It is under this man that La Villiaze came into being, both as a Fellowship and in the existence of a chapel. At the beginning of the nineteenth century only one Independent cause existed, that of New Street, St. Peter Port. This had been established in 1810 (or 1811). It occupied the site which people of a later generation remember as the Lyric theatre and which is now an office block. It would appear that although having a base in Jersey at the Halkett Place chapel, Clement also served the New Street cause. In J. Jacobs “Annals of Some of the British Norman Islands” we find the following: ‘The…society of French and English Independents under the ministry of the Rev. C. Perrot had no regular chapel till the one called the Calvinist Chapel was erected in 1811 in New Street, New Town containing 617 sittings, for French service on Sunday morning and afternoon, but English every Sunday evening. ’ Mr. Perrot would have been the French minister. In fact Duncan’s History of Guernsey confirms this fact. | 1.The chapel to be used for worship by the ‘Dissident Protestants Anglicised – Protestant Dissenters of the Independent Denomination.’ |
| 2.If lack of funds, trustees, or Pastor, occasion then it shall revert to the oversight of the French Independent Chapel in Guernsey until such time as worship can be re-established. |
| 3.There shall always be three trustees, the Pastor being one, and the new trustees shall be chosen by the other trustees. The trustees cannot sell. |
All of this is found in the Greffe records of a deed dated 21.11.1826. It is assumed that the Rev. J. D. A. Chevannes then became Pastor.
Very little is then known of the Chapel or its Fellowship for the long period until 1946. This is primarily because all of the Chapel and Fellowship papers are reputed to have been disposed of by burning prior to the German occupation of the Island in 1940. It appears an incredible thing to have done, but such does seem to be a possibility, as investigations have not yielded a single item of the Church records or of any recorded history during those intervening years. The only resort to be had is from Publications and Newspaper clippings. It was from one of these*(2) dated 1916 that it is learned that irrespective of the previous comment, the Church even then had no information on this period !
In an account in Jacob’s Annals of Some of the English Isles, it does state that the chapel had ceased to function for worship purposes about 1827. However it is felt that this must be in error, as a new Pastor had purchased the property only the year previously.
The name of the Chapel, which it appears to have maintained until 1946, is known to have been “L’Eglise Independante de St. Andre.”
We do know, from a memorial plaque within the Chapel, that the Rev. Peter Blampied was Pastor for 20 years. He died on the penultimate day of the 19th century in his 83rd year. There is, however no record there of the exact period of his pastorate. On the plaque, he is described as having been a ‘faithful and appreciated Pastor.’ The verse used in connection with this quote possibly also indicates that he was a truly Godly servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember your leaders who have proclaimed the Word of God to you, and imitate their faith, considering what has been the issue of their life. Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and forever. (Heb. 13:7,8 as translated from the French)
An examination of various Almanacs indicated that he was recorded as being Pastor from 1866 to 1876 after which his name does not appear. On the basis of the twenty years on the plaque, this would mean that he probably commenced his ministry in 1857.
The examination of the same Almanacs also indicated another interesting fact that for the longer part of the time until after the second world war, there were only two named Pastors. The general ministry being undertaken by local preachers. The other named Pastor is Rev. D. M. Le Cheminant who occupied that position from 1884 until 1896. No other information concerning him has been found.
The 100th Anniversary of the Church was celebrated on November 2nd 1916 when many Guernsey young men were fighting, and a good number giving their lives, in the first world war. The celebration was by means of two services, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, whilst between these a tea was held on the premises. Due to adverse weather conditions the anticipated speaker from Jersey was unable to come, so that the Rev. W. Phillips, the local minister of Eldad (then a Congregational Church) preached the afternoon sermon on ‘Fear thou not for I am with thee’. The evening service was preached by the Rev. C. H. Ninnim who is described in this*(3) and several other press cuttings in this year as being the Chapel Pastor.
The only other mentions which were found within press cuttings, other than in various Harvest Thanksgiving accounts, were references to visiting speakers on the occasion of a deputation either from the London Missionary Society or the Colonial Missionary Society.
Within the Vestry of the Chapel is a large framed portrait of the Sunday School children on the occasion of their Jubilee in 1928.
On one side stands the rather rotund figure of the Superintendent, Mr. E. Burnell and on the other side the Secretary, Mr. A. Le Cheminant. It is headed Jubile Ecole Congregationaliste, St.Andre. Le 10 Fevrier 1928. Until she died in 1999, a lady of the membership was identified as one of the featured schoolchildren. Two other present members have a china cup depicting this particular occasion. A press cutting of this occasion*(4) revealed that in a report given by Mr. Le Cheminant he stated that the School had been commenced with three scholars in 1878 and that many hundreds had passed through the School over the years. Much interest had been shewn toward the work of the London Missionary Society in foreign lands. He also stated that one of the founder members, a Miss Julia Cohu, still lived nearby and was zealous in promoting the work. (A plaque to her memory exists in the Chapel which reveals that she died in 1933.)
This press cutting also revealed the name of another Pastor of the cause who was referred to in passing. This was the Rev. Alfred Le Tissier who, it appears, had served for five years and had recently died. Although no dates are given it is possible that the period involved could be 1922-1927. He is described as ‘a man who throughout his life had been such an example of a saintly character.’
Chapel Interior c1930
When the Germans occupied the Island in 1940, it soon became apparent that worship would have to cease in that they commandeered the Chapel and its ancillary buildings for their own use. This occurred in April 1942. They continued using the property until the liberation day of May 9th 1945. Throughout the period of use by them, the hall at the rear was used as a canteen and drinking place of very doubtful repute. The Chapel itself was used for an ammunition store. Evidence of this latter use is still evident in the wall abutting the Route de L’Issue where a large panel of the decorative stonework has been rather badly replaced.. This replacement was necessitated by the German removal of a portion of the wall to enable the ammunition lorries to back up to the wall for the delivery of the large shells, which were then transported into the Chapel by hoist and tackle and stacked vertically. The use of the Chapel for this purpose came to a point of crisis in 1972, when it became obvious that the removal of ceiling joists at this time had eventually affected the stability of both the roof and wall structure. (A note on this will occur later.)
The building was renovated after the liberation and re-opened for worship in March 1946 under the pastorate of Mr. J. S. Vidamour. His ministry was to continue until 1973. With him we come to living memory. He was of typical Guernsey build, being short and having the French tongue as his main language. He was a good evangelist and constantly preached the gospel with the clear anointing of the Holy Spirit. Many people, some still within fellowship, including the writer, owe their salvation, under God, to his preaching of Christ. He loved the Word and delighted to set forth ‘the unsearchable riches of Christ.’ His message was neither profound nor polished, but it was endued with power from on high and was delivered with absolute conviction. His English was of a rather faltering nature, but in French it is doubtful if anyone was his peer. He ministered prior to the war at both Grande Rue (St. Saviour) Congregational Church (now the United Reformed Church) as well as this cause and many other places as opportunity arose. Towards the close of his life he became very shortsighted and virtually blind and used others to do his readings and drive him from place to place. His zeal for the Lord and the evangel of Christ was unabated.
Roger Mahy, his Church Treasurer, and still occupying that position, wrote*(5) from an attendance of six people he steadily built the membership and worshippers up to approximately fifty people at the time of his retirement.
During his time he established, with help, a large choir, composed very largely of young people and an active Sunday School. He had a great love for both and was a great encourager. He died on 9th June, 1981, after having preached the gospel for fifty-nine years.
During his ministry, in 1948, for various reasons, the trusteeship of the chapel was transferred to The Hampshire Congregational Union and remained as such until 1972. The Fellowship then had to decide whether to go into the proposed union of the Presbyterian Church with the Congregational Church (Nation-wide) to form the United Reformed Church. They were fully agreed that such would lead to compromise of the gospel and to a weakened doctrinal base and accordingly decided to withdraw. This was done, the Trust Deeds recovered, local trustees appointed and the Church again became independent of denominational ties.
Another problem of a more practical nature arose in 1972 when it was found that the roof of the chapel was in a very bad condition and needed urgent repair. An expert witness, upon inspection, declared it unsafe and the building unfit for public meetings. The Lord was so gracious in enabling the immediate use of the Carmel Methodist Church Hall for worship services and for the necessary funds to become available for the works to be put in hand. These were undertaken and worship re-commenced in the chapel on 1st March 1973.
The whole reason for the dangerous state of the roof was the removal by the Germans of some of the construction to accommodate their ammunition storage thirty years before!
It was also at this time (1972/3) that Mr. Vidamour agreed with the Church to seek a new Pastor.
Eventually the author of this account, Mr. W. R. Chapman, was called and accepting the invitation became the new Pastor in April 1973. He came from exercising a Pastorate in England and in view of the fact that La Villiaze was an honorary position, he obtained full-time employment in his profession as a Chartered Surveyor. Eventually the Church set him aside in 1995 as their first full-time Pastor for nearly a century.
One of the first needs found to be necessary was a replacement hymn book and the Church moved from Sankey to Grace Hymns which was more in keeping with the doctrinal stand being made.
From the beginning of the ministry, the proclamation of the doctrines of grace was made with its distinct emphasis on the free and Sovereign grace of God toward sinners. The cause thus reverted to its original stance of setting forth a clear Calvinistic, reformed witness.
