Seigneurs of Samares

Seigneurs of Samares This article by C Langton was first published in the 1931 Annual Bulletin of La Société Jersiaise

A charter is produced in Jeune's History which states that the Fief of Samares, situated in the Parish of St Clement in the Isle of Jersey, was granted by William II to Rodolphe de St Hilaire, in 1095.

The whole document, however, is suspicious as neither Latin text, nor authority, is given, whilst the construction suggests a product of a chancery of the 13th or 14th century. With the absence of evidence as to the original, it seems that either the date is erroneous, or the document is a definite forgery.

The same charter is quoted by De La Croix, but as his history was not printed till 1859 it was evidently reproduced, without question, from Jeune's publication, issued in 1798.

The family of St Hilaire du Harcourt (Manche) owed the service of 1½ knights in the honour of Mortain, and one knight in the Avranchin, the lands lying between St Helier and Pontorson on either side of St James de Beuvron.

The honour of Mortain descended to Hasculf de St Hilaire, who died before 1180 when the rights passed to his daughter, and her husband, Frederick or Fraeric, Malesmains; named first in the list of the honour and possessions of the Counts of Boulogne.

Fraeric also appears as a tenant in chief of the Fief in the Avranchin, which lay at Sacey and Vessey, South of Pontorson.

A certain Pierre de St Hilaire, who joined Phillip during Richard's captivity, had rights in Lapenty and Les Loges, near St Helier, for which he strove with more or less success in the reigns of Richard, John, and Philip Augustus.

Pierre seems to have gone to England in 1220, and, with his wife Gunora, held lands at Crofton, in Somerset, to the value of 20 marks, but died before 1226, when Gunora was a widow, and Fraeric was left in entire possession of the Norman claims.

de St Hilaire seigneurs

• 1 Rudolph de St Hilaire (supposedly granted manor by William II in 1095)
  • 2 Pierre de St Hilaire
  • 2 Guillaume de St Hilaire ( -1218) of Samares
    • 3 Guillaume de St Hilaire ( -1260)
      • 4 Guillaume de St Hilaire ( -1274)
        • 5 Pierre de St Hilaire ( -1309)
          • 6 Pierre de St Hilaire ( -1331)
            • 7 Guillaume de St Hilaire (defected to France)

Guillaume de St Hilaire

c1160 to ante 1218 The ‘Calendar of Documents preserved in France’ gives evidence of the de St Hilaire family in the 12th century, and, in a charter of 1139/60, Pierre de St Hilaire and Guillaume his brother appear amongst the witnesses. It seems probable that the latter owned the Fief of Samares, On 24 August 1186 Pope Urban III issued a Bull to the Canons of the Monastery of St Helier taking them under his protection, and confirming their possessions, which include "la dime du champart Ie deux charruees de terres a Samare, lesquels furent donnees par Guillaume de Salinelles (St Hilaire) pour l'ame de sa femme".

Guillaume de Salinelles appears among the witnesses, all of whom bore well-known Jersey names, to a charter, circa 1190, whereby Reginald de Carteret presented 1½ acres and one virgate in the Vale de la Mare to the Abbey of St Helier.

Guillaume de Samarez

c1218 to c1260

In 1218 Guillaume de Salinelles or Samarez gave a tithe of a windmill in the Island of Jersey to the Abbey of St Sauveur-Ie-Vicomte for the salvation of his soul and the souls of his father, mother, and ancestors, and, on 19 May 1226, received payment of 3 marks from the Treasury as a Royal gift to the Seigneur of Samares.

Dupont says that Drogo de Barentin became possessed of the Fief of Saumarez, with others, soon after his return from Rome as envoy of Henry III, but it is evident that the Fief remained in the possession of the original family.

The King issued a mandate on 2 January 1243 to "Drew de Barentin, Phillip de Kateret, and William de Sautmareys the elder to take the assizes of Gereseye, Gernseye and the other islands, which are accustomed to be taken once in three years unless they have been taken at another time."

Guille de Saumarez

c1260 to c1274

Guille de Saumarez - presumably the younger - appeared with Raoul d'Aubigny in 1263, as arbitrator to the protracted litigation of the Cheney family and in 1269 was one of the jure d'Assize held at La Hougue, St Clement by Hugues de Turberville, Bailly of the Isles, in relation to a dispute between the Priory of St Clement and their men of Noirmont.

He died before the Extent of 1274 when the Fief of Samares owed full relief with "Pierre de Saint Ellier" in possession.

Pierre de St Hilaire

c1274

"Pierre de Saint Ellier" in 1274 was accused of illegally appropriating lands in St Clement to the prejudice of the parishioners:

"Les jures de la paroisse de St Clement disent que Pierre de Saint Ellier outrepassant les limits de sa terre a empiete sur la terre de la commune a tort. Le meme Pierre Bur ce cite a repondre a reconnu que les avant dites limites doivent etre remises par ceux de la grande Enquete en l'etat dans lequel ils devraient etre. Item disent que les hoirs de Raoul Payn tiennant 3 vergees et demi de la forfaiture de la delaissee de Nereberd dont Ie Roi percevra 12 cabots de froment annuellement de sureroit."

The ultimate judgment is not recorded, and nothing further is recorded of him until the receipt of a letter in 1285 from King Edward, concerning matters pending between the Abbey of Mont St Michel and the Cheney family.

In the following year (5 July 1286) Pierre de St Hilaire appears as a justice with Renault de Ashwell and Geoffrey de Campania, who held an important fief in Trinity in 1274. This was followed by a similar appointment dated 3 March 1291, cojointly with Master William de Sancto Remigio, Peter de Arcis and Ralph Odonis, to hold Assizes and other pleas in Guernsey and Jersey.

An original letter, written by them on 7 May 1291, exists in the Archives de la Manche bearing fragments of three seals; one each of the Bailly, Pierre de St Hilaire and Pierre d' Artis.

At this Assize, Phillip Le Breton appealed against a sentence, pronounced against him by the Abbot of St Michel and Nicholas Fanigot, concerning the Priory of St Clement, but judgment was given to the Abbot by the arbiters, Pierre de St Hilaire, chevalier and Guillaume de St Remy, and the witnesses included Pierre fils de Pierre de St Hilaire.

Pierre de St Hilaire

c1309

A plea de quo warrantis in the Assize Roll of 1299 contains the declaration of Pierre de St Hilaire fils Pierre that the site of the Ville had originally been presented to the Priory de l'Islet by his ancestors. This important evidence is the first authentic record of the Town of St Helier.

Pierre de St Hilaire, Lord of Samares, held land in the parish of St Peter of the King, for which he owed relief of 60 sols, when it occurred; but the Assize Roll of 1309 is partly illegible and does not provide evidence of the area.

He strongly protested against the justices' request to sit on an inquest in St Peter, but eventually consented on receipt of a definite assurance that it would not be taken as a precedence for the future.

A boy named Robert Desnée, aged 9, had been murdered and placed by a stream in the confines of St Lawrence and St Peter to give the appearance of drowning. There was a great local endeavour to conceal the felony.

Raulina, wife of Nicholas le Desnée, charged with the crime, immediately fled to sanctuary for protection, but after a time was brought to trial and acquitted, although fined for evading justice and not attending her trial when originally ordered.

Peter de Saumareys was summoned to the Assize of 1309 to answer to the lord the King

"concerning a plea by what warrant, without the license and will of the lord the King and his progenetors Kings of England, he claims to have wreck of the sea throughout all his land in the parishes of St Clement and St Helier and to convert the same to his own uses. And also by what warrant he claims to have gallows in the same parish. And also by what warrant he claims to take and to have free esperkeria in the parish aforesaid of the fish caught by his men in the waters of the lord the King, which belong to the Crown and dignity of the lord the King. And also by what warrant he claims to have free warren in the hill of St Helier. And also by what warrant he claims to take and have the chattels of his men who are felons or fugitives of the lord the King, which belong to the Crown and dignity of the lord the King. And also by what warrant he claims to have beasts of waif which belong to the lord the King.

Several other Seigneurs appeared on similar summons in connection with to their respective fiefs.

"And Peter and the rest came. And they say as to the chattels of their men fugitive and felons they claim to have the chattels of their men, thieves, fugitives and condemned, upon which they or their bailiffs can put their hands more quickly than the men of the King. And as to such chattels and other franchises, together with that franchise concerning the taking of such chattels, they claim of old. And they say that they and all their ancestors from time immemorial had the same as they now claim "them. And this they offer to establish as the Court shall judge. And from time immemorial they always used to have such franchises in the form in which they now claim them."

They were summoned to appear again but, as usual, no judgment is given. These two warrants’ pleas were strenuously resisted and it seems probable that in far the greater number of cases, judgment was never obtained for the King.

