Les Aix

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Historic Jersey buildings


Les Aix, St Peter


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Les Aix was the home of the Anley family for many years. The name means 'the Waters', and is thought to refer to a natural spring in the field south of the house

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H21LesAix2.jpg

Property name

Les Aix

Location

Rue des Aix, St Peter

Type of property

Large country house with outbuildings

Valuations

No recent transactions

Families associated with the property

Datestones

H21LesAix3.jpg

Historic Environment Record entry

Listed building

This large house of likely medieval origins, together with its outbuildings, retains many rare historic features, of different stages of development, both internally and externally.

This building is shown on the Richmond Map of 1795 and possibly originates from the 14th century with developments in the 15th and 16th centuries. Previous research has suggested this is one of the largest medieval houses in Jersey, of six bays, plus wing, and clearly of high status.

The layout was three-cell, with a grand hall of three bays in the centre.

The house has an imposing facade which has been altered many times. The entrance of the main house is of the uncommon recessed kind; that is to say the stones above the arch are buttressed out. The window to the right of the front door are uniform and of late pattern; those to the left are varied in size and pattern. One window of the upper storey has unusual marked chamfer stops and its lintel has a raised, carved design, perhaps a fleur-de-lis.

An annex to the west is a remnant of an earlier house, with an exceptionally ancient arch. It is shoulderless, with a hollow chamfer (common to all arches on this property) and the chamfer stops appear to be a Maltese Cross on the left, and a fleur-de-lis on the right.

The westerly gable still has its ancient chimney stack with unusual arrangement of gable edge stones. There are three internal arches, fireplaces and benitier.

Set far off road. Two-storey six-bay house with outshot to north, with two-storey wing to east returning as single storey to south. Further single storey, with attic, converted wing to east. Reputedly the front wall of a ruin is attached to the west of the main house.

The house displays Jersey’s vernacular tradition in the use of local materials and details. The hallway houses a benitier with trefoiled head and a round arched doorway leading to the west room which contains a reconstructed fireplace and another round arched doorway leading to north room.

Old Jersey Houses

It is not known exactly when the house was built, but the 1718 stone is believed to record alterations to a much earlier structure. Indeed, some elements of the house can be dated as far back as the 13th century.

The Anley family gave the island several Jurats and Constables of St Peter. The house had passed to the Le Sueur family by the early 19th century, and to the Pipon family by 1849, when the Godfray map shows it belonging to T Pipon.

Philip Francis Le Sueur was born in the House in 1821. His parents owned the house, and also the nearby Le Pissot, St Peter. By 1884 he was living at Vinchelez de Bas Manor, and was killed there by a falling stone. He had sold Les Aix.

There has been a substantial number of alterations in the 20th century.

Notes and references

  1. The OHJ Volume One entry for Les Aix records a stone 1689 PAL HSEM, but this stone is not included in the list of 903 stones in Volume Two, nor in the Datestone Register. Using our database we identified the stone as probably a misreading of 1689 PAL SLM. This stone is recorded in Volume Two, with no mention of its location, as mentioned in the Datestone Register. The HER record copies the book and wrongly identifies the initials as HSEM


Les Aix
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