Chartres, Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption
construction history in phases

Design the narthex, demolish other structures and excavate; build the extension to the north crypt and start the stairs up to the tower. The work around the crypt is complex, while the footings are bulk mortar fill within masonry laid against the sides of the excavation. The work of three to four years from 1127.

Footings under north tower, commence extension to the Fulbert crypt.

Small campaign on the footings and walls in the crypt.

North tower footings and completion of crypt passage, start of stairs up to tower.

Lowest ashlar courses of the WN tower above the footings to the top of the external torus moulds; includes the start of the openings on the north and south sides, and finalises the stairs into the crypt. From here on construction continued at about 8 courses per season.

There are no jambs for hanging doors over the openings on the south side, nor over the entry into the crypt, though there are to the external door to the north. Since the interior of the tower could not be closed to protect the crypt, the narthex had been intended from the beginning. Raised the north tower room walls and completed the arch over the passage down to the crypt. Included the capitals over the south entry from narthex WN-s(a-). Starting at the level of the floor over the crypt built the entry into the circular stairs on the east side; in the stairs work continued to tread 20. The distribution of masons marks within the stairs makes it relatively easy to determine the junctions between the campaigns.

North tower room vaulting capitals WN(a) and start of the rib vaults. In the stairs to about tread 30. The two openings on the south would not have been accessible to worshipers as it was encumbered with the builder work. This is why there is a second door on the north for access during construction, and this was lockable.

Completed the vault over the north tower room and set up arches over the external arcade with capitals at WN(a+). In the stairs to about tread 67. First work in the south with excavation and start of footings for the intended tower, possibly to crypt floor level.

North cornice over external arcade and start of openings into next level. This room has no shafts to support ribs. Stairs to about tread 97 at a height of about 17 metres above the ground. No capitals were carved in this campaign. Continued foundations under the south tower,

The earliest visible evidence for a portal lies in cuts made into the south-west corner of the north tower. The vertical insert by the plinth and the four courses further up level with the left column-statue (partly hidden behind the plain shaft) were caused either as the buttress was removed or the remnants for a different type of portal altogether. This may have been for bas-relief flanking panels embedded above a plinth. The height and projection suggest it was for a large element of sculpture that would have stood out from the frame of the entry and needed to be tied back into the tower for stability. The lower cut would have suited vertical plinths, as in the Saint-Loup-de-Naud portal completed only a few years earlier. The three out-of character figures that support the northern column-statues could have been carved at this time, though not erected. The northern lintel with ten figures may have been carved here, and was reduced in length later. This proposal was discarded in the next campaign for a very different scheme.

North tower level 1 openings and their capitals, stairs to about tread 121. The capitals over the openings include one with a palm-tree [Palmier group], and the others were by colleagues who could have been working on a contemporary campaign at Etampes. This is the first firm indication that there were to be three portals. All the richly decorated bases and capitals were carved here, yet only those flanking the north door could have been placed at this time. These bases were misplaced to the interior with enormous consequences. Continued with the foundations for the south tower with the entry and stairs into the crypt. The masons marks indicate this campaign and stairs were continued to about tread 6, below the level of the floor to the south tower room. The delay in starting the south were to give four crews F to I the opportunity to participate in carving and erecting the portals, which caused the 13 major misalignments that may have plagued historical analysis but also enriched the design

A major effort involving some 40 carvers and their support. They carved the bases, plinths and their capitals, the colonnettes, three lintels and some archivolts. The contractual relationships between the master mason and the imagiers seems fluid and imprecise, with the possibility that the two teams were not on the site at the same time. The details of the portal history are set out in John James "The Royal Portal Series (1136-1141)" that will be hosted on this site from late 2020 in /COGA/files/articles/. To study the complexities and groupings of sculpture discussed here you will need to refer to that study.

North tower level 1 with large areas of blank walling to the start of the domical squinch vault. Stairs raised to about tread 121. In the south tower the perimeter walls and buttresses were raised above the footings to just below the threshold of the south portal door. This formed a constant level on all sides. The tower footprint is larger than the north, and the dimensional changes indicate it was larger than had been anticipated in campaign-11. The major change was to enlarge the tower. This meant that the already-carved portal plinths had to be squeezed into a smaller space. To handle this the central opening was reduced in width. Carved the first jamb figures in the north and centre (Group A, pink). In the south the arch over the entry into the crypt was completed, but not the plinths into the narthex. When laying the lower courses of the embrasures flanking the central portal, bases for massive shafts were added onto the interior face, presumably to support a vault over the narthex.

