La Gran'mere du Chimquiere

La Gran'mere du Chimquiere, the grandmother of the cemetery, stands in the gateway of St Martin's churchyard: a granite statue menhir carved with a face, shoulders and breasts, made perhaps four thousand years ago and recarved in the Gallo-Roman period. She was broken in two by a churchwarden and put back together. Islanders still leave coins and flowers on her head, which is the point. She is one of two such figures on the island, the other standing at Castel church, and both were most likely moved to their churchyards to bring older sites under the new religion.

What you actually see

• The carved figure - face, shoulders and breasts cut into the granite.
• The two carving periods - prehistoric work reworked in Gallo-Roman times.
• The break line - the repair where a churchwarden split her in two.
• The offerings - coins and flowers still left on her head.

When to go

Year round; she stands in an open gateway. Offerings appear at any time. The churchyard is quiet outside service times.

Honest expectations

It is a single stone in a gateway and the visit takes minutes. There is no interpretation beyond a small sign. Parking around the church is limited.

Nearby

Sausmarez Manor is nearby, and Moulin Huet is south.