Analysis and demolition of some vaults of the church of La Peregrina in Sahagún (Spain)

Abstract

The Franciscan church of La Peregrina in Sahagún (Spain) was founded in the 13th Century. It has undergone many transformations and additions throughout its history. The most important were carried out in the 17th Century when the church was converted to the Baroque style. The apse vaults were demolished and new timbrel vaults were built hiding the Mudéjar windows. In the nave, the transverse arches that supported the modern roof were also demolished, internal counterforts were built and new barrel timbrel vaults with lunettes, erected. Eventually, an oval dome was built on the transept. Recent restoration work will give the building a new use. The project aims to recover the Mudéjar apse with its windows providing natural light to the presbytery. This involves the demolition of the Baroque vaults above the presbytery (a barrel vault terminated with a semi-dome). The oval dome will lose some buttressing to the side of the apse and an expertise was required to assess the feasibility of the operation. In the present paper the structure of the church will be described and the analysis of the oval dome with and without the presbytery vaults will be explained.