The chapel of Saint-Roch en Volière

 

The Cellite brothers, also called Alexiens or Lollards, acquired a property in Volière in July 1520, which they enlarged over time and as a result of the work they carried out. In the 18th century, the brothers devoted themselves to "the unbalanced" whom they received in return for payment. Saint-Roch chapel was built in the second half of the 16th century. 

In 1769, the Cellite brothers ordered an organ for this chapel, made by the Liège organ-maker, Guillaume Robustelly. He is known for having been an apprentice in the renowned workshop of Jean-Baptiste and Jean-François Le Picard in Liège, before taking over from them. The oak organ case is classically shaped with three turrets, decorated simply with plant scrolls. There are two keyboards that operate a Great Organ and a Positive on a plinth. In the middle of the 20th century, faced with the poor condition of the instrument, which no longer played, a fairly dramatic  restoration programme was undertaken. Due to a lack of maintenance, though, the benefits were only temporary. The pipes were finally removed in 1994 to avoid any damage occurring to them during the restoration of the chapel. Despite that, the organ retained a large proportion of its original mechanism, making it a special example of one of the major representative of organ-making in Liège in the second half of the 18th century. Since then, the organ has been fully restored, a project completed in September 2011.

Listed: 13-05-1970

Exceptional heritage site of Wallonia (organ and case)