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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Léger de Delincourt, located in the Oise region of Hauts-de-France, replaces an older building whose nave dates back to the late 11th or early 12th century. The eastern parts, built by the chapter of the Collège Saint-Mellon de Pontoise, date from the third quarter of the 12th century for the transept and the choir, while the Gothic bell tower was completed in the early 13th century. These elements combine late Romanesque and primitive Gothic influences, with curved vaults and carved capitals representing symbolic scenes such as capital sins.

In the 14th century, the church was enlarged by the addition of two collaterals to the choir, whose vaults were made or redone around 1300. The nave, initially covered with a flat ceiling, was modified in the 16th century with a reversed keel frame and Berrichons passages directly connecting the nave to the crumbs. During the French Revolution in 1791 the choir was extended by an apse with cut strips, whose wooden vault dates back to 1860. Romanesque capitals were classified as historical monuments in 1911, and the rest of the building (outside the nave) was listed in 1926.

The church was deeply marked by its parish history under the Ancien Régime, where Pontoise's chapter, a collator of the cure, assumed the costs of construction and maintenance. Conflicts around tithes and negligence in maintenance led to tensions between canons and perpetual vicars, as evidenced by the 14th to 18th century trials. The parish, one of the oldest in the Vexin, was initially dedicated to Saint James before being placed under the protection of Saint Léger d'Autun, a rare term in the region.

The restoration campaigns in the 20th century, particularly between 1990 and 1995, allowed the building to be partially saved, but the relative abandonment after 2005 led to progressive degradation. The association of the Friends of Delincourt revived the preservation efforts from 2007, allowing the reopening of the church in 2015. Today, although Sunday Masses ceased in 2018, the building remains a major architectural testimony, affiliated with the parish of Saint-François-d'Assise du Vexin.

The interior of the church reveals a nave with successive modifications, a transept with late Romanesque vaults, and a choir enriched with 14th century lateral chapels. The early Gothic bell tower dominates the building with its broken arched bays and its built roof. Among the furniture, seven elements are classified or inscribed, including an 18th century confessional, a 14th century Virgin with the Child, and a painting depicting Notre-Dame de Liesse. These pieces illustrate the artistic and religious evolution of the region.

Exterior, the church has a western facade remodeled in the 18th century, a condemned Gothic porch, and eastern parts made of partial stone. The bell tower, with its corner columnettes and geminied bays, is inspired by Romanesque models while adopting Gothic characteristics. The foothills and windows of the collaterals reflect the additions and modifications of the 14th and 18th centuries, while the neo-classical apse, added in 1791, closed the building with a cut-sided bedside.

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