Government House set for £130k revamp

Wednesday 07 August 2019

Government House – home to the Lieutenant-Governor and his wife - is set to undergo a £130,000 refurb, including the redecoration of the function rooms, new carpets and energy-saving lighting.

The works are being planned for 2022 between the end of His Excellency Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton’s five-year term, and the beginning of his successor’s.

In an appendix to the Government Plan, which will be voted on by politicians in November, it is noted that necessary maintenance and refurbishment needs to be carried out to maintain Government House’s “facilities, event rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and offices” to an appropriate quality and standard.

In addition, the Lieutenant-Governor – whose role is described as a leading one in Jersey’s community - needs “an appropriate residence to host formal, civic and charitable events often including hosting up to 250 Island residents and formal visitors.”

Pictured: Government House is home to His Excellency Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton and Lady Dalton. 

An average of 3,000 visitors are hosted at Government House every year, although the number is said to sometimes go up to 5,000. Visitors include members of the Royal Family, Heads of State, Ambassadors, Ministers of State, foreign dignitaries and thousands of islanders.

The Government is planning to spend £70,000 on redecorating the main function areas, as well as some, but not all, bedrooms. £35,000 will be spent on new carpet for the main areas – including the stairs, corridors and landings where the carpet was last changed 15 years ago – as well as the dining room and Millais Suite. 

As part of the works, worn brassware, radiator fixings, fan motors and pumps will also be replaced, and, where possible, energy-saving lighting will be put in, at a cost of £10,000. Fixtures and fittings will cost an additional £10,000 and the government has set aside an extra £5,000 in case problems arise during the renovation. 

The expenses have been planned as part of the Government Plan because the budget of the Office of the Lieutenant-Governor (OLG) will not be enough to fund the overhaul.

“Such significant work is most cost effectively completed during the Interregnum – an additional budget of £130,000 in 2022 is requested to undertake these works,” the government said. 

Pictured: His Excellency Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton’s five-year term will come to an end in 2022.

The Rector of St Saviour’s Church, Reverend Philip Le Breton bought the land on which Government House is built, on St. Saviour’s Hill, in 1803 and built a house on the site. 

In 1814, Francis Janvrin, a prosperous ship owner, bought the property from the Rector and demolished it to build the present Government House, which was then called Belmont.

In 1822, the Lieutenant-Governor Major General Sir Colin Halkett, unhappy with his house in King Street – where the New Look shop (previously Woolworths) stands today – acquired the house. 

He thought that the Lieutenant-Governor “would at Belmont possess the desirable opportunity of seeing together, without apparent partiality, such of the inhabitants, and strangers, as naturally expected to be invited to Government House”.

During World War II, the house was occupied by the Germans, and General von Schmettow lived there as Kommandant.

The butler and his wife remained and it was largely due to them that the property remained intact.

Today, Government House remains the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor and his wife. The last time The Queen stayed was in 2005 for the 60th Anniversary of Jersey's Liberation.

States Members will decide whether to approve the plans in November when they vote on the whole Government Plan.