Old house in Berthelot Street: legal documents

MSS of Dr Hoskins, notes on his old house in Berthelot Street, transcribed by Edith Carey.

Bornements, reliefs &c of Old House in Berthelot Street.

1539. See Vue de Justice which proves that the property to the west of William de Rozel's, more inland, belonged to Helier Gosselin.

1728. The right of passage, through the lane which leads from the east side of the Enclosure [Parquet] in Berthelot Street into High Street (was still in existence 1865), was established for ever by a lawsuit between Marie and Damaris Lihou against Demoiselles [Sara and Elizabeth] Etienne and Elie Mauger, February 5th 1728. As early as 1539 the proprietorship of the western wall was fully established by the above mentioned Vue de Justice. From this it appears that Helier Gosselin was permitted to build on his ground, on the side of a house formerly belonging to Collas Sampson, and similar without injury to 'De Rozel' 'neither higher or lower, co-extending with the stone corbelling already there' (Note: In the year 1865, many of the stone corbels were in existence, fixed in this western party wall, and also in the northern wall of our old house, these corbels projecting into the property of the next house.)

In 1686 there was an arbitration between Nicolas Lihou, proprietor of the house formerly De Rozel's, and Jean Renouf proprietor of the next property towards the west, viz., that formerly belonging to Helier Gosselin. It was decided: 'that if the said Renouf were to build another house, in his enclosure, he would not be able to come any nearer to the house of the said Lihou than the [frame? corner?]1 of the window of the house he had just built. This window is in the middle of the northern side of the said Renouf's new house, about eighteen feet away from the western elevation of the Lihou house. And the said Renouf may not build any house or other edifice within the said enclosure to its northern side within twelve feet of the north gable of the said Lihou's house. And Lihou is to have le tour d'échelle2 within the said enclosure along his wall and a key to the said enclosure, as he and the proprietors of his aforementioned house have had since olden times according to their rights as we understood them from examination of a document under Bailiwick Seal of 3rd January 1539 [see above].'

In subsequent documents the reliefs and franchises are not defined until 1827, when the saisis of Clugas establish full right to the proprietors of the eastern wall of this premises, the 3rd September 1827.

17th December 1774: Monsieur Pierre Coutart, Attorney of Monsieur Jean Perchard of St Peter Port has sold to Sieur Nicolas Maingy junior son of Pierre3 of the said Town parish and his wife Susanne Pinaux [....] a house in rue Berthelot, lying to the west of a store belonging to Sieur Nicolas Maingy senior son of Pierre, to the north of a lane leading to the garden of the Maison Briard belonging to the said Nicolas Maingy, and to the east of a house belonging to Josué Le Marchant Ecr., an alley between them, and the south of the Well House [du Puits] belonging to the heirs of the late Sieur Thomas Mauger, with rue Berthelot between them.

4th November 1786: Mr Nicolas Maingy son of Pierre and his wife, Dame Susanne Pinaux, sell to Sieur Nicolas De Jersey of the Castel, at present residing in St Peter Port, and to his wife Anne Bachelet, a house in rue Berthelot, to the west of a store belonging to Mr Nicolas Maingy [see above contract EC.]

[...?page missing, probably predates 1714] to the house belonging to Sieur Jean Renouf and to the south of another house belonging to the said N Renouf and previously to Sieur Pierre de Beauvoir du Bosq, the street between them, as belonged to the said seller [Bailleur ?or possibly Bailleul] by right of his mother. [....] First, to [pay to] Mr Jean de Sausmarez senior by right of his wife Damoiselle Marguerite De Vic, to Sieur Helier Le Masurier by right of his wife Thomasse Bouillon, to the heirs of Sieur Thomas Lihou of St Andrew and to James Guille of the Rohais.

