History of English Churches in Switzerland – Mont Pelerin
History of English Chapel, Mont Pelerin
Mont-Pèlerin was placed on the chaplaincy list of the Colonial and Continental Church Society in 1904. Paul Schniewind records in Anglicans in Switzerland, Past and Present that the chapel next to the “Grand Hôtel du Mont-Pèlerin” was purchased by the Society in 1906 — not built by it — and sold in 1952 to the Protestant parish of Chardonne-Jongny, which owns it still. The Grand Hôtel was transformed into a retirement home in 1957.
A building notice from 1914
There is a complication we cannot yet resolve. On 2 June 1914 the Feuille d’avis de Vevey printed a public-enquiry notice from the commune of Chardonne: “La Municipalité de Chardonne soumet à l’enquête publique la demande de M. A. Schmitt, architecte, à Lausanne, tendant à être autorisé à construire une chapelle anglaise au Mont-Pèlerin. Délai d’opposition: 6 juin 1914.”
An application to build an English chapel at Mont-Pèlerin, eight years after the Society is said to have bought one. The two accounts can be reconciled — a purchased building might have been replaced, rebuilt or substantially extended, and a planning application is not proof that the work was carried out — but no source we hold says so. Both are set down here as they stand.
The sale, 1952
The sale is documented in detail. The Feuille d’avis de Lausanne reported on 7 July 1952 that at an extraordinary assembly held the previous day, Sunday 6 July, “la paroisse de Chardonne-Jongny a décidé d’acheter la chapelle anglaise du Mont-Pèlerin à la « Colonial and continental Church Society ». Cet édifice sera remis en état et rouvert au culte protestant. Situé dans un endroit aussi charmant que discret, il répondra aux besoins religieux non seulement des habitants, mais aussi des hôtes de la région du Mont-Pèlerin.”
The Tribune de Lausanne added the reason a few days later, under the headline “ON ACHÈTE UNE ÉGLISE”: the purchase “a été motivé par l’accroissement de la station” — the growth of the resort.
The restoration that followed was the work of the Reformed pastor of Chardonne-Jongny, M. Dony. When he left for Yverdon in 1954 after eleven years in the parish, the Feuille d’avis de Vevey listed his achievements, ending with “l’an dernier, achat et restauration de la chapelle anglaise du Mont-Pèlerin” — so the restoration was completed in 1953.
No Anglican chaplain of Mont-Pèlerin has yet been traced by name.
Date of first Chaplaincy: 1904
Church dates: 1906-1952
Patron: Intercontinental Church Society (ICS)
Hotel: Grand Hotel du Mont-Pelerin
Current Status: Owned by Swiss Reform Church (Chardonne-Jongny)
Sources
Anglicans in Switzerland Past and Present, Paul Schniewind.
Feuille d’avis de Vevey, 2 June 1914 and 17 August 1954
Feuille d’avis de Lausanne, 7 July 1952
Tribune de Lausanne, 12 July 1952
Digitised newspapers consulted at Scriptorium, Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire de Lausanne (scriptorium.ch)
Further Reading
Le Grand Hotel – Mont Pelerin
Questions answered
- Did the Anglicans build the English chapel at Mont-Pèlerin?
- No. Paul Schniewind records that the chapel next to the Grand Hôtel du Mont-Pèlerin was purchased by the Colonial and Continental Church Society in 1906, not built by it. Mont-Pèlerin had been placed on the Society’s chaplaincy list in 1904.
- What happened to the English chapel at Mont-Pèlerin?
- It was sold in 1952 to the Protestant parish of Chardonne-Jongny, which owns it still. The parish voted to buy it from the Colonial and Continental Church Society at an extraordinary assembly on Sunday 6 July 1952; the Tribune de Lausanne reported that the purchase was prompted by "l'accroissement de la station", the growth of the resort. The building was restored the following year under the Reformed pastor, M. Dony, and reopened for Protestant worship. The Grand Hôtel was transformed into a retirement home in 1957.
- Was a new English chapel proposed at Mont-Pèlerin in 1914?
- A planning notice suggests so, and we cannot yet reconcile it with the rest of the record. On 2 June 1914 the Feuille d'avis de Vevey printed a public enquiry from the commune of Chardonne into an application by "M. A. Schmitt, architecte, à Lausanne" to "construire une chapelle anglaise au Mont-Pèlerin", with objections due by 6 June 1914 — eight years after the Colonial and Continental Church Society is recorded as having purchased a chapel there. A purchased building might have been replaced or extended, and an application is not proof that work followed, but no source we hold explains the discrepancy.