Two foreign sailors found two casks of wine floating in the sea off the Fief of Sarnares, and were bribed by the Abbot of Cherbourg, through his subordinate the Prior d'Islet, to bring them round to his property so that the legal claim for half the salvage would devolve to the Abbot.

Pierre de St Hilaire brought an action for bribery, but lost the day through William des Mareys successfully proving that the sailors had actually found the casks too far from the shore for those standing on land to be able to lay hold of them. The casks, therefore, belonged to the King. Pierre and the Abbot were both fined for making a false claim - the King received one cask, and the sailors, already in receipt of the bribe, obtained the other cask as salvors' rights.

The Lord of Samares was a witness to the letter of nomination of the Dean and Thomas de Ausses as representatives of the Bishop of Coutances at the Assize, and he later appears as plaintiff against the Abbot of Cherbourg in some unspecified dispute. It was decided that if the arbitrators, Philip de Carteret, Seigneur of St Ouen and Robert de Bruerey, failed to agree, the final appeal rested with Richard de Courcy, Knt.

Pierre de St Hilaire discontinued his suit and was amerced.

The concluding entry in the Assize Roll relates to a tragic accident. Robert Damade, of Grouville, fled out of the mill of Pierre de St Hilaire, and part of a broken rod dashed him against the mill so that he died immediately.

Although no one was actually to blame, something had to be punished according to contemporary law, so the sails of the mill, which caused the death were sentenced to confiscation. Valued at 40 sols, the option of redemption lay with the Lord of the Manor. The offending sails were ultimately employed in pious duty, as it is recorded that Pierre de St Hilaire contributed 40 sols out of the deodams of the mill towards the increase of the stipend of Peter Vavasour, Chaplain of the Castle, subsequent to a general appeal issued by the Bailiff.

Guillaume de St Hilaire

c1321 to 1331

A Patent Roll of 25 May 1321 gives inspeximus and confirmation of letters patent to Otto, lord of Granson, dated 22 March 1317 granting to Guillot de Sancto Hilario the viscounty of Jersey for life at the request of Mary, Queen of France. He was appointed with Nicholas Ie Rous as local attorney for Petrus de Sancto Hilario - probably his brother - staying beyond seas, for two years from 18 March 1328.

Guillaume held the Manor of Samares by homage, owing as relief the sum of 10 livres at the Extent of 1331, and as part service "must meet the lord the King when he comes to this island on the sea shore up to (the spurs of his horse) – and to act in some capacity in the Royal household of the lord the King while he shall be in the island," but the Roll is illegible and the specific duty is undefinable.

When Guillaume eventually seceded to the King of France the Manor was confiscated by Edward III; but in 1340, a bailly du Cotentin assigned him 78 livres 10 sols 2 deniers de rente on the lands of R de Carteret for indemnity on the loss of his lands in Jersey.

Geffrey de Thoresby

1346-1351

Geffrey de Thoresby, an English yeoman, fought with bravery and distinction at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, and proceeded with the rest of the army, under Edward III, to the Seige of Calais, where he again brought himself into prominence. The King, in appreciation of these services granted him "the lands, late of William de Sancto Hillario, in Isle of Jersey, which had come into the King's hands by forfeiture."

Thoresby paid the Treasury the sum of 241 of the money current in the said isle, but, on 8 June 1347, was instructed to make his future remittances to Thomas de Ferrars as the King "has committed the custody of that Isle and of certain other islands to (him) to answer for the issues and profits thereof and he wishes Thomas to be charged with the 241 and to answer therefore."

On the day following the grant of the Fief of Samares, he received an additional Patent, giving exemption from service on assizes, juries and recognitions: as well as freedom from involuntary appointment as Bailiff, Mayor, escheator, or coroner .

During a brief residence in Jersey he took no prominent part in political, or military, activities. The rising power and influence of a relative, John de Thoresby, Bishop of Worcester and later Chancellor of England, seem to have beneficially influenced him.

He crossed to England in 1348 for a year, appointing Jordan de Barentyn and Thomas de Clifford as local attorneys on 16 April, but obtained permission to extend his absence for another two years during which period John Hastyn and William Whiteryk acted for him "in all courts of the island of Gernseye, Jereseye, Seerk and Aurneye."

Thoresby never returned. On 8 March 1350 he acquired the Manor of Staynton-by-Irford :-

"Whereas Peter de Scotenay lately granted to John Orger of Keleby, Nicholas Orger since deceased, and the heirs of John Orger, the reversion of the Manor of Staynton by Irford, which manor is held in chief, expectant on the demise of Clarice, late wife of John de Scotenay, the said John Orger afterwards granted the same to William de Broclesby and Robert de Keleby and their heirs, and the said William and Robert subsequently granted to Geoffrey de Thoresby and his heirs and whereas the said William and Robert as well as the said Geoffrey have entered into the same manor without any license obtained from the King herein; he, for 20s, which Geoffrey will pay, has pardoned these trespasses and granted license for Geoffrey to retain the Manor to him and his heirs. And the 20s have been paid in the hanaper."

Geffrey was deputed by the Lord Chancellor, John de Thoresby, to purvey "in all parts of Lindeseye (co-Lines) the wheat and malt required for the household of the Chancellor, and to bring the same to London where that household is held, and he immediately severed all connection with Jersey, by obtaining a special Patent, dated 25 July 1351, authorising him to :-

"sell to John Mautravers, and Agnes his wife, the lands which he has of the King's gift in the island of Gereseye, which escheated to the King by the forfeiture of William de Sancto Hilario, to hold in such manner as William held the same before his forfeiture, rendering to the King 241 of the money current in the island yearly, and doing the services due to the other chief lords of that fee from the lands before they came into the King's hands."

John Mautravers

1351-c1355 John Mautravers succeeded Thomas de Ferriers as Warden of the Isles in 1348. It appears that his appointment was originally intended to be a temporary one, as the Patents were only for periods of approximately six months at each renewal. The wording of the entries in the Patent Rolls follows the usual formula: "appointment to John Mautravers to have the keeping of the King's islands of Gernseye, Jereseye, Serk and Aurneye and the adjacent islands and of the castles there from Easter next to the same feast in the following year with full power to do justice in the King's name as well personal as real, to survey and repair all defects of the said castle and their artillery and to cause payment for this and wages of ministers and others dwelling in the islands and castles to be made by the receivers of the issues of the islands."

Little is known of his earlier history, but it seems probable that he was the same Sir John who took an active part in the French wars and is recorded as being present at the Siege of Calais, 1345/8, bearing as arms-Sable fretty or.

During May 1351 he crossed over to Jersey from England in a barge called Lan. The safe conduct issued to the master and mariner on 28 May states that Mautravers "purposes to send (it) to the islands for their safe keeping as well as bringing back to England some anchors and cables for the King's use and taking him and some of his men to the islands."

On 25 July in the same year Samares Manor was purchased, but he again returned to England, as in April 1352 letters of protection, with clause volumnus, were issued to Ralph de Horsy, going on the King's service to the islands with John de Mautravers keeper, Alexander de Moulham, Thomas de Neuburgh, chevalier, William de Blaunkeneye, clerk, and Thomas Duraunt, King's sergeant at arms.

Of these, Ralph de Horsy acted as lieutenant and Blaunkeneye and Duraunt appear on the Assize, 10 March 1352, concerning the accounts of the bailiffs and receivers etc, with power of arrest and punishment of defaulters.

In the following month Mautravers and Blankeneye received commissions to "enquire into the escheats and profits which should pertain to the King there, but have been withdrawn or concealed."

De La Croix ("Ville de St-Helier") states that justice was so badly administered during this period that the King wrote a severe letter of reprimand in 1353, which may possibly account for the appointment of Guillaume Stury as successor in the following year.

The Public Record Office possesses a roll of Mautraver's accounts "usque xv diem Julii anno XXVIJ a quo die idem Johannes debit alias inde computare."

These seem to have been the final statements on the termination of office and domicile in Jersey, because he was staying in England early in 1355 and spent the remainder of his life there.

At the request of Richard, Earl of Arundel, he obtained sundry estates in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, that had been granted to his son and daughter-in-law, on 4 August 1357, with reversion to a granddaughter Eleanor and other issue. Mautravers died before 1371, when his widow Agnes founded a chantry at Lichet-Mautravers with provision for three chaplains to serve divine service daily for the good of her soul and those of her ancestors and late husband.

Philip de Barentin

c1355 to 1367

Philip de Barentin purchased Samares from Mautravers, but it was not possible to allocate the exact date, as no mention of the usual permission has been found, nor any official notice of the customary fine for an infraction of the prerogative. De Barentin cannot have held the Manor for more than 12 years, during part of which time he stayed in England. In 1367 Philip sold his local possessions. including the Manors of Rozel, Samares, Longueville, La Hougue Boete, Houmet, La Fosse, Ponterrin, Dielament and other fiefs for the price of 800 livres sterling.

