List of Sites of Special Interest
Eden Grove Farm (1823 House), La Rue des Bessieres, St. Lawrence.
This report has been prepared by Jersey Heritage as part of its responsibility under a Service Level Agreement to provide reports and recommendations to the Minister for Planning and Environment on the architectural, historical and archaeological significance of buildings and sites.
The assessment and recommendation are made in accordance with Article 51 of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law, 2002; Policy G11 of the Jersey Island Plan, 2002; and the published principles of selection for designation as a site of special interest. The report includes the views and advice offered by the Ministerial Registration and Listing Advisory Group.
Author of report: Roger Hills BA(Hons) MA DipBldgCons (RICS) IHBC Head of Historic Buildings
Date of report: 1 October 2008
File ref: LA0126
Current status
Registered as pSSI.
Relevant interests of the site (also see schedule)
Historic interest
The property is a notable example of a late Georgian Jersey farmhouse.
Architectural interest
The frontage is a traditional 5-bay, 2-storey with attic. The façade is rendered in imitation ashlar with finely dressed granite quoins and window surrounds, and additional decorative bands of grey stone at ground floor and first floor level. There is a pair of 1820s ashlar granite chimneystacks. The gable walls are of rubble granite, with a 1823 datestone on the west gable. The front door dates to the 1820s and has a central vertical moulding and 6-panels - each combining fielded panels with a reeded border. The external window shutters were removed in recent years and all windows replaced with uPVC.
The single-storey rendered porch, with its original round-headed windows separated by pilasters, was likely added at a later date. Other later Victorian additions include ornamental cement sills to the windows, and crested tiles and bargeboarded dormers to the slate roof.
The rear wall of the house is rendered in imitation ashlar. There is an 1820s 6-panel back door which is accessed via a short flight of granite steps with cast iron decorative balusters.
The high quality of the joinery continues to the interior of the house. There is a mahogany staircase with slender turned balusters, rounded handrail with swan-neck curve at each change of level, open steps with risers decorated with mahogany appliqué, and the ground floor newel terminating in a whorl with inserted disc. The internal doors are also of high quality - 6-panelled with reeded borders within elaborately moulded architraves.
The house has been sub-divided into flats but the rooms retain much of their internal historic fabric and character. It was not possible to view the interior of the rooms but the owner advised that they retain the majority of their historic finishes including skirting, panelled lining to the windows and some fireplaces (with the addition of stud walls in each flat).
Advice offered by MRLAG (and others if stated)
MRLAG discussed the 1823 farm house at Eden Grove Farm at its meeting on 29 September 2008. Members noted the architectural and historical interest of the house as set out in the Jersey Heritage report and unanimously advised that it should be listed as an SSI.
Jersey Heritage recommendation
The 1823 house at Eden Grove Farm should be listed as a Site of Special Interest for its architectural and historical interest.
Justification relating to criteria
The listing of Eden Grove Farm (1823 House) as an SSI is in accordance with the existing criteria for assessment and designation of historic buildings as follows:
- The special interest of the 1823 house extends substantially to its authentic fabric, plan form and interior features;
- The 1823 house is of special interest for its architectural design, style, craftsmanship and use of materials and details;
- The 1823 house is of interest for the survival of the major elements of its historic interior;
- The 1823 house is of historic interest as it is illustrative of Jersey’s social, economic and cultural history.
Attachments
SSI schedule and plan
Photographs, September 2008
Board of Trustees
Chairman: Jurat John de Veulle OBE Vice-Chairman: Philip Le Brocq
Rowland Anthony, Geoffrey Crill, Connétable Simon Crowcroft, Blair Gould, Clive Jones, Deputy Carolyn Labey, Paul Nicolle, Jane Stubbs,
Jonathan Voak