Maria Rosetti

Maria Rosetti by Rosenthal, courtesy of National Museum of Art, Romania
From St Peter Port to revolution. A request from Angela Jianu* of Warwick University for some research into the birth data of Marie Grant of St Peter Port has revealed the extraordinary history of a Romantic heroine, born here in Guernsey in 1819, daughter of Marie Le Lacheur, descendant of the Le Lacheurs of the Forest, and known today to all Romanians through her depiction as Revolutionary Romania, and because one of the main streets in Bucharest bears her name: Strada Maria Rosetti.

The Family of Major-General John Gaspard Le Marchant

Elegiac verse from the Mercure, 1812, Priaulx Library Collection
'I am determined to rise to the head of my profession and nothing but death will stop me.' J. Gaspard Le Marchant was born into one of the most influential and possibly the wealthiest family in Guernsey. His was one of the most illustrious careers in the history of the the British Army, in which he single-mindedly founded the Royal Military College and revolutionised the training of officers. Highly esteemed by Wellington, he died a glorious if unnecessary death in 1812 at the Battle of Salamanca, following which a monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral at public expense.

Lost things: Laine's store, 1951

Laine's store by Carel Toms from the Priaulx Library Collection
'Demolition and rebuilding of one of the oldest houses in St Peter Port is to take place shortly. The house is one belonging to the Guernsey Savings Bank and stands opposite the Berthelot Street Restaurant.' An article by (probably) Carel Toms published in the Guernsey Press November 15 1950; photographs of the demolition and rebuilding are in the Toms collection at the Library.

Laine's warehouse in Berthelot Street

'MSS belonging to Mr Laine of High Street, respecting his store in Berthelot Street (behind and touching the present Savings Bank), and the Savings Bank itself, formerly 'La Maison Briard.' Names and dates; the transcriptions of these interesting vues de justice, where the jurats visited properties about which there was a dispute and sought witnesses, may be consulted at the Library. The photograph is from the Carel Toms' Collection in the Library and accompanied an article he wrote about the demolition and rebuilding of this house in 1950-51.

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