Monument’s Message
On the West coast of Sark, surrounded by heather and gorse, stands a solitary structure overlooking Havre Gosselin. This is the Pilcher's Monument, an obelisk of Guernsey granite that serves as a beautiful and haunting reminder of a stormy evening in October 1868 when five men tragically lost their lives at sea after making a fatefully bad decision.
This is the story of that tragic night, the hubris of ignoring local knowledge and the grieving widow who etched her heartbreak and a warning into the island’s stone over 150 years ago.
In the late 1860s, Sark was undergoing a massive maritime upgrade. Workers were actively constructing a new breakwater at Creux Harbour to better protect local vessels from the volatile waters of the English Channel.
The engineer in charge of this project was a man named Agnew Giffard. Although Giffard didn't live on Sark he made monthly trips from Guernsey to inspect the project’s progress. On the morning of October 19, 1868, Giffard arrived by an 18-foot (5.5-meter) gig, landing as he often did at Havre Gosselin.
By the time evening approached, Giffard had urgent business back in Guernsey and was determined to return home that night. He gathered a small party of men to join him on the rowboat back across the Big Roussel. Accompanying Agnew were:
Walter Giffard: Agnew’s brother.
Mansell Renouf: The newly appointed Creux Harbour breakwater lighthouse keeper.
Dr. Charles Gatehouse: A medical officer who was en route to Alderney.
Jeremiah Giles Pilcher: A wealthy oil merchant visiting from London.
As the men prepared to push their fragile gig back out into the waves, local boatmen stepped forward with grave warnings. They pointed to the sky and the water, cautioning that the weather was rapidly deteriorating and the tidal currents were turning treacherous. They strongly advised Giffard and his crew to stay on Sark overnight and wait for morning light.
Pressed by urgency, the men brushed the warnings aside, trusting in their own resolve against the elements, and rowed out into the gathering gloom. Sadly, they were never seen alive again.
The gig never reached Guernsey. It was violently overwhelmed by the sea and the wreckage of the small boat was later discovered washed up seven miles away near Diélette on the Normandy coast of France. The physical toll of the tragedy was scattered across the ocean:
Agnew Giffard’s body washed ashore right where the journey began, in Havre Gosselin.
Walter Giffard’s body was discovered inside a small cave at L'Eperquerie.
Mansell Renouf's body was found two weeks later in the Gouliot Caves.
Jeremiah Giles Pilcher's body drifted much further, coming ashore two months later at Niton on the Isle of Wight.
Dr. Charles Gatehouse’s body was lost to sea and never recovered.
The incident shocked the tightly-knit maritime communities of the Channel Islands and news spread fast among the circles of London's high society, to which Pilcher belonged.
Years after the disaster, Jeremiah Giles Pilcher’s widow, Ana Clarissa, commissioned Henrys Monumental Masons to erect a permanent memorial. Carved from sturdy Guernsey granite, Pilcher Monument was built on the cliffs directly above the bay where the men last set foot on land.
The monument serves as both a memorial for the deceased and stark warning intended to prevent future tragedy. The full inscription reads:
"In memory of Jeremiah Giles Pilcher Esq., J.P. D.L. Merchant of London, Agnew Giffard Esq. C. E. Walter J Giffard his brother, Dr C. S. Gatehouse and Mansell Renouf boatman who embarked in a sailing gig from the bay below this spot at 5pm on the 19th October 1868 and were all lost during a squall of wind which shortly afterwards arose, with heavy rain and thick darkness.
'Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of the waterspouts. All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.' Psalm XLII V. 7.
To the praise of Almighty God who tempereth his judgement with mercy and in humble submission to His holy will. This stone of remembrance is erected by the widow and children of the late Jeremiah Giles Pilcher, to mark their tender love for so excellent a husband and father and their deep and bitter sorrow for his loss, also to urge upon others, through the grace and mercy of God our saviour CAUTION AND WARNING.
'Thy way is in the sea and Thy paths in the great waters and thy footsteps are not known.' Psalm LXXVLI V. 19.
This stone of remembrance was restored in 1968 by Beatrice Haigh Born 17th April 1890 died 14th March 1973 granddaughter of Jeremiah Pilcher she is remembered with affection by her cousins Nadine Bonsor, Alexandre Meynell and their mother Nadine Killearn nee Pilcher."
Today, Pilcher Monument remains one of Sark's most poignant historical sites. It is undeniably a special spot, much loved for taking in the sunset and appreciating the panoramic sea views.
On windy or stormy days, looking down into the churning, emerald waters around the rocks of Havre Gosselin, it is easy to see how the ocean could swallow a small boat so wholly and completely. The message that Pilcher’s Monument teaches us is a simple, universal truth: never underestimate the power of the ocean and never ignore local knowledge.
