It pretty much goes without saying that most of the work undertaken either inside or outside of the monastery tends to be of a quiet nature.  If you’re thinking about the reshelving of library books, that sort of manual labor, you are in the right ballpark.  This past summer, and the summer before that, were the exceptions to the rule with major renovation projects planned for the living areas of the monastery.  Both of those projects were planned far in advance and, yes, generated a good deal of noise. 
 

Roof damage to the monastery library (October 28, 2021)
 

A recent nor’easter, terrifying in its intensity even for old-timers, tore through the campus on October 27, peeling back the copper roofing of the monastic library, a two-story added-on extension to the monastery itself, not readily visible from the main parts of the campus. Without exaggeration, the roof really did look like a sardine can peeled back at the corner. Fortunately, the damage did not reach the interior areas and no books were ever in any danger. Our in-house maintenance staff secured tarps on the roof as a stopgap measure until an assessment could be made to determine the extent of the damage.  
 

Extensive repair work
 

On Friday morning, December 3, the noise of hammers and machinery were once again heard, but not early enough to disturb the monks who had been awake even earlier for the first prayers of Matins and Lauds. The firm handling the complete replacement of the copper roof is based in Portsmouth on East Main Road. Slate and Copper Services, in business for 35 years serving all of New England, also specializes in slate, tile and wood roofing.  The showcase gallery of past projects on their website shows the breadth and scale of their work, much of it involving historic architecture. 

A gleaming new roof as the library is “recovered”
 

It was a treat for the monks to have a ringside seat through the upper windows as they watched the metal craftsmen fashion the long lengths of shiny copper and maneuver them to the rooftop.  Before long the elements will transform the new copper, giving it the same familiar verdigris patina as the other buildings on the Portsmouth campus.  The crew has certainly proven themselves beyond a doubt to be added to the list of our Artists of the Abbey.