Hand-crafted in the beautiful harbour village of St Aubin in the island of Jersey.  This framed piece is from the Jersey collection and is made from silver-finish metal with enamel and acrylic. It is framed in a silver-finish wooden frame. The framed piece measures 17.3cm x 17.3cm. There are several variations of this piece.

This piece was inspired by the Sacred Heart Catholic Church on the seafront in St Aubin.

The Church of the Sacred Heart is situated in the village of St Aubin. It was designed by Julien Barbier of Paris, the foundation stone having been laid by Bishop Cotter in 1936.

Although building work began in 1937, the outbreak of war meant that completion was delayed. It was not until 8 June 1947 that the church was finally opened and blessed by Bishop John Henry King.

A distinguishing external feature is the granite anchor. When you leave the church, cross the road and look up at the front of the building, half way between the main door and the belfry you will see integrated into the stonework a ship's anchor, which is set into the masonry in granite of a slightly different hue. This feature did not appear on the architect’s plans or drawings. The anchor was put there by Joe Le Guyadier, a Brittany born French Catholic, who, in his early twenties, came to Jersey where he married and raised a family. When work on the building of the Sacred Heart Church began, prior to the beginning of the Second World War, Joe Le Guyadier was employed as one of the stonemasons on the project.

While working on the church, perched on scaffolding on 18 December 1939, Joe heard the news of a major British Naval victory off Montevideo in South America, in which the German Navy had been forced to scuttle Hitler's pocket battleship Graf Spee, and he decided to do something to celebrate the victory. It was with this in mind that he incorporated the anchor into the stonework on the front of the church, but kept it a secret, which was revealed only after his death in 1956, when his family decided to tell this amazing story.

You may also be interested to know that some years after he carved the anchor, Joe Le Guyadier masoned into the flagstones of the Royal Square in St Helier, the famous Churchillian 'V-sign 1945' while working under the noses of the occupying forces. Of course, if he had been discovered, it would have meant severe punishment for him. Look for this example of his craftsmanship when next you pass through the square.

For more information about the Sacred Heart Church and the Catholic Church in Jersey, click here.

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