Soissons before and during the war

by Unknown

THE NAVE BEFORE THE BOMBARDMENTS.

COLLAPSE OF THE PILLAR, FEBRUARY 1915.

SOUTHERN AISLE AND TRIFORIUM, NOVEMBER 1918.

The destruction of the Nave and fall of the Pillar.

Early in February 1915, a projectile, entering by a hole made by a previous shell in the wall of the south aisle, struck the second column (A on plan, p. [18]) on the left of the main nave, which was broken in two about 13 feet from the ground (photos pp. [20–21]). The upper part, with the capital and courses supporting the springing of the vault, gave way, dragging down in its fall a portion of the vault and of the wall at the back of the triforium.

The ruins accumulated rapidly. By the end of March, the roof of the grand nave and of the north aisle, which the broken pillar had sustained, collapsed. The whole of the triforium, the large window, the flying buttress outside, the framework, and the roofing of the bay of the aisle also gave way. An enormous breach was made in the cathedral, and the floor of the nave was covered with a shapeless mass of broken stones, which increased during the following months.