St Matthew's Church
Cobo
A Report and description of it's architecture and
construction
and events following it's completion.
given to P E Guilbert
by
George M. Bramall B. Arch. Hons. Arch. (Sheffield) RIBA.
and
Peter Girard B.Sc.
April 1991
The Church
The simple church of St. Matthew of Cobo is an excellent
example of the scholarly work of a little known London
ecclesiastical architect combining with the skills of
Guernsey masons of that time and through the caring
benevolence of a well known island family creating an
architectural gem of the Victorian period.
The Romanesque style of the church is so fitting for an
island whose heritage is so closely linked with the Norman
homeland only a few miles away in the Contentin on the
continental coast of Europe.
Few of our early ecclesiastical buildings still show the
art and skill of the eleventh century Norman builders -
only the vaulted chancel of the Vale church and a few
scattered stones on Lihou island give an indication of the
beauty of the Romanesque buildings that graced these
islands - and even these are not in our local granite, but
in the much easier to work stone imported from Caen.
At St. Matthew's we have all the beauty of those ancient
mouldings and carvings recreated again in Victorian times
in our own much harder, though warmer, brown granite from
the Cobo quarries nearby.
The church is sheltered from the north by the rocky pine
covered headland of the Guet, once a bare outcrop of
granite dominating the west coast of the island, surmounted
by a Georgian watch-house and battery for defensive cannon.
The headland is sculptured on the seaward and the east side
by the stone quarry workings, the brown granite which
provided so much of the builder's material to create the
attractive vernacular architecture of the surrounding area
and of Victorian St. Peter Port.
The road from the coast at Albecq to the estate of St.
George, runs along the crest of a north-south ridge and the
field, now the graveyard, in which the church stands above
the sloping field and comprises the basic components of any
religious structure, nave, chancel, porch and priest's
vestry arranged traditionally on an east-west axis.
The Laying of the Foundation Stone
The 21st of September 1852 must have been a great day for
the community - the laying of the Foundation Stone. The
Star newspaper of that date records the event and on the
following day reports the ceremony as follows:-
Report on the Laying of the Foundation Stone.
'Long before the appointed hour many a household gathering,
many a group of happy children were seen emerging from the
cottages near the seashore and bending their steps in
holiday attire along the romantic lanes of that picturesque
neighbourhood to the scene of attraction.
Over the entrance to the ground was suspended a legend
worked in flowers appropriately directing the thoughts of
all to the Giver of all good, by it's inscription "Louez le
Seigneur".
The site of the church was marked out by St. George's
banner at the west end and by an embroidered flag at the
east end, which floated aloft with the prayerful motto "QUE
DIEU DIRIGE L'OEVRE DE NOS MAINS".
The weather was propitious. The sun shone brightly upon the
solemnity and the north west wind sweeping widely over the
foaming waves of Vazon and causing "the floods to clap
their hands with joy", added to it's invigorating charm to
the wild grandeur of the scene.
Two hundred and eighty school children attended the
ceremony. The foundation stone was lowered into place - a
fine piece of granite - by Miss Carey daughter of the late
General Peter Carey, while the Reverend James Maingy, the
Rector of the Parish officiated.
As at all Victorian public occasions tea was provided
afterwards, on this occasion in the Castel Infant School
with Mrs. General Carey supplying "a bountiful supply of
tea and 'gache a corinte'".
The concept of the church at Cobo was that of a young lady,
Marianne Carey, who even from her childhood was obsessed
with the idea to help the "poor old people" of Cobo who had
to walk more than 2 miles to their parish church of the
Castel. from the age of sixteen she cajoled and persuaded
members of the Carey family and their friends to support
her own efforts in providing the finances for the building
of the church. The story of the raising of the money is
told in detail by her grand-daughter Mrs. Thomas in the
Review of the Guernsey Society - Winter 1977, and the
following extract has been taken from that issue.
'In the years between 1831 and 1839, Major General Peter
Carey and his wife Julia (daughter of General the Rt. Hon.
Sir George Hewitt) were living in the Isle of Wight; they
used to bring their young family to Guernsey for the summer
months most years. Their youngest daughter Marianne, was
very fond of Cobo and liked to celebrate her birthday in
July by having a picnic there.
On one particular visit when they had walked from Havilland
Hall, accompanied by some of their cousins from La
Chaumiere, Marianne who was not as strong as the rest, felt
very weary and went to lie down on the Rocque du Guet. From
there, she looked down on the houses of the fisher folk and
felt great compassion for them as their nearest church was
the parish church of the Castel, more than two miles
distant, and she doubted if they ever went there.
The need for a church had been in her mind even from the
age of five years, when one Sunday she saw everyone on the
way to Castel Church. She went to her father, reading his
paper, and said she was so sorry for those "poor people"
(almost nobody over 25!") having so far to walk, and she
wanted to build a church for them at Cobo. General Carey
swallowed hard, said it was rather a tall order for someone
so young, but she should come again when she was older.
He probably forgot the whole thing, but Marianne did not.
