Historic Jersey buildings
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Property name
Les Fosses
Location
Rue de La Ville Bagot, St Ouen
Type of property
Country house with surviving mediaeval hall
Valuations
No recent transactions
Families associated with the property
- Vautier: Edward Wymark Vautier, of Les Fosses (1919- ), his wife Margaret Lily, nee Labey (1918- ) and their children, Lindy Raye and Wymark were living here in 1941
Datestones
None found, despite the age of the property
Historic Environment Record entry
Listed building
This house has all the evidence and features of being a very rare surviving example of an open-hall medieval building, with a possible unaltered chamber fireplace at the opposite end to the hall.
The remains of lamp-brackets and the top of the fireplace lintel being level with the present ceiling, which has a later 17th century beam, both point to this house as having originally been a late medieval open-hall construction. The very small round arch in the north façade probably originally led to a tourelle staircase.
Later alterations. Shown on the Richmond Map of 1795.
Main house with east and west extensions, east lean-to brick sheds, and a modern rear north wing. There is a central stair light with coloured margin lights and an arched opening below with a hollow chamfer circa 1500. This arch most likely served as an entrance into a lost tourelle, and now acts as a window. There is visual evidence of either a blocked window, or more rarely a possible evier, near east gable at ground level.
Central entrance, single pile (the interior has recently been dry-lined). In the ground floor west room is a stone fireplace, the tops of its long chamfered uprights are stopped with acorns, its corbels are of the double convex type with simple bead moulds, and the shoulder stones and lintel are joggled together, the remains of lamp-brackets are clearly visible, it appears to date to circa 1450-1500.
This very fine example of a late medieval fireplace survives almost completely in its original and intact state. There is a 17th century chamfered beam that carries on through the stud-wall recently constructed to create a rear entrance passage.
The ground floor east room is devoid of original features and has a recently constructed fireplace reusing a pair of stone cart throws. The upper rooms were surveyed and found to be formed by 19th century plank divisions. The only original features to record are some 18th century pegged roof timbers and the clear evidence of a chamber fireplace behind the bed in the east gable bed chamber opposite the west gable hall fireplace.
Old Jersey Houses
A single line entry referring to the arch is all this very old property merits in Vol One