His object was to disappoint the collateral heirs, following violent disputes concerning alleged leprosy, as well as scandalous imputations against his wife. The joint purchasers, Raoul Lempriere and Guilles Payn, had some initial difficulty in obtaining possession because Sire Peter Payn, Rector of St Brelade and others, instituted lengthy proceedings of "retrait linager" in an endeavour to nullify the contract. These claims seem eventually to have been disallowed as the descendants of the original purchasers remained in peaceful possession of the property.

The Payn seigneurs

• 1 Guille Payn m d of Geoffroy Brasdefer
  • 2 Jean Payn m d of Guillaume Dumaresq, Seigneur of La Haule
    • 3 Philippe Payn ( -1497) m Thomasse de Carteret, d of Richard
      • 4 Mabel Payn ( -1565) m Jean Dumaresq ( -1541) of Vinchelez de Bas

Raoul Lempriere and Guille Payn

1367 to c1400

As both Lempriere and Payn were "strangers and natives of Brittany" they were compelled to pay a fine of 70 livres to Richard II before they could obtain the necessary license permitting them to enter into possession.

Both were related, each having married a daughter and coheiress of the contemporary Bailiff Geoffroy Brasdefer, and both had been resident in the island for some years. An interesting entry in the Patent Rolls seems to indicate professional partnership, and to throw circumstantial light to explain the favourable circumstances which enabled them to immediately seize the opportunity to purchase when it unexpectedly arose through a family feud.

On 25 September 1362 notification was issued to the "bailiffs and lieges in the island of Jereseye that Phillip de Barentin, staying in England, has attorned before the King in his place, Ralph Lempriere and William Payn to see and defend for him in all courts of the island, and, at his instance, the King has granted that these may make other attorneys as they will to sue and defend the same for two years. John de Codyngton received the attorneys."

On 8 May 1368 a pardon was issued to "Ralph le Emperor and William Payn of the island of Jereseye, by a fine made by them to the King, of their trespass in acquiring in fee from Philip de Barentin, the Manors of La Rosell and Saut Mareys in the said island, and entering therein, without the Kings license; and grant that they may hold the manors as acquired by them for 10 marks paid to the hanaper.

From this date for several years the lengthy and protracted proceedings of an action of "retrait lignager" interfered with peaceful possession. The Governor, Sir Walter Hewet, was amongst the first to seize the opportunity afforded through the legal dispute, by obtaining a grant in fee, on 8 May 1369, "of those lands in the island of Gereseye which Ralph Lempriere and William Payn lately bought from Philip Barentyn of which the retractum belongs to the King according to the manner and custom of that country, because Walter, in the Kings name, offered to pay Phillip as much for the lands as Ralph and William paid for the same within one year of the time when the lands were put up for sale, no one of the blood of the said Philip, suing for the purchase of the lands within the year, whereby the lands have fallen to the King by reason of the retrait.”

"Grant to him also of license to grant the lands in fee to whomsoever he will."

It is highly probable that he conceded the manor to Lempriere and Payn for an annual consideration and benefited accordingly, pending the final judgment; as a writ of supersedeas was not issued in their favour till 15 November 1278.

There is, however, a contract of 1367 by which Lempriere and Payn were allowed conjointly to "faire comparence" at the Assize d'Heritage for their fiefs and they again paid homage to the King in 1378. Four years later, a private agreement, definitely dividing their holdings shows that:

• Raoul Lempriere took Rozel, Longueville, La Hougue Boote
• William Payn took Samares, Houmet, La Fosse, Ponterrin, Dielament and other fiefs. Curiously he was also given the presentation to the curé of Longueville Chapel and the maintenance of the edifice.

Although William Payn is described as a stranger and native of Brittany it seems probable that relationship existed between him and the Seigneurial family established in St Lawrence prior to 1260, of which Sire Pierre Payn, the institutor of the proceedings of "retrait lignager" was a member, but there is no genealogical evidence to indicate any kinship between them.

The Payn family pedigree does not mention any contemporary sons, other than the heirs; yet the Close Rolls record a Raoul Payn as holding a seemingly official local position in 1227, and another Raoul Payn was a resident of St Lawrence at the Extent of 1331. There were, therefore, other branches of the Payn family existing in Jersey and it may have been through one of these junior lines that connection existed.

It is a significant fact that the earliest heraldic evidence, circa 1450, exists in the parish church of St Clement, and no record of the arms of the Seigneurs of the Fief Jourdain Payn can be found in any part of the island until very much later. Descendants of the Payns, Seigneurs of Samares, have therefore a prior claim to the Three Trefoils.

In 1518 the Town of St Helier was scourged by a plague which decimated its inhabitants. Civil and commercial activities, transferred to Grouville, left the ville deserted, and the Royal Court believing that paper carried the infection, burnt all the available registers and public documents.

This may have been a prudent measure, but was at least, carried to excess, and has produced a regrettable hiatus in contemporary history.

Philippe Payn

1477 to c1550

Phillippe Payn, Seigneur of Samares, appears as a Jurat in 1477. A similarly named Seigneur was a Jurat in 1497, but it is uncertain whether it is the same individual or not.

From the gap between the two dates, and the fact that only three generations are shown to cover the period of a century it seems probable that they were father and son. Nothing is known about them and the only claim to notoriety lies in a statement published in Plee's History wherein the authorship of the "Chroniques" is erroneously ascribed to a Philip Payn of Samares.

In 1489 the Governor, Matthew Baker, collected the "aveus" of the Seigneurs, and tenants, in capite, of the King :-

"Memoire des dignitez que moy Phillip Payn Seigneur de Saumaresq, doit a notre Sire le Roy d' Angleterre. Premier, hommage et suite de Cour es chefs Plaids capitaux. Item dix lbs de relief quand le cas echet pour Saumaresq. Item 30 sols pour Hornet. Item 10 sols se paye parte Prevost du "Morier."

The singular inclusion of the full aveu of the Seigneur of Samares in the Chroniques led to the assumption that the anonymous author, was Phillippe Payn; and Plees, who originally published the error, misread the "amoy" for a personal declaration.

The error is manifest by the fact that Payn, living in 1477, could not have been author of a work that was not completed till 1585 - neither is it likely that a Seigneur of Samares would write a chronicle eulogising the Seigneurs of St Ouen whilst carefully refraining from any remarks about his own family achievements.

Mabel Payn

c1500-1565

Phillippe Payn left issue one daughter, who inherited as Dame de Samares and es Oras, and married Jean Dumaresq, Seigneur of Vinchelez de Bas, second son of Thomas Dumaresq. The marriage took place previous to 1505 when he is recorded as Seigneur of Samares, ca-uxoris.

On 2 July 1517 a criminal named Pierre Resde was sentenced to execution and Raulin Le Marquand insisted that a gallows should be erected on the Samares Fief, as it afforded a more extensive view and would, in consequence, be more exemplary to the people than the market place of St Helier: Jean Dumaresq acceded to the request, provided it was not taken as a precedent to the prejudice of his successors.

1517, 2 July. "En jugement a St Helier, Sre. Hugh Vaughan Chev, Capitaine, Gouverneur de cette ile pour Ie roi ntre Souverain Sire, et Raulin le Marquand, Procureur du Roi requirerit Jean Dumaresque, a cause de Mabel sa femme Seigneur de Samaresq, qu'il lui plut souffrir qu'un poteau fut plants sur son fieu pour faire l'execution d'un Pierre Resde, pour crime capitale de dont etait atteint et condamné, a laquelle requeste ledt Seignr de Samarez consentit pour ce que ce lui tournera a prejudice ny a ces successeurs, ce qui lui fut octroye, et ladite requete faite pour cause que le lieu etait plus propre et convenable a la vue, et exemplare du peuple, que n'etait le lieu et place commune du marche de St Helier."

The right of gallows, felons, and felon's property was specially nvested in the Seigneurie, and it is to be inferred that this particular unfortunate, not being a resident of the district, would contribute no "biens" to the Seigneurial Coffers: the Seigneur registering his protest against the use of private gallows for ordinary executions, from which he received no benefit.