Meanwhile, she was a good an dutiful daughter, and as she
got older a great many things occupied her time: sewing of
all kinds, schoolwork, district visiting, walking with her
father, keeping her brothers amused, reading to old people
and so on - quite unlike the present day concept of the
idle Victorian young girl. But at the age of 17 she again
went to her father and this time he gave his permission,
with the proviso that she was not to use her beautiful
voice to make money for the scheme.
Marianne began by selling a series o f £1 pictures which
she had bought, framed and sold for 2 guineas. Then her
sister Caroline became very ill and needed reading to and
other attentions so this delayed the serious work of
raising enough money to build her church. But inspired by a
book about a peasant girl in France who founded a hospital,
the two girls pondered on what could be done. Caroline, who
died soon afterwards and was buried in Guernsey, arranged
to leave £200, her parents gave her another £200, Marianne
herself gave £300, and then she went to see her various
relations begging what they could spare.
She went to see her "Aunt Mourant", (Sophy, the widow of
Peter Mourant), who was usually generous; but she had never
heard of anything so mad, what was Marianne's father
thinking about, and she would not give money to mad folk!
Had she been to see her uncle Dean Carey? He would
certainly refuse and then as Marianne turned to go out,
probably feeling rather depressed, the aunt added "If he
does give you anything, I'll double it - but he won't!". In
actual fact the Dean was thrilled with his niece's
persistence and gave her £20. So Aunt Mourant had to cough
up £40.
Gradually the money came in and culminated in a total of
£1600, which in those days was sufficient to build a good
church with 300 seats. Other gifts were as important - her
godmother, Mrs. Thomas Carey (sister of Cardinal Manning)
offered to build the Vicarage, the site for the church was
given by Mr. de Beaucamp of Cobo, the Rev. William Collings
presented the turret, two bells and the lychgate, and the
Rev. Lord de Saumarez and Col. the Hon. St. Vincent
Saumarez, the churchyard.
But a great blow was in store. The Dean said "This will be
useless unless there is a Vicar to serve the Church. Where
and how do you propose to find him?". The endowment for a
Vicar's salary would need to be a minimum of £2000.
However, again things went well, the Dean was a great help
and a further sum of £300 was raised to start the endowment
fund which built up the required amount.
At some time in the early 1850s, contact had been made by
the Carey family with the architect Mr. John Johnson of No.
9 St. John Street, Adelphi, London. It is interesting to
speculate how this meeting came about, and at the present
time, more research has to be carried out on this point.
Johnson does not appear to have been a member of the Royal
Institute of British Architects, although he was a most
talented architect and in association with his partner F.
B. Newman, was responsible for many building projects. To
date we have no information on his pupilage or early
career, although he was a Royal Academy medalist and
student; and had exhibited at the Academy on several
occasions. The RIBA have a few drawings of his in their
collection but, regrettably, the drawings of St. Matthew's
have not yet been traced.
John Johnson - Architect
At the Royal Academy, he exhibited the following works: -
• 1848 Design, Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall.
• 1851 St. Edwards Church, Romford, Essex.
• St. Saviours Church, Walmer Beach, Kent.
• Christ Church, etc., Stratford le Bow, Essex.
In association with his partner F. B. Newman he also
exhibited the following at the Academy:-
• 1852 Church, Thornhill Square, Islington.
At that time the practice address was given as 12,
Furnival's Inn.
Johnson was born in 1807 and started his career with
honours, gaining the Gold Medallion of the Royal Society of
Arts for a competition design in 1833, the silver Meal of
the R.A. in 1835 and the Travelling Studentship in 1836. He
travelled to Italy under this studentship and remained
abroad it is believed until 1840, bringing back with him a
valuable collection of sketches. This experience, the
Builder of 11th Jan 1879 states "assisted no doubt, to
develop the excellence he always displayed in detail and
colour".
His obituary in the magazine of the same date also gives
the following information:-
'His best works, perhaps best known to the general public,
were the decorations of Her Majesty's Theatre for Mr.
Lumley, and his designs for the Alexandra Palace; for the
latter work, he was in 1877 made a Fellow of the Florentine
Academy, an honour totally unexpected on his part, till he
received his Diploma through our Ambassador. His designs
for the terraces at Lancaster Gate, and Prince's Gate, Hyde
Park, for Sir John Kelk, are also well known. He published
a book called "Johnson's Churches of Northampton", which
for reference was highly useful to architects. Mr. Johnson
was for some years District Surveyor for East Hackney; but
though it was a lucrative appointment, he found it
interfered with those occupations which were more congenial
to his taste - and he resigned.
Though seventy one years of age, he may be truly said to
have died "in harness", for in 1878 he carried out an
Italian design for a large mansion for Sir John Kelk at
Tedworth, Wilts,. at a cost of £45000; and also completed
the design, details and contract for a church at the same
place to cost £12000, which when finished will certainly be
the most perfect of his works.'
In addition to being a very fine and talented architect, a
further obituary states:-
'It would appear that Mr. Johnson was a fisherman of
renown. He was a member of the Piscatorial Society and
their books recall some wonderful takes of fish in the
early parts of his life. In the year 1866, he obtained the
leading prize for the greatest weight of fish, there being
a total of some 550 lbs. placed to his credit. He was also
up to his death, the 'author' of the Club in conjunction
with his old friend Mr. Thomas Gillatt.'
