Nicholas Monsarrat’s former residence in San Lawrenz is still awaiting scheduling as it continues to be threatened by a proposed development next door.

Godfrey and Maryanne Swain, the owners of the residence, applied for an emergency scheduling of the vernacular farmhouse where the renowned British author penned The Kappillan of Malta, several weeks before the proposed demolishment of a neighbouring dwelling was refused in November of 2019.

Situated within a development zone in Triq il-Wileġ, the proposed neighbouring development was split into two adjacent sites and is being proposed in separate applications. 

It would see the construction of basement garages, overlying apartments and a penthouse.

Both proposals were refused, however, the developers have since appealed the refusal and the case will be heard by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal on Thursday.

The Swains have asked the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage to preserve their property together with its context as the backdrop of the book The Kappillan of Malta.

The view of San Lawrenz if the development is given the go-ahead.

The work narrates a story of courageous love during Malta and Gozo’s worse moments of World War II. The novelist, mostly known for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea, died in 1979 and his wife Ann remained in the property for another 38 years.

The couple was very well known for their philanthropic activities in the village and a street in San Lawrenz has been named after the author.

His former residence, which hosts a mature garden and aged underground cisterns, is a typical vernacular house with front courtyards, shaded arched areas and rooms with typical traditional roofing features.

It is the last in a series of dwellings lining Triq il-Wileġ to the west of the Gozitan village.

Nicholas Monsarrat’s former residence. Photo: Godfrey Swain

Godfrey Swain noted that the buildings on this street, which stretch from the end of the village to the San Lawrenz parish church, are one or two storeys high at most. The case officer who recommended the project’s refusal in 2019 had in fact noted that the proposal did not reflect the existing streetscape.

Swain believes that Triq il-Wileġ’s own streetscape should also be scheduled as the development will result in a four-storey high blank party wall visible from the route that leads to San Lawrenz from Għarb, “ruining the village skyline and threatening to turn the village into yet another concrete jungle”. 

The current view of San Lawrenz from the outskirts of the village. Photos: Godfrey Swain