Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-Fidelité convent was founded on February 26, 1831 in Dovers-la-Déliverande by Henriette Le Forestier d'Osseville, thanking the Virgin for the healing of her daughter. Originally installed in an 18th-century building, the site expanded in the 1830s with neo-classical constructions, including a temple dedicated to Saint Joseph (1835), inspired by ancient models. The congregation established a boarding school for girls and an orphanage, marking its place in education and charity.

The chapel, enlarged from 1866 but completed only in 1929, suffered indirect damage during the Battle of Normandy (1944), later revealed by cracks and accelerated degradation of the works. Between 1995 and 2003, a major restoration was undertaken to preserve its heritage, including the Art Deco elements added in the 1930s. The choir, rebuilt in 1880 by architect Lavalley-Duperroux, combines neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance styles, topped by a hexagonal bell tower.

In 1930, for the centenary of the congregation, René Lalique designed an exceptional glass ensemble (crucifix, retable, windows, altar) considered his major work in situ. The order also includes a lamp, light columns and a communion table, all in moulded and frosted glass, for a symbolic sum. In 1931, a wax gissant representing Saint Florida of Africa was installed there, followed in 1948 by a cross path in lacquer of Alix Aymé, now inventoried at the National Heritage.

The convent park houses several religious factories: a cave, a calvary, a sacred heart (1892), and a column commemorating Talleyrand's conversion. These elements, associated with the chapel listed in the Historical Monuments since 2007, illustrate the artistic and spiritual evolution of the site, from neo-classicism to modernism. A 15th station on the Way of the Cross, added in 2014 by Isabelle Emmerique, completes this set always linked to local cult life.

Located at the place called Le Bout Varin, the convent is now owned by a cult association. Its openness to the public makes it possible to discover this unique heritage, where religious history, eclectic architecture and exceptional glass art intersect, testifying to the creative vitality of the 19th and 20th centuries in Normandy.

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