This history of traders and residents of Queen Street has been drawn from three main sources - commercial directories in 1833-34, and 1852, census returns from 1841 onwards, and almanac street listings from 1874. Commercial directories are incomplete because businesses usually paid to be listed, which means that some businesses which declined this opportunity were not mentioned. Census returns, by their nature, listed people living in properties, not the businesses operating from there. Frequently the two can be identified because the returns included the occupations of residents, and more often than not, the head of household was engaged in a business at his or her residential address. Almanac street directories sometimes showed residents, sometimes businesses, sometimes owners of the premises who may have neither lived nor been in business there.
So piecing together a history of a street can involve a considerable amount of detective work. We hope that our efforts will prove of value to those who can identify their ancestors living and working in Queen Street. Where possible we have linked residents and traders to family trees in Jerripedia.
In its early years the street was similar in many ways to the longer King Street. It had its share of drapers, milliners, grocers, boot and shoe sellers, tobacconists and hairdressers. But as the years passed and King Street became the more important shopping area, Queen Street continued to be a row of smaller establishments, the all-important drapers were located in King Street, and over the course of the last 200 years it has been home to only three substantial stores, drapers Frederick Baker, ironmongers and suppliers of household goods and toys, G D Laurens, and chemists Boots, the only of these establishments still existing today.
For some reason tobacconists found Queen Street a popular home and at times there were as many as seven in a street with under 40 properties. Watch makers were also attracted to the street. A number of hotels and inns were located there, most notably the ever-present Exeter Hotel, at No 22, which is shown by name in 1861, was probably at the same location at least ten years earlier, and remains at the same location with the same name to this day.
No 1
We start our journey down the ages past the odd-numbered properties of Queen Street,on the corner with Halkett Place, where No 1 also had a frontage on Hilgrove Street at the rear. In 1833 Alliance Fire Office agent John Hammond had his offices there, sharing the premises with silversmith and watch maker J Anderson. The premises cannot be identified in the 1841 census, and by 1851 there were three households. Master paper hanger Victor Auguste Girardeau, born in St Helier in 1810, and his wife Mary Le Scelleur, shared the property with haberdasher Zelie Felicie Robert, a haberdasher born in France in 1805, and silk merchant Marie Thelot (1801- ). Which of these had street level outlets we cannot tell. An 1852 trade directory shows that Alphonse Jannin, a professor of languages, was working at No 1. The 1861 census shows no occupants for No 1, and ten years later the only occupant was Ann Le Hegarat, a tailoress born in St Martin in 1853. In 1862 solicitor John de Gruchy advertised his practice at No 1.
The first almanac directory listing we have found for the address was in 1874, when tobacconist G Gates was shown to be in business there. Six years later another almanac listing shows Mallet's Hotel at No 1, as well as S S Simon, jeweller. The property was occupied by confectioner Eliza Horsey, born in St Brelade in 1826, at the time of the 1881 census. There is no mention of the Mallet's Hotel and we have found no other mention of this hotel on the north side of Queen Street, although, as we shall see, there were several on the opposite side of the road.
The 1886 British Press almanac shows tobacconist J J Shave at No 1, along with A Amy, hosier. This is the first mention of the family which would own the property, redevelop it, give their name to the corner, and remain there until 2015. In 1890 the French vice-Consulate was located at the premises. In 1891 it was 80-year-old Elizabeth Amy who was listed as the occupant. At the 1901 census there was again nobody living at the property. Such was the development of the retail outlets along the street that at this census there were only 23 residents on the whole of the north side. Very few of them were owner/occupiers - some were employees and their families living in staff accommodation.
A 1905 almanac shows A Amy at No 1, followed by J Amy in 1910 and 1920, S L Amy in 1930, and from 1940 onwards the men's outfitters business was known as A Amy and Son, the the premises as Amyson's Corner. It was finally sold on the retirement of the last family owner in 2015. Photographer A H Clarke briefly had a studio at No 1 in 1910
No 3
The 1834 commercial directory shows hatter P Le Cordier at No 3. This was Philippe Le Cordier, who was married to Marie Le Vavasseur dit Durell. By 1851 his son Durell (1823- ) was running the business, described as a hat and cap manufacturer. Living with him was his elder sister Harriet, an agent for SPCK.
