Noyon Cathedral: (Oise)

Built at the same time as Laon Cathedral and Soissons’ south transept, Our Lady of Noyon is a remarkable example of 12th-century early Gothic architecture. Construction commenced on the chevet c.1148, then moved on to the transept. By 1204, the nave was almost finished, the west front being completed c.1230. Although the cathedral was severely damaged during the First World War, the superb decor of the choir designed by Jacques Gondoin in 1779 survived, as did over 300 objects. Among the most unexpected of these is a prestigious collection of medieval furniture and a wide variety of wrought ironwork dating from the 12th to the 18th centuries. The canonical area, with its cloister, 13th-century chapter house, 16th-century library and 18th-century sacristy, easily bears comparison with similar buildings in the great English cathedrals.