Guédelon Castle, Part I: Construction

In the heart of France, a 2 ½ hour drive from Paris, a team of fifty master-builders have taken on the challenge of building a castle using medieval techniques and materials.Surrounded by Guédelon Forest and all the natural materials required for the construction -- stone, wood, earth, sand, clay – day after day artisans are building a castle from the ground up.

Guédelon Castle, the brainchild of Michel Guyot, was once an abandoned quarry on the outskirts of the village. M. Guyot has not only begun the re-creation of an ancestral French structure, he has fostered a moneymaking tourist attraction as well. In the early stages, he had to secure public and private financing, which probably wasn’t easy, but since 1997, Guédelon has become a medieval building site. Not only is a 13th century castle being built there--it is being built with the materials and building techniques of that age (!) Slow going, you can be sure. 

The castle is supposed to be finished in 2025, but because they work only from March to November, and because the tourist business is thriving, I don’t think they are in a hurry to finish the castle. (Also, there is a matter of mortar freezing and cracking in very cold weather.) It is a very popular tourist attraction, mainly for French people, because not many others know about it.  Since 1997, millions of visitors have gone to Guédelon--the sheer number of visitors finally answered the question of whether the public would be interested in castle-building in the 21st century. I enjoyed the visit very much, but at the same time, it is such a fascinating project that I want them to hurry up and make more visible progress year over year. 

A model of Guédelon Castle

A view of the courtyard of the castle 

The Great Tower on the right provides a lookout for approaching enemies. It is the castle’s ultimate stronghold.

The wooden bridge between the towers of the castle will be a fixed bridge. The more complicated drawbridge was reserved for royal castles and the gates of important towns. The vertical openings in the towers are “arrow loops,” from which to shoot arrows.

Guédelon Castle - October, 2017

On the first floor of the North Range (the building between the towers), there is the Great Hall and a bedroom. 

Castle courtyard 

The crenelated wall provides a vantage point and protection for soldiers protecting the castle. The western flanking tower is on the left. The staircase on the right leads to the castle proper.

Treadwheel winch

Lifting machinery is used to hoist stones and mortar onto the walls and towers under construction. The Treadwheel winch is the crane of the Middle Ages. A worker walks slowly in the “squirrel cage,” and as the wheel turns, the rope wraps around the central axel and the load is hoisted up.  Shown is a double-drummed “human hamster wheel.”

A mason at work 

The arm of the winch disappears into the top of the photo.

The masons must be very precise. Their walls must be level and their vaults must not collapse. They use a mason’s level to check that masonry is level, a plumb line to check that a wall is upright and a set square to check right angles.

A single treadwheel winch lifts stones and mortar up to the western flanking tower.

The wall-walk runs around the castle, allowing soldiers to move around and keep watch over the  surrounding areas. The walk is crenelated so that soldiers can shelter behind the solid part and shoot from the spaces between the crenels.

A closer look at the western flanking tower

A centring is the wooden assembly that supports  the masonry of the arch of the tower. It is designed to brace the stones as they are laid to become the arch ceiling. When the arch is complete, the wooden blocks supporting it are knocked away, and the arch stands on its own.  

Courtyard as seen from the interior of castle

The Great Hall banquet room

The Great Hall banquet table and fireplace

Hanging flower chandelier above the banquet table

Antechamber (a smaller room serving as an entryway into a larger one) on the first floor, along with the Great Hall

Antechamber mural
Mineral pigments, such as ochre and hematite, are used to carry out mural paintings inside the castle. 

Window seat in antechamber

Interior corridor in castle

Interior door of castle

“Tip” jar

Workmen’s tip jar, to show appreciation for their workmanship

Quarry and Guédelon Forest

Quarry cart with horse

Loading cart

Experienced quarrymen could look at rock and see the weaker layers and split it accordingly, creating pieces of approximately equal size. This seems like very slow going, but it doesn't really matter because all of the construction steps are done in slow motion, judging by modern-day standards.

Horse & cart deliver stones to stone mason

On the right, you can see the whole apparatus of the tread wheel winch.

Cart emptying stones

Quarry horse and new-found friend. 

Guédelon horses must not only be strong, but must also have very calm temperaments.

To be Continued:

Guédelon Castle, Part II, describes the work stations and village in the castle complex. 

Guédelon Castle, Part II: Workshops and Village

Site map of castle complex

Surrounding the castle construction, artisans in workshops demonstrate the skills necessary to build the castle--carpenters, quarrymen, stonemasons, woodcutters, blacksmiths, rope makers, tile makers, in all, more than half a dozen trades-- and there is a small “village” which would have typically surrounded a castle-complex of the Middle Ages.

The Stonemasons’ work station

Stonemasons dress sandstone from the quarry (reddish-brown stone) or limestone (white stone) from a neighboring quarry. The sandstone is used to build the towers, walls and buildings inside the courtyard. Limestone is used to sculpt stones for the windows and vaults.

