The Little Chapel is located in Les Vauxbelets valley in St. Andrew, Guernsey. It was built by Brother Déodat who started work in March 1914. The current version of the chapel is the third version and construction was finished circa 1930. It was continually added to, decorated and embellished until 1965.
Since November 2005 Consulting Engineers Dorey, Lyle & Ashman had been monitoring the movement of the building after the appearance of cracks in several locations. Over this monitoring period the building showed evidence of ongoing movement and the Engineers felt that intervention was required.
In July 2014 CCD Architects instructed C A Duquemin Limited to carefully remove sections of the external broken ceramic and cement render ‘cladding’ to inspect the structural core of the building. At this time a trial hole excavation was also carried out to the right of the front entrance step to check the location/condition of any foundations, due to the significant slope toward the west.
In December 2014 CCD Architects put together a report on the inspection and proposed recommendations on how to proceed, with guidance sought from Dorey, Lyle & Ashman. It was determined that there were three main areas of work required:
- Re-stabilisation works entrance pillars, arch and spire.
- Relatively simple mass-fill concrete underpinning to the right of the main entrance and at the base of the main staircase down from the altar.
- Prevent further moisture ingress into the core of the building by preventing further movement and repairs to existing movement cracks.