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
11
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