................................ Privacy statement ................................ Site map ................................ Contact us ................................ Links ................................
chapels and pilgrims
La Hougue Bie seems to have been recognised as a pagan site from early times and was christianised, as many sites are, by the building of an early medieval chapel on its summit. The chapel of Notre Dame de la Clarté was built in the twelfth century, possibly replacing an older wooden structure. The chapel remained in use for about four centuries and then in 1520, the Jerusalem chapel and crypt were built by Richard Mabon, the Dean of Jersey. According to tradition Dean Mabon made money from pilgrims by staging fake miracles in the chapel and crypt! The two archangels painted on the ceiling were added shortly after the chapel was built.
The chapels were abandoned around the Protestant Reformation and later fell into ruin. They were extensively rebuilt in 1925 and reconsecrated in 1931. Today they are the setting for a number of services and an annual pilgrimage.
La Hougue Bie seems to have been recognised as a pagan site from early times and was christianised, as many sites are, by the building of an early medieval chapel on its summit. The chapel of Notre Dame de la Clarté was built in the twelfth century, possibly replacing an older wooden structure. The chapel remained in use for about four centuries and then in 1520, the Jerusalem chapel and crypt were built by Richard Mabon, the Dean of Jersey. According to tradition Dean Mabon made money from pilgrims by staging fake miracles in the chapel and crypt! The two archangels painted on the ceiling were added shortly after the chapel was built.