The “Lord of Saint Marie" paid ‘xlviij s’ at the Extente of 1528, but died before 1541 when Mabel Payn, appeared as a widow. In a complaint against Henry Cornish and his soldiers, over an infringement of her rights of chasse :-

"Mabel, Dame de Samares, sest soldayeurs et gentz de Moussieur le luytenant (ie Henry Cornish) du Chasteau ont este en chasse dedans son parco Et mouser ledit Luyten a respondu que sy ladte dame estoit allee par deuers luy quil ayroit myns bon ordre come chef ou huyten sus lesdits soldeyeurs mes veu quells est venue publier en justice sa plainte. Ledit monssr Ie Luytenant luy a ceffart quelle prenge la loy sus tous ceulx de qui elle se vouldra plaindre et que par la loy il veult que ladite matiere soit trice.

Dame Mabel Payn died in 1565.

Dumaresq seigneurs

• 1 Jean Dumaresq ( -1529) Seigneur of VInchelez de Bas, Jurat and Lieut-Bailiff m Mabel Payn ( -1565)
  • 2 Jean Dumaresq ( -1537) m Jane Lempriere, d of Thomas, Bailiff
    • 3 Clement Dumaresq ( -1551) Jurat m Margaret de Carteret d of Helier, Bailiff
      • 4 Henry Dumaresq ( -1579) Jurat m Mary Lempriere, d of Philip
        • 5 Esther Dumaresq ( 1597) m John Dumaresq (1548-1606 - see below for descendants)
      • 4 Collette Dumaresq m John Dumaresq, Bailiff, Seigneur of Vinchelez de Bas (see below)
  • 2 Richard Dumaresq ( -1556) Seigneur of Vinchelez de Bas, Leoville and Bagot, Jurat m Collette Larbalestier ( -1590), d of Michel, Seigneur of Augres
    • 3 John Dumaresq, Bailiff 1566-83, 86-87, 91-96 m 1, Collette Dumaresq (see above); 2, Isabel Perrin, d of Edmund, Seigneur of Rozel
      • 4 John Dumaresq (1548-1606) Jurat m Esther Dumaresq (see above)
        • 5 Daniel Dumaresq ( -1634) m Catherine de Carteret, d of Peter
          • 6 Henry Dumaresq ( -1690) m Marguerite Herault, d of Abraham
            • 7 Philip Dumaresq, Jurat
              • 8 Deborah Dumaresq ( -1702) m Philip Dumaresq (1671-1714) Seigneur of Anneville (see below)
      • 4 Abraham Dumaresq m Susan de Carteret ( -1658)
        • 5 Benjamin Dumaresq (1647- )
          • 6 Philip Dumaresq (1671-1714) Seigneur of Anneville m Deborah Dumaresq (see above)

Note:The exact lineage of Abraham Dumaresq at Generation 4 is unclear in the chart accompanying the article and the birth date given for him of 1631 does not fit with the generations above and below

Clement Dumaresq

c1541 to 1551

Clement succeeded his grandfather as Seigneur and was a Jurat from 1539 to 1550. He married Margaret, only daughter and heiress of the Bailiff Helier de Carteret, leaving issue Henry Dumaresq and a daughter Collette.

Henry Dumaresq

1551 to 1567

There is no record of a wardship over Henry Dumaresq, although one must have been appointed as he was still under age in 1557. Elected a Jurat on 29 September 1566, he continued in office till 1572. The fragmentary notices contain no information of contemporary interest other than the record of a dispute with Pierre de la Rocque, over a question of heraldry.

Dumaresq accused him of illegally using and usurping the arms of the Seigneur of Samares; and on Wednesday, 10 December 1567, the case was brought up at the Court of Chief Pleas held at St Helier.

The result is unrecorded. De La Rocque contents himself with a protest against the pernicious local custom of the territorial association of arms, and pointedly told the Bailiff that he was not a competent judge, the matter being outside the scope of his jurisdiction.

":Memorandum of the reasons that Pierre de la Rocque gave in his reply to Henry Dumaresque, Seigneur of Samares, concerning the trefoils on his armour.

That in 1362 Rosel and Samares Manor were sold by Philippe de Barentin to Raoull Lempriere and to Guillaume Pain when Count de Maulevrier was Lord of the Isles.

With regard to the claim of Henry Dumaresq concerning my arms, it must be left to the King of Heralds, and the Bailiff must be told that it is no concern of his as he is not entitled to judge armorials.

Be it noted that the arms of the Seigneurs of Samares do not belong to Henry Dumaresq descendant of Guille de Pain, Breton, who bought the Fief of Samares without the arms, neither were they conceded to him by the Prince nor confirmed by the King of Heralds, it is unseemly that a stranger should be given arms of noble extraction and these arms were given at first by Alexander the Great in recognition of courage and chivalry.”

The opening paragraph of the memorandum is in error in stating that the Count de Maulevrier was Lord of the Isles at the time of the sale of Samares. He was not in Jersey till one hundred years later; and the date of the sale was actually 1367 - not 1362 as stated.

These misstatements may have crept in through bad transcription, yet have no important bearing on the allegation, that the Payn family and their descendants of Samares had no right to bear the Three Trefoils, which were in fact the arms given to De La Rocque by Alexander the Great.

Research in London should produce a note of the ultimate decision of the "King of Heralds", as these cases were not allowed to remain unadjudicated - heavy exemplary fines and forfeitures being invariably inflicted on the offending party.

Esther Dumaresq

c1580 to 1597

Esther Dumaresq, the elder co-heiress, married her cousin John Dumaresq, son of John Lieut. Bailly and Isobel daughter of Edmund Perrin, Seigneur of Rozel. In conjunction with her sister Sara, she voluntarily relinquished seigneurial right to the Mont de la Ville in favour of the project to erect fortifications for the protection of the town and harbour of St Helier, but the idea then suggested was not carried out till many years afterwards.

One of the periodical disputes between De Carteret and Dumaresq occurred in 1599. The letter written by De Carteret to Secretary Cecil, in connection with the matter, illustrates the usual complaint of deliberate evasion, coupled with the bias of justice by attempted coercion and intimidation.

J Carteret to Secretary Cecil

21 August 1599

"On 16 July last the Council wrote to George Paulet, Bailiff, and other justices in Jersey, to surcease proceedings in the cause between Jean Dumaresque and me, upon information by my adversary that I proceeded to have the cause determined contrary to your former letters to Sir Anthony Paulet, wherein he tries to render me odious. I know of no such letter until the cause was determined, by virtue of your former letters to the Bailiff and others, who dealt with all in differences, and gave their judgments after due examination of my proofs: and the sureties of my adverse parties, perceiving the matter so dear on my side, willingly because bound to me, before the justice, for the payment of my charges.

"Nevertheless Dumaresque - knowing the law to be against him, thinking to stay other matters depending between us, and fearing that his doings should be examined before you - trusts wholly his own kinsmen, who are bent against me, and therefore have chosen in my absence, to assist Sir Anthony Paulet in commission, Amias de Carteret, his own brother in law, who has hitherto sought my undoing, so that he is at my suit bound to Her Majesty's peace; and Giles and Hugh Lempriere, near of kin of Dumaresque and his councillors in this cause, so that they would both be judges and parties against me. As my adverse party is of great importance in the isle, and as they, who have dealt for me in this cause are daily injured and threatened, I crave that the controverscy may be heard before you, at the Council Table or the Star Chamber."

Jersey at this time was in perpetual fear of invasion. On 25 March 1602 the Governor, Sir Walter Raleigh, received information of a projected Spanish attempt to seize the island by an expedition from the Low Countries of 6,000 troops.

Preparations to repel the invaders were feverishly hastened when news arrived on 7 August that 15 Spanish galleons were actually proceeding towards the island. The Lieut.-Governor took charge of the defences of St Helier and St Lawrence: the Seigneur of Rozel of St Saviour and St Martin: Mons de Saumeris of St Clement and Grouville: Mons Dilamen of Trinity and St John: Sir Jean de Carteret of St Ouen and St Mary and Sir Helier de Carteret of St Peter and St Brelade.

Mobilization and protective works completed, the armed inhabitants impatiently awaited the affray, but the expedition never arrived. After a while panic gradually subsided and the usual even tenor of existence was resumed.

John Dumaresq died in 1606 and Esther in 1597. A stone tablet, erected to their memory in St Clement's Church, records the family arms and quarterings. Prominence is given to the arms of PAYN and it is remarkable that even in the embellishments of the contemporary Dumaresq signatures the trefoils of PAYN are introduced, as if the family laid more stress on this ancient marriage alliance than in their own legitimate family arms.

The local practice of giving the place of honour to the arms brought into a family by alliance with an heiress of higher social prestige, can perhaps be understood under certain circumstances, but this would scarcely apply to the intermarriage of Payn and Dumaresq.

Daniel Dumaresq

1606-1634

The procureur, Philip de Carteret, forwarded a petition of 21 articles of complaint against the Bailiff and Jurats, which resulted in the appointment of a Royal Commission on 31 August 1606. One of the main complaints concerned the wardship of Philip de Carteret, heir of the Seigneur of St Ouen, and Daniel Dumaresq, heir to the Seigneur of Samares "whose pretended guardians had not made any satisfaction to His Majesty for the same."

