St. Michel du Valle is the parish church of Vale, Guernsey.
Early history of the Church In January 1949 an Early Christian monument was unearthed outside the West door of the church. This stone dates from the 7th or 8th century. It is now situated outside the Baptistry, resting against the wall. This stone points to the presence of a Christian community on this site, somewhere about A.D.600. It is possible that there was a Christian community in the Vale at an even earlier date. A chapel, dedicated to St Magloire, stood in the Vale. St Magloire was a nephew of St Samson of Dol, and was born about the year 535. The chapel in his name was mentioned in a bull of Pope Adrian IV as being in the patronage of Mont Saint-Michel, in Normandy; all traces of the chapel have gone. While the chapel would probably be of a much later date, St Magloire, the British missionary, may well have set up a centre of Christian worship before A.D. 600.
The Priory Somewhere around A.D. 968, monks, from the Benedictine monastery of Mont Saint-Michel, came to Guernsey to establish a community in the North of the Island. It is likely that at one time a land bridge connected the two sections next to the Vale church, before the sea broke through. In 1204 it is reported that the Royal Court of Guernsey visited the Braye du Valle to replace boundary markers that had been washed away. This area of Guernsey would form a separate island at high tide, and continued to do so until 1806. The Priory of Mont Saint-Michel was a dependency of the famous Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel. The last remaining stonework is a piece of buttressed wall to the South of the church, by the roadside. According to tradition, Robert II, Duke of Normandy (the father of William the Conqueror) was journeying to England in 1032, to help Edward the Confessor. He was obliged to take shelter in Guernsey and gave land, now known as the Clos du Valle, to the monks. Furthermore, in 1061, when pirates attacked and pillaged the Island, a complaint was made to Duke William. He sent over Sampson D'Anneville, who succeeded, with the aid of the monks, in driving the pirates out. For this service, Sampson D' Anneville and the monks were rewarded with a grant of half the Island between them. The portion going to the monastery being known as Le Fief St Michel, and included the parishes of St Saviour, St Pierre du Bois, Ste. Marie du Catel, and the Vale. The castle of Saint Michael or as it is now called "Vale Castle" was constructed to protect the population against pirates by providing a safe refuge. In 1117 there was a large ceremony to celebrate the finalisation of major works. The Priory had the largest feudal court of all the Seigneuries, consisting of a Seneschal, eleven Vavasseurs, a Greffier (registrar), six Bordiers, and a Batonnier (wand-bearer). The official Seal of the Fief represented the Archangel Michael trampling Satan underfoot. The Court of the Priory was only second to the Royal Court of Guernsey in importance, and retained its jurisdiction until 1862. Although the Priors lived alongside the church there is nothing to show whether they themselves ministered to the spiritual needs of the parishioners, or whether they appointed Vicars. In 1249, Henry, Canon of Blanchelande, was collated to the Vale Church by special dispensation, as they could not find a secular priests to accept the charge. This would imply that secular priests usually fulfilled this duty. After 1312, the then Prior of the Vale, Guillaume Le Fievre, became Abbot of Mont Saint-Michel, in Normandy. The Priory was still functioning in 1478, though no longer under the Benedictine Order, and a Franciscan friar was appointed by Edward IV.
The parish church The site of the church makes it a landmark for seafarers, and from many points in the North of the Island one can glimpse this building. Prior to 1806 the church was reached by boat at high tide, the Braye du Valle being navigable for small craft. The present church, built alongside the Priory, was dedicated in 1117, and belongs to the parish. The Priory fell into disuse about 1414, some of its timbers being used to repair Castle Cornet. The church bears traces of monastic work in its architecture, the mouldings and capitals. Another feature of the monastic influence is the irregularity of the layout. No angles are square, no walls are parallel, and the main axis of the Chancel is out of line with the main axis of the Nave. This deviation is well-known, being attributed to a desire to recall the tortured body of Jesus on the cross. On the South wall, near the Chancel, is a piscina, one of four in the building. On the granite arch above the pulpit is the carving of a spaniel's head - probably a mason's mark, and of the same design as one at the Town Church. The masonry of the windows on the North side, like the doorways at the West, forms curious hood moulds, to be seen from the outside of the buildings. In 1555, Thomas de Beaugy, previously Priest of Lihou, was in possession of the living of the Vale; he was the last Roman Catholic Curé on the Island and was present at the Court of Chief Pleas in 1572. In 1585, a Protestant minister from France was appointed. In 1607, the Pastor of St Sampson took charge of both parishes, and from this time the parishes continued to be united under the care of the same Minister, whose official title was Rector of S. Sampson's and Vicar of the Vale.
In 1859, the Crown ordered that the two parishes be held separately. The Rev. Thomas Bell, M.A., who had been a Curate of the Vale, became Rector (1853–1914). The mosaic reredos was erected in 1904 by the parishioners as a mark of esteem for Thomas Bell's 50th year in the parish;he added another 10 years. Some of the services of the church were in the French language until the 1920s. The parishes in Guernsey were part of the Diocese of Coutances, Normandy, until the latter part of the 15th century, and were then transferred to the Diocese of Salisbury, and then to the Diocese of Winchester soon afterwards, where they remain. At the end of the last century, a Mission Church was provided for the parish, and in 1923a Church Hall.
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