Group A of the central and northern embrasures with the small jamb statuettes were carved, and presumably erected. Recognised that the alignment of the embrasure of the north door was set 50mm further to the east than the rest of the portal, a second lintel was needed to sort this out. It was a unique idea at the time. A large number of other changes stemmed from that decision

North tower level 2 begun with sills to opening, about nine courses. In the south door of the portal he eliminated the nib, and this allowed the plinth to be shifted a little to the south, slightly increasing the width of the doorway. In the south tower he built eight courses, and as the tower walls rose the plinths and each of the five embrasure courses from Group-C were bonded into it. This is where the work in the towers can be aligned with the installation of the portal.

Group B jambs were carved and the north pier was completed that established the height of the portal that was about 36cm taller than what the colonnettes indicate had been intended in the previous campaign. This meant none of the already-prepared colonnettes would be long enough, and he began the process that was continued into the next campaign of trimming bits off shafts to fill the gap under the capitals. In the south embrasure next to the tower the capitals had been carved with the plinths in Phase 8, but not placed until Phase 12. The width of the south door was increased 7cm by omitting the little pilaster his predecessor had built

Level 2 in the north tower was begun, bringing the height of this tower to 33 metres. South tower room and the stairs to tread 37 with the start of the vaults and the beginning of the long glacis on the east side. In the south tower he completed the windows on the west and the double openings into the narthex on the north and the single door on the south, with capitals and arches. A large campaign, with considerable work on the portal.

Completion of the three portal doorways and redesigning of the lateral tympani. The addition of the second lintels would have brought the height of the side portals almost level with the top of the middle. It would seem this was unacceptable, for in this campaign the side tympani were carved with lower centres and all the lower archivolts shortened to suit, with more than 20cm being chiselled off the bottom. Two additional colonnettes had been carved in an earlier session, and four more in this campaign, and all were placed. The narthex columns were built on the intermediate foundations. For the model the towers are less important than the footings found by Lefevre-Pontalis. I have made an assumption that they were for a porch to the Fulbert church and that it extended across the whole façade. I suggest this because there had to be exits from the crypt at the western end. Otherwise the crypt would have been just long passages blocked at the western end with no way to get out. You suggest there were no stairs, and that this was why they built the towers. I would think it unlikely that they would build massive towers just exit the crypt when the foundations show this could have been within the porch.

North tower continued in small campaign. The south tower room vault capitals and start of vault. Stairs to about tread 46. Completed erection of portal with the wall over the lateral tympani. The central seems to have been delayed a little, even into the next campaign from the delays to the triplet windows above the portal.

North tower completed with capitals, arches and the upper cornice. Probably quickly capped with a wooden roof or spire that was later destroyed by fire. Completed the wall over the portal and sills to western triplet windows into narthex upper chapel. In the south tower finished the arches over the external arcade with capitals, pointed arches and completed the vault. It is above this level that the jambs for the triplet windows are bonded into the tower

South tower openings into tower room, bonded into jambs of triplet windows. Triplet capitals in two layers, and just above that the capitals to the openings into level 1. A stone vault would have been built over this space, but not in the adjacent south tower

Complete triplet windows and vault, and presume there was a gable to support the room over the narthex chapel

Arches over arcade

Drip mould supported on heads, start of level 2 openings. The central pilaster altered from rectangular to a semi-shaft. Many changes in detailing from which I suggest this was the last campaign before the crusade.

Resumption of work after the hiatus that followed the crusade, completion of level 2 with arches and capitals over openings; adduced from the drastic change to the plan from square to octagon, similar to many of the spires at this time.

Redesigned tower for octagonal plan with same carving team on all upper levels to capitals and projecting heads. Suggests a team under a long-term contract.

Spire probably completed during the 1160s. There is a drawing in an L-P article suggesting that the spire was completed in 1263.

