Saying a little prayer is appropriate at this pint-sized chapel.
The Little Chapel on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, is one of the world’s smallest chapels, measuring just 16ft by 9ft.
The bijou place of worship, tucked away in Les Vauxbelets valley, has a magical, otherworldly feeling, and not just because of its size, but thanks to the thousands of seashells, pebbles, and pieces of broken china that adorn it. They create a mosaic effect that could keep the eyes busy for days.
The Little Chapel was the third chapel on Guernsey conceived by a monk from France called Brother Deodat Antoine, who died without seeing his creation completed
The bijou place of worship, tucked away in Les Vauxbelets valley, has a magical, otherworldly feeling, and not just because of its size – 16ft by 9ft – but thanks to the thousands of seashells, pebbles, and pieces of broken china that adorn it. Pictured is MailOnline Travel’s Sadie Whitelocks exploring the dinky construction
Iridescent mother of pearl shells are dotted around the exterior and interior and shimmer in the sun and small stained-glass windows cast a rainbow of colour on the floors, which have been fashioned out of smooth pebbles.
It’s impossible not to be wowed by the jewel-box-like aesthetics.
Despite how busy the decor is, however, the atmosphere inside is one of total tranquillity.
The mosaic-like decor ‘could keep the eyes busy for days’, reveals Sadie
In 1977, a committee was established to restore the chapel and today it falls under the care of The Little Chapel Foundation. Public donations are used to keep it intact. Pictured left is Sadie during her visit
The Little Chapel was the third chapel on Guernsey conceived by a monk from France called Brother Deodat Antoine, who died without seeing his creation completed.
Brother Deodat was part of a Catholic religious order called The Brothers of the Christian Schools, which dispersed in 1904, explains thelittlechapel.gg, when the French government banned faith schools.
Many in the order left France to practice their faith in exile, with one group heading to Guernsey and buying Les Vauxbelets, where they built an estate containing ‘a large wooden hut, a stone building and a farm’.
Brother Deodat arrived in Guernsey in December 1913 and was struck by the idea to create a mini version of the grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France.
The upshot was a dinky chapel measuring just 9ft long by 4.5ft wide, but he pulled it down after it received ‘caustic criticism’.
Chapel No.2, reveals thelittlechapel.gg, was built during the First World War and was big enough for four worshippers. But in 1923, we learn, this one was destroyed by Brother Deodat as well when the plump Bishop of Portsmouth visited and failed to fit through the door.
Brother Deodat arrived in Guernsey in December 1913 and was struck by the idea to create a mini version of the grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France
Brother Deodat’s first chapel measured just 9ft long by 4.5ft wide, but he pulled it down after it received ‘caustic criticism’
Brother Deodat’s second chapel, reveals thelittlechapel.gg, was built during the First World War and was big enough for four worshippers. But in 1923, we learn, this one was destroyed by Brother Deodat as well when the plump Bishop of Portsmouth visited and failed to fit through the door. The third and final chapel took decades to finish
Brother Deodat was still determined to create his mini basilica, though, and worked on a third and final chapel – the Little Chapel that exists today – for years, carefully decorating it with broken china and pebbles.
It was nearly finished when the Second World War broke out in 1939, but Brother Deodat was forced to return to France due to ill health.
After his departure, the care of the Little Chapel was entrusted to a fellow monk, Brother Cephas, who continued to decorate the building until his retirement in 1965.
In 1977, a committee was established to restore the chapel and today it falls under the care of The Little Chapel Foundation.
Public donations are used to keep it intact.
The chapel is open from 9am to 4pm throughout the summer and there is no entry charge.
More information can also be found at www.visitguernsey.com/see-and-do/things-to-do/the-little-chapel.
The chapel is open from 9am to 4pm throughout the summer and there is no entry charge
