Multi-million pound historic farmhouse left to National Trust

Thursday 27 March 2014

A large nineteenth century listed farmhouse in St Saviour, where Jersey’s prizewinning “Countess” cow was first bred, has been left to charity.

La Fevrerie on La Route de Maufant, close to Durrell, has been bequeathed to the National Trust, with its furniture and fittings, and surrounding agricultural land, by the late Yvonne Genée who died in September last year. The Trust hopes to rent the property out as a family home.

Mrs Genée and her late husband Gordon bought the property and surrounding outbuildings in 1982 and started a dairy farm with about 40 cattle. They developed the “Countess” line which is still going strong today in Paul Houzé’s herd.

The Trust’s Chief Executive Charles Alluto said: “It’s a great privilege and honour to be bequeathed such properties and we are enormously delighted that people have such faith in what the Trust are seeking to achieve.

“We haven’t made any firm decisions yet, we need to review the interior of the property but eventually I think we’d be looking to rent it out as a lovely family home."

President of The National Trust for Jersey Celia Jeune said: “Such bequests are both an enormous privilege and responsibility, and the Trust will make every effort to ensure that La Fevrerie is cared for in the same impeccable way that Mrs Genée and her family have done over the last 30 years.”