WHEN the Roaring Twenties were in full throttle elsewhere in Europe, a member of the fraternity of De La Salle had his mind dedicated to other matters. The Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Catholic religious order, established themselves in Guernsey in 1904 and opened a Catholic boys’ school. One of the members, Brother Déodat, arrived to take up the role of sacristan on the eve of the First World War. Convinced that children learn mostly through their eyes, he had an idea. According to his diary, his attention was caught by a copse of trees in the Vauxbelets valley, which was—in his mind—eminently suitable for the erection of a grotto resembling that at Lourdes in France, with a miniature chapel to represent the Basilica of Massabielle.
It took three attempts to get the chapel right. The first, constructed in March 1914, was criticised by his fellow brothers for being too small and was torn down. A few months later, Brother Déodat established a grotto, which he adorned with a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and later created a miniature chapel measuring 9ft by 6ft above. However, when the Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth visited in 1923, he couldn’t get through the door and refused to allow the chapel to be used for Holy Mass. This was taken as a sign by Déodat who set about demolishing the structure and he began a new, larger chapel measuring 16ft by 9ft big enough to accommodate about eight people. This time it would be decorated in a style called pique-assiette literally meaning plate-pincher, the sort of person who might gatecrash a party to enjoy a free meal with colourful pieces of broken china, pebbles and ormer shells. Used on a large scale, this technique has a mesmerising effect: Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol’s Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain, is probably one of the most famous examples.
Denne historien er fra August 16, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 16, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds