Controversial restoration at Chartres

Having lived near Chartres Cathedral for many years I've always had a soft spot for this grand old lady, weathering her way through 900 years. And weathering she certainly has. Until recently you could see the filth of centuries covering the cathedral of Chartres's former majesty but now that has all changed.

Some folks, like myself, are delighted to see glimpses of how she was orginally decorated. Others think it is a sacrilege to erase the consequences of such a long life - less authentic they say.

Personally, I don't see that restoring a masterpiece to how it was originally designed is wrong. Sure, she is positively gleaming; at least you can see the details.

Before the restoration everything was black and gloomy. You couldn't see the structural details and we had no idea there had been so much colour in her history. The colours were discovered once they had started to remove the grime. After all this time much of the colour was missing so in some areas of the cathedral they left some bits plain but recoloured other bits so we can see what a wonderful work of art it was. It was designed to be colourful, tell stories and to be uplifting as most of the congregation of the Middle Ages would have been illiterate.

The only positive of having black walls and roof was the fact that set off the stained glass windows a bit, especially the famed Rose windows, but in reality the glass was dirty too. Most of the stained glass is original and the finest collection in Europe. The before, during and after photos show the stark contrast.

Mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220, it stands at the site of at least five cathedrals that have occupied the site since Chartres became a bishopric in the 4th century. She has seen many devastating fires and other dangerous events in her long life.

During the French Revolution, revolutionaries started attacking the sculptures to demolish the cathedral but were stopped by the local architect who pleaded the building's value.

In 1836, due to the negligence of workmen, a fire began which destroyed the lead-covered wooden roof and the two belfries, but the building structure and the stained glass were untouched. Sounds spookily like the current situation of Notre Dame de Paris. In Chartres' case, the new roof is now covered in copper over an iron frame.

In 1944 the allies were on the verge of bombing the cathedral to the ground, believing the Germans had artillery there. A colonel went inside to check and discovered the rumour was false, just in time to avoid the destruction of this ireplaceable building. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A few years ago, we went up on a tour of the roof. The narrow stone steps were a bit of a challenge but we got to see the bells and look over the roof profiles, flying buttresses, and then out over the city and countryside. It was well worth doing.

The two towers are from the the 12th and 16th centuries respectively. Some exterior cleaning was completed a few years ago. With city pollution it is already not as clean as it was 7 years ago and there is still more to be done near the portals.

The portals are 12th century and look splendid during the scenography displays in Summer. I've spent several evenings over the years watching the beautiful designs changing across the face of the cathedral, her portals and towers. Each year it's a different programme which runs every evening from 10pm.

What particularly pleased me during my last visit was to see much of the sculptured choir screen clean. It was just a black blob when dirty but now you can see the fantastic 16th and 18th century sculptures depicting the life of Christ. The restorers haven't mucked around with the decor. They have faithfully followed the original and the work completed is world class.

To read more on the controvery go here https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/arts/design/chartres-cathedral-restoration-controversial.html

And the restoration go here https://www.francetoday.com/culture/chartres-the-famous-cathedral-is-newly-restored/

The cathedral has always been a place of pilgrimage. If,like me, you enjoy seeing marvellous monuments being looked after with care and preserved for the years to come, pop a visit here on your list, especially when the sound and light shows are running.


Check out the labyrinth on the floor on the Nave (see image). There's an interesting boutique to buy souvenirs, and plenty of carparking in the underground parks nearby. The only place there I haven't yet been to is to see the crypt. This is the oldest part of the cathedral with vestiges of one of the earlier cathedrals upon which the current one is founded. I hope I get back to this area of France one day. It's an easy train ride from Paris.