The original 1840 covenant made by James Janvrin restricted the building’s use to educating the poor, providing education for children of primary school age and providing religious education for children up to the age of six.
The second condition, which was added at the request of Sir Jesse Boot, of Boots the Chemist, in 1926, ensured that a new part of the school would also be covered by the same conditions.
When the building was given to the people of Jersey in 1964 the covenants were still attached – and they have stood ever since, however, in the intervening years the premises have been used for other purposes, including a youth centre. Earlier this year the building was chosen as the preferred site for a States office block that, if the project goes ahead, would bring hundreds of civil servants together under one roof.
