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Origin and history

The Saint-Aubin Church of Bray-en-Cinglay, also known as the Saint-Aubin Church of Bray-en-Cinglais, is a Catholic building located in Fontaine-le-Pin, Calvados, Normandy. It is located in the former territory of Bray-en-Cinglais, a commune attached to Fontaine-le-Pin in 1835. The church is mainly dated from the 12th and 13th centuries, although some sources mention elements of the 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th centuries. His history was marked by successive transformations, including the reconstruction of the choir in 1851, replacing an 11th century Romanesque building.

The oldest part of the church is a fragment of the choir wall, dating from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century, identifiable by a narrow window characteristic of this period. The bell tower, in a building, is joined to the north between the nave and the choir, while the tower is attributed to the 15th or 16th centuries by the historian Arcisse de Caumont. The nave, a rustic and laminate look, dates back to the 13th century, but underwent modifications in the 19th century. The current choir, finished with a flat bedside, was enhanced in 1851, partially erasing the traces of the original Romanesque building.

The church was under the patronage of the Abbey of Sainte-Barbe-en-Auge, a female monastery located in the region. Among the remarkable elements are a 16th century Virgin with Child, classified as an object, as well as a bell from the old church of Fontaine-le-Pin, destroyed. The building was listed as historic monuments in two phases: partially on 12 May 1976, then in full on 10 June 2014. Arcisse de Caumont, in his monumental Statistique du Calvados (1850), describes the church as a "not very characteristic" monument, highlighting its modest and rural appearance.

The architecture of the church reflects its evolution over the centuries: the triumphal arch dates from the beginning of the 14th century, while the bays of the choir, vestige of the early 13th building, remain. The site of the Fondation du Patrimoine and the Fondation Mérimée confirm its status as communal property, open to the visit. Its exact address is 2 rue Osmond in Fontaine-le-Pin, in a place always known as Bray-en-Cinglais. The church thus illustrates the religious and architectural history of Normandy, between medieval heritage and modern adaptations.

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