RESTORATION PROJECTS

The last major work on the church dates from June 1980 when the roof was repaired by the Goudalle company on the initiative of the municipality and its mayor, Mr. Harlé. 

 

Partial restoration work on the stained glass windows was also carried out in 1982. 

Maintenance work has since been regularly carried out by successive municipalities.

 

In 2022 a complete diagnosis of the church was undertaken.

Below is a summary of the diagnosis and detailed recommendations for conservation and restoration.

This diagnosis concludes on the need to consider works that would be broken down into 5 distinct phases:

• A phase for the bell tower and a possible consolidation of the foundations which requires an additional study,

• three phases of exterior work (masonry and roofing) on the north chapels, south chapels and the choir,

• a final phase of restoration of the interior decorations, electrical compliance, improvement of lighting, ventilation and heating.

These conclusions were presented by the heritage architect in the presence of the DRAC (Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs) and the Department, partners who can financially support the municipality in this project.

​

Synthesis of the diagnosis according to the Diagnosis document, June 2022, Part VI “Health status”, pages 71 to 98.

 

Éric BARRIOL, heritage architect, 45, rue Saint-Honoré 75001 Paris

Éric MISSON, E2MH, construction economist, 119, rue Jacques Brel 77310 Saint-Fargeaux-Ponthierry

Marie-Paule BARRAT, restorer of paintings and murals, 2ter, rue de l’Île Maurice 02300 Blérancourt

 

Signs of instability

• In the bell tower:

  • Cracks filled with cement forming a relief arch above the door, on the exterior facings of the bell tower, on the west facade, 

  • Crack in the arches of the door, 

  • Open joints between the keystones of the oculus.

• Vertical cracks under the openings inside and outside the two chapels attached to the bell tower and the first chapels of the south and north aisles.

• Cracks crossing the shear walls, north and south sides of the Arc Triomphal.

• Disorders in the exterior of the choir:

  • Reconstructions in red-burgundy industrial bricks of the first north-east buttress of the choir,

  • Deformation and cracks filled with cement above the same buttress,

  • Deformation of the full span above the third north bay,

  • Cracks filled with cement above the first northern buttress of the choir, deformation clearly visible.

• Vertical cracks in the east gables of the two chapels of the pseudo-transept between the different masonry of the old brick buttresses and the stone wall of the chapels.

• Detachment cracks between the false brick vaults laid flat and the brick gutter walls in the nave, the pseudo-transept and the chancel.

Recommendations                         

• Additional studies:

  • Shrinkage-swelling hazards, low under the chancel and medium under the bell (BRGM map): pressuremeter soundings.

  • Water infiltration: sampling by core drilling in the wall. 

  • Stability study of each structure.

  • Stratigraphic surveys to know the nature of the soil.

• Without additional studies, we could:

  • Reinforce the bell tower by installing tie rods,

  • Reinforce the Triumphal Arch by installing a concrete achelet

  • Reinforce the choir by repairing the cracks

 

Seals, coatings, exterior coatings

• Large areas of empty joints in the brick masonry on the west facade of the bell tower, on the staircase turret, in full-spans of the high windows of the nave, south side and on the buttresses of the choir.

• Resumption of old brick masonry with more modern red-burgundy bricks jointed with cement.

• Many cement repointings on brick masonry.

• Many repointings on stone masonry, especially in the basement.

• A cement patch replaces the missing cornices of the nave and the choir, a flat area that runs over the entire building, masked by a board fixed under the roof drain.

• Breaks and gaps in the flat tile coverings sealed with ocher lime mortar which protect the first two bays of the choir, south side, around the high windows and the last of the choir, before the pseudo-transept. 

• Remains of exposed stone rendering and decoration of false joints smoothed in the gable of the Sainte-Anne chapel, south side.

Recommendations

• The exterior brick and stone facings must be cleaned, purged of all cement, repointed, the internal blockage must be regenerated.

• The remains of false joint plaster must be kept as archaeological evidence.

• The cornice of the nave and the choir must be restored.

• The exterior facings must be restored, the fractured or eroded stones must be changed, the internal blockages regenerated and the flat tiled coverings restored.

 

Eroded or peeling stones

• Abutments, triangular arches, mullions, tracery and networks are in poor condition.

