Gallery of Chaplaincy of St Mary the Virgin, Hautot Saint Sulpice
Chapel beginning 2008
September 2006 when Fr. Chadwick and his wife bought a house in the Norman village of Hautot Saint Sulpice near Yvetot, not far from Rouen.
This work began in April 2008. An apprenticeship in organ building came in useful for the woodwork, and Fr. Chadwick over the years has learned to "cope" in electricity, plumbing and masonry / building.
The building was an old barn used as a garage and storage area.
Inside the Chapel to be
Work now started on this chapel, as the final planning permission that concerned a modification to the outside appearance of the building and its change of use - to be assimilated to domestic use - was awaited. Here is a crudely made floor on beams that might once have been used for storing hay or straw for animals. It was too low to be used as a gallery. The floor needed to be levelled and filled with hardcore, and the "gallery" was demolished. This entailed some modifications to the roof beams, as shown below.
New East Window
The Great East Window. It just needed glazing.
New East Window (2)
The tracery is inspired by the English Decorated style, but is cut out of 10 mm plywood using a jigsaw and a fine blade.
New East Window (3)
To imitate the lead in church windows, a liquid plastic product in a tube has been used.
Plaster Board
August and early September 2008
Sacristy
Though it looks like a broom cupboard, this is in fact the sacristy. Its tiny size is dictated by the constraints of the building. There will be no door, but simply a curtain.
Getting there ...
The scaffolding was still needed until the last moment for the jointing and painting, not forgetting the moulding work.
Seating
The concept of this chapel is that of a collegiate chapel with inward-facing choir stalls instead of forward-facing pews.
Rood Screen
The Rood with statues of Our Lady of Westminster and Saint Edward the Confessor. Below the Rood, a Russian icon of Christ Pantokrator.
The Altar
The altar, completed in November 2008, is appointed in the neo-medieval English fashion with a hanging pyx for the Blessed Sacrament, dossal and riddels.
The Chapel of St Mary the Virgin