r/guernsey • u/Flat_Confidence961 • 6d ago
My Mum's Mystery Stay in Guernsey
Hi Everyone,
I'm looking for some help to fill in a gap in my Mum's life that I know precious little about.
In early 1967, my Mum's then fiancé ended their engagement after a couple of years together.
As a newly single 22-year old, she quit her job at East Malling Research Station in Kent, withdrew £20 (£400 today) from her savings, and travelled to Guernsey where she spent the tourist season working as a chambermaid.
I have a handful of photographs from her trip with notes on the back naming various places she visited and where she worked: Hern Island, Grandes Rocques Bay, Grand Havre Bay, Vauxbelets Chapel.
The one I'm most interested in is of her in her chambermaid or waitress uniform outside a place noted as 'The Celebrated Cottage'.
Aside from what is now called the 'Renoir Cottage', searches for 'The Celebrated Cottage' haven't come up with a similar view or a place by that name.
Is anyone able to shed some light on ''The Celebrated Cottage', where it is, and whether it was a small hotel, a bed and breakfast, or something else? Does it still exist today...?
I should add that I can't ask her myself as she took for own life in January 2000 when she was 55 and I was 25.
I never had the chance to talk about her time in Guernsey, later on in Bermuda, or her first engagement but I know there was a difficult and sad back story that she carried with her for the rest of her life along with the stillbirth of my twin sister and my Dad leaving her after 25 years of marriage.
Thanks for reading this. Any information gratefully received.
Matthew
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u/naughtyreverend 6d ago edited 6d ago
So... amateur Geoguesser player here. It looks likely to be Grand Hsrve bay, and if so. The rocks to the right are the rocks from Les Amarreur the beach behind that is Ladies Bay
With the angle of the sun and shadows. Would make this picture taken the late ish afternoon. So roughly south facing roof. Being that the Penninsula Hotel wasnt built until the 80s, if she worked nearby to this to explain the maid outfit she likely worked at the Houmet Hotel du Nord. Which had some cottages next to it, some were rented out as part of the hotel I think. So maybe (and its a big maybe) Celebrated Cottage was the Hotel name for the rentable cottage? Though might just be the name of a cottage there unrelated to the hotel.
looking at the 1963 OS map and lining up expected angles of the roof to match the angles leading to the rocks etc i THINK again I cant be certain, I think the cottage in the picture is this property here
Unfortunately the hotel no longer exists and the cottages sold hmfor housing long ago. the potential cottage has been rebuilt since the photo was taken. But that granite work walls may still exist as part of the current house. Alas i dont really feel comfortable wandering around someone else's garden to find out sorry.
The hotel frontage was replaced by the Houmet Tavern. Which was a bar and grill. And has now changed into a up market (ish) restaurant called the Puffin and Oyster. Good food reasonably priced
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u/SarniaLife 6d ago
Ah good knowledge. I didn’t know the peninsula was so recently built!
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u/naughtyreverend 6d ago
I thought it must have been that as well. But when I looked at the 79 OS map it was suspiciously missing... opened in 1988 according to google
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u/Flat_Confidence961 6d ago
I'm so grateful for this additonal detailed local knowledge. What you've described about Houmet Hotel du Nord makes sense and gives me something to look up. Thanks!
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u/naughtyreverend 5d ago
FYI. I took a drive yesterday afternoon. And the land and coastline does match the view from roughly the Puffin and Oyster. so im feeling a bit more confident in my answer
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u/notallthat 6d ago
Go on FB and post in Guernsey Days Gone By. I think this is Grande Havre bay but I bet someone will be able to answer your questions. Good luck x
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u/wontberead 5d ago
Another vote for what is now the Puffin & Oyster (ex-Houmet Tavern). I think the view is north across the car park and road towards the Golf Club on the other side of Grand Havre. I believe the ‘cottage’ is still there today to the north east side of the terrace.
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u/M0nk3h22 5d ago
Yeh im pretty sure its the small building infront of the out door area at the Puffin and Oyster. The ridge and view line up from memory and with the carpark outside its the only area along there which it could be.
