Heritage classified

Origin and history

Saint-Firmin Church, located in Vineuil-Saint-Firmin in the Oise (Hauts-de-France), is a Catholic religious building built between 1540 and 1543 under the patronage of Connétable Anne de Montmorency. It replaces an earlier medieval building, some of which might date back to the thirteenth century. Its flamboyant Gothic architecture, though modest, is distinguished by its homogeneity and absence of capitals, typical of the period. His main artistic treasure is the five Renaissance glass windows, restored in 1881-1882 by Auguste Steinheil. These stained glass windows, partly attributed to the workshop of Engrand Leprince, combine hagiographic scenes with various decorative motifs, reflecting both Gothic and renaissant influences.

The church has been listed in the Historical Monuments since 13 February 1970. His history was marked by periods of decline, especially after the French Revolution, where the stained glass windows were degraded and the cult banned in 1793. In the 19th century, several restorations (roof, furniture, stained glass) revived the building, whose sacristy was added in 1855 and the gallery in 1868. The furniture includes classified statues of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such as a Virgin of Pain or a St James the Major marble, as well as medieval funeral slabs. Today affiliated with the parish of Sainte-Famille de Chantilly, the church hosts Masses about twice a month.

The church plan, of basilical type, includes a nave of three spans flanked by bottoms, a false transept and a pentagonal apse choir. The modest height (7.20 m) and the absence of high windows create an intimate atmosphere, while the arches on dogive crosses and the monocylindrical pillars illustrate the late flamboyant style. Outside, the stone-cut stone building features a sober facade and a bell tower with an octagonal arrow. The adjacent cemetery, transferred around 1850, retains funerary slabs reused in the church floor.

The stained glass of the choir, restored by Steinheil, represents biblical and hagiographic scenes, such as the Tree of Jesse or the Charity of Saint Martin. Some panels, dating from the late 15th century, were reassembled with posterior fragments. The glass windows of the lower side, made in the 19th century, complete this ensemble. Among the donors are, besides Anne de Montmorency, Cardinal Adrien Gouffier de Boisy and the Priory of Saint-Nicolas-d The church, a communal property, remains a remarkable testimony of 16th century rural religious art in Picardia.

The parish history of Saint-Firmin is closely linked to the lords of Chantilly. As early as the eighth century, the village depended on the abbey of Saint-Denis, before being integrated into the Chantilly estate. The parish, united with those of Courteuil and Valprofond in the 15th century because of the desolation caused by the Hundred Years War, regained its autonomy thanks to the reconstruction of the church. After the Revolution, the diocese of Senlis was abolished in 1801, and Vineuil-Saint-Firmin was attached to the diocese of Beauvais. The last resident priest, Father Fernand Verté, initiated important restorations before his death in 1991.

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