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The Brothers’ Cemetery, Rue des Frères

Annual Report

July 2016

Compiled by Dr Philip de Jersey

RDF 6

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Documents in this series

RDF 1 Condition survey and report, March 2012 available at https://brotherscemetery.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rdf1.pdf

RDF 2 Proposals for renovation and repair, June 2013 available at https://brotherscemetery.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rdf2.pdf

RDF 3 Programme for renovation and repair, August 2013 available at https://brotherscemetery.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rdf3.pdf

RDF 4 Annual Report, July 2014 available at https://brotherscemetery.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rdf4.pdf

RDF 5 Annual Report, July 2015 available at https://brotherscemetery.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rdf5.pdf

RDF 6 Annual Report, July 2016 available at https://brotherscemetery.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rdf6.pdf

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Introduction

This report describes the progress of restoration work in the Brothers’ Cemetery, Rue des

Frères, between July 2015 and July 2016. It has been produced for the benefit of all interested

parties and in particular to satisfy the condition of the Faculty granted on 12 July 2013, which

requested that ‘an annual progress report be submitted to the Ecclesiastical Court’.

In the introduction to last year’s report, I wrote that ‘We anticipate that another year, or about

500 hours, should be enough to conclude the remaining repair work.’ I am delighted to report

that this has proved to be the case, and that save for a few minor repairs, all the tombs are now

in good condition. The volunteer group has now carried out almost 2,000 hours of work in the

cemetery, and the plans on the following pages provide a graphical demonstration of what has

been achieved in that time.

Chapter 2 highlights some of the major pieces of

restoration work achieved in 2015-16. A brief

third chapter offers some thoughts towards

future activity in the cemetery, following the

conclusion of the repair work.

The most significant element of this is likely to

be the maintenance and improvement of the

biodiversity within the cemetery walls. The

importance of the Brothers’ Cemetery as a

uniquely rich habitat in the heart of St Peter Port

was recognised early in 2016 by the award of

£500 from the Co-Operative Society’s Eco

Fund, which was used to purchase a lawn-

mower, and storage to keep it securely on site.

We are grateful to the Co-Operative Society for

this generous donation.

The Brothers’ Cemetery website continues to be

updated with details of the vaults – about one

half of the tombs have now been discussed in

detail – and news of progress with the restoration

and conservation work. The website is at

https://brotherscemetery.wordpress.com

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The condition of the graves in the northern half of the Brothers’ Cemetery in February 2012 (above) and July 2016 (below). Graves are ranked according to English Heritage/Church of England guidelines,

with category 1 being the most seriously damaged and category 4 the least damaged.

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The condition of the graves in the southern half of the Brothers’ Cemetery in February 2012 (above)

and July 2016 (below). Graves are ranked according to English Heritage/Church of England guidelines, with category 1 being the most seriously damaged and category 4 the least damaged.

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Highlights of restoration work, 2015-16

As indicated in the introduction, over the course of the past year we have completed all of the

major reconstruction work necessary in the cemetery. This chapter provides brief highlights of

some of the more significant improvements achieved during those twelve months.

Vault no. 12

Most of the difficult repair work on this

tomb was carried out in previous years, but

this year we completed the replacement of

the small missing section of the lid, and

thus brought the work on this tomb to a

close.

A wooden mould replicating

the edge of the lid was

kindly provided through our

contact with Annandale

builders’ merchants. The

replacement section looks

rather stark compared to the

rest of the lid, but advice on

restoration best practice

suggests that a clear division

between old and new is to be

preferred. As the new

section weathers it will

slowly begin to blend in

with the rest of the tomb.

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Vault no. 60

Repairs to the tomb of

Nicholas Carey (1806-1889),

a notable local philanthropist,

presented some particular

difficulties, and for that

reason this was the last major

piece of work to be tackled.

The sycamore tree which had

grown up between the railings

and the east end of the vault

had sent roots along both the

north and south walls, in each

case lifting the brickwork

from the foundations. The

railings had also been

damaged beyond repair by the

movement caused by the

roots.

Following the removal of part

of the railings, the lid was

moved on to a secure platform

immediately to the west of the

vault. This enabled us to

remove the sycamore and to

carefully dismantle the four

sides of the vault. The

foundations were repaired and

reset level, after which the

sides were reconstructed, to a

slightly lower level than

previously. The lid was then

moved back into place. The

railings could not be replaced

because they had been

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distorted and in some cases broken by the effects of the sycamore roots. It would in theory be

possible to place new railings around the tomb, but the vault is now safe and sound as it stands.

Vault no. 119

The railings – in a state of collapse despite

their appearance in this photograph –

concealed several problems with the Rougier

family vault which were addressed earlier

this year. At some point the original lid of the

vault had had another heavy stone slab laid

upon it, perhaps because the original lid had

started to crack (see lower photograph). The

two slabs were attached to one another by

iron pegs, one towards each end, which had

rusted and caused further damage to the

stone.

