Samarès Manor

Samarès Manor sits on low ground east of St Helier, a fief with a documented line back to the eleventh century, and its gardens were laid out in the 1920s by a shipping magnate who spent heavily on them: a Japanese garden with a lake and bridges, a walled kitchen garden, and a herb garden that is the largest of its kind in the island. The manor house itself is open on guided tours, and a Norman crypt survives in the grounds.

History

The oldest part of the house is an undercroft beneath the west wing, thought to be a crypt dedicated to Saint Martha, of the 11th or 12th century; the building that probably stood above it, perhaps a chapel, is gone, and the manor is an H-plan house with Tudor arched windows (Wikipedia, Samarès Manor).

What you'll find

• The Japanese garden - the 1920s water garden with its lake and bridges.
• The herb garden - the island's largest planting of its kind.
• The manor house - the building shown on guided tours.
• The Norman crypt - the medieval survival in the grounds.

When to go

April to September is the open season with the gardens at their best. House tours run at set times. It closes for the winter.

Things to know

The manor house is open only on guided tours at set times. It closes entirely in winter. The gardens are the substance; the house is brief.

Nearby

Havre des Pas is west, and St Helier is beyond it.

Key facts