• The irons with T which cross the mullions of the high bays of the nave and the false-transept made burst the mullions and the side walls, the traceries were taken again with cement.

• The statues of the twelve gables of the north and south aisles are covered with lichens and mosses, fractured horizontally and vertically. Two heads are missing.

Recommendations    

 

• Bay stones and fillings, fractured or eroded, must be changed.

• The statues must be removed, restored in the workshop and replaced by a specialized restorer.

 

Multiple biological coverings and some vegetation 

Recommendations

• Vegetation must be cut and then uprooted.

• Application of a biocide followed by micro-exfoliation at low pressure.

 

Covers-frames

• The visible frameworks of the spire of the bell tower, the nave and the choir were checked and modified in 1982. In sawn wood, they show no deterioration.

• The frames of the aisles could not be inspected, the attic being inaccessible, but the poor condition of the roofs raises fears that repairs are to be considered.

• The slate coverings of the steeple of the bell tower, the nave and the choir are in good condition. Note, however, some gaps at the spire, filled with zinc sheets and the greening of the north-facing slopes.

• The flashings of the buttress slopes are quite rough.

• On the aisles and on the sacristy, the covers are out of order and have caused damage to the painted decorations. The water drains and flashings to the right of the gables are probably also leaky.

• Rainwater drainage :

• Water boxes too small, sometimes clogged,

• Gutters hanging between the gables of the aisles,

• Gutter sunk between the roof of the sacristy and the choir, inaccessible, could not be verified. No trace of damage inside the attic of the sacristy but in view of the rest, it is to be feared that it will also have to be taken back.

Recommendations

• The coverings of the two aisles and of the sacristy must be renewed.

• The water drainage between gables must be particularly neat, the frames revised and the masonry cornice restored on this occasion.

​

Interior facings: marble marquetry, stone reliefs, painted or not

 

• Degradation and old restorations due to very high ambient humidity (82% during Marie-Paule BARRAT's analysis), a consequence of the use of radiant gas heating which causes strong condensation on cold surfaces, a lack of ventilation, capillary rise and old leaks in the roofing.

• Marble stone veneer decorations must be tested from scaffolding: joints, facings, stone gaps.

• The black-and-white paving of the Soignies and Lunel stone floors has, in the black tiles, the beginnings of desquamation and white efflorescences.

 

Recommendations

• The painted decorations must be restored by a specialized restorer according to the instructions of Marie-Paule BARRAT.

• A sanitary condition of the decorative stone elements must be established by a specialized restorer who will define the specifications of the work to be done.

 

Very degraded premises: sacristy, technical room

 

• In the sacristy, numerous whitewash gaps in the plastered walls, ceiling plasters.

• Several steps are missing from the staircase in the basement of the sacristy, ceiling ready to collapse, supporting beam of the high floor supported by two candles, exterior door buttressed by a joist.

• Technical room: no more coating on the false vaults, traces of water infiltration, degraded window openings.

 

Recommendations                        

​

The sacristy and the technical room must be restored.

​

 Stained Glass

 

All stained glass must be cleaned.

Some stained glass windows have breakages and gaps.

The stained glass windows equipped with iron with tee must be removed (bursting of the bays because of corrosion) and the irons replaced by barlotières with bits and strips.

The existing barlotières and vergettes are corroded and therefore need to be changed.

The panels restored by Claude BARRE in 1982 are in good condition.

The outer protective mesh can be kept.

 

Heating

 

Gas radiant heating creates heavy condensation. Another device will have to be studied.

 

Inside lighting

 

All of the interior lighting needs to be reviewed: unsightly cables, unprotected junction boxes even if the circuits are relatively recent, crystal chandeliers in poor condition (we could restore old wrought iron suspensions, from the 1920s and 1930s, deposited in the technical room). The current devices, simple bulbs suspended from the vaults, diffuse a cold and blinding light. Spotlights on the capitals.

Exterior lighting is unattractive: two spotlights above the two doors.

 

Campanarian

 

Recent belfry, from 2002 but the electrical safety box requires upgrading.

 

Lightning rod

 

A single down conductor: current standards require two braids, with equipotential bonding and grounding.

 

Disabled access

 

The difficulty comes from the difference in level between the side door of the church and the parking lots below the church. It would be easier to provide a parking space near the gate and modify it to create access that complies with safety rules.

​