The procureur endeavoured to proceed against the parties, on behalf of the King, but was so terrified and menaced by the Bailiff and jurors, that it was impossible to get adjudication and moreover, necessitated a special appeal for personal protection from violence. The wardship of these two minors had been in the hands of Sir Walter Raleigh during his period of Governorship. The Journal of Elie Brevint says :-

"Daniel Dumaresq, Seigneur de Samares fut page de Sir Walter Ralegh ou Railey, lequel en avait la garde noble, et luy bailla en mariage une sienne fille bastarde, laquelle mourut de la peste a Londres ou Kingston. Alors ledit Saumarez epoussa qu'il a de present."

This marriage is not mentioned in Payne's Armorial. Sir Walter Raleigh had relations with one of Queen Elizabeth's maids of honour, and was in consequence, temporarily disgraced at Court and imprisoned in the Tower, but he subsequently married her.

Raleigh's wardship of the Seigneur of Samares would naturally result in the arrangement of a marriage with his daughter, and the girl, of whom Brevint speaks, was probably the daughter of the maid of honour, Elizabeth Throgmorton, and connected with the scandal of 1591.

Daniel Dumaresq, elected a Jurat in replacement of his father Jean Dumaresq on 20 September 1607, was subsequently appointed by Letters Patent of James I, to assist in the administration of the Baudains bequest.

Two grammar schools founded in the reign of Henry VII had become totally inadequate to local exigencies after the Reformation. Laurens Baudains gave 36 quartiers of wheat rent towards the foundation of a new college, and Queen Elizabeth, to favour the suggested undertaking, granted letters of mortemain in confirmation of this gift and for any additional bequests, but no local support eventuated, so the building of a College was abandoned.

The Committee, incorporated to administer the Trust, utilised the income for the benefit of University students of moderate means. This subsequently developed into the endowment of three fellowships at Oxford for the benefit of Channel Islanders. The first two elected for Jersey were Poingdestre and Dr Brevint, afterwards Prebendary of Durham and Dean of Lincoln.

Soon after his accession to the Fief of Samares, Dumaresq came into conflict with his neighbour, the Seigneur of Longueville, over the interminable question of precedence. The Diary of Benjamin La Cloche opens with an account of this dispute, which must have been regarded as, at least, of great parochial significance.

Benjamin La Cloche, Seigneur of Longueville, 1612 to 1654, left an interesting diary, published by the Société, which commences with an account of his dispute with Dumaresq, Seigneur of Samares, Gorges and Bagot, concerning a church pew in St Saviour's Church.

Dumaresq claimed precedence to Nicolle (Nichol of Penrose), alleging social superiority, and seniority as Seigneur of Gorges (or Bagot) in that parish. Nicolle replied:

"He is a gentleman of rank, the descendant of a noble house in the Kingdom of England, County of Cornwall, which had served the King loyally from time to time, even during the time when the English held possession of part of Normandy: that his predecessors had been employed and held office there and in other places in his Majesty's service; that as for him, accordingto his rank and standing, he will never allow Dumaresq's right as his superior; that he will never cede his right and that Dumaresq's arguments and allegations will never have power to do so. The Seigneur of Samares can sit, when he attends church at St Saviour's, on the chairs which are at present in the Church, used by Philippe Messervy of Bagot, with the arms of Dumaresq and Vinchelez inscribed on them. The seat of John Nicolle, my predecessor in the Church of this parish, was in the South Chapel by the south side in the cloister at the end of the high Altar by the south - Saumareq next about Lempriere - and Lempriere followed in the north side.

" The burial place of Regnault de Carteret and Nicolle was " before the High Altar at the South of the Chapel".

The whole cause of the dispute savours of some reconstruction in the Church tending to upset the established customs of the parishioners and the ultimate result recorded in the dairy was that at the "Kings Court in the island - the affair remains in statut and Nicolle is in the right."

The administration of the States at this time was in such an unsatisfactory condition that the Governor considered it necessary to notify the Crown of the advisability of suspending, or deposing, several of the Jurats who were unfit to carry on their duties. The list included the Seigneur of Samares who had been placed in charge of a guardian in 1619, Clement Dumaresq, aged 94 years, and Phillip Lempriere, who obstinately refused to attend the sittings of the Court.

Sir John Peyton pointed out the difficulties of the situation arose through the Jersey custom which allowed a Jurat, once elected, to remain in office till his death, without any consideration of advanced age, or mental incapacity.

Nothing advantageous seems to have resulted, as Daniel Dumaresq remained in office until his decease in December 1634, although under the curatorship of his kinsman Elie Dumaresq, Seigneur of Vinchelez de Bas.

Henry Dumaresq

1634-1654

Henry was born about 1614, because on the 22 January 1634/5, some days after the death of his father, he attended to "faire comparence" for Samares and stated he was recently of age. Elected a Jurat 24 September 1634 in replacement of Daniel, his father, he became conspicuous as the youngest of the Parliamentary Commissioners and for his firm friendship with Michel Lempriere, the Republican bailiff.

Jersey's motive in declaring for Parliament was not based on any principles of adherence to the party in England. The chief leaders were three Jurats and three clerics:

• Francis de Carteret, Seigneur of la Hague
• Henry Dumaresq, Seigneur of Samares
• Michel Lempriere, Seigneur of Maufant
• Dean Bandinel
• James Bandinel, Rector of St Mary
• Peter d’Assigny, Rector of St Helier

These men could not possibly have been hostile to the Crown for the same reasons as the parliamentary party in England, nor could they desire the destruction of monarchy and episcopacy. Their opposition arose, not so much from the causes, as from a hatred to Sir Philippe de Carteret, who was Lieut-Governor and Bailiff.

The two offices vested too much power in one man and caused a feeling of animosity amongst an appreciable proportion of the population. The leaders adopted a means to an end in order to strengthen their own insular party and to destroy if possible, not only the influence of their enemy, but the very existence of De Carteret.

Dean Bandinel had been a great friend of the Bailiff, but a lawsuit over the tithes of St Saviour made him so bitter that nothing could pacify his vindictive nature. James Bandinel, Rector of St Mary, followed his father and Peter d' Assigny, a French refugee minister, also turned against De Carteret, although he had been his benefactor.

Bitterness is also evident in de Carteret's reply to the Parliamentary accusations. He said that they "bore the pernicious Council of the Dean, and that every line bears the blackness of his envenomed pen. He fancies himself on the stage where he plays the role of charlatan to dazzle people's eyes and to show counterfeit drugs. Could I believe that you (the other jurats) would allow him or that he would presume to spread his venom and to put in writing falsehoods and lies, under colour of building up for you a reply”.

It is remarkable that these leaders met with no countenance or support from Prynne, who must, therefore, have viewed their proceedings as unconnected with the principles appealed to by his own party in England.

"I should have manifested myself a monster of ingratitude had I not contributed my best assistance to support Sir Phillip's innocence, honour and reputation against the malicious, and injurious accusations and aspersions of his inveterate backbiting enemies, who endeavoured only to defame him, and to oust him of his office, that they themselves might step into them."

Chevalier's journal gives detailed particulars of local events during the period of the Civil Wars, which prove that the political aspect of Roundhead and Cavalier remained a secondary consideration between the two factions.

In 1643 a petition of 22 articles prepared against De Carteret was presented to the House of Lords, but, through Payn's influence, never officially reached the House of Commons. On the day appointed for the hearing, it was found that the case could not be fully adjudicated as the Dean and Henry Dumaresq pleaded inability to present proof since they could not attest anything from their own knowledge and all their witnesses were in Jersey.

They also failed in showing that they were deputed, either by the States, or inhabitants, to exhibit these articles. The case is dealt with by Prynne in a published tract, the Liar Confounded, to which Dumaresq and his committee replied in the Pseudo Mastix or the Lyar's Whip. Both these articles directly concern contemporary politics and apart from part authority have no important bearing with the Seigneurs of Samares.

The struggle for supremacy between the Royalists and Parliamentarians now assumed a serious aspect, the first stage of which ended on 17 August 1643 when Sir Philippe de Carteret died in the defence of Elizabeth Castle.

The last dying request of the Royalist Commander for permission to see his wife and a priest was refused in a letter signed by Henry Dumaresq and others, which, however, bears indication that it was actually dictated or composed by the implacable Dean.

