Visit-a-Church
Key Image St Brelade
La Marquanderie
JE3 8EP St Brelade
Jersey
Denomination: Anglican
Congregation: St Brelade with St Aubin on the Hill (Diocese of Salisbury, Archdeaconry of the Channel Islands, Deanery of Jersey)
Geogr. Coordinates: 49.18405° N, 2.20263° W
Geo Location   
Reference year: 1035
Architectural style: Gothic
Building type: Hall Church
Description: Two-aisled hall church, one of the twelve ancient parish churches of Jersey; next to it the medieval Fishermen’s Chapel
Name derivation: From St Brelade (Branwalader); the name of the adjacent chapel was originally thought to be associated with fisher guilds (“pêcheurs”), but it might as well be derived from “pécheurs” (sinners), which would match its role as a chapel for the death mass.
Outside facilities
  • Fishermen’s Chapel with medieval frescoes
  • Archway to the “pèrquage” in the south wall of the churchyard: Legend has it that in medieval times criminals, who reached the main altar of the church, could escape through the archway and down to the beach, from where they would swim into freedom, but also into lifelong exile.
  • Burial place of Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe, surrealist avant-garde artists and partners for life, known by the pseudonyms Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore
Font
  • Medieval baptismal font (15th c.), grey granite from the French island of Chausey
Windows
  • Windows by Henry Thomas Bosdet (c. 1890–1910)
Noteworthy
  • Medieval frescoes in the Fishermen’s Chapel, dated partly to the third quarter of the 14th century and partly to about 1425
History:
6th cent.:   Foundation of the Fishermen’s Chapel
1035:   Robert of Normandy confirms the patronage of the church to the monastery of Montivilliers
Early 12th cent.:   Extension to cruciform building plan fit for a parish church
15th cent.:   Roof raised and transformation to a Gothic style
1895:   Full restoration
25/07/1944:   Detention of Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe by the German secret police; both now buried in St Brelade’s cemetery
About 1985:   Floor of the Fishermen’s Chapel lowered to its medieval level to restore the original proportions of the chapel
Important persons:
Artist:  Bosdet, Henry Thomas (1856–1934, born and died in Jersey, sculptor, illustrator, painter and designer, best known for the stained glass windows he created for churches on the British Isles)
Burial place:  Schwob, Lucy (Claude Cahun, 1894–1954) und Malherbe, Suzanne (Marcel Moore, 1892–1972) (French surrealist artists and lesbian freedom fighters, who creatively resisted the German occupation of Jersey during WW II. They produced posters and wrote manifestos, and distributed leaflets trying to incite a mutiny in the occupation forces. After being arrested in 1944 they were initially sentenced to death, later to life-long prison.)
Patron:  Branwalader, Brelade (* in Cornwall or Wales, † 6th c. in Jersey, also Branwalator, Breward and other variants; monk, missionary and according to legend bishop of Jersey)
Sources
Drake, Jane (Ed.): Parish Church of St. Brelade and the Fishermen's Chapel, 2011
Hammer, Barbara: Lover Other: The Story Of Claude Cahun And Marcel Moore, https://www.berlinale.de/de/2006/programm/20060123.html, retrieved 30/12/2024
Smith, Aidan: The Glass Rainbow. Henry Thomas Bosdet 1856-1934, Treasures of Jersey
Wikipedia: Kirche St. Brélade, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirche_St._Brélade, retrieved 30/12/2024
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TuK Bassler
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