Le Breton Farm

Historic Jersey buildings Le Breton Farm, St Ouen Index of all house profiles If you own this property, have ancestors who lived here, or can provide any further information and photographs, please contact us through editorial@jerripedia.org

This picture appeared in Farms, fields and valleys of Jersey by Philip Stevens, published in 2005. It shows a view of Northdale Farm (now called Le Breton Farm) by Harry Strohmeyer ^[1], who took pictures of a number of Jersey farms in about 1919. They are in the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society's archive. There is some doubt about whether the buildings shown are a match for the colour pictures on this page which appear in the HER website on the page about Le Breton Farm. Those would appear to be a match for the group of buildings in the top right of the satellite image below, forming an inverted C-shape, as mentioned in the HER record below. However, further uncertainty is caused by the positioning of the C-shape courtyard on the 1845 Godfray Map. It appears to be located some way to the north of today's group of buildings, at the end of a long track. ^[2]

Property name

Le Breton Farm

Other names

• Northdale Farm - the original name

The following properties are all shown in the 2018 Almanac within the boundaries of what was Northdale Farm

• The Stables
• Stable Cottage
• Home Farm Cottage
• Le Grenier
• Le Jardin Mure
• Le Breton Farm Lodge

This property is listed by HER

• Home Farm

Location

Rue de la Ville au Neveu, St Ouen

Type of property

Former farm, the whole property now divided into a number of homes

Valuations

No recent transactions

Families associated with the property

• Gastain - the 1849 Godfray map of the island shows the occupant of what is believed to have been Northdale Farm as F Gastain
• The present-day name would suggest an association with the Le Breton family, but who and when is not known. The farm was known as Northdale Farm into the 20th century, and this distinguished it from the adjoining Northdale, a grand country house of more recent construction. The farm appears to have been divided into a number of separate homes over the course of the 20th century, and it is probably during these changes that the Northdale name was abandoned in favour of Le Breton Farm, and the neighbouring Home Farm, among other names

Historic Environment Record entry

Listed building

A rural property of early origins, retaining historic character and features. There are clearly definable stages of rebuilding in the high quality coursed stonework of the main house.

The interesting remains of a chamber fireplace and later bread-oven in surviving gable of the rebuilt south outbuildings are also significant. The window and door openings suggest a probable late 17th or early 18th century refronting.

The stonework shows that the five-bay front has been constructed in two stages: the west gable with its built-out chimney stack and large quoin stones all appear late medieval; the western three bays were added probably in the 16th century; and the last two bays appear very late 17th or early 18th century. As the angle stones on the east side match all the facade openings it can be assumed that the rebuilding of the east half of the building dates to a major upgrading of circa 1730.

It is very likely that a stone arched doorway to the southwest was originally the medieval main entrance to this house before the circa 1730 re-fronting.

C-plan group shown on Richmond Map. Main house with recent rear extensions, east/south angled extension-enclosure with recent alterations.

Old Jersey Houses

Not included, despite this property undoubtedly being older than the adjoining Northdale, which features in Volume One, despite the lack of evidence that there are 17th century origins

Notes and references

1. ↑ Henry A (Harry) Strohmeyer was an American photographer, born in 1881, who specialised through a long working life in taking photographs of show cattle in the USA. He worked for the owners of pedigree Guernsey herds and is known to have visited Guernsey at least once. He presumably travelled to Jersey during one of these visits and took photographs of Jersey farms
2. ↑ In the book the woman seated on the wall is identified as Alice Blampied, nee Leonard, with her son William, with her mother Mrs E Leonard standing on the left, next to an unidentified man. However, Philip Stevens has told us that the picture was annotated somewhat differently for him. The woman standing was identified as probably Mrs Leonard, mother of Mrs Alice Blampied, nee Leonard, but the woman sitting on the wall was identified as Grace Leonard with William (no mention of the child behind her). We have been unable to confirm the names of any of those in the photograps, nor have we been able to find any records which tie either the Leonard or Blampied family to Northdale Farm. Alice Emily Leonard (1888- ) daughter of Emile and Alice Rachel, nee de La Haye, married William Henry Blampied (1885- ), of St Mary, in St Ouen in 1913