They had left by 1861, when the occupants of the premises were auctioneer Stephen Birch (1819- ), recently arrived from England with his wife Belinda (1826- ), a picture dealer, and their 11-year-old son William. Their stay at No 3 was also short, because by the time of the 1871 census the occupants were John Le Masurier, a tailor and draper born in Trinity in 1818. He and his wife Johanna Jane (1817-1913) had eight children, John (1843-1919), Eliza (1845-1934), William (1849- ), Robert (1851- ), Orson (1854- ), Olivia (1857), Stella (1859-1878) and Jessie (1859-1939). The first four were born in Guernsey and the others in Jersey. The whole family emigrated to New Zealand not long after they took up residence at No 3 Queen Street.
The 1874 almanac street directory shows that they had left by then and No 3 was occupied by stationer R Dyer, followed in 1880 by tobacconist W Shave and hairdresser/perfumer W H Ford. The following year's census showed that William Henry Ford and his wife Harriet, nee Folley, both born in St Helier in 1853, were the only residents. William was the son of John Ford and Catherine Stuckey. They were still in business at No 3 in 1886, along with watchmaker J A Baker, and in 1891 they had been joined by three children, Hilda Blanche, Albina Florence and Percy William. Also present at No 3 was Camille l'Homard (1832- ), a confectioner.
The 1895 Jersey Times Almanac makes the first mention of a name which would dominate the street for some 80 years - G D Laurens. This is George Deslandes Laurens, a basket and rope maker, whose retail premises would eventually dominate Queen Street and Hilgrove Street behind, and also spread to Bath Street, selling kitchen ware, ironmongery, toys, prams, all manner of household goods, as well as the original baskets and ropes. The 1901 census shows George living at No 3 with his second wife Florence, nee Le Gros, and children Florence and George. He had first appeared in business in 1886 at 37 Queen Street.
By 1910 G D Laurens had spread next door to No 5, previously occupied by ironmongers Vibert and Ahier, and eventually the business would occupy Nos 3, 5 and 7.
No 5
Grocer Abraham Le Sueur was trading at No 5 in 1834, living there in 1851 with his wife Esther Elizabeth, nee Ereaut. They married in 1813 and had a son, also Abraham. The census shows that Abraham snr was born in St Helier, but the couple's marriage record shows that he was born in St Brelade; there is no trace of a baptism record for him in any parish register. By 1861 he had retired, but was still living at No 5. Ten years later the census showed nobody living at the premises, but by 1874 Le Masurier and Vibert were trading there as ironmongers. The business became Vibert and Ahier by 1896 and remained as such until taken over by G D Laurens some time between 1905 and 1910. The premises did not feature in any census return after 1861.
No 7
The first record of any occupant of 7 Queen Street was in the 1851 census, which showed Mary Ann Francis (1792- ), a widow born in England, trading as a haberdasher and living there with her two daughters, Frances (1821- ) and Helen (1831- ) and son Francis (1835- ) a draper.
By 1861 the premises at changed to a butcher's, run by Philippe Le Boutillier, born in Grouville in 1825. He was the son of Philip and Esther Le Templier, who married in 1824, and lived in Queen Street with his sisters Elise (1831- ), Jane (1841- ) and brother John (1854- ) and his mother's sister Susan Le Templier (1813- ).
The butcher's had closed by 1871 and had been replaced by John James Reeve Peagam's hairdresser's. Born in England in 1827 and twice a widower, John Peagam had children Marie Louise (1854- ) and Sydney Herbert (1856- ) by his first wife Mary Cole, and Helier John (1858- ), Maud Elise (1859- ), Harold Edward (1862- ), Bertram Ernest (1863- ) and Edith Beatrice (1866- ) by his second wife Eliza Andrews. In 1873 he was still advertising as a 'professor of hair cutting, shampooing, etc' and promoting 'hair brushing by machinery', but in the following year he was running a fancy repository at No 7. He was still there in 1880, but the following year's census shows the occupant of No 7 as watchmaker Eneas Le Goupillot (1846- ), who was still there in 1886, and was then followed by his wife.
In 1881, upon his return to the Island at the time of his father's death, the renowned architect Adolphus Curry practiced from 7 Queen Street before moving to 33 Halkett Place in the latter part of his career.
