine merchant Henry Wragg and his family were living there.
Jurat Elias Nicolle ( -1880) owned the property in 1868 and this was marked by the erection of a stone over the stable door inscribed ENC LNC 1868. After Jurat Nicolle's death in 1880 his widow Susannah continued to live at La Fontaine with her children, and having come of age, the eldest son, Ernest (26), was listed as head of household at the 1891 census.
The same applied in 1901, when farmer Ernest, by now a Lieut-Colonel in the Militia, was living at La Fontaine with his mother, aunt, three brothers and four sisters. By 1911 all his family had left and Ernest, apparently retired and a man of 'independent means' was married to Florence Maud and lived at La Fontaine with her and a coachman and general servant.
Datestones
- IDL EDL ADL 1838 - Not explained
- PDR 1772 - For Dorey
- GMR preceded by Greek letter phi
- ENC SLNC 1868 - For Elie Nicolle and Susanna Louisa Nicolle [1]
Historic Environment Record entry
Listed building
A well proportioned early 19th century farm house and associated farm buildings retaining original features and integrity as a group. Early 19th century with evidence of earlier origins.
Main house (five-bay, three-storey) with three-bay single storey dower wing to north and farm yard with separate access beyond that.
Various datestones, including one of 1681 incorporated from an earlier building.
Carriage entrance with quoined surround and elliptical arch, dated 1868.
Old Jersey Houses
The property merits the briefest of entries in Volume One, with information about datestones, but no details of the house, except to say that the present dwelling house must date from the stone arch above the front door, inscribed 1838.
Notes and references
- ↑ Although the Nicolle family name has been extensively researched for Jerripedia, resulting in the addition of 20 family trees, we have been unable to place Elie and Susanna in any of them. Elie was born in St Martin in 1839, and married Susanna in St Saviour in 1864. He was the son of Jean and Elizabeth Sarre (St J), who married in St Helier in 1825. This Jean was born in St Clement in 1801, and married Elizabeth Touzel in Grouville in 1801. They appeared to have moved later to St Martin, and the family eventually moved to Trinity, the home parish of most Nicolles. It has not proved possible to connect them back to any other Trinity Nicolles
