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From a ship captain to a law breaker and families with 14 children... Jersey Archive has uncovered the rich and colourful history of some of the residents of Gorey Village.
‘Your Home, Your Story’, is a series of free talks at Jersey Archive that focuses on individual properties nominated by islanders wanting to know more about their home and the area in which they live.
As part of the next talk at Jersey Archive this weekend, Archives Officer Georgie Bois has shared part of her research on Boherbue, which was built in the village over 170 years ago and at one point was home to the colourful Brochets...
Boherbue, situated on Gorey Village Main Road, is the third of seven houses that make up Wesley Place.
Pictured: A 1911 census of the Brochet family at 3 Wesley Place. (Jersey Heritage)
In the past, the house was named 'Bickleigh', and many earlier records simply refer to it as ‘3 Wesley Place’.
Wesley Place was constructed by local builder Charles Durell sometime prior to July 1852, which was when he took out insurance on ‘seven newly erected dwelling houses adjoining each other… in the village’.
The houses were insured for £700, and they were unoccupied at the time.
Pictured: A document containing Charles Durrell's entry for fire insurance with the West of England Insurance Company in 1852. (Jersey Heritage)
As with many properties in the village, Boherbue became home to many a mariner or mariner’s wife throughout its history. Censuses show that from at least 1861 to 1901, many of its residents were involved in the sea trade. Likewise, property contracts show that past owners of Boherbue included ship’s captains and master mariners.
In 1861, there was a seaman’s wife living with her three children and adult nephew, who himself was a seaman in the Royal Navy. In 1871, the census records two mariner’s wives living at the address. By 1881, one of those mariner’s wives has been joined by her husband, a ship’s cook in the Royal Navy. Lastly, in 1901 the Richmond family are recorded at Boherbue, headed by master mariner William Richmond.
However, by 1911 there was a change from this marine-themed trend. Although Boherbue was then owned by David Cantell, a ship’s captain, the census shows the head of the household was Frank Brochet, a farm labourer.
Frank lived at Boherbue with Clara Le Clercq, his wife of 24 years. The couple had 14 children in total, 11 of whom were still alive in 1911, and 10 of whom lived at the property with them. Their two eldest sons were also farm labourers, like their father.
A few months after the 1911 census was conducted, Frank was arrested for ‘insults’ and a ‘breach of the peace’ – he was ultimately discharged by the Police Court following a trial.
Eight years later, in 1919, his son Frank junior was arrested under similar circumstances. Then age 20, Frank junior can be found in the Prisoners Register for ‘drunkenness’ and a ‘breach of the peace’, for which he consequently paid a fine of £1.
Ten years after this, Frank senior’s next son, Ernest, then aged 24, was also arrested. Unlike his father and elder brother, Ernest was arrested for theft and was made to complete eight days hard labour.
The Brochets weren’t the only residents of Boherbue to fall foul of the law. During the Occupation, Boherbue, or “Bickleigh” as it was then known, was home to Marjorie Tipping née Cantell, and her husband, John Mackay Tipping. Marjorie was the younger daughter of the aforementioned David Cantell, who had died in 1919, passing on the property to Majorie’s older sister, Dororthy. Sadly, Marjorie herself passed away aged 49 in 1943. Not long after, her widowed husband, John, was arrested and imprisoned for four months for failing to surrender a wireless set.
Pictured: Registration card for John Mackay Tipping. (Jersey Heritage)
During his time in the Public Prison, John suffered from T.B. After complaints from the Medical Officer of Health, he and another inmate suffering from the disease were granted extra rations.
He was released from prison on 21 June 1943 at around 7pm.
Pictured: A document relating to John Mackay Tipping's release from prison. (Jersey Heritage)
The very next day, he was back in Gorey. We are certain of this because a Gouray Church record from 22 June shows that he married a nurse called Hilda Holmes.
Hilda was from Devon and appears to have been a state registered nurse and certified midwife in Gorey from as early as May 1930.
The newly-weds left Gorey and settled at La Rocque.
Pictured: John Mackay's entry in a marriage register from Gouray Church (Jersey Heritage)
Following the death of Marjorie and the departure of her husband, Boherbue became home to the Quenault and O’Donoghue families for the remainder of the Occupation.
The families’ registration cards show that they were registered at the address from September 1944.
They consisted of Tom Gerald Quenault, his wife, Christabel Selina, their daughter, Christabel O’Donoghue née Quenault, son-in-law Denis O’Donoghue, granddaughter Norah O’Donoghue, and their adult niece, Florence Hairon.
Pictured: Registration card of Tom Gerald Quenault of Bickleigh house (Jersey Heritage)
The family stayed on after the Occupation, and Denis O’Donoghue later purchased the house from Dorothy Grove, née Cantell in 1960, eventually gifting it to his daughter, Norah, in the 1990s.
This article only touches on some of the research into Gorey Village for the ‘Your Home, Your Story’ (YHYS) series, sponsored by Antony Gibb Historic Buildings Consultants.
If you would like to hear more stories, Jersey Archive is hosting a free talk this Saturday (20 July) at 10am.
To book a place for the talk, call 833300 or email archives@jerseyheritage.org. The Archive will also be open from 9am-1pm for general research.
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