Our old house in Berthelot Street
Notes from Dr Hoskin's MSS. The de Rozel, Lihou, and Knapp families.
'1539: The earliest proprietor of this house that I can discover was Guillaume de Rozel, son of Nicolas. The house above it, farther from High Street, i.e. further west, belonged to Helier Gosselin by right of his wife Perotine, daughter of François Henry.' (This Guillaume married Michelle Hamelin, and his mother was Colliche Effart daughter of Nicolas son of John and Perotine Perrin. EC.)
[1567: Andre Marché sells to André Monamy a small garden in rue Berthelot situated between the house of Hyon Perrin and the house belonging to the heirs of Guillaume de Rozel, my MSS.]
'In proof of this see letter under seal dated December 19 1539 in the possession of Mr D'Auvergnes by which it appears that De Rozel disputed the right to a wall 'built by the said Gosselin westwards up to the end of De Rozel's house,' Livre de Perchage 1575, 'Nicolas and John called de Rozel with their barn and gardens in rue Berthelot running along the King's highway.' 'And Nicolas Carey senior with his barn and garden in rue Berthelot, to the east of Nicolas and Jean de Rozel.'
17 March 1684: Judgement. In favour of Christine de Bertrand, widow of Sieur Anthoine Haymes (and mother of Marie Haymes, wife of P Henry son of Abraham Henry and Ursula Knapp) against Mr William Le Marchant who had become possessed of the estate of the late Michel de Rozel.
Among the articles of impeachment against Mr Peter de Beauvoir des Granges, Bailiff of Guernsey, is (No. 3), that 'unjustly, wickedly, and against the laws and customs of this country he has adjudged debts to be paid by some of the inhabitants to the Governor, Russell, and sequestrated thus estates, which the Governor applied to his own use, as in the cases of Peter Priaulx, Gabriel de Perrier, Michel de Rozel &c. Moreover, (No. 13), he gave three opposite sentences in a case between Nicolas Gosselin and Michel de Rozel. To which de Beauvoir replied, 'That Colonel Russell did receive monies and rents belonging to some men who were reputed malignants, and on that score, by him sent over to England, where, had they been conscious of their innocence they might, upon their humble petition to parliament, have received redress against the said Colonel, who kept the money.' [Guernsey and Jersey Magazine, III, pp. 256-7.]
In 1684 the said house belonged to Nicolas Lihou son of Nicolas, who laid a clameur de Haro against Jean Renouf, who had become possessed of the house to the westward, formerly belonging to Helier Gosselin. The 22nd October 1684, Jean Renouf resists the clameur (he was trying to build a house in the enclosure to the west of Lihou's house, which used to belong to Guillaume de Rozel son of Nicolas, in rue Berthelot.) [Jean Lihou's grandmother married Jean Knapp. EC]
In 1728 the said house belonged to Marie and Damaris Lihou, sisters, as is proved by an act of Court, February 5th, 1728, in which they, as proprietors of 'a house and enclosure in rue Berthelot' sue Damoiselles Sara and Elizabeth Etienne as[?] owners of a house in High Street, and Elie Mauger owner of another house nearby, a small alley between them (this alleyway is the one which still (as of 1865) exists between the shops of Agnew and Crousaz in High Street). The full right of passage was secured for the said Lihous and the future proprietors of the house in Berthelot Street.
[Note: from Pierre Le Bouquet's copy of an ordonnance belonging to N Grut, 22nd January 1590:]
'No-one may pile up furze in the town streets, that is from Collas Ollivier's house in the Pollet, the house of Thomas Ballan, the house of Mr de Rozel in Berthelot Street, and in the High Street as far as Piere Pelley's house in Cornet Street, and the house of Pierre le Tellier in Fountain Street, nor at the cemetery or cellars or underground stores giving out onto the street, subject to a fine half to go to the Crown and half to the informer.' [Note: a Nicolas de Rozel was jurat in 1533.]
On the death of the above sisters the house was inherited by their cousin on the father's side, viz by Marie Lihou, who married in 1692 Captain John Knapp. He died in 1712; and his widow sold his house in 1731 to his son Gabriel Knapp, as appears by a letter under seal from which the following is extracted:
'Marie Lihou, independently through her right as widow of John Knapp, sells to her son Gabriel Knap a certain house with an adjoining enclosure, in the rue Berthelot, together with a cottage to the south of the enclosure, situated to the north of a house belonging to Jean Perchard, who bought it from Nicolas de Jersey, lawyer, rue Berthelot being between the properties; to the south of the said enclosure; to the east of a house belonging to the said de Jersey, who had inherited the estate of the said Robert Renouf; and to the west of a house belonging to Robert Herivel.'
The said Gabriel married two wives, viz Michelle Palot in 1728 and Mary Wood in 1739, without surviving issue. In 1742/3 he married for the third time Mary Anne Mauger, widow of his cousin Elias Knapp, whose sole child and heiress, Marie Knapp (born 1723) married Joseph Oliver of Sunderland in October 1744. In 1749 Gabriel Knapp, 'in consideration of his fondness for his cousin (and step-daughter), Marie Knapp daughter of Elizée, has given to Sieur Joseph Oliver and the said Marie Knapp, a certain house and enclosure [....]' [following pages missing.] See also Old House in Berthelot Street for accompanying legal documents. 'Mr Joseph Oliver, son to Mr Thomas Oliver and mistress Jane Ellcot of Sunderland in the county of Durham,' St Andrew's parish Marriage Register, p. 121.
Thomas Balan, Pierre Le Pelley