If I could add one more to the list above.
In 1984 York Minster suffered a severe blaze which was believed to have been caused by a lightning strike.
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As at Notre-Dame, the main structure of the Minster was saved after part of the roof collapsed, allowing firefighters access to the source of the flames.
In contrast, the collapsing of the Minster roof in 1984 was deliberate: firefighters aimed water-jets on the burning timbers to bring them down.
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The fire happened two nights after David Jenkins was consecrated as Bishop of Durham in the Minster.
He had caused a fuss inside the Church and out by questioning the literal truth of the virgin birth or miracles such as Jesus walking on water.
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Given the Bishop's less than mainstream views, some of his critics were quick to make a connection between them and the lightning strike.
How the rebuilding of York Minister offers hope for Paris's Notre-Dame | ITV News
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Another angle on the plans for restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral:
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AN ECCENTRIC English aristocrat is sending 50 oak trees to help rebuild Notre-Dame – because he feels guilty about his family’s history of “killing French people’’.
Sir Benjamin Slade, 72, said he felt compelled to help rebuild the stricken cathedral in Paris to “make amends’’ after years of his ancestors battling nobility in France.
One family member, Sir Thomas Slade, designed Horatio Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory which led the successful attack against the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
The 7th Baronet, who made his millions as a shipping magnate, said he would transport 50 oak trees to France from his 2,000-acre estate at Maunsel House in Somerset.
The Grade II-listed ancestral home is believed to have been built in the late 14th century, and it is thought that Geoffrey Chaucer wrote part of The Canterbury Tales while staying there.
Sir Ben said: “I was shocked at the news about Notre-Dame and I feel a bit guilty about how my family has treated the French over the centuries, especially as one of my ancestors designed Nelson’s ship the Victory and built it out of English oak, so I thought this gesture might help to make amends.”
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