Episode 205 – Building History: Inside the Guédelon Castle Project

The podcast by project managers for project managers. For the past 25 years, the Guédelon Castle project has been a mesmerizing journey into the past, building a medieval castle in the forest near Paris using authentic 13th-century methods. Sarah Preston details this project where a dedicated team of artisans and history enthusiasts have revived medieval construction practices, with meticulous attention to detail. Table of Contents 02:16 … The Inspiration for the Guedelon Project04:19 … The Onsite Experience06:08 … Dressing for the Project08:18 … Adhering to Historical Architectural Principles11:02 … Tool-Making Process12:49 … Funding the Guedelon Project16:07 … Safety Plans17:39 … Planning Permission Process18:00 … Where to Build the Castle?20:00 … Collaborating with Advisory Committees21:33 … Ren Love’s Projects of the Past23:51 … 13th Century Team Communication28:37 … Staff Training30:23 … Unique Project Challenges31:11 … Guedelon Project Lessons Learned35:56 … Modelling a Vault Build38:51 … Measuring Success41:08 … Leadership Lessons42:46 … Guedelon Project Completion44:01 … Find out More45:09 … Closing SARAH PRESTON:  …the castle is measured both in the height of the walls and the strength of the castle itself, but also in men and women who have gained this knowledge, who are sharing that knowledge and inspiring future generations. WENDY GROUNDS:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  I’m Wendy Grounds, and here in the studio with me is Bill Yates. We are so excited about today’s project... BILL YATES:  Yes. WENDY GROUNDS:  ...that I just want to jump straight into that.  So about a year or two ago I watched a program, and it was a BBC series on a castle.  It is called the Guédelon Castle, and it’s a remarkable project that’s been, gosh, I think for about 25 years they’ve been building this castle.  It’s nestled in the forest near Paris, and it’s a testament to the dedication of a team of artisans and history enthusiasts.  And they are resurrecting authentic medieval building techniques. This is an ambitious experimental archaeology project that has captivated historians and builders alike as they are meticulously recreating medieval construction practices, and they’re not using any modern amenities like electricity and power tools.  They are just building a castle using bricks and using... BILL YATES:  And they’re putting the bricks together, and they’re mixing the paint. WENDY GROUNDS:  Right. BILL YATES:  It’s just mind-blowing. WENDY GROUNDS:  It’s all from scratch.  The person we’re talking to is Sarah Preston.  She is originally from the southwest of England, and she’s worked at Guédelon since 2006.  She’s a guide, a photographer, a translator, a press officer, and she’s also worked as associate producer for numerous documentaries about Guédelon. So, when we reached out to them, they wanted to talk with us.  They were excited to share their project.  But they needed someone who spoke English.  Or we did, because we don’t speak French.  So, we are very excited to be talking to Sarah. BILL YATES:  You know, Wendy, one of the interesting things to me with this project, there are so many aspects to it.  But the lessons that they’ve learned with Guédelon are now being applied to the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, following the fire that was so devastating to that beautiful cathedral back in 2019.  My wife and I were fortunate enough to see Notre Dame before it burned.  And just the, you know, the heavy heart when I saw the devastation of that.  So, it’s especially neat tribute that this project is helping the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. WENDY GROUNDS:  Yeah, it’s pretty incredible, and I’m excited to get into it.  So do join us, folks, as we celebrate this remarkable project. Sarah, welcome to Manage This.  Thank you so much for joining us today. SARAH PRESTON:  Thank you for having me.