5th November 1714: Monsieur Robert Renouf son of the late Monsieur Jean Renouf, of St Pierre Port, [sells] to Sieur Nicolas de Jersey son of Henry of this Town, and to his wife Rachel Corbin daughter of Thomas, a house in rue Berthelot to the south of the said street and lying to the west of a house belonging to Dame Rachel Briard and to the north or thereabouts of a lane that leads from the gardens or enclosures of the Maison Briard in the said rue Berthelot. And to the east of a house belonging to Monsieur Matthew de Sausmarez son of Michel, a wide lane or alley party between them and to the south of the Well House belonging to the said Renouf, rue Berthelot between them.

12th October 1728: Sieur Nicolas de Jersey son of Henry of St Peter Port [sells] to Sieur Jean Perchard son of John and his wife Dame Thomasse Bouillon, a house that used to belong to the late Mr Jean Renouf in rue Berthelot on the southern side, to the west of a house belonging to Dame Elizabeth le Mesurier and which was formerly the property of Dame Rachel Briard, to the east of Mr Matthew de Sausmarez' house, a wide lane or alleyway between them, and to the south of the Well House belonging to the said de Jersey who became possessed of it as part of the estate of Sieur Robert Renouf, the said rue Berthelot between. (Note: Le Marchant MSS, 1720: heirs of Pierre Pré son of Thomas, ownership of a house and enclosure in rue Berthelot [GD]. 1617: Henry de Vic sold to Philippe de Beauvoir the house and enclosure in rue Berthelot [La Bigoterie? - EC], which Beauvoir transferred to Monsieur J Fautrart [GD]. 1674: Sale of said house to Pierre du Prey.)

10th May 1729: Elie du Prey son of the late Thomas du Prey of St Peter Port [....] owner of a house and enclosure in rue Berthelot, confirms that he transferred all rights [....] to Dame Elizabeth Le Mesurier of St Peter Port, the sandbank on the southern side of the said enclosure of Elie du Pré next to the enclosure of the said Dame Le Messurier's Maison Briard. [Du Prey house: see p. 56 of Le Marchant deeds &c, Vol. XXII, Staff, in the Library.]

20th February 1729: rents forming part of estate of Sieurs Jean and Thomas Le Mesurier and Jacquine Le Mesurier (for this lady, a dealer in hosiery, see Hocart, R., De Beauvoir letters &c, 1982, De Beauvoir file in Library) houses and lands of the said estate, being sold on behalf of the creditors by Mr Michel Falla, heir of the said Le Mesuriers, [some] to Mr Thomas Le Marchant of the Town parish, [....] of Pierre Bourgaize senior, living in Mount Durand in St Peter Port &c.

23rd February 1754: Monsieur Matthieu de Sausmarez sold to (Mons. Josué Le Marchant son of Eléazar Le Marchant Ecr.) a house and enclosure behind, together with the front enclosure, in rue Berthelot, separated by the street [....] between the store that used to belong to Mr William Henry and now belongs to Mr William Brock and Mr Jean Perchard's house and the said enclosure at the front between the house which belonged to the said Henry and James Falla's house.


1 Coinncture = ceinture, or simply = coin?

2 The servitude du tour d'échelle meant that you had a right to put a ladder on to your neighbour's land (within a very specific area) in order to maintain your property. Servitudes, which still exist in both Guernsey and French law, give various rights to property owners over their neighbour's property, and protection from inconvenience or loss resulting from their neighbour's actions. They protected the right to a view, for example, and rights of way, or prevented anyone from planting a tree within seven feet of a neighbouring property, and so on. See Dawes, G., Laws of Guernsey, 2003, pp. 678-80, and Laurent Carey's 18th-century Essay on the Institutions, Laws and Customs of Guernsey, p. 216.

3 This is a mistake; as this document is dated 1774, it must refer to Captain Nicolas Maingy senior of St Peter Port, son of Pierre, who married Susanne Pinaux in 1773, rather than his son Nicolas, who was not born until 1798. Nicolas senior was son of Peter Maingy (1715-1759) and Marie Palot. Born in 1747, he married Susanne Pinaux (b. May 1738) in 1773; she was the daughter of William Pinaux and Marie Arnold, and died childless in September 1796. Nicolas then married (1797) the much younger Marie Falla (1764-1847), and had several children by her.