Volume III - Belmont Chapel

The News from Island Cemetery

Serving Newport’s families for over 175 years …

The August Belmont Chapel Restoration Capital Campaign

We have surely had an extremely successful Capital Campaign thanks to all of you, our generous supporters and donors. This report is a brief look at the financial success to date and at the restoration progress at the chapel. The table below shows the accumulated totals for our campaign endeavors including applications to foundations, solicitations to individuals and family trusts, and our annual Belmont Stakes event. We closed out FY2022 with nearly $2.25M towards our overall goal amount of $2.5M! However, we are not deterred from continued fundraising efforts

We submitted an application to the Champlin Foundation for $50,000 to fund the Farewell Street entrance gate and fencing that we are having fabricated as part of the beautification of the allée leading to the chapel. We created and published a brochure with the remaining naming opportunities on our website, FB and Instagram which brought in $10,000 for the Gothic window on the east side of the nave. Since January 1, we have raised $19,100 from individual donors. Access the brochure by clicking on the image below.

We look forward to getting together with our campaign committee headed up by Rob Vitello and Elizabeth Leatherman as we start our planning for Belmont Stakes 2023. Deposits have been sent to the suppliers and vendors we used last year as Rob continues to contact and reserve their services.

Restoration Project Progress

 You will be pleased to know that the restoration has been moving quickly with the interior work progressing at a good pace. Rough and finish plaster has been applied to the walls in the chancel and the nave.  The fascia boards with the quatrefoil cutouts are fabricated and installed. Mahogany and steel frames have been installed in the windows in the chancel and the nave. With the completion of the HVAC installation the wall heaters are keeping the chapel interior warm. The moisture barrier in the basement is keeping the damp at bay.

The west stained glass window, Christ Blessing the Little Children, has been completely restored and is in storage at Serpentino’s awaiting installation.  We are waiting for delivery of the cathedral glass for the Gothic nave windows. The chandelier has been fabricated and delivered and is stored in our garage. We have made good progress on the restoration of the entrance with 2 of the old pillars now restored with brick that is a close match to the sandstone color of the chapel.

Building Conservation Associates, Inc. (BCA) of Newton Centre, MA, reputable experts in decorative painting, analyzed and reported on the interior finishes of the nave, the chancel, and the robing room. They are providing the paint scope which will be used for the finish painting. The pictures below are their renditions and recommendations for the chancel and sanctuary(nave) interior paint colors and stenciling.

Of particular interest and importance is the historical context described in the excerpt from the report here:

HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE BELMONT CHAPEL FINISHES

Every decorative element remaining in the Belmont Chapel interior appears to have been selected directly from Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc’s “Designs & Ornaments from the Chapels of Notre Dame.” 9 Viollet-le-Duc was involved in the restoration of Notre Dame from 1845 to 1864. In addition to being responsible for the addition of gargoyles and other decorative sculptures to the exterior, he designed the decorative painting scheme for the side chapels within the cathedral, and published a stylized version of his designs in 1870. This was a high profile publication for a high-profile building, and Hunt, being well-connected to the architectural scene in France, would certainly have had access to this publication from the United States. Some of Viollet-le-Duc’s designs were re-printed in London in 1882 by brothers William James Audsley and George Ashdown Audsley, in a text titled “Outlines of Ornament in the Leading Styles.” 10 The title of this book shows the popularity of the designs in the decade since they were released in Paris. In addition to the designs, the Audsley brothers published a color palette“most suitable for decorative painting,” condemning the use of bright, “garish” colors in ecclesiastical buildings in the medieval styles.

The Building Committee has accepted the report and is in agreement with the recommendations for the colors and the stenciling. We are very excited to see the results!

We expect that the chapel will be ready for programming to begin by early summer and that it will be completely restored by the fall of 2023.