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For the latest ‘Your Home, Your Story’ talk, the team at Jersey Heritage has delved into the history of the Buesnel family, who made St Martin’s Village their home for nearly 80 years until the end of the Occupation.
‘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.
Pictured: Burial Register of St Martin's Church, Entry for Ellen Buensel. (Jersey Heritage)
Ahead of the next talk at Jersey Archive this weekend, Records Manager Catherine Porter has shared part of her research on La Maisonette, a property on La Rue de Huquet and now Ronceray Care Home.
From 1869 to 1945, La Maisonette was in the hands of the Buesnel family, with the last owner being John George Buesnel.
In his memoir, Maurice, John's son, recalled his experiences as a child and teenager living at La Maisonette in the 1920s and 1930s.
Pictured: Burial Register of St Martins Church, Entry for Philippe Charles Buesnel. (Jersey Heritage)
Maurice described the house as "a very substantial property, built of granite", which was "still very basic by modern standards".
The Buesnels' drinking water came from a hand-operated pump down the bottom of the garden.
According to Maurice, "in hot summers when the pump well dried up, we had to go about 250 yards to a perpetual running stream to obtain our water".
Pictured: Godfray Map 1849 showing the Buesnels home. (Jersey Heritage)
The first census in which Maurice and his father, John, can be found living at La Maisonette is 1921.
Coincidentally, this is the first census that the name 'La Maisonette' was used for the property. John's household also included his wife, Mary, and their daughter, Bertha, aged six.
Despite this, John was not the owner of La Maisonette at this time. Nor was Philip Francis Buesnel junior, who formed the second household there.
Pictured: Marriage Register of St Saviours Church, entry for Philip. (Jersey Heritage)
The owner was Ellen Susan Buesnel, Philip's mother. She was the daughter of Clement Buesnel, a carpenter, and Jane De La Cour, born in January 1852.
Ellen's first appearance in the census was in 1861, when at the age of seven she was in Vingtaine de la Quereé, St Martin, with her extended family.
In 1869, Ellen's older brother Philip Charles Buesnel purchased "a certain house and outbuildings" from Elizabeth Le Masurier.
Pictured: Marriage Register of St Saviours Church, entry for Philip. (Jersey Heritage)
This house is almost certainly what was later known as La Maisonette, as indicated in the property contract by the neighbouring William Whittle to the north and west, and the location of the main road to the east.
The public registry contracts for this property are also consistent in mentioning a canal or steam to the west, likely the same used by Maurice and his family in later years.
In 1873, 21-year-old Ellen married Philip Francis Buesnel, a carpenter like her father. His sister, Mary Ann, had married Ellen's brother, Philip Charles, two years earlier.
In March 1887, Philip Charles died of a lung condition and Mary, acting as a tutrice to her children, sold the house and outbuildings to her brother and sister-in-law.
Pictured: Royal Militia Island of Jersey attestation form of Maurice Buesnel. (Jersey Heritage)
Seven years later, sadly Philip Francis, also died. The first census following his death was in 1901, when Ellen, now in her 50s, was a dressmaker living at Hovel Lodge, as their house was known at the time.
Ellen's son, Philip Francis Junior, was 21 by this time. Living with his mother, he gave his profession as a "temporary postman".
In subsequent censuses, Philip's profession remained "postman", indicating that the arrangement was evidently not as temporary as he first intended!
By the 1911 census, Hovel Cottage was still home to Philip Francis Junior, and also Ellen's brother, Clement Buesnel.
Despite retaining ownership of the property, Ellen herself was living as a housekeeper at Walter Becquet's address in St Saviour.
Philip Francis Junior appeared to be adjusting to a recent change in circumstance, as his entry in this census shows his name and the word "son" crossed out, replaced by the description "head".
By 1921, Ellen's was in St Saviour's Hospital. In February 1923, she was admitted to the General Hospital, with her condition being described as "débilité", which refers to a deterioration in her mental health.
Pictured: Aerial image taken in 1974 showing the location of La Maisonette. (Jersey Heritage)
A month on from Ellen's admission, John George Buesnel, the son of George Frederick Buesnel and Ellen's nephew, purchased La Maisonette through Sidney George Crill, Ellen's curateur.
In Jersey law, a 'Curateur' is a "legal guardian of an adult appointed... where the adult is unable to manage or administer their own property and affairs".
On 11 March, two years and a day after the sale of La Maisonette, Ellen died. She was buried later that month at St Martin's Church.
John's association with La Maisonette lasted until 1945 when he sold the property to John Louis Le Corre.
Over subsequent sales, the former La Maisonette evolved into Ronceray Guest House and later opened as Ronceray Care Home.
This article only touches on some of the research into St Martin's Village for the ‘Your Home, Your Story’ 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 18 May at 10:00.
To book a place on the talk, call 833300 or email archives@jerseyheritage.org.
You can also uncover more stories by searching Jersey Archive's online catalogue HERE.
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