By 1891 the occupier of No 7 was hatter and hosier Aaron William Ahier (1869- ), living with his widowed mother Jemima, nee Jarvis (1839- ). They were still there in 1905, to be followed in 1910 by E J Parsons, C Moses in 1920, and photographer P Moses in 1930, after which there is no mention of the property in street directories, although it may have been absorbed into Frederick Baker and Sons, of which more shortly.
No 9
The first recorded occupants of this property were Edward Creece (1818- ) a bootmaker employing six men and two women in 1851. Born in England, he was living with Margaret, born in Guernsey in 1819. The couple do not appear to have had children. They were still at No 9 in 1861 but, although the business is listed in 1874 and 1880 almanacs, they were not living there in 1871 and 1881. By 1886 the business had been taken over by E bouillon, followed in 1890 by J F Marais, then A Payne in 1895.
Frederick Baker and Sons
Frederick Baker and Sons was one of St Helier's main department stores through the first half of the 20th century and again after the German Occupation, along with A de Gruchy and Co, Voisin's and Noel and Porter in King Street. It came on the scene some time later than the other three, the first mention being in the 1891 census which showed Frederick Baker, a draper, living with wife Mary (1862- ) and trading as a draper at No 13. By 1895 the business was known as Amy and Baker, and by 1905, owned by Frederick Baker and advertising itself as British Drapery Stores, it occupied Nos 9, 13 and 15. Eventually it would absorb no 11, but as we shall see, this remained in separate ownership for a long time.
The Baker family acquired rivals Noel and Porter in 1953, but both businesses were closed in the 1960s and the substantial property holdings sold and the sites redeveloped.
No 11
This property was home in 1851 and '61 to Marie Salepe (or Salesses), a milliner born in France in 1807, and her daughter Ernestine (1831- ). Solicitor Thomas Godfray advertised his practice at the address in 1862. In 1871 the census shows Henriette Le Vaillant, also born in France, in 1801, operating there as a boot and shoe merchant. By 1874 Mrs Simard had opened a grocery at No 11, and in 1881 the census shows William Valpy Gaudin (1842- ) trading there as a confectioner. This was the forerunner to the much better known outlet at No 32 King Street, where William Gaudin went into partnership with pastry cook John Bulbeck's widow in about 1886, and ran a business eventually acquired by Voisin's, although it continued to trade for many years as Gaudin's. William Valpy Gaudin started in business in Queen Street with his younger sister Emma (1844- ).
William Gaudin had moved to King Street by 1886, when the Queen Street premises were occupied by tobacconist M Bourke, followed in 1891 by gold jeweller Edmond Read (1842- ), his wife Emma (1848- ) and their four-year-old daughter Queenie. Their stay was shortlived because in 1895 the Jersey Times Almanac showed the occupant as W T Bisson. He was watchmaker Winter Bisson (1879- ), who lived with his widowed mother Margaret (1852- ). There must surely have been pressure for Winter to sell out to Frederick Baker, who now occupied the premises either side of No 11, but he remained there until 1920. Still the property was not sold, and it was occupied by a Mrs Bond in 1930,, Maison Eclair and the Misses Newcombe in 1940 and 1950, before being absorbed into Frederick Baker and Sons not long before the business closed.
No 13
Ironmonger Jean Le Gros was in business at No 13 as early as 1833, shown in a trade listing as John. By 1851 his son John (1820- ) had taken over, living with his wife Rachel Deslandes (1822- ) whom he had married in St Helier in 1841. Their only son John was born in 1842 and had perhaps died by the time of the 1851 census, in which he was not mentioned. The business was thriving in 1851, employing eight men and two boys. It has scaled back somewhat by 1861, when John had a staff of six. His wife appears to have died because he was living with only his daughter Annie, born seven years earlier.
By 1871 No 13 had been taken over by china and glass dealer John Ereaut (1845- ), living with his widowed mother Mary, born in Alderney in 1822, and his sisters Marie (1849- ) and Lydia (1851- ). They were still there in 1874 and 1880, but the property is shown as unoccupied in the 1881 census, and by 1886 clothier W Pickett and Co were trading there, soon to be replaced by Frederick Baker.