Chevalier says that the committee met at the Town Rectory to consider the reply. Its cant and inhumanity are apparent, but in the main lay the resentment at "the infamous charge on the loyal subjects of His Majesty whose faithfulness and loyalty have never been questioned by our good King of England … must the Islanders be content to live under pardon for having taken up arms for our just defence, not against the King, but against Sir Phillip Carteret, who not only vexed and oppressed the subjects of His Majesty, but made open war against them."

They finally exhort him to surrender the castle to the State "to be kept for the service of His Majesty."

The whole tenor of the letter emphasises the personal enmity, distinct from the political, which is again apparent in the fact that, as soon as the cause of the contention was removed, the Parliamentary faction grew increasingly cooler until even the Dean and d'Assigny had difficulty in awakening a flagging interest.

It would appear that the Commissioners themselves ceased intelligent activity; because it seems incredible that an invaluable opportunity should have been deliberately thrown away by allowing misinformation to be sent to the newly appointed Governor Lydcott. If he had brought 300 or 400 troops with him, the island could have been subjugated without great difficulty, but he was told that such were unnecessary, as the whole of the inhabitants were actively Parliamentarian and, in consequence, he landed with only his family.

This serious oversight undoubtedly strengthened the Loyalists, who, within a few months, regained their ascendancy.

Henry Dumaresq, Lydcott and others fled in 1643 - "lors de la fuite de Lydcott et dut reprendre ses functions lors du triomphe de son parts" - but Dean Bandinel and his son were captured to suffer a tragic end. Dumaresq, still absent when the Royal Commission tried his case, was condemned to be hung in effigy as contumacious on 12 July 1645, which meant a sentence of execution when, and whenever, he might be taken.

A few notices in Chevalier's Journal referring to the sequestered Manor of Samares are not without interest.

James Bandinel, after his escape from Mont Orgueil, was supposed to be in hiding at Samares Manor, but when de Carteret searched for him, nothing was found except the Seigneur's horse, which was confiscated to the use of the Lieut-Governor. In the following year, 1646, the lands of the manor were rented by the Constable and Phillip de Soulemont, Advocate, at 1000 francs per annum, and sub-let to the parishioners at a substantial profit.

Sir George de Carteret frequently inspected the manor because of suspicions that communications were passing between Madame de Samares and the fugitives. On one of these occasions, 18 May 1647, an unfortunate accident occurred.

He ordered an English employee, named Wright, to climb up in the interior of the colombier to fetch some young pigeons. Wright succeeded in reaching the top by the hazardrous method of using the pigeon holes as footholds, but then fell, breaking his leg and thigh and sustaining other grave injuries.

He was taken to the manor, his leg set and wounds dressed, and, according to Chevalier, lay in extremis for two months "a la fin a nature p la pouriture de ses meurtrisseurs le quel Iut enterrey a Saint Clement la paroisse ou il sestoit fait Ie mal de la quelle il ne sortit point appres sa cheute jusques au jour de son enterrement le quel fut porte p des soldats pour lanterrer."

De Carteret's suspicions were eventually substantiated by his capture of a boatman in 1648, who was commissioned to carry letters between Mme de Samares and her father-in-law, Mons Herault, in Guernsey.

Shortly afterwards the wives of all the fugitives were ordered to be segregated in Samares Manor, or alternatively to be sent away to St Malo. They remained there for about two years and Chevalier records, in 1651, that Mme de Samares and Mme Herault, still suspected of communicating with their husbands, were confined in the manor pending their expulsion.

Following a renewed ascendancy of the Parliament, Henry Dumaresq returned to the island and again acted as Jurat from 1651 till his death in December 1654. It became necessary to reorganise the Royal Courts. The Council issued an Order to depose the Royalist Jurats and elect ten new ones to officiate with Dumaresq and Abraham Herault for the speedy settlement of civil government in deciding controvercies and punishing offenders.

"That as the laws of the island are written in French and the natives do not understand English nor the English habitants the laws, the now Bailiff with Henry Dumaresq and Abraham Herault, two old Jurats displaced by Sir George Carteret, be authorised to administer justice according to the ancient laws until the affair is settled.

"The late pretender Bailiff Sir George Carteret and all the Jurats :-Phillip, Capt Phillip, Ames, Joshua, and Francis Carteret; Francis Carteret of Vinchelez, Philip le Geyt, Laurens Hampton, John Peport, Benjamin La Cloche, Elias Dumaresque and Thomas Peppon should be displaced for delinquency and ten new chosen with Henry Dumaresque and Abr Herault.

"All other Royalist Officials should also be displaced and the Bailiff should elect successors from the Parliamentary adherents. These new appointments to be for a period of 2 or 6 years and not for life as heretofore."

Philip Dumaresq

1654-1690

When Henry Dumaresq was buried at St Clement on 12 December 1654, his son Philip seems to have been away from the island, probably on duty with the Navy, which he had entered at an early age. His first recorded action on return to Jersey was a petition to Charles II in 1660 for the restoration of his confiscated Manor.

"Petition of Phillip, son of Henry Dumaresq, Seigneur of Samares, Jersey, to the King. My father being unfortunately engaged against your father, left the Island in 1642 with many others and had his estates confiscated by the Commissioners sent from Oxford. My father dying six years ago left a widow and me and three other children under age. As God has not only restored you in so wonderful a manner, but touched your heart with mercy towards your enemies-as shown by your pardon of 4/14 April and your proclamation of 15 June last, granting pardon to all that return to their loyalty - I beg pardon for myself and my late father and taking off the confiscation and the grant of the manor and seignory of Samares to be held in capito from you as it was held from your progenitors.”

An Order in Council, containing a pardon to Philip, Seigneur of Samares, for his political misdemeanours during the Civil War, was subsequently issued, although it is impossible to allocate the exact date of the regrant of the Fief. Properties of Parliamentarians sequestered in 1645 and 1646 were restored to their owners by an Order in Council dated 27 August 1669, but Dumaresq held Samares before this date. He was sufficiently settled and reestablished by 5 March 1668 to start another interminable wrangle over the question of precedency with the Seigneur of Trinity.

Amice de Carteret of Trinity had lost his case in 1661, but possessed a letter, dated 9 January 1662, authorising him to take precedence after St Ouen, Melesches and Rosel, which Dumaresq protested against.

The Privy Council ruled that the letter was invalid, because it had been obtained whilst the case was sub judice, and that the precedence in future was to be in favour of Samares. The case was revived in 1670 by Charles de Carteret, who pleaded irregularity, because the Seigneur of Samares had petitioned the Crown secretly, without giving him an opportunity of defense.

They were both warned to appear before the Privy Council and Dumaresq must have won the case, because Samares retained his precedence, as subsequently shown by the Order in Council of 1781. The final position therefore reverted to the original state in 1629, when His Majesty "thought fitt that the fower Chief Houses vizt Owen, Rossall, Sammarisq, and Trinitie shall continue theire ranks and places as formerly they have donne and for the Cadetts of the said houses and all gentlemen of the said Isle of Jersey that shall hereafter be chosen Jurates they are to take theire seance and places according to the tyme of theire Ellection."

On 24 July 1669 the States appointed a committee to find a convenient site for the erection of a college for the education of youth, study of literature, and the general welfare of the island, and authorised Philip Dumaresq of Samares and Benjamin Dumaresq, attorney of Sir George Carteret, to take the necessary measures. A piece of ground belonging to Mme Susanna Dumaresq was selected and, although there appeared a general desire to complete the work, the undertaking was destined to drop after compensation had been paid to the landowner, and remained dormant for nearly two centuries.

From his letters Dumaresq seems to have been an amiable, well informed man, who devoted most of his time to gardening, fruit and tree culture. He was a friend and correspondent of John Evelyn and there are a few letters of his to Christopher Lord Hatton, when Governor of Guernsey.

By licence dated 24 June 1672 he married Deborah, daughter of William Trumball of Easthampstead, Berks, at the Savoy Chapel London.

On 25 September 1675 the Royal Courts deprived Dumaresq of his right of free warren on the Mont de la Ville and Dumaresq carried the case to the Privy Council. The appeal was due to be heard on 10 July 1677, but there is no note of their ultimate finding.

The Armorial states that all Seigneurial rights to the Mont de la Ville were voluntarily surrendered at the end of the 16th century, but they were not renounced till 11 July 1678. A contract, dated 1685, in favour of the Town of St Helier, confirms this, and it is interesting to note that the hill was eventually sold by the Ville in 1800 to the Government for the building of Fort Regent for the price of £11,280.

Philip Dumaresq, elected Jurat on 25 Fbruary 1682 in replacement of Philip Payn, seems to have immediately opposed the Vicomte, Sir George de Carteret, over the dispute then existing between the islanders and Sir John Lanier.