In 1974 it became evident that there was a further need for practical works to the chapel to provide both a Vestry and a kitchen. Believing the need to have been revealed by the Lord and trusting in His promise in Phil. 4:19, the Church proceeded in faith. The two structures were built either side of the existing toilet block by members and friends themselves. To this day we are thankful to the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness in the provision of planning permission, the land (a gift from Mr. T. St. J. Mansell), the labour and the finance. The extensions were completed in September 1975 and a Thanksgiving Service was held in October.
The Church had never had a written Constitution nor a Basis of Faith and it was felt that such should be assembled and accepted. Accordingly in 1975/6 at successive Church Meetings both documents were discussed and voted upon with the result that, to this date, the basis of the Church at La Villiaze and its witness is clear. The name of the Church, although used before was to be La Villiaze Evangelical Congregational Church.
It was felt, in 1979, that association with The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches(F.I.E.C.) would be an advantage and source of contact. Accordingly, this move was made. However it was not to last too long, as in 1990 the F.I.E.C. embarked on an ‘updating’ of their Constitution into which universal salvation could be read. The Church therefore withdrew their membership of the F.I.E.C.
Guernsey is surrounded by the sea and has many lovely bays so that one of the problems which came up before the Church would appear to be easily solved. The Church practises believer’s baptism by immersion on confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Until 1988 it was the custom to make use of the facilities of Emmanuel Baptist Church. It was felt that sea baptism as an alternative would be extremely dependent upon the vagaries of the weather. They decided, therefore, to construct a baptistry in the north-east corner of the chapel beneath the existing raised staging. This was proceeded with and has been used ever since on appropriate occasions.
Increasingly, the Church sought to undertake evangelistic work to reach the masses of those in unbelief and to present Christ. To this end, a work was established in 1991 by two of the Ladies of the Church in visiting some of the Portuguese Lady workers on the Island. This continued for several years but eventually ceased due to various difficulties. At the same time a witness was commenced by manning a stand at the South Show. This work continued yearly until 2001, generally at the South Show, but on two occasions at the West Show.
Then in 1992 tract distribution was commenced at the Bridge, St. Sampson, once a month and this venture continues to this day.
Alongside this, the Lord laid it upon the Church to use part of its income in sponsoring men called to the Ministry of the Word through theological training college. This work began in 1990 and has continued on a fairly regular basis ever since. Men have been sponsored through the London Theological Seminary, The European Missionary Fellowship Course and for one individual at The Metropolitan Tabernacle. The Church has been greatly blessed in undertaking this work and now has several men scattered across the face of the earth with which they have regular contact and are able to encourage in the Lord’s work.
For a long time a site had been sought to place a memorial plaque to the Guernsey Martyrs*(6). They had died a terrible death for the faith of Christ in 1556 but no remembrance existed in a practical form. Then a site became available by the kindness of a local landowner, with the result that the Church, for their Millennium project, decided to erect this in 1999. This was undertaken and is now a regular place of interest to visitors. It is situated at one side of Tower Hill Steps, St. Peter Port. For upwards of the last twenty five years, the Church has been concerned about the downward spiral of Godliness and spiritual morality on the Island and has made constant representations to the States Deputies when matters of relevance have arisen. The whole aim of the approaches has been to maintain a witness to the veracity of God’s Word. Issues so dealt with have been Abortion, Lord’s Day Observance, Casinos, Betting, Homosexuality and Euthanasia.
The Church uses the Authorised Version of the Bible for worship and seeks to maintain a Biblical, reformed and Protestant stand. It acknowledges that all is not perfect and that sin marks the best of efforts, but has found that the Sovereign God has acted in wondrous grace to reveal the work of the glorious and precious Lord, Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit. It is by the mercies of the triune God that it continues to this day as a witness to His truth and Being.
Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. ( Heb. 12:2)
The Church 2006
This booklet has been written on the occasion of the 190th Anniversary of the cause at La Villiaze and the 60th Anniversary of its reopening after the second world war. The information contained within its pages is rather scant in detail for reasons given. May the booklet serve, however, as a help to those who in the will and purpose of God, will see the 200th Anniversary in 2016. By then, some further details may have come to light.
Jesus said I will build my Church (Matt. 16:18) ..and He will.
To God be all the glory.
The speaker at the Church’s 190th Anniversary Services was JOHN BLANCHARD, an internationally known Evangelist and Author….and a Guernseyman !
| *(1) | For a fuller biographical item on Clement Perrot see author’s book entitled His Praise in the Islands. | |
| *(2) & (3) | The Star dated 4.11.1916 | |
| *(4) | The Star dated 18.2.1928 | |
| *(5) | Taken from the July to Sept. 1981 issue of Chapel Newsletter (No. 59) | |
| *(6) | See author’s booklet entitled The Guernsey Martyrs for a more detailed account. |
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)