No 15
The 1833 Strangers Guide shows cooper R Quarm trading at No 15 and surgeon Armand Duret living and working there. He was still there in 1851. Born in France in 1796, he was a Medical Licentiate of Paris. The 1851 census shows him living with his wife Mary Ann, nee Monbrun (1798- ) and daughter Emily (1828- ). The couple had married in St Helier in 1821, but there is no record of Emily's baptism in the parish. She had presumably left home by 1861, when only her mother and father are listed in the census.
An 1852 trade directory shows the premises as the British Tavern and Chop House, run by Edward Gibson. By the time of the 1861 census the premises had been taken over by French pharmacist Jean Aimable Bethlehem Duprey (1802- ) and his wife Carterette, born in St Helier in 1812, and living with Eugene (1841- ) a '1st class pharmacist', and Elise (1844- ). Jean was born in Coutances and married Carterette Maret in St Helier in 1834.
Photographers
15 Queen Street seems to have provided photography studios for a succession of professionals, although they never seem to appear in census or street directory listings. Bennett and Davey are shown operating there in 1866, followed by W T Davey from 1865 to 1875, W F Burman in 1874, W W Gregory, C Bennetts in 1890, and then T Price.
Property divided
The 1871 census indicates that No 15 property had been divided, with No 15½ occupied by English tailor Emma Gavey (1828- ), her son Philip (1854- ), a silversmith, and daughter Agnes (1856- ). By 1874 the Dupreys (or Dupres, because spellings change) are at 15½, and gilder W T Gavey is at No 15. It is not clear whether he was related to the other Gaveys. Chemist Eugene Dupre is shown at 15½ in 1880.
The 1881 census springs a surprise because it shows No 15 as the Clarence Hotel, run by widower Francis Ahier (1816- ), described as a publican, with his daughters Marian (1851- ) and Susan (1857- ) working as barmaids. Chemist Jean Dupre is again shown as head of household at 15½. In 1886 and 1890, S Ahier is shown running the Clarence Hotel at No 15 and Eugene Duprey at 15½.
In the 1891 census returns there is no mention of No 15, and Carterette Duprey is now head of household at 15½, with son Eugene in business as a pharmacist. The hotel or public house must still have been in business, however, because the 1890 Jersey Times almanac shows S Ahier at No 15, and E Duprey at 15½. He was still there in 1896, but who H Amy at No 15 was, and what business he was running was not disclosed. Eugene Duprey remained at 15½ until 1905, but by then No 15 had been taken over by Frederick Baker and there is no further mention of the Clarence, nor of No 15½ in later years.
No 17
This property does not appear in the 1833/34 commercial directories, nor the 1851 census, and is first encountered in the 1861 census when John Thomas Gavey, a 20-year-old perfumer was living there with wife Mary (1835- ). Mary Gavey (1816- ), a widow, was running a fancy repository at No 17 in 1871, living there with her widowed mother-in-law Catherine (1796- ). It is not clear how, if at all, they were related to the earlier Gavey occupants. The 1874 almanac shows D Gavey running the fancy repository, which had been acquired by H Creese by 1880. The 1881 census shows the premises occupied by Englishman Edward William Spencer Creese (1817- ) a jeweller and toy warehouse owner, living with his Guernsey-born wife Margaret Matilda (1813- ), and their daughter Henriette Elizabeth Sarah (1853- ), an assistant jeweller to her father.
Exactly what Mr Creese was called is thrown into further doubt by the 1886 British Press almanac, which shows him as H E S Creese. Another advertisement in the gallery below shows that in 1887 J J Salter was trading at No 17 as a manufacturer of eau-de-cologne, as well as retailing Jersey granite mounted in silver, other jewellery items, cutlery, Jersey lace and Du Barry's American Tricopherus. By 1890 he has been replaced by T Stainer, who is not mentioned again in our source documents. The next appearance of No 17 is in the 1896 almanac, when it was occupied by Long and Vint. Mr Long is identified in the 1901 census as William, a milliner, who was still at No 17 in 1905, followed by his widow through to 1950. Le Petit Louvre is then shown at the premises through to 1960, followed by Senett and Spears.
