Peter de Havilland
Sir Peter de Havilland (1747–1821), was Bailiff of Guernsey from 1810 to 1821.
Peter De Havilland was born 27 October 1747 at St Peter Port in the Channel Island of Guernsey, the son and thirteenth child of John de Havilland (1706-1770) who was elected a Jurat of Guernsey in 1729 and Mary Dobrée, daughter of Peter Dobrée.
The De Havilland family had been in the island since at least the 13th century having probably arrived from Valognes in Normandy. The family has a coat of arms dating from 1623.
The Dobrée family were a wealthy Guernsey family. However, Peter Dobrée had moved for business reasons to London and it was in Clapham in 1728 that John de Havilland married Mary Dobrée.
Early life
John and Mary de Havilland lived in a house called La Bataille, which no longer exists, and between them had thirteen children, eight of which survived to adulthood. Catherine, Mary, John, James, Martha, Eliza, Martin and Peter.[1]:3
The daily family language was French, with English and Guernsey French being learned by the children. His sister Catherine married when he was just one year old and his mother died in 1763 when he was sixteen.[1]:4
Adult life
At the age of seventeen, Peter de Havilland was sent to Cette in France on the Mediterranean coast, an important port for the wine trade, working with Marc Fraissinet, a local merchant with contracts to supply wines to the Dobrée and De Havilland families, to learn the trade, returning to Guernsey after three years.[1]:5
Deciding to train in law, a small profession at that time, with less than ten Advocates in Guernsey, he spent a year as an observer in the Royal Court which was in La Plaiderie, St Peter Port, before being sworn in as an Advocate in 1770, at the age of twenty three, having not studied French or Norman Law at a University in France, as was normal at the time, before setting up his legal business in Guernsey.[1]:6
First marriage
Peter de Havilland married Carterette Fiott, daughter of Reverend Thomas Fiott and Mary Le Marchant in 1771, bearing him children in 1772, 1773 and 1776,[1]:7–9 other children born in 1781 and 1784 died very young, however two others born in 1786 and 1789 survived.
There was ill will between De Havilland and a number of families in Guernsey related to the then Bailiff, William Le Marchant during the 1770s resulting in a challenge to a duel, which did not take place, an exchange of public pamphlets and the resignation of de Havilland as an Advocate in 1777.[1]:22
Privateers
De Havilland invested in several privateers during the Anglo-French War (1778–1783), receiving £95 in 1778 and £173 in 1779 from a £50 investment in the Swallow whilst he was living in Exeter. Returning to Guernsey in 1781 he bought and renovated a house in the Rohais.[1]:30 His wife died in 1789.
In 1785 he was elected a Jurat and within three years was at loggerheads with the Bailiff again, resulting in a number of complaints being sent to the Privy Council concerning the behavior of the Bailiff. A legal case by De Havilland against the Bailiff was refused leave to be heard by the Court time and again, with events becoming very aggressive, on one occasion the Bailiff drawing a knife and threatening a court official and threatening to shoot another. On another occasion the Bailiff locked the Court building so the case could not be heard, the Jurats broke in, held the hearing, which was unopposed and awarded De Havilland damages of £1,000. The Bailiff, William Le Marchant, refused to pay, was fined £300 for assaulting a Court official and sentenced to 15 days prison.[1]:50
In 1795 De Havilland was appointed superintendent of signals, made responsible for the thirteen newly built signal masts around the island, installed to give warning of approaching ships.[1]:45
Investing in land, near the Grange, he set out streets, naming them Havilland Street and Allez Street, selling off plots to builders from 1796 to construct houses. This was followed with Sausmarez Street, Union Street, and St John Street.[2]
Second marriage
Peter de Havilland married his second wife, Emilia Tupper in 1796, who came from a wealthy family, agreeing that if he pre-deceased her, she would not claim the widows’ portion of his estate.[1]:61 His standing in Guernsey continued to rise and he moved into a new house in Sausmarez Street.
William Le Marchant having resigned as Bailiff in 1800, arranged for Robert Le Marchant, his son, to be appointed in his stead, however Robert fell ill in 1806 but it was 1810 before he resigned and Peter De Havilland was appointed Bailiff.[1]:84
Actions as Bailiff
A proposal from the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey, Maj-Gen. Sir, John Doyle to construct two military roads to Rocquaine and Vazon was presented by De Havilland to the States of Guernsey, this was the start of several major road improvements in the Island.
A personal claim against Durell Jeremie in 1803 over rent due to be paid as ‘’’quarters of wheat’’’, whereby De Havilland insisted on being paid in Guernsey produced wheat was eventually resolved in 1814 when the Privy Council decided it was not bound to be "Guernsey" wheat,[3]:475 as Guernsey did not produce enough wheat to pay all the annual Guernsey rents due to be paid in wheat.
De Havilland was not happy, the pay of a Bailiff had not increased since 1331, being set at 30 Livre tournois per annum (around £2) and in 1812 petitioned the Prince of Wales, who was Regent, comparing the annual fee of £300 paid to the Bailiff of Jersey as being comparable. In 1813 the Privy Council agreed to the pay rise, also giving increases to the court officials,[1]:94 but faced opposition in Guernsey who considered the post an honorary one. The £300 was paid from 1815.
In 1814 on De Havilland's recommendation, the Privy Council gave permission for a duty (Impôt) to be levied on alcohol, to fund Island improvements, again facing opposition from local business people.[1]:101
In 1817 Peter De Havilland was knighted by the Prince Regent,[1]:112 for services to Guernsey and supporting the provision of improved military roads. Sir Peter died in April 1821, aged 73.
Family
Peter de Havilland's great, great, granddaughter was Olivia de Havilland, who in 1966 played Lady de Havilland in a re-enactment in Guernsey of La Chevauchée de St Michel to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Norman Conquest.
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland better known as Joan Fontaine was also a great, great, granddaughter.
A great, great, grandson was Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer. His Mosquito has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built,[4] and his Comet was the first jet airliner to go into production.
Sir Anthony de Havilland (DeHavilland) property and investment entrepreneur is a direct descendent of James de Havilland
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Hocart, Richard (1977). Peter de Havilland: Bailiff of Guernsey : a history of his life, 1747-1821. Société Guernesiaise.
- ↑ "Lot 155". Bonhams.
- ↑ Duncan, Jonathan. The History of Guernsey: With Occasional Notices of Jersey, Alderney, and Sark, and Biographical Sketches. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1841.
- ↑ Davenport-Hines, Richard. "Havilland, Sir Geoffrey de (1882–1965)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford University.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Porrett Le Marchant |
Bailiff of Guernsey 1810 – 1821 |
Succeeded by Daniel de Lisle Brock |