Beauvais Cathedral
Beauvais Cathedral, Cathèdral de Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, built between the tenth and eleventh centuries, progressed from almost the point of destruction to being used as a facility for wood storage in the late 1700s to its present state of restoration as a place of worship.
Cathèdral de Saint-Pierre de Beauvais
A closer look at the main entrance without all the scaffolding to interfere.
Cathedral History
In 1284, only 12 years after its completion part of the choir section of the cathedral collapsed as a result of resonating vibrations caused by high winds. Money for the restoration came from the coffers destined for the completion of the nave portion of the cathedral. Thus the cathedral remains incomplete even today with no nave. Image B on the right shows the cathedral floor plan as it should have been. The photo on the left shows the cathedral as it stands today. The light gray areas of the image are unconstructed but in the original plan.
Cathedral Plan Image B
Actual Cathedral Plan
The architect added a tower with a lantern at the top in 1561. In 1567 the tower was completed, making Beauvais the tallest cathedral in Christendom. Sadly, this massive tower covered in lead and topped with an iron cross collapsed in 1573 just as the congregation had processed out of the cathedral on Ascension Day. A simple bell tower replaced the massively heavy spire.
Beauvais’ Immense Height
As Beauvais is only 100 miles from the coast in northern France, the high winds are a constant threat to its stability.
A fascination with its height drew us to the Beauvais Cathedral as we wandered the road from Chantilly to Rouen. However, today’s claim to fame as “tallest cathedral” is not based on its spire or bell tower but on its vault.
Walking into Beauvais Cathedral the immense height of the vault, 48 meters (157.4 feet), immediately resonated with us. This is the tallest vault built during the Gothic period.
The altar
Same view but the eye continues upward
Lateral tie rods now supply stability to the walls
Structural problems plague the church due to its height and the fact that they never built a nave. Looking up, the tie rods that cross the vault to provide additional structural stability almost look as if they were part of the original plan. Back outside we found the lateral tie rods between the flying buttresses that also add to its support.
Beauvais Cathedral Stained Glass
The collection of stained glass in the Cathedral of Beauvais is beautiful and dates back to 1240. The oldest stained glass windows are in the central radiating chapel (the Lady Chapel). Parishioners moved these precious pieces of artwork during the second World War to a remote location away from the bombing. This prudent move saved them from destruction
Beauvais Cathedral Clocks
Just to the left of the north entrance, I found my favorite sight in the cathedral – the Chapel of Saint Theresa of Lissieux . A 14th century striking clock known as the clock of Etienne “Musique”, a cathedral cleric who died around 1323, resides here. This is said to be one of the oldest clocks of this type in working condition in the world.
14th century striking clock
Photo credit: Binche [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
My second favorite sight is the astronomical clock in the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre which dates to 1865. This clock is amazing! It has 90,000 pieces! Fifty-two dials present 50 figures which show the hours as well as the movement of the planets and lunar cycles. The clock is in working order. Sixty-eight automatons representing the Celestial City at the top of the clock come to life on the hour .
Astronomical Clock
This clock will astound you at 12 meters high and 6 meters wide.
Mon histoire en français…
C’est 2021 et tout le monde attend avec impatience la réouverture de la cathédrale de Notre-Dame de Paris. Toutefois, il y a d’autres belles cathédrales intéressantes comme la cathédrale de St-Pierre de Beauvais qu’on ne voudrait pas manquer.
Construit en 1276, le chœur s’est effondré par les alternances créées d’un vent très fort en 1284. Aujourd’hui, le chœur a été reconstruit mais l’argent utilisé a vidé les coffres et la cathédrale reste aujourd’hui sans une nef.
La lanterne
Une tour avec une lanterne a été ajoutée en 1567 et Beauvais est devenue la plus haute cathédrale de la chrétienté. Hélas, parce qu’elle a été couverte de plomb avec une croix de fer, cette tour est tombée aussi, juste après la procession du jour de l’Ascension sortit de la cathédrale en 1573.
Cette cathédrale me fascine d’autres manières que son histoire. Elle a des tirants en haut pour renforcer sa hauteur. Aussi, il y a des beaux vitraux qui ont été protégés en secret loin de la cathédrale pendant la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale. En plus, il y a une belle horloge sonnante, la plus vieille du monde. En plus, il y a aussi une horloge astronomique. Elle a 90.000 pièces, 52 cadrans qui montrent les heures et aussi le mouvement des planètes et des cycles lunaires. Ces deux horloges qui fonctionnent même aujourd’hui sont vraiment magnifiques.
Bien que la cathédral manque sa grande nef, la partie qui reste nous montre la grandeur de cet effort architecturale.
The French portion of this article has been reposted at LearnParisianFrench.
[…] Beauvais Cathedral claims to be the tallest cathedral in the world, but that fame came at a strange price. To achieve the height, the builders and planners had to […]
[…] Bien que la cathédrale manque sa grande nef, la partie qui reste nous montre la grandeur de cet effort architecturale. Si vous voudriez lire plus en anglais, cliquez ici. […]
I love making day-trips from Paris as there is so much to discover such as Beauvais and its cathedral.