This was impossible to redress with the

railings still in place, and so these were

completely removed. This allowed access to

the top of the vault and it was then possible

to remove the iron pegs and to ensure that the

top lid lay securely on the lower. Cracks in

both were filled and remedial work done to

the remainder of the tomb. As with vault no.

60, described above, it would be possible – at

some cost – to replace the railings, but the

tomb itself is now once again safe and sound.

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Vault no. 119,

restored

Vault no. 120

The reconstruction

of this vault, in the

south-east corner

of the cemetery,

was another

complex operation

requiring many

hours of work. At

the time of the

survey (February

2012) it was clearly

unstable, with the lid sloping and the sides threatening to fall outwards. The first step was to

move the lid onto a stable temporary support, to the north of the tomb.

Once this was done it became apparent

that the vault had been filled with bricks

and broken-up headstones, presumably in

the episode of ‘clearance’ which took

place in 1954. In terms of the work to be

done this could be regarded as a blessing

in disguise, since it would have been much

more difficult to reconstruct the tomb had

there been a vault three or four metres

deep to contend with.

The corner pieces and the side panels were

then carefully removed.

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The next stage consisted of forming stable

and level foundations on which to replace

the sides of the vault. Several of the

concrete lintels kindly donated by

Annandale were used for this. This

operation also had the effect of raising the

height of the vault, back towards its level

when first constructed, and before 150

years or more of soil washed down the

slope to build up around it.

Once the foundations were sound we re-

erected the side panels and corner pieces,

cementing them in place. None of these pieces were particularly heavy – the long sides are

each split into two sections, for example – and so this part of the process was not as difficult

as might have been expected.

After the four sides had been

consolidated, it was a

relatively straightforward

operation to move the lid

back on to the sides. The lid

was then fixed in place with

stainless steel rods drilled

into the corner posts. The

finished vault (photo below)

presents a marked – and

welcome – contrast to its

condition four years ago.

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Vault no. 124

The Portland stone lid of this vault, against the

southern boundary of the cemetery, had been

broken into four pieces, one of which has since

been lost. Following consolidation of the walls

we added concrete lintels donated by Annandale,

which form a base for the reconstructed lid. The

missing section has been filled and the edge

moulding reproduced to match the original.

Headstone no. 3

One of the very few headstones surviving in

the cemetery lay in several pieces against the

west wall. Over the winter of 2015-16 these

pieces were cleaned and reassembled, using

steel pins and suitable adhesive. As a final

piece of work the stone will now be restored

to a fully vertical position.

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Suggestions for future work, 2016 onwards

As reported in Chapter 1, above, there are no significant repairs outstanding on any of the vaults

in the Brothers’ Cemetery. Almost all of the tombs can now be classed as grade 4 on the English

Heritage/Church of England guidelines, defined as ‘stable, no intervention required’. The few

exceptions (shown on the plan on p. 5, above) are grade 3, ‘some decay but generally stable’.

The three closely adjacent tombs belonging to the Lukis and Mansell families should arguably

be categorized as grade 4, but the slightly lower grade reflects the potential for replacing the

railings around these tombs. The cost of this has been estimated at about £3000, and during the

coming months we will investigate possible sources of sponsorship for this work.

Aside from one other grade 3 vault (no. 121,

shown here), which needs its various elements

pinned together, further work on the tombs is

restricted to minor cosmetic detail, such as

repointing. It is not anticipated that any

significant structural work will be required now

for several years; the English Heritage/Church of

England guidelines suggest re-inspection after

five years, but we would anticipate keeping up a

rather more frequent inspection pattern.

Following the conclusion of the

restoration work, the focus of our

attention has turned towards the

maintenance and improvement

of the biodiversity of the

cemetery. Our initial efforts

were rewarded by the Special

Commendation received from

the Floral Guernsey judges in

2015, and more recently by the

grant from the Co-Op Eco Fund,

described above. We have

continued to take advice from La

Société Guernesiaise on the best

strategy to adopt, and they have

generously supported the purchase of a professional quality scythe. It has been particularly

beneficial to liaise with the Constables’ Office to refine the cutting regime in the cemetery. We

would like to maintain and improve these relationships over the coming year, perhaps with a

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view to setting up a slightly more formal arrangement to oversee the management of the

cemetery; this might involve one or more members of the Douzaine, with a representative from

La Société Guernesiaise and of course from our volunteer group.

In the longer term it remains our wish that the cemetery be made more readily accessible to the

public. This will necessitate some further work to ensure that the eastern boundary, above the

drop into Candie Road, is made secure. Some cosmetic work will also be necessary to sections

of the wall on the western side, but it is very satisfying to be able to report that the biggest

single obstacle to public access – the dangerous condition of the tombs – has been completely

removed by four years of work by our volunteer team. I would like to conclude with my sincere

thanks to the core of the 2015-16 volunteer force: John Lihou, Tanya Walls, Mike Deane, Colin

Sills, David de Garis and Martin Bienvenu.