No 19
Teacher J Hopwood was here in 1833, along with baker E Clark. This was presumably widow Elizabeth (1790- ), shown in the 1851 as a master confectioner employing nine men, and her son William Henry (1823- ) and daughter Caroline. We do not know Mrs Clark's maiden name, but her late husband was Edward Clark. An 1852 trade directory shows William Clark at No 19, a pastry cook and confectioner.
The 1861 census shows Henry Cheese, chemist and dentist, born in England in 1833, living at No 19 with his wife Elizabeth Mary, nee Filleul (1832- ) and children Lizzie (1856- ), Maria (1857- ) and Henry James (1859- ). The couple had two further children, Harriet (1863- ) and another Henry James (1866- ). Henry Cheese had been at No 19 since 1857 but was no longer there in 1871, when the premises were occupied by milliner Jane Gullick, born in St Helier in 1843. She was living with her mother Ann (1822- ), brother William (1845- ), a cigar maker, and sister Sophia (1854- ). Jane was still trading at No 19 in 1874 and 1880. By the following year's census it appears that Jane has married accountant Francis Cabot (1853- ) and lied about her age, because Francis is shown as married to Jane, a milliner said to have been born in England in 1849. Jane's identity is confirmed by the presence in the household of Francis' mother-in-law Ann Gullick. Also in the household was Jane's sister Sophia, now Mrs Brisker, and assisting in her sister's business, along with eight other employees.
The family has left by the 1891 census, when the property was not shown. In 1886 A Amy, a toy dealer, was shown in the British Press almanac, and by 1890 the premises were listed to P G Orviss. This was Philippe Gosset Orviss, who appears to have been operating a grocery here in competition with his brother John Walter, whose shop in Beresford Street would grow into Orviss Limited - see our Orviss family page. In 1896 the premises were listed to J W Orviss, but it is not thought that he operated a shop there. He is shown as owner or occupier of No 19 through to 1950, but it is thought that initially T Woods operated a business there, followed by W G H Marlowe and the Record Shop in 1970.
No 21
Shoe and slipper dealer Mary Amy (1821- ) and her sister Caroline Susanne (1825- ), a dressmaker, are shown in one household at 21 Queen Street in the 1851 census. They were the daughters of Abraham Amy and Marie Le Cras, who married in St Lawrence in 1809 and also had four sons, Henry Abraham, John, William John and Philippe William. Also living at No 21 in separate households were Jane Agnes dit Duval, born in France in 1777, and sisters Rosalie (1823- ) and Eugenie (1828- ) Novert, all three described as retail provision dealers.
Mary Amy was listed in a 1852 commercial directory as a 'French shopkeeper'. In the 1861 census she was shown as a haberdasher, and was the only occupant of No 21 listed in the 1861 census. Ten years later the census shows nobody living there, and the property does not appear again in any census or street directory. It is probably that it was demolished at some time in the 1860s to widen the entrance to Halkett Street, because No 19 forms one corner, and No 23, which became part of Boots in 1940, the opposite corner.
No 23
P Chevalier was running a school at No 23 in 1833-34. By 1851 Jean Adolphe Soupre, born in France in 1806, had established a wine merchant's there. He was living with his wife Eliza Jane Amy (1816- ) and five of their eight children: Pierre Adolphe (1837- ), Francois Henri (1838- ), Elvina Amelie (1839- ), Anna Adelina (1841- ), Alfred Amy (1844- ), Eugenie Marie (1846- ), Eliza Adeline (1849- ) and Emma Maria (1850- ). There is no record of any of the children marrying in Jersey, but Emma had an illegitimate son, Edgar, in 1870.
Eliza Jane was baptised Elizabeth Jeanne, in Grouville, the youngest child of Richard Amy and Elizabeth Corbel (Corbet?).
Also living at No 23 in 1851, but presumably not trading from there, was blacksmith Pierre Desire Le Blond and his family.
By 1861 Elizabeth was widowed and trading as a grocer at No 27. No 23 was occupied by widowed toy dealer Sarah Hunt (1817- ) and her four children, Mary Ann (1842- ), Sarah (1843- ), Elizabeth (1853- ) and William (1856- ). The mother was born in Ireland. Although her children are shown as born in St Helier, they do not appear in the parish baptism register. She was still at No 23 in 1871, without her children. An 1874 almanac suggests that her business had been taken over by Mrs Haymer, and in 1880 by H Haimes.
