The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Noyon is located on the highest point in the city, a site previously occupied by a succession of churches that were either destroyed by fire or invading conquerors. One of the earlier churches was the site of Charlemagne’s coronation as king of Neustria in 768. The last of the three previous churches was destroyed by a fire in 1131, and construction of the current Cathedral likely began shortly thereafter, making the Noyon Cathedral one of the earliest of the Gothic cathedrals. It retains some features of Romanesque architecture and lacks the size and height of the later Gothic cathedrals such those in Beauvais and Amiens. It is thus considered an example the first generation of Gothic architecture.
Today, the Cathedral site includes a number of structures and buildings that were added after initial construction of the church was completed. Among these is the Cloister, which on the morning I visited was filled with sunlight and shadows. Sunlight also poured in from the windows of the choir and transepts, located at/toward the east end of the Cathedral. In contrast, the nave was a bit dark, especially at the western end where I entered.
Overall, I found the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Noyon lacked the grandeur of what are considered the great Gothic cathedrals such as Notre Dame in Paris and the Amiens Cathedral. Rather, from my reading of the limited online material, it appears to be of historical and architectural significance as an early and transitional example of Gothic design. Still, the cloister was a wonderful surprise for me.
It was a bit of a challenge to find more than the basic information on the Cathedral. Aude and Dave had a nice book on the Cathedral - I skimmed through it but didn't take any notes. Consequently, what follows is basically a photo-dump with a barebones description.
Layout of the Noyon Cathedral complex with cathedral and associated structures. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Noyon_Cathedral_Complex_Map.png Attributed to Chevsapher, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
View from the southeast, with partial views of the chevet, the Treasury, and the chapter library. The upper level of the north arm transept is visible above the Treasury
The south arm of the transept. One of my readings highlighted the transepts one of the more notable features of the Noyon Cathedral, with their semi-circular ends, original design and structure of the five ascending levels that comprise the elevation.
Chapel of Joan of Arc. Though there are several chapels along the nave and ambulatory, none were particularly ornate or striking, though I did like the simplicity of this Joan of Arc chapel.
If interested, you can find more information on the Noyon Catherdral online at Églises de l'Oises and Wikipedia, where I gleaned what little information I could.
