Current Project: On the trail of William Le Lacheur

William Le Lacheur is perhaps not as well known in Guernsey as some other famous Guernsey people, but deserves a place near the top of Guernsey’s ‘Hall of Fame’. The Star newspaper, in its obituary in 1863 said:

“Guernsey never gave birth to a man of whom the island had more cause to be proud or who has deserved to be more lamented than him whose decease we record. By his industry and intelligence and his Christian virtues he entitled himself to the highest esteem which society can confer.”

He is regarded as a national hero in the Central American country of Costa Rica where he established the coffee trade with London and transformed the economic position of the nation. He has appeared on banknotes and stamps there in both the 19^th and 20^th centuries. There is now a blue plaque at his home in the Forest, a recent commemorative plaque at St Katharine Docks, and a plaque at the Church of the Good Shepherd, San Jose, but more needs to be done to look after his legacy. The Guernsey Society is on the trail, with some further work still required!

Those of you who can recall the Summer 2023 edition of The Review will remember an article about a Guernsey Society visit to St Katharine Docks, and my own visit two days before this to the Costa Rican embassy to meet the ambassador, Mr Rafael Ortiz Fabrega, and to find the Le Lacheur plaque, then on the embassy wall. The plaque states:

“We commemorate 200 years of democracy of Costa Rica at the St Katharine Docks, the place that opened the doors to the European Continent to our golden bean, thanks to the Captain William Le Lacheur, born on the Island of Guernsey. This act marked the beginnings of our commercial relations with the world.”

The plaque was due to be put up at the Docks in 2020, but was delayed first by Covid, and then by a change of Docks ownership. So it took until 15^th September 2024, on the Costa Rican National Day, to finally have the ceremony there. The plaque unveiling was organised by the Costa Rican Embassy, with invitees from both Guernsey and Costa Rica, including Le Lacheur descendants. William’s son, John, was established as a permanent representative in Costa Rica is 1861, and his descendants still live there. It was a splendid day, with speeches by the ambassador and others, followed by the official unveiling and then displays by a Costa Rican dancing group.

Painting of William Le Lacheur and Guernsey plaque.

London Highgate Cemetery

In July, the Guernsey Society had made a visit to Highgate Cemetery where William Le Lacheur is buried. During the visit we were told the general location of William Le Lacheur’s grave, but despite searching the area, we did not find it. On payment of £40 to the cemetery, one can obtain an exact location, and the offer of a cemetery official to take you to the grave.

The Society paid the fee and invited the Costa Rican ambassador to join myself and my wife on an October cemetery visit. We were greeted by Nick Powell, the duty manager, who explained that the staff there had done quite a lot of work on the undergrowth to cut a path through to the grave, and that the gravestone had broken off from the grave and fallen down the steep bank behind. It was not surprising that we hadn’t found it on our previous visit!

William Le Lacheur is buried in the older West Cemetery at Highgate, quite close to Charles Dickens’ parents, and to the famous scientist Michael Faraday. He is in an unconsecrated section of the cemetery, ground which was kept for ‘the Christian burial of non-Anglicans.’ William worshipped in Guernsey at Eldad Elim Pentecostal Church.

The visit of a master mason to the grave declared it to be unsafe, and in danger of crashing down onto the road below. Only a tree that has grown up over recent years has stopped it falling down the bank. So the gravestone has now been secured with ropes and straps. At the time of writing we are now in contact with a specialist company who will carry out the challenging job of recovering the Le Lacheur headstone, before refurbishment can happen. It is likely that a crane will be needed to reach and lift the stone, with the removal of several trees and the closure of a road through the cemetery while this happens.

We await details of the costs of this project and will work with the Costa Rican ambassador and with supporters in Guernsey to raise the funds for the refurbishment, so look out for the appeal which will start as soon as we know the amount needing to be raised.

Photograph of William Le Lacheurs Gravstone Dec 2021. Image taken by Simon Edwards Esq

A further challenge had to be overcome. No significant work on, or alteration to, a gravestone can be made without the permission of the grave owner, and the most recent entry at Highgate Cemetery recording the owner was made in 1908. However as we have stated that our only objective is refurbishment rather than alteration, Highgate have agreed that we can go ahead without the express agreement of an owner, whoever that might currently be.

Costa Rica

In February this year, a holiday in the marvellous country that is Costa Rica, enabled me to track down the plaque to William Le Lacheur at the Church of the Good Shepherd in San Jose. This was more challenging than expected as there are several ‘Churches of the Good Shepherd’ in San Jose, and also a cathedral of the same name. However we found the location and were made most welcome by the caretaker and her daughter. The memorial to William Le Lacheur commemorates the founding of the Protestant religion in Costa Rica, a predominantly Catholic country, and interestingly is written in English (see photo).

Another initiative that has started is to make a film, ‘Black Gold’, about William Le Lacheur, his relationship with the then president of Costa Rica, and the establishment of the coffee exports to London. This would be a UK (and Guernsey) – Costa Rica co-production, and Deepak Sikka whose credits include ‘The King’s Speech’ and ‘First Reformed’ has been engaged to co-produce the film together with San Jose-based producer Esteban Quesada who worked on the production of the first ‘Paddington Bear’ movie when it shot in Costa Rica. It would be great if this film could be brought to fruition.

More information on these various Le Lacheur projects in the next Review!