Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin of Cachy dans la Somme

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Origin and history

The church of the Assumption-de-la-Sainte-Vierge of Cachy, located in the department of the Somme a dozen kilometers from Amiens, has its origins in the Middle Ages. The medieval building was devastated in 1636 during the Spanish invasion and siege of Corbie, then rebuilt before being damaged again during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. A watercolour of the church, made in 1871 by the painter Oswald Macqueron, bears witness to his condition after these destructions.

The reconstruction of the choir was entrusted in 1875 to architect Victor Delefortrie, but the church was completely destroyed during the First World War, leading to his declaration of disarray. A new building was erected between 1925 and 1926 according to the plans of Louis Duthoit, who also designed his interior decoration. This art deco-style building is distinguished by its use of brick, its arrow bell tower and its interior adorned with mosaics, stained glass and statues made in the inter-war period.

The interior features wooden and similipierre furniture, including a confessional, baptismal fonts and a high altar decorated with red cement bands. The path of the cross in mosaic, work of Jean Gaudin, and the stained glass windows signed Pierre Pasquier (initially planned for Georges Teumbret) illustrate the sacred art of the period. The polychrome plaster statues represent saints such as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux or Jeanne of Arc, reflecting local devotion.

The church, modest in its size (192 m2), consists of a unique nave without low side or transept, with a narrower choir ending in apse with three sides. Its porch, protected by an awning, and its wooden vault complete a sober but characteristic architecture of Picardy reconstruction after 1918. Duthoit's work is part of the movement for the renewal of sacred art, documented by works such as The reconstruction and its memory in the villages of the Somme.

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