Church of Saint-Maclou: Exterior, most of the west facade viewed from a neighboring street

St. Maclou is cited as a church of monumental design in miniature. The wooden spire of the lantern tower, 83.85 m high, was built in 1517 by Martin Desperrois; it was destroyed by storms in the 18th century and replaced by the present stone spire in 1869. The choir (reopened in 1981) and the lantern tower suffered considerable damage in 1944. Although numerous master masons are associated with the building works, the homogeneous style suggests that they adhered to original designs of the 1430s. These are traditionally attributed to the otherwise unknown Pierre Robin, who was paid in 1436-1437 for drawings of the church.