Garry's Blog

Notre Dame
A beautiful cathedral - sadly gravely damaged. Its glory was always its superb location and exterior. These survive and from photographs the vaulting is somewhat damaged but let's hope not too severely. The spire should be an easy rebuild.

There must have been a lot of small timbers in the roof for it to have burned like that - large timbers char and burn very slowly. The reconstruction can use timber, but it must be wisely and have protections that modern buildings have.

For visitors to France do not be deterred. Sainte Chapelle and Saint Denis are still in Paris, even Sacré-Cœur if you like the style or at least the view if you don't. The rest of France is well endowed with cathedrals. Avoiding the tourist crush at Notre Dame is perhaps a small plus.

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