FOCUS: Unlocking the secrets of the past

Thursday 20 October 2022

Tucked away near the statue of George V, Howard Davis Hall was once a billiards room attached to a mansion that has since been pulled down.

Following extensive refurbishment, it is now the latest venue in Jersey to open for weddings and events.

Howard Davis Hall became a post-pandemic project for Superintendent Registrar Claire Follain who, despite spending most of her life in Jersey, had first set foot inside it only seven years ago...

If there’s one thing that you really ought to have if you are the Superintendent Registrar, it’s a love of history. That, and a good understanding of French should stand you in good stead, along with a fascination for old documents, especially handwritten ones.

It’s just as well that Claire Follain, the current post holder, has a degree in history and French, a master's in history, a law degree and is a fluent French speaker.

“It’s what my parents might describe as too many degrees,” Claire laughs.

Pictured: "It was a combination of history, which I love having worked as an academic historian, and there’s so much law involved in what I do. So many of the laws and all the records we hold are in French and I’m a fluent French speaker."

“I think because I was raised in a traditional Jersey family, oral history was central to my upbringing. I grew up listening to Joan Stevens on BBC Radio Jersey telling stories from Jersey’s history, and at the knee of my grandmother who was incredible at telling family stories. My family were here during the Occupation, my father was born during that period and as I got older, they spoke more and more about it. It really fuelled that sense of proximity to the seismic events that the island had seen.”

Naturally, her academic studies focused on contemporary European history, specifically women’s rights, the development of the LGBTQ rights movement and Russian history. Moving onto law, Claire was called to the Bar of England and Wales, returned to the island and, after having children and becoming a marriage celebrant, she took up her current role replacing the previous Superintendent Registrar. It could not have been a more perfect job.

“It was a combination of history, which I love having worked as an academic historian, and there’s so much law involved in what I do. So many of the laws and all the records we hold are in French and I’m a fluent French speaker. I had all the skills, but I was really fortunate to be given the role. I would say it’s the best job in government. It’s a super job.”

Claire had brought a Register of Births from the 19^th century with her to the interview that included the birth registration of TB Davis. Born near the present-day White Horse pub, TB Davis made his fortune in shipping in South Africa and, towards the end of his life, bought the land that became Howard Davis Park which he gave to the island.

The flowing script looks as fresh as if it was written yesterday. Even in this age of paperless offices, written records are still kept and having good handwriting is a key requirement for most of those who work with Claire.

“Beautiful handwriting is lovely, but it has to be legible. One of the issues we have when we create copy versions of these documents is actually reading them.” Claire explained that when interviewing for jobs in her department, the applicants must undergo a handwriting test because the registers will be needed in the centuries to come.

Pictured: Claire Follain in the newly refurbished Howard Davis Hall.

“I’m the only person who didn’t need a handwriting test,” she continues. “I went to school at Beaulieu and Sister Marie-Louise was consistently calling me to her office because of my terrible handwriting. When I got this job, she phoned me and said, ‘Miss Follain, I can’t believe someone with your handwriting could possibly get this job. I hope it’s improved!’"

It’s not all about keeping legible records. As someone who practiced law for many years, being involved in developing socially progressive laws, such as the law on same sex marriage, is something she loves doing, and it’s an area in which Jersey finds itself at the leading edge. When the Law Commission of England and Wales was working on their marriage laws, it consulted Claire and many of the changes they brought in mirror those already in place in Jersey.

It might seem strange that Claire, an avid history fan, had not set foot inside Howard Davis Hall until seven years ago when she was officiating at a wedding. It's likely she was not alone in missing the small part the hall plays in Jersey’s story. It is an unusual one as there is no record that Howard Davis ever visited the island. And there is some dispute about the reason his father gave the order to pull down the mansion that used to sit at the entrance to Howard Davis Park.

Either way, that first visit to the hall, then used as a permanent memorial to a son fatally wounded during the Battle of the Somme, made a lasting impression on Claire.

“I had no idea it was here, and I walked in and couldn’t believe what a beautiful building it was, although slightly neglected and sad looking. I had this revelation that I would love to renovate it and bring it back to its former glory. It had a sense of itself which I wanted to bring back.”

Pictured: Claire Follain seated beneath the portrait of Howard Davis.

In her new job, her first year or two were taken up with bringing forward the Same Sex Marriage law, but the future of the hall was still at the back of her mind, so she did some research and started putting a plan together.

“It’s something that local governments are doing all over the world. Local historical building assets that have otherwise got no use are being brought back into public use with investment and turned into event venues. I knew from other countries it could work, and I was trying to get money in the Government Plan in 2020 but then the pandemic happened, and it got thrown out.”

Claire was busy herself. As of 15 March 2020, her role changed from not only being responsible for governance, regulation, forming new laws and civil registration in Jersey, she also took on the births, marriages and deaths registers for all 12 parishes. It was the first time in 180 years that the parishes had stopped keeping those, and a year later, after the emergency period was over, 10 out of the 12 parishes decided Claire’s office could keep doing it.

“If the pandemic was going to hit, as we thought it might, the Registrars in the Parishes would not have been able to manage the level of death registrations that were coming through. They were only a very small number of people in each parish and if they went down with covid, then that Parish would not have been able to facilitate death registration. Without death registration, there is no funeral and disposal of the body. So, it is really significant.”

For the happier occasions, Claire has two members of her team who can solemnise marriages and she is responsible for 13 independent celebrants and for religious officials, except those in the Anglican Church. In a strictly legal sense, she acts in an equivalent role to the Dean and will train non-Anglican faith leaders in the legalities of a marriage ceremony. 

Pictured: "The biggest revelation was how many incredible crafts people, building professionals and artisans we have in Jersey."

Despite the added responsibilities continuing, Claire was able to push ahead with her plans for the hall when Fiscal Stimulus funding was set up to support the island’s recovery from covid-19. In a little over six months, the work was complete, and the newly refurbished hall was officially opened by the Lieutenant Governor. The result is little short of spectacular.

“It needed to be a project that stimulated areas of the economy which had been hardest hit during the pandemic and I am really pleased that part of the business plan I drew up with the Board was that we would use only locally based businesses. The biggest revelation was how many incredible crafts people, building professionals and artisans we have in Jersey. Would you believe that we have someone here who can make faux marble? In the UK, there’s only one person that does that, and we have someone here in Jersey that does it too.”

The huge skylight has been cleaned and light floods into the main hall once again, and the items chosen to furnish the hall and the function rooms came from second hand shops and were restored locally. Compared to how it was, the restoration gives it a completely different feel, with access now to the areas that were once used as rental accommodation. As far as possible, it mirrors what the building would have looked and felt like when it was still attached to the main residence.

Pictured: Howard Davis' family, residing in South Africa, approved of the plans for the refurbishment.

“What I wanted to make clear from the beginning was the respect for the history of the building and the desire to bring it back to its former glory. All the original features were here, and structurally it had been well built. It just needed to be brought back to life. We made it clear to the Planning Department that we didn’t want to do anything that would damage the building or be unsympathetic. We love it and we want it to sing as it is.”

One of the core principles was to keep the name and the link to Howard Davis, preserving his memory and connection. The family in South Africa, or as many of them as could be reached, were contacted and were in favour of the plans.

“I really hope they’ll be proud of what we’ve done. He’s at the centre of this and the opening plaque is a good signpost to what is his hall, and it will always be his hall.” 

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This article first appeared in Connect Magazine, which you can read in full below...