This is a summary of construction set out in the "Contractors of Chartres" by John James. Refer to the isometric studies after pages 180, 268, 418 and 514 for the references to each of the statements made here. For convenience some of the phases include more than one campaign. The central part of the Fulbert church would have been more thoroughly wrecked by the fire than the east that had stone vaults. Much time would have been spent clearing up the mess and repairing enough of the choir to allow services to be held. --- In the first campaign after the fire Scarlet cleared away the rubble and began the buttresses on either side of the nave. He also began the encasing stonework around the crypt at the eastern end, and the foundations and for the eastern piers of the nave. The evidence, slight as it is, indicates that he had bent the axis. --- The second campaign by Bronze continued with the nave and the new walls around the chapels in the east and lower courses of the crypt-level passages through the transept. The central axis was straightened --- In the third campaign C by Rose the western pair bases and the walls around the apse chapels reached the level of the nave floor from the western doors to the crossing --- The fourth campaign D by Olive completed the vaults in the sacristy building and over the tunnels into the crypt. It raised the eastern chapel walls at crypt level to the tops of the window heads. It also continued with the walls of the nave and the west side of the south transept. The clergy continued to occupy the old choir until the start of the next campaign. --- The clergy agreed to pay for the first part of the works from their own resources, so the rate of construction picked up once they were allowed to seek funds from elsewhere.

The fifth campaign E by Bronze set out the lower treads of all four staircases in the transepts with their doorways and windows, and the bases for the porch piers in the north. This included the bas-relief tracery under the slot windows between the portals. The entire form of the three portals was the work of Bronze (as it was at Laon) including the fluted columns and the twisted Solomonic shafts supporting the statues. At the same time imagiers were carving the first sculpture for the southern doorways. The analysis of the sculpture of the porches on pages 372-393 suggests the presence of a number of gangs whose members tended to work in a common manner but with not much agreement between the gangs. Bronze raised the walls around the nave to below the level of the sills and on the inside to below the string course, continued with the piers, and the walls and piers in the transepts and some in the straight section of the choir. He completed the bridge between the cathedral and the sacristy and brought much of it to floor level. All photos were taken on film during the 1969-70s site visits.

Campaign F, the sixth, by Ruby. They were still demolishing the last of the original apse, and the removal of the rubbish was delaying the completion of the second chapel wall. The plan was still to build deep chapels around the ambulatory, not to be changed into a double ambulatory until the next campaign. From the slope of the land and from the stonework in the old apse the western end of the choir was at all times about a metre higher than the eastern. --- The nave walls with pendulous drip moulds with long slopes outside and drip moulds inside were raised to somewhere below the level of the sills. The geometry in the heights of these elements shows the Ruby penchant for the simple repetition of a few basic elements. --- Imagiers carved most of the sculpture for the central south portal and some of the figures for the Virgin door on the north side. It was a large program but not out of keeping with the level of expenditure, for at this time the funds must have been flying in the prodigious rate. --- Ruby may have begun the temporary roof over the nave that could not be completed until the nave walls had reached the level of the sills in the next campaign. Only then would the rain water be thrown clear. -- The sacristy was completed and one presumes that a temporary builder’s shed was erected on that platform at the same level as the floor of the new cathedral for use over the next forty years.

Campaign G and the return of the first master, Scarlet. --- In the nave he erected the sills themselves with a roll mould on the inside, and completed the roof over the nave intended to discharge over these sills. The clergy could move out of the cramped space in the crypt they had been occupying for the previous two years, and into the nave. -- In the choir a double ambulatory replaced the deep chapels, which then became small niches. All these ambulatory walls and the pier bases were set out at this time. Around the sanctuary the previous master had intended long sill as in the nave. Scarlet changed that into a drip mould with a wall over it to the height of the sill to support a walkway outside the windows. This meant the windows of the sanctuary could be full-width between the buttresses. This is most clearly seen on the south side near the staircase in the easternmost bay. -- In the nave he raised the buttresses on each side of the windows well above the sills so the temporary roof could be finished. He lay the floor of the nave at this time and installed the labyrinth. As it was important to get the clergy into the nave as soon as possible he did not attempt to resolve the difficulties around the lower narthex vault just inside the royal portal, and so the floors are simply inclined to suit the western doors. -- The piers in the nave were adding more than a metre in each campaign, much faster than the more complex peers around the crossing. -- The masonry around the northern Job doorway was the most advanced at this stage and could have been the first door open to the public. But the evidence suggests there were argument about the iconography that delayed this corner for the next six years. -- The southern tympani and archivolts were completed at this time.

