Historic Jersey buildings
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Property name
Villa Millbrook
Other names
- Midbay: The property started life as Midbay, the home of the Denize family. When Philippe Denize planted poplar trees on his land the house became known as Les Peupliers.
- Les Peupliers/The Poplars - the house which was demolished when Villa Millbrook was built
- Kamberes
- Millbrook Manor - the latest name for the property, which is not a manor house
Location
Rue de Haut, St Lawrence
Type of property
Arts and Crafts style house, built in 1918
Valuations
No recent transactions
Families associated with the property
- Denize: The Denize family, the original owners of the first house, sold it to Jean Thomas Le Riche in 1880, and his heirs sold it in 1903 to Frank Walker, founder of Overseas Trading.
- Le Riche
- Walker: The new house was built for businessman Frank Walker
- Boot
Historic Environment Record entry
Listed building
1918 house in neo-Elizabethan/Arts-and-Crafts style.
Home to Sir Jesse Boot, later Lord Trent, and his wife Florence, founder of the Boots chain of chemists, from 1921. The house was built circa 1918 for Frank Walker, a prominent local businessman.
It is in simple neo-Elizabethan / Arts-and-Crafts style, and replaced an earlier house called The Poplars.
The house, by then known as 'Kamberès', was purchased in 1921 by Sir Jesse Boot, together with a parcel of land on the other side of St Aubin's Road - of which part later became a public park. Sir Jesse changed the name of the house to 'Villa Millbrook' and added the music room, in a style so closely matched to the rest of the house as to suggest that he used the same architect.
Now known as Millbrook Manor, although the property has no association with any fief or seigniory.
The principal building is tqo-storey plus roof accommodation. The garden elevation has four double bays.
It has a rectangular plan with a small internal courtyard, some parts one storey high. There is a double-storey rectangular music room on the north/west corner with independent pitched roof.
There are two tall, symmetrically positioned window bays on the south elevation.
A balcony on round stone columns has recently been added to the west elevation.
The house has external cavity walls, which were innovative for the time.
The interior retains many original features. Of particular note is the music room which contains 1920s features of high interest - particularly thematic murals by Rene Joulmes, and Art Deco ironmongery - double gate doors to the dining room and a matching musicians' gallery balustrade.
Also of note are the original stairs to the first floor, and a 1920s Art Deco bathroom interior on the first floor.
The gardens are an example of open garden landscaping, and contain some original features of interest: stone steps, fountain basins, planters and sculptures.
Notes and references
The Poplars being demolished in 1913 - picture by Percival Dunham