LA RONDE PORTE

BY ROBIN KELLY PROPERTIES MANAGERNATIONAL TRUST FOR JERSEY

In early August 2022, the Trust was advised that it had been bequeathed La Ronde Porte, a group of historic farm buildings and fields on the St Martin’s Main Road between Five Oaks and Maufant. The property was left to the Trust by Philip Le Sueur who had lived at the house since his birth in 1931. Philip (also known as Phil or Bunny, to distinguish him from his father, also called Philip) was the fourth generation of his family to live at La Ronde Porte.

Philip John Le Sueur was born on 13th January 1931, the son of Philip Le Sueur and Lydia (née Bree). He had a younger sister, Marguerite (also known as Daisy) who predeceased him in 1976. Philip’s paternal grandparents were Philip Le Sueur and Ada Jane Drelaud, whose marriage in St Saviour’s church on 1st October 1902, was commemorated with a marriage stone.

The farmhouse and outbuildings are listed Grade 3 and were shown on the Richmond Map of 1795. The name of the house may have derived from the single arch by the roadside, potentially part of an older house.

Like much of the agricultural land in Jersey in the 1800’s, the fields at La Ronde Porte were used to grow cider apples. Cider was not only a very popular beverage in Jersey at that time, it was also highly sought after in England and was a very important export. Today, the apple crusher and cider press are no longer in use and the Pressoir is used for storage. It is a few years since a young Maurice Gautier spent several days persuading a horse to plod around the full apple crusher as the first stage in producing that season’s cider.

Like many Jersey farmsteads, very little if anything was ever thrown away and, in conjunction with the Société Jersiaise, who were bequeathed the contents, the Trust has gradually been sifting through the house and outbuildings.

Tucked away along a rutted farm track, the farmstead appears little changed since the 1800’s, although in 1936, part of the original house was knocked down to build an extension to create the scullery. The outside door from the scullery came from an older building on the farm – perhaps the part that was demolished – and may date back to the 1700’s

According to friends and family, Philip Le Sueur was a very practical man, who enjoyed working with his hands. He had a workshop in the outbuilding next to the house where his extensive collection of tools was used to make a variety of items, from crystal sets to the wooden pelmets in the farmhouse itself. He installed the kitchen and greenhouse, as well as doing all the wiring and plumbing in the house, replacing the original gas lamps. He never had a job outside the farm but in later years, enjoyed trips abroad to Europe, including Verdun,

Greece and Switzerland. Colourful paintings in his snug, bought on holiday and brought back to the house, attest to his love of travel.

La Ronde Porte was a traditional mixed farm with a small dairy herd of about 8 or 9 cattle, pigsties and more recently, a series of glasshouses in the fields to the south of the farmhouse. Opening a desk in the Pressoir, you come across some of the tags for market produce – Jersey capsicums and beans. Bunny milked the cows by hand, sitting on his traditional three legged stool. During the Occupation, the family used to put their hens into barrels and take them upstairs into the bedrooms to prevent the hens from being stolen. The windows downstairs were drilled and pins inserted to stop intruders.

Looking at this image of the Bakehouse, it is hard to imagine that in more recent times, the Bakehouse was still in use, with groups of friends gathering together for the baking of cabbage loaves.

Philip began his school days as a pupil at Mrs Perredes’ Dame School alongside his friend and neighbour, Vivian Rive, who lived at Eden House on the other side of one of the La Ronde Porte fields. Vivian vividly recalls the day that a German plane landed on the field between their houses. At about 11 pm on 6th June 1944, Philip and Vivian heard a loud bang. This was a German plane, shot down by the Fort Regent anti-aircraft battery. It seems that the plane may already have been hit by the RAF and was limping its way towards France or was unharmed and on its way back to base, but either way, the crew did not identify themselves as German when flying into Jersey airspace. As a result, the plane was shot down by their own side, crash-landing in flames in the field at La Ronde Porte, and killing 3 of the 4 airmen on board, the fourth later dying of his injuries. It took a little while for the German troops to arrive on the scene, by which time, Bunny and Vivian had been to have a look and to collect pieces of the fuselage and other souvenirs.

This gem of Jersey farming has been untouched for many years and so there is considerable work needed to secure the house and outbuildings, making sure that these are wind-andwatertight, repairs are carried out and the house connected to mains drains and water as well as being rewired to meet current standards for domestic use. The cost of this work will be expensive, and as a result, because the Trust is carrying out the work from its own resources, this will be done as funds permit.

This article owes much to the kind assistance of Bunny’s friends and family, to the Société Jersiaise and Jersey Heritage to all of whom, grateful thanks are given. We would be delighted to learn more about La Ronde Porte and the history of the house and the families who lived there as we piece together the story of this fascinating bequest.