Mr. Johnson was an old member of the Thames Angling
Preservation Society, and for the last ten years was on of
it's general Committee.
John Johnson died on the 28th. September 1888.
What a coincidence that the architect of the church had
such a close affinity with the occupations of the greater
part of it's congregation!
Builder of the church
The builder was Messrs. Daniel de Putron and Sons - a well
known and highly respected island contractor of the
Victorian period. The quality of the firm's workforce, both
in workmanship of the granite and timber would be difficult
to match today. The firm specialised in ecclesiastical work
and was later in the century responsible for St. Barnabas
and St. Stephen's churches in St. Peter Port, the
construction of Elizabeth College Gymnasium and Swissville
in the Rohais.
The construction of St. Matthew's was marred by an unusual
and unfortunate incident which caused a delay to the
completion of the building. The chancel arch which is of
very generous proportions collapsed in the course of
construction. A report prepared by an inspector at the time
states that the cause was:-
".. opposing weight on the spring of the arch insufficient
for the central weight of the bell turret, which had been
increased six feet lately by Johnson the Architect. This
was already thirty feet above the chancel arch, so that the
cause of the accident is easily made out - want of
resisting force at the sides where strong buttresses should
have been constructed - or a transept wall at the spring of
the arch. Probably the pulpit opening, weakened the side.
The roof was not yet up fortunately. This accident will
throw back the use of the church till next year."
This was the case and the church was not completed until
November 1854.
The completion, however, was worth all the skilled labour
and love in it's creation. The following extracts from
newspapers of the time describe the building in detail:-
• The church on the heights of Albecq is dedicated to
St. Matthew and consists of nave and chancel with belfry
standing over the chancel arch pierced for two bells. On
the south side of the nave is a low but neat porch with a
bold Norman semicircular arch enriched with some of the
usual simple ornaments of that style. The large door
leading into the nave from this porch is handsome and gives
much credit to the workmen under whose hand it has been
formed; - the iron scrollwork on it's elegant and not too
elaborate design.
• The chancel has a small but neat vestry or sanctuary
with a side entrance leading to the Minister's house and on
the opposite side of the choir a Norman door through the
South wall. Near this is a small vestibule which forms also
a passage into the pulpit on the same side. Opposite to it
on the outside of the chancel arch is the reading desk.
• The chancel which is a semi-circular apse has fine
small windows filled with coloured glass containing
scriptural subjects, the gift of the late General Carey's
family. Externally they are round headed, but the straight
lintel supported by the splay of the jambs produces
somewhat of an imperfect trefoil when viewed from inside
the church.
• The windows of the nave are plain Norman on both
sides, but the western gable has three ornamental lights
which externally are enriched with Norman indented
mouldings. The terminal point of this end, as well as that
of the belfry, is surmounted by a stone cross of Grecian
variety.
• The stone font is of Norman style, elaborately
worked with transitional foliations of trefoils and
quatrefoils in several series producing a very neat effect
with it's handsome covering of oak and iron.
• The roof is externally covered in slates. The
construction of the timber work within is plain and so
raised as to give considerable height to the interior area
of the church. in these islands we are not accustomed to
meet with these open roofs in our churches.
• They are better calculated for comfort than the
stone vaulted roofs of our ancient structures.
• The small ornamental gable over the chancel roof is
particularly striking; but the necessity of this sort of
termination is not quite apparent to us.
• The floor of the chancel is beautifully paved with
encaustic tiling and the altar is raised on a floor of the
same material, but of a different elegant pattern. The
communion table and it's furniture appear neat and
appropriate. The whole, we believe the munificent gifts of
friends of the new church. The font which is the free gift
of several young persons is beautifully executed in Caen
stone, the four evangelists being carved on the plinth. The
poor box likewise a freewill offering represents the
incident of the widow casting her mite into a treasury with
the French inscription "Dieu aime ceux qui donne gaiment" -
'The Lord loveth a Cheerful Giver'.
Dimensions of the building
The following are the dimensions of the edifice extracted
from The COMET Thur. December 7th 1854 :-
• Length of Nave 60 feet
• Breadth 28 feet in the clear
• Chancel 27 feet by 16 feet
• It contains 301 free sittings.
A final extract from the STAR newspaper of the same
date sums up the quality and charm of the building:-
"To both parties (architect and builder) the building is
highly creditable, the design and execution being alike
excellent. The general plan appears to be in accordance
with the best principles of ecclesiastic architecture and
it has been carried out even in it's minutest details with
admirable fidelity and skill"
What more can one add to the most delightful Victorian gem
in Guernsey!
Information from Mrs. C.P. J. Fyffe who left an entry in
the visitor's book - 1991 - her great grandmother Julia
Carey was Marianne's eldest sister her father was Peter
Carey - son of John Carey and his wife Marie Le Ray who
lived at La Bigoterie in SPP. Marianne was born 22nd July
1826 - married 4th October 1853 Colonel Dugald Stuart
Miller of Ayreshire and died 27th November 1912. letter
dated 31st August 1992.
Peter E Guilbert