Rosemary bows out after 60 years' parish service

Dean of the Douzaine Rosemary Henry receives her retirement gift from Senior Constable Richard Leale

After 27 years of dedicated work for the Douzaine, Rosemary Henry has announced her retirement and last week attended her last meeting as Dean of the Douzaine.

Her decision means that she also ceases to be President of the Vale Commons Council, having been a member of that body for nearly 31 years.

Colleagues from both organisations paid tribute to Ms Henry's outstanding devotion to parish affairs, a commitment that runs in the family – her great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas, was the contractor responsible for draining the Braye du Valle in 1806.

Looking back on her long association with the douzaine, Ms Henry said that while the role of douzenier hadn't really changed during that time, its relationship with the States, civil servants and deputies certainly had.

"Back then," she said, "a simple phone call to a civil servant would invariably lead to whatever the problem was being resolved. Now, it's totally different."

Feral
As an example, she recalled the issue over feral chickens at the Vale Castle, which were not only causing a nuisance and attracting rats but were also creating a road safety issue as they ran across the road.

It was a real problem," she said, "but no one was prepared to take it up for the parish or the douzaine. Not the police nor the [then] parish deputies."

As a result, the douzaine took matters into its own hands and Ms Henry's vivid description of how that was achieved had her colleagues in stitches.

Senior Constable Richard Leale paid tribute to Ms Henry for her unstinting support and guidance while on the douzaine and as Dean. Her encylopaedic knowledge of the parish and parochial affairs would be missed and he hoped that they would be able to call on her in the future.

On behalf of colleagues, he presented Ms Henry with an inscribed silver bachin – a traditional Guernsey container for making jam – that had been hand-made by silversmith Bruce Russell as a memento of her time on the douzaine and a token of the parish's gratitude for her services.

Vale Commons Council
Later the same week Vale Commons Council vice president André Quevâtre (pictured) paid tribute to Ms Henry's near-31 years' membership of the council, which is responsible under ancient Ordinances for the management of L'Ancresse Common, the largest area of land available for recreation and open to the public, comprising approximately 740 vergees or more than 300 acres.

He said that her knowledge of the Commons and the way the council and the law worked was unrivalled and he hoped the council could draw on it after her retirement.

Ms Henry said that she would be happy to help as required and acknowledged that much of what made the Commons and the council work wasn't written down and "was in her head", but would happily be made freely available if required!

On behalf of council members and Les Habitànts du Clos du Valle – as people living within the area of Guernsey north of the Braye du Valle are known – Mr Quevâtre presented Ms Henry with a particularly appropriate gift – a silver loophole tower modelled on those on the Common and which is used in the VCC's official logo.

That, too, was hand-made by Bruce Russell and over the years Ms Henry has collected particular Guernsey items from the master silversmith.

As colleagues from the two organisations said farewell to Ms Henry, they all agreed – she will be a hard act to follow.

• More on the Henry family's involvement with the parish can be found here – https://valeparish.gg/news/historic-vale-sword-shown-to-lt-governor/