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THE FISHERMAN'S CHAPEL


Location
Overlooking St. Brelade's Bay in the grounds of St. Brelade's Church is La Chapelle es Pecheurs, or as it is known locally The Fisherman's Chapel.


History
In the early centuries of Christianity it was common for a community, or a wealthy local family, to fund a chantry chapel. Here a priest could be paid to say prayers to keep the devil at bay and guarantee a path to heaven for the righteous.
Its name was originally thought to derive from the fishing guilds of the island, however it is also possible that 'pecheurs' (fishermen in French) is a corruption of 'péchés' (sinners).
A wooden structure may have existed on this site as the first church, however these churches were often burned down by pagan invaders. Recent archaeological work suggests that the chapel, despite its older appearance, was constructed after the adjacent church probably during the 12th century.
The chapel is built from the same material as was used in the Parish Church. Limpet shells from the bay were crushed and dissolved with boiling seawater.
Until the 19th century, when the military fortifications were built in Jersey, it housed cannons for the local militia. It therefore survived the destruction of chapels at the time of the Reformation.


Points of interest

  • There is a scallop shell on a silver-gilt dish that was brought to Jersey by a local who had made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James of Compostella in Spain during the 16th century.

  • A memorial to Campbell Paterson, founder of Camp Coffee, who died in Jersey in 1927.

  • The lichgate-the roofed gate to the churchyard-was donated in 1933 by Lady Trent the widow of Jesse Boot, the founder of Boots the Chemists, and a local resident.

  • During the German Occupation, the Germans commandeered the north-east corner of the churchyard as a military cemetery for their dead. A new churchyard was made on the further side of the Mont-des-Croix.

  • The stained-glass in the west window of the Chapel depicts St. Brendan arriving on the island and was placed there almost a hundred years ago. It was thought that the parish of St. Brelade had taken its name from the Irish missionary, however it is far more likely St. Brelade was the Welsh monk St. Branwaladr.

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    JERSEY HERITAGE