This Is Guernsey

By Tom Bradsaw

The Priaulx has undergone its first major restoration since it become a library more than a century ago. Tom Bradshaw reports. Pictures by Brian Green and Peter Frankland THE Priaulx Library has been restored to its former glory for generations of users to enjoy.

The 18th-century former home of Osmond de Beauvoir in Candie Gardens has housed an ever-expanding wealth of local historical resources since opening its doors as a library on 1 May 1889.

During the past four months it has undergone its first extensive renovation since then.

Project manager Ross Paisley said the works - including the replacement of old lead coverings, restoration of cast-iron gutters, repair of masonry and the decoration of woodwork - had been a resounding success.

‘The project has gone extremely well. With a building this old, you never know what you are going to find, but it has been well looked after over the years, making the renovation straightforward.’

The building became the responsibility of the Education Department following the machinery of government changes in 2004.

The Priaulx Library Council is responsible for its running and commissioned the £220,000 renovation.

It was managed by Lovell Ozanne and carried out by C. A. Duquemin and subcontractors Sarnian Roofing, Leadwork Unlimited and Timber Treatments.

The team undertook a lot of research prior to the project and worked closely with Heritage Services every step of the way to match the original materials and construction methods with the benefit of modern-day technology.

Detailed records were taken of the original fittings and the contractor made templates so these could be constructed to match exactly. Original stone copings were saved and reused.’

But Mr Paisley said some of the methods used were very similar to those of the 18th century and in one particular instance this was by pure coincidence.

‘After we discovered serious decay in two of the large timbers supporting the roof, new matching ones were formed in the contractor’s workshop. When they were ready to install and the old ones were removed, we discovered they had been put together identically.’

He said the project was within time and budget, even after some structural problems with the south Candie Road wall were uncovered.

‘Repairs were carried out to replace failed lintels over openings.

‘Ornate mouldings had to be replaced

as part of this work and again were replicated to match the original,’ said Mr Paisley.

The south wall was then rerendered.

Chief librarian Amanda Bennett said the attention to detail was breathtaking.

She said the work had gone as well as could be expected and she could not wait for the spectacular result to be visible to the public. She was also pleased that the library remained open, with minimal disruption.

In October, site foreman Ken Laine discovered some artefacts which had been deliberately concealed under a section of roof directly over the front entrance.

The objects, thought to have superstitious links, included a single Victorian shoe, a clay pipe and a purse. It is believed they were hidden to ward off evil spirits during the last major renovation, just before the building became a library.

At the time, this was a common practice and since October, similar finds have been uncovered in homes across the island.

Miss Bennett is in the process of cataloguing all the items and is currently writing some articles on the subject for UK journals.

Mr Laine fabricated a box from some of the old roof timbers for the library’s objects, which were replaced exactly where they were found.

‘I had felt uneasy since they were taken out and it was with a great sense of relief that they were put back,’ said Miss Bennett.

She and Mr Laine signed the box.

During the building work, a wooden board was found inscribed with the names of the workers from the previous renovation more than a century ago.

The team of five builders from contractor G. F. Peek worked under foreman Pierre Bougourd.

Miss Bennett said the same men worked on the Royal Court at a similar time.

Its roof is currently being restored

for the first time since then and she expected the workers to find similar artefacts.

To continue the legacy left by the previous builders, the team from Leadwork Unlimited engraved their names on a section of the newly-laid roof.