History of English Churches in Switzerland – Les Avants

History of English Chapel, Les Avants

The chapel was built for the benefit of English tourists in 1872, in the grounds of the Grand Hotel, by its proprietors the Dufour brothers; the chaplaincy itself followed a year later, in 1873.

Its survival was not a foregone conclusion. When the Châtelard School took over the hotel in 1938 it chose not to take on the Anglican chapel, preferring one of its own inside the building, and the Grand Hotel company resolved to pull the chapel down. A group of Swiss well-wishers formed the Société de la Chapelle des Avants, called for subscriptions, and bought the land in order to save it. After the Second World War the chapel was given the name of St Peter — the same dedication as the church at Château-d’Œx.

The rescue can be followed in the Montreux press. In May 1938 the committee formed to buy and restore the chapel announced its fundraiser — a thé-vente on Sunday 24 July, from half past one until half past six, on the terrace of the Châtelard-School, the former Grand Hôtel itself — and reminded readers to keep the date and remember the tombola.

It worked. On 3 January 1939 the Journal de Montreux reported the result: “Le magnifique résultat de la vente de juillet 1938 a permis à l’Association de la Chapelle des Avants de mener à chef la restauration intérieure de l’édifice. Le toit a été réparé, un plafond neuf posé, les murs repeints, le chauffage électrique établi; celui-ci fonctionne à merveille.” The roof mended, a new ceiling, the walls repainted, electric heating installed and working admirably. The chapel was now “un lieu de culte avenant et confortable, à l’usage — été et hiver — des quatre Communautés nationale, libre, anglaise et allemande”, and a solemn service of dedication was held on Sunday 8 January 1939, with the pastors and congregations of all four churches taking part.

That four-way sharing lasted. In August 1965 the Semeur vaudois noted that “il y a presque cent ans que la chapelle Saint-Pierre a été édifiée. Elle sert aujourd’hui aux cultes de l’Eglise nationale, de l’Eglise libre, des Eglises allemande et anglaise” — confirming that the St Peter dedication was in ordinary use by then.

When Christ Church in Montreux-Clarens closed in 1968, Anglican services at Les Avants were discontinued too. The building, however, went on. In January 1972 both the Nouvelle revue de Lausanne and the Journal de Montreux marked its centenary: “La paroisse réformée de Montreux fêtera, cette année, le centième anniversaire de la construction de la Chapelle des Avants qui, à l’origine, était destinée au culte anglican.” Reformed services were then being held there three Sundays a month, and the cost of putting the building back in order was shared between the chapel association, the village interests association, the commune of Montreux and the Montreux parish. The centenary is itself independent confirmation of the 1872 building date.

The chapel now belongs to the Swiss Protestant church (l’Église Évangélique Réformée du Canton de Vaud, EERV), which keeps it available to Anglicans. Paul Schniewind’s Anglicans in Switzerland, Past and Present notes that a founding member of the church committee, Mrs Violet M. Petrie, wrote a history of St Peter’s, Les Avants covering 1933–1959, in three languages. The schools that displaced this chapel, and the wider story of English schooling in Vaud, are covered on a separate page.

---

Date of first Chaplaincy: 1873

Church dates: 1872

Patron: Intercontinental Church Society (ICS)

Hotel: Grand Hotel

Current Status: Owned by Swiss Reform Church

Sources
Anglicans in Switzerland Past and Present, Paul Schniewind
Journal de Montreux, 28 May 1938, 3 January 1939 and 13 January 1972
Semeur vaudois, 7 August 1965
Nouvelle revue de Lausanne, 12 January 1972
Digitised newspapers consulted at Scriptorium, Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire de Lausanne (scriptorium.ch)

Further Reading
Les Avants, Notre Histoire