Bronze-H – Completed the temporary roof over nave. Carved 48 aisles capitals from the hard Berchere stone in the nave, but only over the piers as the walls were less advanced than the piers. For these capitals see discussion in chapter XI, and plan page 230. Designs have large serrated leaves laid over the cone or carefully arranged symmetrical posies, with tendrils and stubby pruned branches. Built the sanctuary sills over the walkways and designed the double windows.

Bronze-H – The corner buttresses in the transepts were still much lower than adjoining work, showing the extended impact of building the vaults over the crypt tunnels. Nevertheless, the stonework flanking the central doors and the staircases were being strongly advanced, and on the south the first stones of the tympanum. Carved 30 portal capitals, first sculpture installed and began the delicate shafts of the piers of the south porch with his characteristic griffes and leaves.

Ruby-I - Carved 39 capitals in nave aisles ranging from simple crockets to large pointed leaves and vine leaves. As the walls were slower to erect than the piers these capitals had to be in place before the wooden tie beams could be installed above the imposts, and above that began the arcade arches. Dendrochronology has confirmed this date. A few capitals in the choir and the external passage around the ambulatory.

Ruby-I – Carved 17 of the south portal capitals, and the central portion of the porch piers. The installation of the lintels and tympani was delicate and complex work, reflected in the stonework of the stairs. Slow progress in the north transept.

Cobalt-J – Carved 61 capitals for the choir piers with mostly complex designs, overlapping vines and fronds and with less of the cone being exposed. Built much of the nave arcade arches and could have extended the nave roof over much of the choir. Laid the sills and the walkway around the eastern chapels. The high altar could now be set up in its proper place.

Cobalt-J – In the south porch carved 17 and the panels that encase the porch piers. Installed the last of the column statues and added the outer figures to the lateral doorways. For the study of the canopies see pages 225-229. In the north concentrated on the stonework around the Virgin door and the outer piers of the porch.

Rose-K – As the arches over the nave aisle windows were completed and the formwork stripped, the vaults could be started. --- Carved 13 capitals in the choir with large areas of foliage, often omitting the crockets. Laid the timber ties over the imposts in five spans that have been dated by dendrochronology to this year, 1204. This has confirmed that the choir was built with (even if a little later) than the nave. --- Though begun two years after those in the nave the choir was not going to be as easy to construct with its trapezoid vaults and double aisles. --- Continued to raise the walls around the chapel windows. The temporary roof over the sanctuary, but not the ambulatory, could be waterproofed giving the clergy access to most of the area of the church just ten years after the fire.

Rose-K - Carved 7 capitals in the south porch, set up the lintels across the porch and began the vaults over them. Except for a few figures in the outer porch arches all the sculpture was now in place, and with it the bas relief statue built into the south-east buttress. In the north porch he finalised the outer supports for the eastern door, erected the tympanum and all the archivolt sculpture and protected it under a temporary cover. This provided direct access into the choir from the clergy’s quarters to the north. No more work was done on this door for another four campaigns, and the cover over the doorway was not absorbed by the surrounding masonry until 1214.

Bronze-L - Carved 75 choir aisle capitals and aisle vault arches with many of the same carvers as in phase 27, but larger coverage of foliage, and less serrations --- nave aisle vaults completed to provide a level platform for the triforium --- completion of south porch and now open to the public, includes figures under aedicules over the porch. --- Carved figure and tympanum sculpture to the north central door, and to the porch erected the two piers to the east and the lintels. The disturbed erection of the north porch is described on pages 394-97, between the years 1198 and the last stones in 122, all due to the delay in authorising the Job portal. The joints around the NW stairs around tread 31 discussed pages 354-57.

Ruby-M – triforium begun in nave with cross walls --- carved 46 capitals in the choir aisles, often carved with large leaves --- aisle vaults begun over two of the sanctuary windows with plate-tracery around the oculus --- major delay continued in Job portal

Cobalt-N – Continued with the walls behind the nave triforium and connected this work to the stairs in the western towers --- got ready for the south porch aedicules, and the last vault that connected the nave to the southwest door was set up --- the last 25 ambulatory capitals were carved in same complex manner as in campaign J --- the inside skin of the north terminal wall was built so that the adjacent vaults arches could be starter --- the decision was taken on the iconography of the Job portal, and work was to continue here for the next three campaigns.