Sir George was the youngest son of the Bailiff and Lieut-Governor, Sir Philip de Carteret, and an inherent sense of mutual enmity might be expected, but his report to the King was unexpectedly hostile. The Governor, he writes, had originally been satisfactory "until he became acquainted with one Phillip Dumaresq, otherwise called Samaresq, which your Matte doth know that his father was hang'd in Effigie according to our Laws as a Traitor, which said Dumaresq gave him such Councell that has caused all our differences, by the said Dumaresq's own confession and he being a man of the same temper as his ffather (as is known to all people) soe vpon this the said Lanier would Encroach vpon the priviledges of this Island."

That Dumaresq suffered no whit of his growing popularity as a result of the condemnation is evident from Royal favour that was shown for his subsequent work, "A Survey of Jersey" which gives a tolerably correct conception of the State of the Harbours and shipping at his period.

The copy presented to James II in 1685, opens with a title page :-

The treatise is valuable as containing a fair and candid statement of the civil and military state of Jersey during the reign of Charles II. He confirms the general opinion that the era of Mont Orgueil as a military asset had departed: "the Castle can hardly be made of other use, than to what it is now, viz to lodge a company of foot, and if the upper lodgings were repaired out of the useless material of the lower, they might be made to hold more: the artillery, now wholly without carriages, being disposed in more necessary places for the defense of the Island."

The chief Jersey industry at this time was the knitting of stockings for export to England and France. At least half the population depended on the manufacture, but the States viewed the occupation unfavorably. The art of knitting was taught in the schools and men, women and children employed their leisure at it.

Dumaresq and others considered that it encouraged indolence, produced a disinclination for active employment, withdrew men from husbandry and was, in reality, a source of poverty to the island. The States passed several ordinances discouraging and penalizing persons over 15 years of age from knitting during the vraic and harvest seasons, and eventually the industry declined, until the application of machinery finally annihilated it.

The Survey remained a State secret till the period of the French Revolution, when it was transmitted by the Government to Admiral D'Auvergne, who considered it of no special secret value and permitted several copies to the taken. Durell, in his later edition of FaIle, says the original was then in the Governor's Office.

Payne in the Armorial states, equally emphatically, that it was preserved in the British Museum, but he probably confused it with the "Plan of the Coast of Jersey", by John Dumaresq, which remains there.

In 1679 the inconvenience of the remoteness of the prison led to an Act authorising the erection of premises nearer the Royal Court.

Many residents in the parishes of St Clement and Grouville were, by the conditions of their tenure, compelled to convey, at their own expense, the prisoners from Mont Orgueil Castle to the Royal Court and attend the Assizes.

The time and expenses involved in the conveyance and attendance was a recognised hardship and the States, on 20 January 1686, authorised Sir Philip de Carteret and Mons de Saumarez to prepare a plan for the erection of a prison at the bottom of Broad Street. The cost of building was safeguarded by an impot of 5/- per ton on French goods. A plan, approved on 8 March 1687, led to immediate work, and the prison, finished in 1693, continued in use for the next 130 years.

Philip Dumaresq imparted to the historian Philip FaIle, then engaged on his history of the island, " a set of curious observations with an accurate survey of Jersey done on a large skin of vellum equally calculated for a sea chart and a land map which, in a reduced form, adorns the front of FaIle's book.

Dumaresq died in London and was buried on 3 June 1690.

Madame Dumaresq died at Hertford in 1720. Her will dated 25 December 1715 with two codicils, proved on 20 Dec. 1720 contained the desire for burial at Easthampstead as near her father as possible.

Deborah Dumaresq

1690-1734

This Dame de Samares, succeeded to the Fief as the only child and married her kinsman Philip Dumaresq, Seigneur of Anneville, son of Benjamin Dumaresq, a junior scion of Dumaresq des Augres. He was appointed a Jurat in 1711 and sworn as Lieut-Bailliff, on the death of Charles de Carteret, Seigneur of Trinity, 26 April 1712, but only lived for another two years.

On 26 December 1695 Deborah obtained a s.pecial grant of a small fief called Faisants, being a parcel of the Fief of Samares, on which there was only one small house belonging to Philip Faval. The special patent incorporated the Fiefs of Samares, Hommet, Crapedoit, La Fosse, and es Faisants, making them at her special request indivisable and subject to the inheritance of the eldest son or daughter, "for the prevention of difficulties and disputes such as have heretofore happened betwixt her ancestors and coheirs for their partages."

The Patent also contained permission for the erection of a windmill and watermill in Samares at an annual rent of 40 sols and confirmed her right of gallows, with felons properties, and esperkeries, between "La Hac and the Brook of Hauteville, St Helier's".

She was the last of her family and, as there was no issue from her marriage, obtained another patent on 27 March 1734, for permission to sell her properties and rights to whomsoever she desired.

The Seale seigneurs

• 1 ? Seale
  • 2 Peter Seale
  • 2 John Seale, of London, purchased 27 March 1734
    • 3 James Seale, 1749, sold to Hammond
    • 3 Thomas Seale

John Seale

1734 -

John Seale, a merchant of the City of London, purchased the Fief and Manor of Samares from Deborah Dumaresq in 1734. There are many documents of the Seale family preserved at La Haule Manor, including the long detailed account of the lands of Samares drawn up by Thomas Seale and Deborah Dumaresq in 1741 and 1753, and papers relating to a scandal concerning Peter Seale, the elder brother of John, interesting from the point of view of the power of the Church at that time.

James Seale

- 1754

There is also the correspondence between James Seale and his procureur, Pierre Mauger, beginning in 1749 with a copy of the agreement of sale with J J Hammond, who on 22 August 1754, acquired the Fief with the house known as La Gaudinierie, then in the occupation of Philip Payn, for the sum of 5000 guineas.

The Hammond seigneurs

Descended from Hamon, Centenier of St Jean, 1508

• 1 Nicholas Hamon (1670-1739) of St Helier m Margaret Lempriere, d of Clement of St Helier
  • 2 Jacques John Hammond (1700-1766), British Consul at Faro, Portugal m Marie Lempriere ( -1813), d of Jacques and Sara Atkinson
    • 3 Jacques Hammond (1746-1816) Jurat 1795-1816 m Marie Romeril (1778-1844) of Grouville
      • 4 Jacques John Hammond (1811-1893) m Anne Elizabeth Amireaux (1813-1887), d of Matthew
        • 5 Anne Hammond
        • 5 Emily Hammond m Capt Georges, RN, of Guernsey

James John Hammond

1754-1766

Was British Consul at Faro, Portugal, but on retirement from the diplomatic service returned to England and stayed in the parish of St John in the Borough of Southwark where he signed the contract for the purchase of Samares on 19 July 1754.

He became a Lieut-Colonel of Militia with the reputation of being a strict disciplinarian, making his officers parade at St Peter before seven in the morning; and was credited with the introduction of percussion fuses before they were adopted for general use. He was succeeded by his son.

James Hammond

1766-1816

James was educated at Hertford College, Oxford. Taken prisoner by the French on the eve of the Battle of Jersey he managed to escape and making a detour by the sands, eventually joined the militia in the Royal Square, being placed in charge of the prisoners at the end of the action.

He was Constable of St Clement from 4 November 1782 till 1786.

On 4 February 1786 he was elected Jurat on a vacancy caused by the death of Nicholas Fiott, and presented on 4 March, but his opponent, Philip Dumaresq, lodged an objection which was eventually taken up to the Privy Council, alleging corrupt proceedings with the connivance of sundry Jurats through their refusal to allow Dumaresq's appeal to be heard locally.

The Privy Council ruled that the Jurats had acted in an arbitrary, unwarranted manner and annulled the elections, instructing the Court to make a judicial enquiry and submit the results for approval. On 8 August 1787 they ordered the Court to erase the Role d'Asserment of Hammond and hear the petition.

The long process terminated 4 December 1795 when "Monsieur Dumaresq s'etant desists." Hammond was then admitted, without prejudice to his rights as Seigneur of Samares and took precedence from 1786.

He died at the age of 70 in 1816 and was buried in St Clement's cemetery on 11 April.

James John Hammond

1816-1846

He was unfortunately involved in the Lempriere failure and later lost the bulk of the remainder of the family fortunes in the succeeding Faro crash.

Petit Menage, situated partly in the parish of St Saviour on Fiefs Grainville and Bagot, and partly in St Helier on Fief du Buisson, was sold to James Robin by contract dated 12 January 1822 for £6000. This property was part of the succession of Jacques Lempriere Hammond who probably built it. La Fantaisie, lived in successively by Jacques Hammond and Jean Hammond, Bailliff, was also included amongst the lands inherited from their father.

Tragic misfortune seems to have relentlessly pursued the family, as the younger of the coheiresses is believed to have been one of the victims of the disastrous fire at the Opera Comique in Paris during the year 1887.