After quarrying, the stone will be shaped to the proper size according to its place on the wall. The wooden objects hanging up in the stonemasons’ lodge are templates or molds. They are full-scale models of the stones needed for the different features of the castle.

The Stonemasons’ tools are chisels, hammers and lump hammers. They use a wooden ruler and set square to check the precision of their work. 

At the mortar work station, the Mortar Makers  make the “glue” used to bind the stones.

The mortar oven

The mortar is made from lime, sand and water The ingredients in mortar are adjusted according to the type of mortar required.

The Carpenters make all the wooden elements in the castle: roof timbers, doors, the bridge, centrings, which support the vaults while they are being built, scaffolding and lifting machinery (treadmill and hand winches).

A Carpenter at work

Wooden joists

The Blacksmiths make, repair, sharpen and temper dozens of tools a day. Cutting stone blunts the masons’ tools so much that, unless they are sharpened by the blacksmiths every three days, all work at the castle will come to a standstill.

The blacksmith burns charcoal in the hearth to heat the metal. To raise the temperature, he pulls the large leather bellows. The forge is often kept dark because the blacksmiths judge the heat of the metal by eye, depending on its different colors.  An orangey-red to pale yellow corresponds to a temperature between 900 and 1200° Centigrade. For tempering, they look out for cherry-red, which is equivalent to 820° Centigrade. For soldering, they must make the metal white-hot, equivalent to 1250 to 1300° Centigrade.

Horses, ponies & donkeys are used to transport materials on the site. Horses transport stones from the quarry and timber from the forest.

A colt

In the Middle Ages, sheep were very valuable for their meat, skin, wool and dung for manure. Sheep’s wool is carded and then spun to make clothes

The animals at Guédelon, including the pigs, are just on display; they aren’t eaten or killed and are given the best of care.

The basket makers weave strong, short-handled willow baskets for the construction site. Baskets are needed to transport clay and material for mortar. Previously, mortar had been transported in heavy wooden buckets, but baskets are much lighter than wood and just as strong.

A village peacock and geese. Goose feathers were sharpened to make quill pens. Peacocks have been a favorite decorative motif through the ages. They may symbolize royalty, wealth, beauty, rebirth….or dangerous pride.

The village garden

In the village dye house, the dyer dyes fabric with plant-based dyes. Also in this workshop, mineral pigments such as ochre and hematite are extracted and used to carry out mural paintings inside the castle. The pigments are extracted from colored earth, minerals and clays found at Guédelon.

Stone carving workshop for kids
With a set of carving tools, children learn to carve stone by sculpting a design onto a limestone block.

Kids learning stone carving

Village pottery workshop

Pottery wheel

On weekends May through November, you can watch the ancient art of throwing pots on a medieval style, stick-propelled wheel.

Village pond

Tile Workshop for roof and paving tiles

For roofing, wood could be used, but for a fortification, a flammable material is dangerous. Tiles are a better solution. The roof and floor tiles are molded from clay extracted on site. The tile makers form the tiles in a wooden mold.

This kiln contains up to 4,000 roof or paving tiles. A firing lasts for about 12 hours, depending on the weather conditions.

Stacks of tiles in the workshop

Wagon maker

The Quarry horses work on average for a two-hour shift. They must have extremely calm temperaments to work among the public. 

Chestnut mares, Paloma and Arpège, are Comtois, a breed of draft horses. The horses are essential for transporting materials on site. 

I traveled from Paris to Guédelon by bus with Club Alliance Voyages at a cost of 58 euros. I was the only English native speaker on the bus; the commentary was in French, but the French guide made sure I had all necessary information in English.  I don’t know of any other way of getting to the castle other than by driving there. There is a lot more to see on the web site: www.guedelon.fr and choose “anglais” from the drop-down menu.

FYI 

Michel Guyot undertook the same project--building a medieval castle from the ground up--in Lead Hill, Arkansas. Having visited Guédelon Castle, two French citizens living in Arkansas offered to sell M. Guyot part of their land for the building of the castle. M. Guyot accepted, and construction began in June, 2009. In May, 2010, Ozark Medieval Fortress opened to the public. Visitors could observe the ongoing construction and talk to the workers. Additionally, starting in 2011 a collection of medieval siege weapons was to be on display. The site was open every day from 10AM to 6PM. In January, 2012, the project closed indefinitely, requiring a buyer or an investor. 

Why did it fail? The recession of 2008 didn’t help nor did the castle’s secluded location. It was hoped that the castle’s proximity to Branson, Missouri, (30 miles away) would draw some of the 8 million tourists who go to Branson, but that expectation never materialized. Nevertheless, there are still dreamers who hope for a buyer who will invest in their dream.