The 1871 census shows no 23 occupied by Herbert Haynes, a draper born in Guernsey in 1845, the son of Herbert and Jane Sperring, and his wife Mary, born in St Helier in 1842.
In 1856 and 1891 paperhanger and house decorator George Bowyer, born in Southampton in 1856, was living and trading at No 23 with his wife Mary (1856- ) and son Stanley (1886- ). They were still there in 1896 and, although the family does not appear in the 1901 census, Mrs G Bowyer is listed at 23 Queen Street in a 1905 almanac. She was followed in 1910 and 1920 by C P Blampied, in 1930 by N C Holt. By 1940 Boots had acquired the property, which makes the corner with Halkett Street.
No 25
Milliner J Godfray is the first recorded occupant of this property, in 1833 and '34. By 1851 John James Balcam, the son of Jean Thomas and Marie Le Cras, a rope maker employing five men was living there with his wife Jane Marguerite, nee Godfray (1812- ), their three daughters and three sons. Perhaps she was the milliner from 1833-34. A commercial directory in 1852 showed John Balcam as an 'earthenware dealer, rope and twine manufacturer'.
Ten years later the census shows widow Mary Ann Francis (1792- ), a haberdasher, at No 25 with daughters Frances (1821- ) and Helen (1831- ). We know that Mary Ann came from England, and that her late husband, father of Frances and Helen, was James, but we do not know her maiden name. She also had a son Francis, born in 1834. In 1871 Frances and Helen were still at No 25, working as haberdashers, but presumably their mother had died.
The property is not listed in intervening almanacs, and in 1881 the census showed tea merchant Edward Gilpin (1832- ) and his wife Margaret, nee Binns (1842- ) living there with their daughter and son, Margaret's sister Eliza and Edward's nephew Albert Whiting. All were born in England. Their stay was a short one because, by 1886 Robinson and Company, drapers, were at No 25, followed in 1890 by C F Durell.
In 1891 the draper resident at the premises was William Jennings, born in England in 1850, and living with his wife Mary Ann Elizabeth, nee Lancashire (1860- ) and children William Henry (1883- ), Reginald John (1889- ) and Irene (1887- ). The Jennings were still trading at No 25 in 1896, but by the turn of the century the property had been acquired by Boots the Chemist, which remains today at 23, 25 and 27 Queen Street. The famous company started its Jersey operation at No 25, acquired No 27 in 1908 from the family of Florence Rowe, who married the company's founder, Jesse Boot, and added No 23 shortly before the German Occupation.
No 27
Boot and shoe maker D Johnson was trading at this property in 1833. It may then have become a public house, because Edward Evans, who lived there with his wife Sarah in 1851, was described as a 'victualler'. If it was a public house it did not remains for long, because by 1871 widowed Elizabeth Soupre (see No 23 above) was living there with her two youngest daughters, Adeline and Emma, and trading as a grocer.
By 1871 No 27 had been acquired by bookseller and stationer William Henry Rowe, born in Jersey in 1838, and his wife Margaret Agnes, nee Campbell (1831- ). They were living there with their daughters Adelaide, Florence and Amy, and son Willie. In 1886 Florence married Jesse Boot, the founder of the famous chemists chain, and No 27 eventually became part of the four properties which today make up Boots' Queen Street store. In the 1890 British Pressalmanac the premises are listed to Florence and Adelaide, but the following year's census shows that widow Margaret was head of household. Florence was by then living with her husband in England, but in 1895 and 1905 almanacs No 27 is again listed to F and A Rowe. By then a branch of Boots had been established at No 25, and No 27 was acquired for expansion in the 1910s.
No 29
This property was occupied by boot and shoe maker T Higgins in 1833-34 and by tobacconist Henry Ducker (1808- ) and his 7-year-old son William in 1851. Ten years later Richard Turner (1796- ), from England, and his wife Ann (1811- ), born in Wales, were running a grocery. In 1871 the shop again had new occupants, with Giffard Mourant Jarvey, born in Jersey in 1839, and his English wife Louisa, nee Bulgin (1845- ) running a tobacconist and living above with their daughter and two sons. Giffard was the son of James Jarvey and Rachel Johns, and had a younger sister Maria Louisa. The couple's three children are shown in the census as Clarice (7), Gustavus (4) and James (3).
