Vale Church, Guernsey, United Kingdom

Vale Church is one of Guernsey"s most ancient churches and a former priory. Somewhere around A.D. 968, monks, from the Benedictine monastery of Mont Saint-Michel, came to Guernsey to establish a community in the North of the Island. This area of Guernsey would form a separate island at high tide, and continued to do so until 1806. The last remaining stonework is a piece of buttressed wall to the South of the church, by the roadside. The church was consecrated in 1117. However it is thought that the chancel and parts of the choir date to 1155 when a papal document listed the church as part of its assets. The priory fell into disuse about 1414 but the church continued to be used as a parish church. In 1585 a French Protestant priest was appointed and remained Calvinist until 1662 when an Anglican was appointed.

On the granite arch above the pulpit is the carving of a spaniel"s head - probably a mason"s mark, and of the same design as one at the Town Church. In 1949 an Early Christian monument was unearthed outside the West door of the church. This stone dates from the 7th or 8th century. It is now situated outside the Baptistry, resting against the wall. This stone points to the presence of a Christian community on this site, somewhere about AD 600. It is possible that there was a Christian community in the Vale at an even earlier date.

References:

User Reviews

janine wilson (3 years ago)
Stunning church in the very beautiful L'islet. A balm for the soul.

Chris (5 years ago)
Lovely old church worth a visit and a look around the church and grave yard if that's your thing.

Donny Brock (5 years ago)
I live here its nice

Jo Gib (6 years ago)
Beautiful church with an enigmatic stone dragon outside the door! A stone formation looks like a dragon from south side. Obviously an ancient sacred place long before the church. But still a well-loved place. The church has lots of history and unusual stained glass and there are lovely crafted items on sale.

Aussie Tim (6 years ago)
I don't attend here, but: A beautiful piece of traditional architecture, I was christened (dedicated to God) here as a baby, I played in the church yard as a child, my grandparents have memorials here and my home is nearby... Love the ringing of the bells!!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Infomastern

Historic Site of the week

Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

Vale Church

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Visby Cathedral