ABSTRACT
Large masonry structures require more or less continuous inspection and maintenance, not to check their stability (for they are extraordinarily stable), but to make sure that the stone is not weathering too severely, that water is not penetrating, that cracks are not extending, and so on. Small ‘cosmetic’ defects are usually remedied immediately, but every so often (and there is some evidence for a 100-year cycle), more extensive structural restorations are undertaken. In England, for example, in the second half of the nineteenth century, many major churches were repaired by George Gilbert Scott; at about the same time, Viollet-le-Duc was active in France. The end of the twentieth century again sees many restorations under way.
