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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint-Aubin church of Pacy-sur-Eure, located in the Eure in Normandy, was built in the first half of the 13th century. It replaces an early church erected in 1050 under the patronage of the Lyre Abbey, offered by Guillaume Fitz Osbern. Its architecture blends Chartrain influences (pillars of the first spans, around 1210) and Rounnese (transept and choir, around 1220), with typical materials such as the stone of Vernon inlaid with flint.

The building has undergone numerous modifications: major restorations in the sixteenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (steeling replacing a walled structure in 1869, repairs to the bell tower after weather conditions in 1698 and 1729). Ranked a historic monument in 1875, it was declassified in 1886 for non-compliance, before being added to the additional inventory in 1927. Medieval archives, destroyed by fire, limit the knowledge of its ancient history.

The church houses remarkable artistic elements: fragmentary murals (foliage, stars on a blue background, traces of an angel), an inverted copy of the Erection of the Cross of Charles Le Brun, and stained glass from the 16th and 20th centuries (including a triplet by François Décrchemont, 1951). The statuary includes a Virgin to the Child attributed to Germain Pilon (XVI century) and a Pietà of the same period. The organs, dating from the 19th century, come from Lisieux.

Materials, such as Vernon stone exported to Chartres or Rouen, highlight its regional anchoring. The octagonal bell tower, surmounted by an arrow, dominates a flat bedside. The vaults of the choir (15th century) contrast with those of the nave (1869). Despite controversial restorations, the church remains a testimony of Norman architectural evolutions, between medieval heritage and modern interventions.

The archival sources are limited to modern and contemporary periods (departmental archives of the Eure). The 19th century works, led by the municipality, altered its original structure, such as the vault of the nave. The murals, although degraded, reveal medieval polychromy techniques, while the furniture (Louis XIV benches, glass paste altar) illustrates its continuous liturgical use.

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