Cobalt-N - north porch capitals and lintels to east portal on the north; work continued slowly on the porch possibly due to iconographic disputes that held up the works; this display includes all the later carving through to campaign P.

Bronze-O – Nave triforium height established with his corbels over the openings in the south, and lowest courses in the straight bays of the choir --- completed the eastern aisle vaults and, with the south a little ahead of the north, began building the perimeter walkway and started some of the rooms overhead --- in the south transept he finished the end vaults over the aisles and carried the terminal wall and porch roofs to their ridges --- work resumed in the north west Job portal, with three more wall figures and some archivolt; but meanwhile the outer supports for the porch were left in abeyance for the next five years.

Scarlet-P – Carved nearly all the capitals in the nave triforium, and a few on the south side of the choir, and behind them under the roof did most of the remaining cross walls in north nave and the choir with his corbels. --- under the choir flyers he changed Bronze’s central supports from cross to octagon and raised many of the perimeter rooms --- began the rooms under the two southern towers.

Olive-Q - Built the perimeter walkway around the nave, and the triforium passage to just under the walkway. His zone of work is easily separated as he used long thin block, more rough-cut where out of sight, and was the only time that masons marks were used with any consistency. Made no move to start the buttresses for the supports at clerestory level --- it is possible the form of the clerestory windows was discussed during this time because, unlike any other level, he made no attempt to begin the windows in the western corner. Also, this campaign stopped just under the walkways on both north and south sides even though up to this level the south had been three to four courses higher than the north, see pages 438-442. --- Carved most of the shafts in the choir triforium and continued with the vaults over the perimeter rooms --- in the south transept he set out the walkway and sills to the south wall, and continued work on the southern and eastern towers --- little to the north porch.

Ruby-R - In the nave sills Ruby began clerestory design of tall double lights, but did nothing around the perimeter, showing that the triforium roof could be framed, as the first step to eliminating the lower roof that had ben built in campaigns G to H at the level of the sills --- In the choir triforium he raised the walls to just below the walkway cornice and was ready to lay the roofs over the permitter rooms -- cleaned up the unfinished stairs in the south transept so the men could have a clean access from these two staircases --- did little to the north porch.

Camaigns S, T and U - Three campaigns that could have been three teams working relatively independently, each concentrating to different part of the project, as Red seems have concentrated in the transepts and the choir, Rose on the nave piers and Cobalt on the north porch --- A lot of masonry around the supports for the nave flyers, but no work done to the flyer arches themselves --- the complex workaround the choir triforium was largely completed and the south rooms and adjacent work completed --- Set up the second temporary roof the level of the clerestory sills, and here the aisle windows in the nave could be glazed, with the choir following in campaign V --- Cobalt successfully completed the structure for the north porch roofs and gables.

Scarlet-V - began and probably continued to work on the flyers and rib vaults of the nave from this campaign through to Y. These campaigns may not have been as sequential as described in "The Contractors", but the possible construction program may have been that Scarlet set out and made substantial progress on the nave flyers before anyone started on those to the choir. His presence in the western rose makes it a likely scenario that this team had control of the bulk of the nave construction. At an average of 4-5 courses per year this could have been completed over the next 5 or 6 years and thus be complete by 2016 or 17. Meantime, the choir would have lagged behind and been largely left to Bronze and Cobalt some years later. There are few masonry links between the two sections of the cathedral and toichological analysis may not help us here. The issue need a dedicated on-site re-analysis of my earlier observations to resolve.

Begun a bit later than the nave, and by different teams of masons, after Scarlet had built the nave to at least the start of the upper buttress arches. This possibility needs to be fully examined.

Choir clerestory walls and flyer arches begun a step later than the nave, and by different teams of masons, after Scarlet had built the nave to at least the start of the upper buttress arches --- the possibility that the nave could be pushed ahead while the choir lagged somewhat needs to be fully examined. However, it must be said that this need not change the detailed stage by stage construction of the upper courses of the nave nor the whole of the choir. ---- the slowing down of work in the upper choir fits with the poorer economic outlook and would help explain why the vaults were not completed until the 1250s.

Four campaigns in transepts g-j

Eight camaigns in transepts k-r

Transept gables in five small campaigns s-w

About 1252 ex paintwork on bosses shows they completed the choir vaults under the older roof.