St. Matthew's Parish Church
Cobo, Guernsey

The Little Church with a Fascinating Story

19th century images of St Matthews and Le Guet

 

The images that follow were taken by Francis Guilbert (12 Jul 1876 - 17 Aug 1898) of 'Les Corneilles'.

They were taken on glass negatives.

Click on images for large size.

 

 

This is the interior of the Church taken about the mid 1890s and clearly shows appearance of the church at that time. Of particular note are the texts which can be made out. It appears that the upper text was on a red background. The original lighting, clusters of three oil lamps can also be seen, as can the 'American' harmonium at the front right. This was used till the secondhand pipe organ was installed in about 1909.

 

This is a photograph of the back of the church, showing the font decorated - presumably for Easter and shows the original seating at the rear of the church.

 

 

This image is from the bottom of 'Le Guet' and near the top of the present steps that lead from the Guet down to the road. It was taken about 1896 and shows the original configuration of the area before the road was re-routed in 1940 - 45.

 

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