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  2. Patrimoine
  3. Île de France
  4. Yvelines
  5. 78520 Guernes

  6. Our Lady of the Assumption Church

Our Lady of the Assumption Church à Guernes dans les Yvelines

Yvelines

Our Lady of the Assumption Church

    21 Rue de l'Abbé Grouet
    78520 Guernes
Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption
Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption
Crédit photo : Spedona - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1924
Partial collapse
1948-1954
Reconstruction
1957
Completion of the bell tower
30 août 2021
Historical Monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

In total, including the sacristy, the Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assumption, located rue de l'Abbé-Grouet, on Parcel No. 230, shown in the cadastre section AB, as delimited by a red border on the plan annexed to the decree: inscription by order of 30 August 2021

Key figures

Pierre Barniaud - Architect Co-conceptor of reconstruction.
Maurice Plançon - Architect Associated with Barniaud for the project.
Maurice Rocher - Glass painter Author of the 21 Marian stained glass windows.
Jacques Degusseau - Master glass Collaborator of Rocher for stained glass windows.
Gustave Dermigny - Sculptor Author of the statue of the Virgin.
Abbé Clément Grouet - Sponsor Financer of reconstruction.

Origin and history

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Guernes, partially collapsed in 1924, was rebuilt between 1948 and 1954 under the direction of architects Pierre Barniaud and Maurice Plançon, thanks to the funds gathered by Abbé Clément Grouet. The bell tower, added in 1957, peaks at 23.50 m and dominates a sober gable façade. The building adopts a reinforced concrete structure, with five broken arches supporting a hybrid frame (wood and concrete), and a filling of coated parpaings. Its extreme counting reflects post-war budgetary constraints, while reinterpreting Gothic elements such as broken arches.

The 21 stained glass windows, made by Maurice Rocher (painting) and Jacques Degusseau (master glassmaker), are the most remarkable element of the church. They illustrate the French Marian shrines through 18 glass windows, using colourless glasses for figures — highlighting greyness — contrasting with coloured parts. This work is part of the Sacred Art Workshops, a Christian artistic movement of the 1950s, combining modernity and spirituality. The Virgin carved by Gustave Dermigny adorns the facade, strengthening the Marian character of the place.

Ranked a Historical Monument in 2021, the church embodies a modest but coherent example of religious rationalist architecture, typical of post-war reconstruction. Its simple plan (single vessel and apse to three sections) and its economical materials (fibrocement, mechanical tiles) bear witness to the material challenges of the time. Despite its sobriety, it is distinguished by its iconographic unit and its integration into the Yvelines heritage landscape.

The location of the church, rue de l'Abbé-Grouet in Guernes (Yvelines), and its inscription in the cadastre (parcelle AB 230) underline its territorial anchor. The initial project was to replace a destroyed building, while meeting the liturgical needs of a rural parish undergoing social change after the Second World War. Its bell tower, originally planned in concrete, was finally covered with slate, marking a late aesthetic evolution.

The architects preferred an apparent frame inside, where the concrete portals rhythmize the space, while the exterior masks this structure behind a smooth coating. This duality between external austerity and internal expressivity characterizes many churches rebuilt in the 1950s. The absence of a model around rectangular holes accentuates this voluntary simplicity, serving a stripped spirituality.

External links

Page Monumentum