James John Hammond officiated as Bibliothecaire of Jersey till his death in 1893, but disposed of Samares Manor and dependancies to Edward Mourant many years previously, having obtained the necessary permission by Letters Patent dated 27 July 1846.

The Mourant seigneurs

• 1 Edward Mourant ( -1899) purchased Samares 6 July 1846 m Matilda Le Quesne, d of Nicholas
  • 2 Edward Lionel Mourant ( -1916)
    • 3 Claude Le Quesne Mourant ( -1921)

Edward Mourant

1846-1899

At the opening of the Jersey Eastern Railway on 6 August 1873, Edward Mourant was elected chairman of the board of directors and retained the position till his death.

Work on the new railway started on 16 September 1872, when a number of guests attended the private function celebrating the cutting of the first sod by Mme Mourant. Two drapped and beflagged pavilions were erected on the line opposite Samares Manor.

Speeches by the Dean and the Seigneur terminated the ceremony, which was followed by a magnificent lunch at the manor for the two or three hundred assembled guests.

Mr Mourant's first public office was as Constable of St Clement in succession to Thomas De La Mare on 3 December 1872. By defeat of Colonel Joshua Brayn (1489 votes to 642) he secured election as Jurat on 12 September 1874, later being appointed Lieut-Bailiff, November 1884 - Judge Delegate - and Receiver-General in 1886.

He died on 15 May 1899, a widower advanced in years, leaving several sons and daughters.

Edward Lionel Mourant

1899-1916 Educated at Victoria College and employed for a time in the Capital and Counties Bank, but found the prospects for advancement were remote and emigrated to America, whence he returned about 1898. After his succession to the manor he took a prominent part in the municipal life of St Clement and officiated as Oonstable from 1906 to 1916.

On one occasion he contested a Deputyship but was unfortunate in losing the election by one vote. Mr Mourant's death in 1916 was followed by three rapid changes in the seigneurship.

Claude Le Quesne Mourant

1916-c1921

He succeeded his father but sold the manor to a retired merchant from Japan.

Edward Clarence Davis

c1921-1924 As an invalid, he found the climate of Jersey unsuitable and after brief residence, decided to dispose of the fief and dependancies in July 1924.

Sir James Knott

1924-1964

Sir James Knott a barrister of Gray's Inn in 1889, later founded the Prince's Shipping Line and was elected Member of Parliament for Sunderland in 1910. Created a Baronet on 4 July 1917, he retired to Jersey in 1924 and purchased the manor, the grounds of which had been extensively altered and improved and contain probably the most numerous and valuable collection of botanical specimens that has ever been produced on the island.

His three sons served with distinction in the Great War but two were called to make the Great Sacrifice in defence of the Allied cause :-

• Capt Henry Basil Knott died of wounds on 7 September 1915.
• Major James Leadbetter Knott killed at the Battle of the Somme 1 July 1916.

• 1 Matthew Knott, of North Shields
  • 2 Sir James Knott (1855- ) m Margaret Annie Garbutt, ( 1929) d of Thomas
    • 3 Thomas Garbutt Knott (1879- )
    • 3 James Leadbetter Knott (1882-1916)
    • 3 Henry Basil Knott (1891-1915)

(2011 Footnote: For 40 years Sir James Knott employed 40 gardeners and spent a fortune on the property, which he left to his second wife, who married again to become Mrs Elizabeth Obbard. Today the manor is owned by her son Vincent.

Dependencies of Samares

The Extent of 1274 records that the carucate du Homet owed plein relief paying 26 sols.

Before 1331 Ralph de Crapedoit and Jordan du Mont each held half the carucate, together with a certain forfeiture there, called the Camp Norberd, for which the tenant paid 13 measures of wheat annually. After this date the fief was definitely divided because the Extente particularly mentions that the ½ carucate of Jourdain du Mont had been "recently acquired" by Guilleaume de St Hilaire paying 13 sols, whilst the ½ carucate de Crapoutouit was held by Richard, presumably son of Ralph de Crapedoit.

Fief du Homet

The fief acquired by Guilleaume de St Hilaire was included in the forfeiture of Samares when he seceded to the Court of France, but for some reason cannot have been included with the Fief when regranted to Geoffrey de Thoresby in 1346.

There was an Inquisition taken in Jersey 20 July 1349 reciting a writ of 20 June 23 Edward III concerning the Manor called "Ie Hommet" held of the King by rendering 25s Tournois yearly to the King's reeve of the parish for farm. "The said Manor and all the lands etc that the said "Reynold de Carteret held in the island were worth formerly 30 livres Tournois and are now worth 15 livres Tournois "or thereabouts."

Renault de Carteret acquired the Manor of Longueville about this time by some means and would be in a position to annex an adjacent Fief recently confiscated by the Crown. He died in the second week of Lent 1349 being succeeded by his son Philip de Carteret aged 35 years or thereabouts.

This Philip, in the same year, inherited lands in St Martin and St Mary as heir to the brother Guilleaume according to the Inquisition held on the 20 July 1349 under writ issued to Jean Mautravers, Keeper of the Isles. It seems probable that Mautravers purchased Du Hommet from De Carteret about the same time that he bought Samares Manor, because the next mention of the Fief occurs in the De Barentin sale to Payn and Lempriere in 1362, wherein it is included with Samares and the other dependancies.

Amongst the duties of the Fief du Hommet is the curious one that should the Seigneur reside on the Fief the priest was obliged to convey the Lady of the Manor to church on a white horse.

The surname of Crapedoit occurs in St Peter in 1274 and 1331, in St Brelade in 1309, and St Clement 1309 and 1331.

It is concluded that the Ministerium included the parishes of St Mary, St Ouen and St Peter and that the family surname arose from the Ministerium.

The St Clement family, of some importance, acquired the remaining half carucate of du Hommet which was known thereafter as the Fief de Crapedoit. Ralph, the Seigneur in 1331, "accused of taking simple men of his own to the taverns and compelling them to pay for his food and drink more than they owed him," acknowledged the error of his ways and was fined; but it was nevertheless deemed advisable to obtain the additional sureties of Reginald de St Clement and William le Breton as pledges of future good behaviour.

The Fief became a dependancy and has since remained a part of the holding of the Seigneurs of Samares.

Fief de Crapedoit

The Great Rolls of the Exchequer of Normandy 1180 record that Jersey was divided into three Ministeria for fiscal purposes by the Dukes of Normandy and that one of these areas was the Ministerum of Crapout Doit under Richard Bumouf.

Fief es Faisants

The small fief called Faisants on which there was one little house belonging to Philip Fauval in 1695, rested in the King's hands until granted to Deborah Dumaresq by William III "to remain entire and importable to whomsoever shall be eldest or represent the eldest of the inheritance."

Fief de la Fosse

This fief embraced the approximate area of the Harbour and Fort Regent and included the Chapelle des Pas, with its legendary history. The fief continued as a direct dependancy of Samares until the period of the Hammonds, who sold it to Advocate Francis Godfray. In 1868 it was purchased by Charles Philip Le Cornu in whose family it still remains.

The Terrier of 1608 includes the Fiefs Burrier es Cras and De Grochii among the dependancies of Samares, but they were not actually connected with the manorial holding.

The Fief Burrier purchased by John Dumaresq, fils Thomas, for 6 ecus d'or on 28 January 1499 remained in that family for the next 150 years, finally passing in heritage to the De Carterets.

The Fief es Cras descended from Mabel Payn, Dame de Samares 1565, to Abraham Dumaresq, grandson of Clement, Seigneur of Samares, in the 17th century, when it passed to Helier Hue and subsequently appears as a dependancy of the Fief de Melesches : whilst the Fief des Grochii about the same time became a definite part of the Fief de Dielament.

Links

• The Manor's website
• Samares in the Middle Ages, an article from an Annual Bulletin of La Société Jersiaise
• Philippe de Barentin and the Payns of Samares, a sequel from the 1996 Annual Bulletin
• List of Seigneurs of Samares

Appendices

The following appendices were included with the original article. They will be added to Jerripedia in due course

• Investure of Samares 1095
• Gift of a tithe of a Windmill 1218
• Proposed Fortifications, Mont de la Ville
• Terrier of 1608
• Rights of Wreckage 1620
• Letter of Sir Phillip de Carteret 1643
• Precedence of Samares and Trinity 1668
• Canal of Samares 1669
• Precedence of Samares and Trinity 1670
• Renunciation of rights (Mont de la Ville) 1678
• Precedence of Samares and Trinity 1685
• Precedence of Samares and Trinity 1687
• Grant of Fief as Faisants 1695
• Roads of Samares. 1715
• Order in Council re Hammond sale 1846