hamptonne buildings

The Syvret Building
Named after the family who lived here in the nineteenth century, the Syvret building dates from the 1830s and is the most recent of the three houses to be built. The rooms are extremely high and are typical of those found in the large houses being built in St.Helier at this time. This building houses the exhibition Living Memories which tells the story of how rural life has changed in the island since the Great War.

The northern end of this range of buildings is used as a cider barn and contains an apple crusher, a twin-screw apple press and barrels as well as other farm tools. The cider-making equipment is all in working order and is used every October to produce our own cider.

The farm outbuildings
These became more important during the nineeenth century and a number of beautiful examples have survived. The northern yard was created in the late nineteenth century; it consists of stables, a carriage house, bakehouse, washhouse, farm labourer's accommodation and an open shed. These buildings have been restored to show how they would have looked when they were first built.

The Colombier
While there are a few nesting niches for pigeons in the facade of the Hamptonne House and the eastern end of the Langlois building, most of the pigeons were kept in the colombier on the other side of the small valley.

The first recorded colombier on this site was built by Richard Langlois and it is one of only two square colombiers in the island. A date stone set in the wall above the door records the date of its rebuilding in 1674.

The orchard
The orchard has been planted with a selection of island varieties of bittersweet and bittersharp apples which, when mixed together, provide the right balance for the cider we produce following the autumn harvest.