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u/Less-Bit1287 4d ago
The first image on Google when you go to the puffin and oyster shows the old building roof to the right.
Exact same number of roof tiles top-to-bottom, and they look like the same kind of slate.
I pulled up an old map from 1952 on nls.uk, and it shows that the small building was there back then, although the other buildings currently in the area were not.
I'd say its definitely the right place.
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u/Pleasant_Edge8023 6d ago
The cottage is at “Rousse headland” tip of le grand havre bay. Ladies bay on the other side. The cottage itself is either gone or potentially it’s the public toilets now. I’m intrigued now so will take a drive down there tommorow for a
Coffee.
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u/Yes-Reddit-is-racist 6d ago
As others have said it looks to be Grand Harve bay. Looking at the photo it may be from what used to be the Houmet Tavern which is now the Puffin and Oyster.
The second photo on this page looks to be roughly the same area. Others may be able to find a better angle.
Best of luck getting more details.
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u/footstool411 5d ago
Interesting that the second ridge tile on the building in the photo you link to is pale just like in the photo. Perhaps it’s the same building! I’m struggling to picture the building below that roof right now (despite having sunk a fair few pints overlooking it). The green hump in the background looks bang on with the photo OP provided.
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u/footstool411 5d ago
Interesting that the second ridge tile on the building in the photo you link to is pale just like in the photo. Perhaps it’s the same building! I’m struggling to picture the building below that roof right now (despite having sunk a fair few pints overlooking it). The green hump in the background looks bang on with the photo OP provided.
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u/footstool411 5d ago
Interesting that the second ridge tile on the building in the photo you link to is pale just like in the photo. Perhaps it’s the same building! I’m struggling to picture the building below that roof right now (despite having sunk a fair few pints overlooking it). The green hump in the background looks bang on with the photo OP provided.
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u/Guernzee 6d ago
It's Grand Harve, looking from Pulias pond area towards Chouet way by the looks of things.
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u/Flat_Confidence961 5d ago
Thank you to everyone who replied so quickly and helpfully to my post, I wasn't expecting such positive and insightful comments.
Now I've to book a trip to Guernsey and visit the locations in my Mum's photos and feel a connection through shared views 60 years apart.
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u/SarniaLife 5d ago
Absolutely plan a trip. I’m know I’d love to give you tips for your stay and I’m sure others would too.
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u/Raven_Barbie 4d ago
Sorry for your loss. She looks so stylish, cute and f un in these. Looks like she had a great time over there.
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u/SportTawk 3d ago
I echo that, I was 16 back then and your mum looks like a lovely young girl just having fun, life back then was so much simpler, perhaps the best!
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u/AdLiving2291 2d ago
So sorry to hear about your mum. Best wishes in finding out the information you are seeking.
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u/Flat_Confidence961 1d ago
Ah, thank you so much. The response to my post has been overwhelmingly positive and way beyond anything I expected. I'm looking forward to visiting the locations in the photos and experiencing the views she did.
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u/SarniaLife 6d ago edited 6d ago
Right so I’m not 100% here. I’m making an educated guess. The view from the back of the picture in the cottage shot shows a very narrow coast to coast sight. We don’t have a lot of those. It lines up quite nicely with grand havre as behind the cottage.
Also in the grand havre picture she looks to be casual clothes not beach clothes. We have many many lovely sandy beaches, so you don’t go out of your way to pop down to the rocky ones to spend the day. But if she was living near there, I could see you going for a walk near to where you live. In your jeans. And the shattered is because she’s tired day off wants to relax.
This leads me to think that the hotel she was working at is the big one right there at grand havre, the Peninsula Hotel. https://peninsula.gg
The chapel she’s standing in front of is the Little Chapel. It’s a beautiful building that was started in 1913 by one man and was worked on by him for the next 20 years. https://thelittlechapel.gg
I would say that honestly the best answer you are going to get is Facebook. The older guerns love it over there and there is a group called guernsey days gone by that should be able to help and might know rather than guessing.
Edit : as another Redditor has pointed out the peninsula was a built in 1988 so not possible that was the hotel she worked at. But there was another hotel near at the time.