THE CHURCH OF DE FONTELLE ABBEY AS EXAMPLE OF PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN REARRANGEMENT OF ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE

Reviewing the example of the Fontelle Abbey, Saint- Wandrille, France the author devoted his considerations to the problem of rearrangement of ancient architectural objects from the viewpoint of the present tendencies in conservation. To a thorough analysis and assessment were subjected two kinds of such rearrangements, namely this called „positive” a rising, for instance, from objective necessities as, e.g. a decay of a building being a consequence of earthquake, and that „negative”, i.e. the need to move it to another place in view of the townplanning or spatial development requirements. The old Gothic temple of the Fontelle Abbey has been demolished during the French Revolution. After the World War II the architect Paul Tournon specializing in the rebuilding of the sacred architecture has been entrusted with the task of its reconstruction; however, it was the lack of adequate financial means that has caused the stoppage of the whole project. After the death of P. Tournon his daughter Marion has, in collaboration with A. le Donne, realized an entirely different solution of the problem. An abandoned thirteenth-century stone-built barn in Eure District was acquired by the Abbey that, according to plans, had to be demolished. This ancient building was stripped into the separate stone-masonry and timber elements which in turn were moved to Saint-Wandrille where they have been reassembled retaining a large proportion of those original including the old rafter framing. The barn interior of some 9.000 m* space has been adapted to the function of a monastery church. As a result of the above adaptation it proved necessary to reshape some portions of the barn’s walls which the remaking was forced by the new function; so, for instance, the front entrance had to be extended by an addition of a new gate span. These alterations did not, however, too strongly affect the original beauty or the character of the building. While summarizing his review the author comes to conclusion that both rearrangement and adaptation to a new function in the case of de Fontelle Abbey may be considered as a positive example of safequarding of an ancient building through its adjusting to requirements of the present-day life