Sausmarez Manor facts for kids
Sausmarez Manor is a very old and important house located in Saint Martin, Guernsey. It has been home to the Sausmarez family for many centuries. This manor has a rich history, with different parts of the house built and changed over hundreds of years.
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The First Manor House
The Sausmarez family has lived in Guernsey for a very long time. The first mention of them was in 1117. Later, in 1254, a letter from Prince Edward (who later became King Edward I) mentioned a Sausmarez family member.
The family owned a special piece of land called a fief in Saint Martin's parish. A fief was like a large estate with a manor house. The first manor house was built on the same spot where the current one stands.
In 1313, Matthew de Sausmarez was in charge of the castle at Jerbourg. He was also the lord, or Seigneur, of the Manor. The family's ownership of this land was noted in official records from 1331.
During a French invasion in 1338, Sir Peter de Sausmarez had to escape to Jersey. He returned when Guernsey was taken back in 1345.
Only a small part of this very old manor house still exists today. It's made of strong, rough stone and forms part of an outbuilding. You can see an old arched doorway there. This part is one of the oldest pieces of Norman stonework on the island, dating back to the mid-1200s.
The Tudor House
The manor and its land stayed with the Sausmarez family until 1557. That year, the Seigneur, George de Sausmarez, passed away without children. He left his estate to his sister, Judith.
Sixteen years earlier, Judith had married an Englishman named John Andrews. Their son, also named John, became known as John Andros in Guernsey. In 1557, he became the new Seigneur through his mother's right.
It was John Andros who built the second house. This house was built at a right angle to the original one. Inside, on a stone above a doorway, you can still see the initials "I.A." and the date "1585." This shows when the house was built.
Today, the lower part of this Tudor house is a workshop. The upper part has been changed and fixed up over the years, and people still live there.
The Queen Anne House
Six members of the Andros family were Seigneurs of Sausmarez for almost 200 years. One of them was Amyas Andros. He was very loyal to the King during the English Civil War. He helped connect the King's forces in Jersey with the royalist soldiers at Castle Cornet in Guernsey.
After the King returned to power, Amyas was made the Bailiff of Guernsey by King Charles II. This was a very important job.
His son, Sir Edmund Andros, was also very important. In 1674, he was Bailiff and Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey. At the same time, he was Governor of many places in America, including New York and New England. He even changed the name of New Amsterdam to New York!
Sir Edmund didn't spend much time in Guernsey. He retired to live in Westminster, England. He thought the old Tudor house wasn't grand enough. In his will, he said his nephew, John, had to build a "good suitable house" at the manor within five years. If not, John would have to pay a large sum of money.
So, John Andros built the beautiful Queen Anne house between 1714 and 1718. It's made of grey granite with red granite corners. The outer walls are very thick, about two feet! The house has four floors, with two rooms on each floor.
The main entrance is up eight steps to a large oak front door on the first floor. Inside, a typical Queen Anne staircase goes all the way to the top. There's even a door leading to a "widows walk" on the roof. From there, you can see a great view of most of the island.
In 1746, Charles Andros became Seigneur. But just two years later, he sold the house and land back to the de Sausmarez family.
The de Sausmarez family had lost their connection to the manor when Judith married John Andros. Some family members became wool merchants, selling goods in France. However, the wool trade declined because silk and satin became more popular.
But Matthew de Sausmarez (born 1685) was a clever and energetic man. He married a rich woman, Anne Durell. With her money, he helped start some of the first privateers in Guernsey. Privateers were like legal pirates who captured enemy ships during wartime. This helped make Guernsey wealthy in the 1700s. Matthew was also a lawyer.
His second son, Philip, joined the Royal Navy. He sailed around the world with Commodore George Anson on the ship HMS Centurion. Philip helped capture a very rich Spanish ship. He later died in battle, leaving a lot of money to his family. This money helped his brother John buy back the manor house in 1748.
When John de Sausmarez got his family home back, he celebrated by putting up the famous gates on Sausmarez Road. The outer pillars have the family symbol of a falcon. The inner pillars have a unicorn and a greyhound, which support the family's coat of arms. These gates were made by Sir Henry Cheere, a famous sculptor from the 1700s. He also made a memorial for Philip Saumarez in Westminster Abbey. In 1759, John also fixed up the upper part of the Tudor manor house and added a new entrance.
The Regency House
John's oldest son, Matthew, was Seigneur from 1774 to 1820. He added walls around the vegetable garden, orchard, and tennis court. He also fixed up the old barn.
When Matthew passed away, his brother Thomas became Seigneur. Thomas was a lawyer, like his father, and held important legal jobs for 55 years.
Thomas had a very large family, with 28 children from two marriages! Many of them were still young when he moved into the Manor. The Andros house was too small for his big family. So, he had to build an addition onto the back of it. This new part had a large breakfast room and several bedrooms.
Not much of this Regency house remains today. Some doors and windows can still be seen. But most of it was taken down by Thomas's youngest son, General George de Sausmarez. He bought out his brothers' shares of the property and became Seigneur in 1873. He then began building the final additions to the family home.
The Victorian House
General George de Sausmarez had a great career in the East India Company in India. He was an expert in training soldiers and improving military management. Even though he never fought in a war, his job was very profitable. This allowed him to make many changes to the manor when he returned to Guernsey.
He tore down most of his father's Regency house. In its place, he built a large dining room and an even larger drawing room on the first floor. From the outside, these new parts look very different from the old Queen Anne section. But inside, the rooms have a unique charm.
The General also built a large entrance hall on the north-east side of the Queen Anne house. This hall connected the Queen Anne part to the Tudor part. The most striking feature of this hall is the amazing wood-carving. Some of it came from Burma, some was copied by a local artist, and some pieces show Old Testament figures and scenes. These are believed to have come from churches in France. The whole effect is very unique and imaginative.
After the General passed away, his widow lived at the Manor until her death in 1915. Her nephew, Sir Havilland de Sausmarez, became the next Seigneur. He had a distinguished career as a judge in China. He later became the Bailiff of Guernsey, just like his ancestor Amyas Andros.
Sir Havilland died during the German occupation of Guernsey in World War II. He had always refused to install electric lights in the manor. This decision actually saved the house from being taken over by the German forces!
His nephew, Cecil de Sausmarez (1907-1986), was the next Seigneur. He had a successful career in diplomacy and as a politician. He carried out a big project to restore and modernize the property.
See also
- Artparks Sculpture Park