The business is listed in a 1874 trade directory selling tobacco and tea but not long after the family appears to have split up. Louisa appears in the 1881 census running a boarding house in St Saviour's Road. She was still married, but living with only four of the couple's children, the two eldest and two youngest - Clara, Gustavus, Jessie and Montagu. The two middle boys, Francis (9) and Jarvey (8) were at the Jersey Industrial School for Boys at St Martin. There is no sign of Gustavus Giffard in this or subsequent censuses.
In 1884 Louisa emigrated to New South Wales, apparently with all her children except Clara, the eldest. Francis Charles returned to Europe to fight in the Great War and was killed in action in France in 1917.
In 1880 No 29 was occupied by chemist P Laurendeau, who had previously been at No 31. He was followed the next year by another chemist, Toussaint Lajas, born in France in 1853, and living with his wife Marie Morin (1859- ) and mother-in-law Louise (1829- ). From 1886 to 1896 P D Le Brocq is shown running the pharmacy. He was Philip Daniel Le Brocq (1858- ) and at the time of the 1891 census he was living with wife Emma Jane, nee Pike (1860- ) and children Ethel Hester (1883- ), Hereward (1887- ), who does not appear in the parish baptism register, and John Wilfred (1889- ). From then onwards No 29 disappears from census records and commercial listings. According to 21st century records it eventually became part of Boots.
No 31
We have now reached the corner of Queen Street with Bath Street, which in 1833 was occupied by M Burke, boot and shoe maker. Chemist Edmond Claston, born in France in 1805, followed and he was at the premises until 1871, followed in 1874 by P Laurendeau. An advertisement from The Jersey Independent of 1861 suggests that Mr Claston's business was more about wines and spirits than medicines.
In 1851 there were a number of other households at No 31, headed by laundress Louise La Cloche (1818- ), greengrocer Susanne Querais (1781- ), seamstress Mary Ann Hayter (1838- ), professor of languages Leonard Hurel (1811- ), together with his wife Eugenie Baron (1821- ) and daughter Eugenie (1838- ).
The property is also strangely listed again in another St Helier district, which should only cover the properties from the opposite corner of Bath Street to the beginning of La Motte Street - 33, 35 and 37. The listing shows the family of Richard Cornish, a boot and shoe maker born in 1894. Richard, his wife Mary and sons Richard and Joseph were all born in England. Also in their household were butchers John Cory (1831- ) and his wife Ann (1815- ). We think that it is possible that there are mistakes in the censuses, because an 1852 trade directory shows Richard Cornish at No 33, along with cabinet maker Daniel Ferbrache and bookseller John Mist.
By 1880 the corner shop was being run as a grocery by Philip Orviss, living there with his mother, wife Emmeline, her mother, and their children, Philip was the son of William Orviss, who had earlier been in business across the street at No 30. Philip was in competition with his older brother John Walter, who had opened his shop in Beresford Street in 1874. Philip would remain at No 31 until 1890, when A and J Durell were in business there.
They were father John (1829- ) and son Albert (1866- ). By 1891 John had retired and Albert was running the businss. In the 1901 census John's wife Elizabeth (1827- ) and daughter Albina (1859- ) are the only two members of the family living at No 31, with Albina running the grocery business until 1910, when it was taken over by Le Riches Stores, who ran the shop until 1948. They did not own the property, but leased it first from Philip Le Geyt and later from Mrs Winifred Labey.
Le Riches was followed by a branch of Tanguy's dairy in the 1950s, Le Coin Parisien in the '60s and '70s, and then by Dorothy Perkins, which remains there today.
No 33
It is not clear from the 1851 census who was trading at No 33, on the opposite corner of Bath Street. There were several households, including widowed cigar maker Esther O'Keefe, and cabinet maker Daniel Ferbrache.
The 1861 census shows bootmaker Walter Rowland, born in England in 1837, and his Jersey-born wife Eleocadie (Leocadie) (1842- ). She was the daughter of hatter Jean Rousseau, born in France in 1805, and his wife Rachel, nee Godfray (1820- ) who were also living at No 33, together with their other children Eleonore, John and Amorice.
