Restoration of the Transept Chapel of the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias
Cistercian Monastery dated between the 12th-17th centuries located in Pelayos de la Presa
The Monastery is made up of a group of large buildings, a former monastery of the Cistercian order. In 1150, with Alfonso VII the Emperor, the twelve Mozarabic hermitages existing in the Valley of the Churches were unified under the Rule of San Benito, then the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias was founded and incorporated, from 1177 until its confiscation in 1835 , to the Cistercian Order.
The complex currently belongs to the Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias Foundation and, in order to stop the deterioration of the complex, the Community of Madrid has launched successive interventions, developing projects and works for structural stabilization and consolidation, as well as the recovery of architectural elements.
The Transept Chapel It is a small chapel that occupies the floor of the old spiral staircase leading to the campanile. This staircase was useful until the changes introduced in the Order by the Congregation of Castile occurred, at which point this staircase was no longer used and its floor plan was used to convert it into a chapel. The staircase was condemned by demolishing the first part and installing a Gothic tracery vault with a Renaissance compositional scheme.
Previous state of conservation
The damages seen in this chapel are the usual ones, evident throughout the monastery as a result of abandonment and continued lack of maintenance.
The chapel did not present structural problems, but it did require conservation work to maintain and enhance the values it still preserves. The main damages observed are the following:
- Partial loss and semi-dismantling of the pavement and burial headstone.
- Displacements and deformation of the nerves of the vault.
- Partial disassembly of the altar.
- Loss of joints of the ribs of the tracery and fascia.
- General loss of grouting.
- Dirt, graffiti, soot, on the walls.
- Breaks, losses and bulging of the coatings.
Images before and after the intervention:
restoration project
The restoration of the chapel aimed, on the one hand, to consolidate and restore the altar and the pavement, and on the other hand, to remove all dirt, irregularities and graffiti, so as to facilitate the archaeological interpretation of the complex. The work consisted of:
- Protection of existing pavement.
- Grouting and restoration of the masonry masonry, consolidation of brick masonry and arches.
- Sealing and fixing displacements.
- Gentle general cleaning with brushes, graffiti removal and cleaning of black scabs with aluminate projection.
- Biocidal and consolidating and water-repellent treatments.
Images of the chapel before and after restoration:
