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Origin and history

The church Saint-Denis de Bornel, located in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region, finds its origins in the Merovingian era. His name, dedicated to Saint Denis de Paris, was probably attributed to him by the abbey of Saint-Denis, then lord of the village. The oldest part of the current building, the Romanesque choir, dates from the late 1140s, while the northern collateral was added before the end of the 12th century. The large arcades of the nave, built in the early 13th century, mark a transition to the Gothic style. The church suffered extensive destruction during the Hundred Years' War, requiring partial reconstruction at the end of the 15th century in a flamboyant rustic style.

In the 17th or 18th century, the bell-tower piles were taken up as sub-work, and the southern collateral was redesigned. The current bell tower, a structural construction, was reportedly rebuilt under the Second Empire. The church was listed as a historic monument in 1927, and then enjoyed a complete restoration between the late 20th and early 21st centuries, restoring its original brilliance. Today, it is affiliated with the parish of Saint-Louis-en-Thelle and hosts Sunday Masses.

The foundation of the parish of Bornel dates back to a charter of Pépin le Brief in 751, confirming its ties with the abbey of Saint-Denis. The priory of Sainte-Madeleine de Bornel, dependent on the abbey of Vézelay, was reunited at the parish in 1777, and his abandoned church was demolished in 1788. Under the Ancien Régime, the parish was part of the diocese of Beauvais and included the vicariates of Anserville and Fosseuse. Bornel has been part of the parish of Saint-Louis-en-Thelle since 1996, with its headquarters in Chambly.

The church's construction campaigns reveal a complex architectural evolution. The bedside of the central ship, built around 1140, retains a vault of Romanesque warheads, while the northern collateral, added before the end of the 12th century, has transitional capitals. The nave and its sides, erected at the beginning of the thirteenth century, were partially rebuilt after the destruction of the Hundred Years War, in a flamboyant style. The vaults of the eastern spans, except one, date from this period of reconstruction.

Saint-Denis Church presents a three-vessel plan, with a nave of four and a half spans, a choir of three spans, and two collaterals. The southern collateral, ending in the hemicycle, evokes a missing Romanesque apsidiole. The vaults, mostly flamboyant, contrast with the remaining Romanesque elements. The interior, sober, reveals carved capitals and plated arches, while the exterior, modest, is marked by a frame bell tower and simple foothills. A 14th century Virgin with the Child, classified as a historical monument, is the jewel of furniture.

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