This presentation was first given by Robert Thorne at a symposium on 29 October 2019 entitled 'The fire at Notre-Dame: how should we respond?' organised by the
History Study Group.
A series of presentations discussed the cultural variations of approaches to restoring national monuments through examples in history.
Robert Thorne is a Historian and Consultant at Alan Baxter Ltd.
Robert studied history at university and then lectured for four years for Stanford University, California. His career in building conservation has taken him from the GLC to English Heritage and then to Alan Baxter Ltd.
He has written various books and articles, mainly on 19th century iron architecture, and was the editor of Construction History Journal for 20 years.
Changing attitudes to the replacement of lost cathedral roofs