A PORTRAIT of Howard Davis, son of businessman and philanthropist T B Davis, will be returned to Howard Davis Hall following a campaign by Islanders and a months-long investigation by the JEP.
Jersey Heritage confirmed that the painting of Howard Davis, who was killed during the Battle of the Somme in the First World War, will be restored and returned to the hall in April, over two years since it was removed and the building closed to the public by the government.
The closure of Howard Davis Hall following a £750,000 restoration project defied the express wishes of benefactor T B Davis, who gifted the land that became Howard Davis Park – as well as the hall – to the public of the Island in perpetuity in memory of his late son.
Speaking at the opening of the park in 1939, T B Davis said: “The little hall on the left of the entrance will be kept for all time with our son’s picture, which is to be installed there.”
Speaking to this newspaper in December, the last surviving direct descendant of T B Davis, Aylwen Lyddell, said her great-grandfather would be “turning in his grave”.
She demanded that the hall be reopened to the public and that the portrait – and other memorabilia – be returned for Islanders to enjoy, as her great-grandfather had intended.
“It must go back to the Islanders of Jersey. It belongs to them and nobody else.”
It subsequently emerged that the government handed the management of the hall to a private company for use as a high-end wedding and events venue. The government has repeatedly refused to disclose the details of the deal and how much money was made, if any, to the JEP.
Multiple freedom of information requests have been rejected on grounds of commercial sensitivity, and the company that was given the hall, Ghost Kitchen, has not responded to requests for comment. Over the course of two years the hall was open to the public for just 11 days.
Its closure prompted a campaign by Islanders that included protests at the site and calls for the government to return not just the portrait but other memorabilia that were removed in 2022.
Sue Hardy, who has led the campaign, said: “Jersey Heritage accept that the restoration of Howard’s portrait and historical interpretation is their role and it will be replaced in the hall together with other family pictures and the original furnishings.
“The portrait is in safe storage with us and is going to be restored,” a spokesperson for Jersey Heritage told the JEP. “We have engaged local art conservator Susie Pinel to carry out the work, which is due to start mid-March and will take three weeks to complete.”
But while the restoration of the portrait will be welcomed by both T B Davis’s surviving family and those who have fought for its return to the hall, there is still no clarity from the government on whether the building will be reopened to the public in line with his wishes.
In January, responsibility for the building was handed to the Infrastructure Department from the Office of the Superintendent Registrar. Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan did not respond to requests for comment by the JEP.
In a letter to the JEP, published below, Ms Hardy argues that Howard Davis Hall should not have been used for commercial gain and should be reopened to the public immediately.
“I have repeatedly asked that the hall be returned to the simple state of acting as a park shelter, a place of reflection,” she said.
“Any notion of using the premises for financial gain should be abandoned. The park and hall is not an asset of the States – it is different, it belongs to the park, given to the people in memory of a much-loved son.
“It was not provided as a source of income to prop up the finances of States departments whose duty it is to care for the gifts so generously bestowed and which by today’s values must be worth many millions of pounds.
“Any events held for the benefit of the general public must be without any admission charge.”
