Repairing Notre Dame the old fashioned way.

In April 2019 the cathedral of Notre Dame caught fire. I seem to remember I was at my son’s house as we watched the news footage in amazement. The old wood in the roof burned fiercely. Amazingly the structure remained upright and the rose window survived. President Macron declared that the cathedral would be restored to its former glory by 2024. That’s quite a lot to ask. He’s only got a couple of years to go.

The complex roof structure of the cathedral was known as “la forêt” because of the number of trees used in building it. The techniques used in building it were considered to be lost in the depths of time. Back in the thirteenth century nobody was videoing building techniques. But now it seems all is not lost.

Some 25 years ago a project was started in a place called Guédelon in Burgundy. Guédelon castle was the home of a minor, rather impoverished nobleman also built in the thirteenth century. The Guédelon project is an exercise in “experimental archaeology”. Rather than dig things up, the idea is to build using the techniques that were in use at the time, thus learning stuff about life at that time. And now those techniques are in demand for repairing the roof of Notre Dame. A number of carpenters trained in medieval techniques at Guéridon have already been employed for the restoration work. 

It would perhaps be quicker to use beams prepared by modern sawmill. No “maybe” about it. Of course it would be quicker. But those who have worked at Guédelon hold their hands up in horror and say that the old techniques respect the wood in a way that modern sawmills do not. If they want to beams used in restoration to last anything like as long as the original ones then the old traditional ways must be followed. 

One of the experts involved in Guédelon said, “I have studied the 13th-century technique for many years and, if we respect the internal form of the tree, the beams will last for 800 years. Guédelon is the only place in France, and I believe in Europe, where they build this kind of roof structure in wood. All those who didn’t think it was possible didn’t know about Guédelon.”

He adds: “But it shouldn’t be rushed. Macron’s insistence that the cathedral be open by 2024 is idiotic. We are talking about a cathedral, we’re not in a hurry and we have the money to do it the right way. If we rush it, there’s a risk it [will] be done badly and something is missed. Sadly, I fear Macron doesn’t understand that.”

They’ve even followed medieval blacksmithing techniques to make the axes and other tools needed to deal with the wood. 

In this age of rush and hurry it’s rather refreshing to come across a bit of old-fashioned slow idealism. And even though there no doubt all sorts of other demands on funds, I hope they manage to set aside the money to do the job properly.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!