Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The chapel of Bethlehem, located in Aubevoye in Eure (Normandia), was built from 1576 on the initiative of Cardinal Charles I of Bourbon, Archbishop of Rouen. Destined for the Chartreux monks of Bourbon-lez-Gaillon, it reproduces in its crypt the exact dimensions of the cave of the Nativity of Bethlehem, a case unique in the world. Consecrated on December 23, 1584 by the Bishop of Évreux Claude de Sainctes, it served at the Christmas midnight Mass celebrations.

Sold as a national property in 1791, the chapel was partially transformed into a dwelling in the 19th century, with structural changes such as the suppression of a threatening side chapel. In 1890 M. and Mme. Mignot, owners of the estate of the Créquinière, undertook rehabilitation work. The crypt, the only part of the cult, was once again consecrated on November 24, 1895 by Abbé Léon Adolphe Amette, vicar general of Évreux.

Ranked a historic monument on May 1, 1933, the chapel is now in ruins, surrounded by dense vegetation. In 2022, the new owner of the 17-hectare estate reopened the site to visitors. Since 2023, the association L'Etoile de Bethlehem has been working for its preservation and enhancement, organising regular visits, especially on the first Sundays of the month.

Architecturally, the chapel adopts a Latin cross plan, with a unique nave and a vaulted choir in a cradle. Its lantern, added in 1798, is surmounted by a five-pointed star. The crypt, although closed to the public, remains the most remarkable element of the site. The monument also illustrates the successive adaptations of a religious building from a place of worship to a dwelling and then to a threatened heritage site.

Historical sources underline the importance of the speech by Abbé François-Marie-Alfred Blanquart (1903), who rigorously documented the history of the chapel. Contemporary safeguard work builds on this heritage, while seeking to preserve this unique masterpiece, as scholars call it.

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