Ten years later the census recorded Jules Lepinay (1842- ), a French hairdresser, his wife Marie (1847- ) and brother Leandre (1861- ). Also at the premises were widow Mary de la Haye (1814- ) and her milliner daughters Sophie and Anne Bree, together with granddaughter Annie Bree; and widowed dressmaker Mary Le Gros (1841- ) and her daughter Jessie (1858- ).
An 1874 commercial directory shows tobacconist W Shave at No 31, followed in a 1880 listing by draper J W Palmer Gordon, and the following year's 1881 census by confectioner William Parsons (1890- ) a widower, living with his son Edmund (1851- ), Edmund's wife Elizabeth (1854- ) and their four-year-old son William.
In 1886 hatter and hosier W J Valpy was trading at the premises, followed in 1887 nby the Banjo Studio, and in 1890 by John Arthur. The following year's census by widowed draper Mary Elizabeth Arthur, nee Bourinot (1841- ), and her children John (1865- ), Mary (1870- ), Florence (1873- ), Mabel (1875- ) and Walter (1878- ). From 1895 to 1920 the business was being run by son John. In the 1930s and '40s the premises were home to Vanns Hairdressing Salon, then Jax in the 1950s, followed by Bellingham's Tours.
No 35
In 1833 the shop at No 35 was run by grocer P Simon. By the time of the 1851 census the occupants were Philip Fauvel (1812- ), a wine and spirit merchant, living there with his wife Elizabeth, nee Le Sauteur (1810- ), both born in St Saviour. Also in the household was Jane's brother Charles (1817- ), a tailor. In 1861 the occupants were grocer Philip de Gruchy, born in Trinity in 1818, and his wife of eight years, Jeanne Susanne, nee Fauvel, with five of their six children. Philip started out as a builder, empoloying eight men in St Saviour. After a spell as a grocer he returned to the building trade as a mason, and was killed in a demolition accident in Rouge Bouillon.
By 1871 the shop had been taken over by Thomas de La Haye, followed in 1874 by tobacconist W Shave and then confectioner William Parsons, who we first encountered at No 31 above, in 1881 through to 1890. The business was then being run by William's daughter-in-law Elizabeth, who had moved to No 37 by 1905, to be followed at No 35 by L J Sohier, C G Le Seelleur, and A G Rive's Bakery, later known as the Sunshine Bakery, and today Bastille Brasserie.
No 37
We are now at the final property on the north side of Queen Street, which next becomes La Motte Street. In 1833 and 34 it was occupied by draper John Marett. He was followed by 1851 by grocer Philip Gosset (1812- ) who employed two men and two boys and lived with his wife Mary Ann, nee Bosdet (1815- ) and her sister Elizabeth (1825- ) both of whom worked in the business, and Philip and Mary Ann's son Philip James (1842- ).
In 1871 the premises were occupied by rope maker Philip Laurens (1810- ), the grandfather of George Deslandes Laurens, who founded G D Laurens further down the street. Philip was living with his wife Elizabeth, nee Mourant (1807- ) and son Frederick (1845- ). In 1881 Philip's widowed son George was head of household at No 37, living with his two sons and five daughters.
The Laurens family were followed by draper John Mallet (1858- ) until 1890, after which the shop was taken over by Mrs Parsons, who had previously been next door at No 35. In 1930 the premises were known as Walls Snow Hill Cafe, then The Buttery in the 1950s, followed by Tennessee Pancake House and now Intersport.
P Moses ran a photography business at No 7 in the 1930s
1886
Vibert and Ahier
Laurens, string and ropes
Laurens, string and ropes
Bowyer, decorator
1857
1905
1886
1905
1857
1857
1855
1857
1859
1860
1855
1862
1862
1861
J A Baker
Creese, 17 Queen Street
1887
1948
1899 Evening Post advert
1899 Evening Post advert
1899 Evening Post advert
1858 advert
1881 advert
1873 advert
1887 advert from L'Almanach de la Gazette de Jersey
1887 advert from L'Almanach de la Gazette de Jersey
Advert from the Nouvelle Chronique in 1896
Advert from the Nouvelle Chronique in 1866
1857
1887
