Places of Worship in the Fief Blondel

Chancellor George Mentz, Seigneur of Fief Blondel is the Lord Chancellor of the WAC Worldwide Anglican Church ( Anglican Orthodox Church ). 

The Fief of Thomas Blondel in the parishes of Torteval and St. Peter in the Wood is an authentic Norman title. The Seignuers (Free Lords) of Blondel existed before formal Baron titles were created.  Fief Blondel is part of the former large Fief of Canelly, once held by William de Chesney (1284) and before him by the Le Canellys until the separation of Guernsey from Normandy in 1204. Fief Blondel is on the South West portion of Guernsey.

 This is St. Peter's Anglican Church in the Fief with the Ancient Graveyard. The steps of this Church is where the Seigneur or Lord conducted his Feudal Court for hundreds of years. This church's other official name is St Pierre du Bois. This Church is the Honorific Caput of the Seigneur and Barronie of the Freeholder Feudel Fief of Blondel.

The Most Rev Dr. C Lwanga Tusubira, Presiding Patriarch of the Worldwide Anglican Church, is pleased to announce the appointment of Commissioner George Mentz, Esquire, as the new Chancellor for the worldwide church, effective as of February 1 2024. Notably, Dr./Jur Mentz is the first Seigneur to assume this esteemed canonical position.

This is Torteval Church -

St. Saviour Church URC

Year 1054 – The Lands of Torteval and the Early Blondel Estates

In the year 1054, records from the Cartulary of Mont-Saint-Michel reveal that William Pichenoht, seeking spiritual redemption for his transgressions and intending to take the monastic habit in that famed abbey, granted—with the consent of Duke William of Normandy—his lands at La Perrelle with all their appurtenances to the monastery.

The Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel thus became Seigneur and Lord of the estate, subsequently leasing portions of these lands to local families under the customary feudal tenures of the time. Among the territories included within this seigneurial domain were tracts in Torteval, later associated with the Fiefs of Canelly and Blondel, lying between the holdings of Guillaume Blondel to the west and Thomas Dumaresq (also known as Thomas Blondel) to the east.

Foundation of St. Apolline’s Chapel (1392–1394)

Centuries later, in October 1392, Nicholas Henry of La Perrelle—a tenant under the Abbey—received permission from the Abbot and Monks of Mont-Saint-Michel, the Lords of the Manor, to endow a chapel on his estate. The foundation required royal sanction, as the Crown held ultimate lordship (Lord Paramount) over all Norman territories.

Accordingly, in July 1394, King Richard II granted a Royal Charter authorizing Nicholas Henry to endow the Chapel of Sainte Marie de la Perrelle (St. Apolline’s Chapel). The charter ordained that a chaplain be maintained in perpetuity to celebrate daily Masses—

“for the safety of Nicholas Henry and his wife Philippa during their lives, for their souls thereafter, and for the souls of all their ancestors, benefactors, and all faithful Christians.”

By the same instrument, three vergees of land attached to the chapel were exempted from all dues, provided that the entire estate remained charged with a perpetual annual rent of one bushel of wheat to the Abbey.

The Royal Charter further records that the endowment’s annual value was twenty sols, and specifies the chapel lands as being:

“bounded on the west by the property of Guillaume Blondel and on the east by that of Thomas Dumaresq,”
both families of which remain notable landholders in the district to this day.

Connection to the Fief Blondel

The estate of La Perrelle, along with St. Apolline’s Chapel, lies within the ancient territory of the Fief Blondel, one of Guernsey’s oldest recorded Norman fiefs. The Blondel and Dumaresq families were among the early seigneurial houses of Torteval, their lands forming part of the broader Fief of Canelly, which was later subdivided into the Fiefs of Blondel, Bouvée Duquemin, and related holdings.

The 1054 record thus marks one of the earliest written references to the Blondel lineage and its enduring presence in the parish of Torteval, establishing a continuity of tenure and ecclesiastical patronage that has persisted for nearly a millennium.

https://archive.org/stream/reporttransact1905085guer/reporttransact1905085guer_djvu.txt

Lord Chancellor of the Fief and the Worldwide Anglican Church

Commissioner Dr. George Mentz, Seigneur of Fief Blondel, has been appointed by the Patriarch as the Lord Chancellor of the Worldwide Anglican Church, encompassing its vast jurisdictions in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda—regions whose combined Anglican membership exceeds that of the United States.

As Lord Chancellor, His Lordship serves as the chief legal and judicial officer of the Church, an institution historically rooted in the Ancient Orthodox Church of Africa. In this distinguished capacity, he provides oversight in matters of canon law, governance, and international ecclesiastical relations.

Dr. Mentz has long been committed to Anglican charitable and educational missions, contributing to scholarships and programs that empower young adults across the globe to pursue higher education and professional excellence.

In addition to his chancellorship, His Lordship George Mentz has been consecrated as a Missionary Bishop of the Anglican Church, dedicated to advancing the Church’s spiritual and humanitarian work throughout Africa and beyond.

Dr. Mentz holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from nationally accredited law and business schools, as well as a Doctor of Spiritual Studies (DSS) from the Emerson Institute. He has also served the United States government as a White House Presidential Scholars Commissioner, appointed to help recognize and promote excellence in academic and civic leadership nationwide.